Hey all, A while back you may remember me sending out a shout out for old plywood/wood scraps that weren't needed anymore. I got a good response and also having a friend with a ton of "extra" 3/4 plywood kicking around (he is in construction) made this a relatively cheap project. So anyways, as you may have already guessed, I decided it was time to revamp my old boat since it has never really been touched since it was bought by our family back in the 70s. Also, not to mention, my dads new boat is too nice for him and I needed to try and compete ;) For those of you on here who have fished from my boat you know that there were many objects that easily tangled lines, especially when trying to fly fish. Ok, so here was how the boat had looked for the past 30+ years... Pretty messy and kind of a nightmare to fly fish from. So during the winter I brought it into my garage and with a bit of elbow grease I managed to strip it down entirely to its bare aluminum frame... I think the above shot was taken when it was -25 degrees outside. Pretty harsh working conditions... After a ton of drawings and measurements I planned the entire layout for the new inside from scratch. I had to consider all of the things that I felt would make my old boat the ultimate fishing machine... After a few weeks of careful planning, I started measuring out all of the plywood and purchased all the materials I would need to get it up to snuff. In my mind, it needed to be comfortable and yet still look rugged enough since it was intended for hardcore fishing! I worked on the project pretty steadily throughout the entire winter and I put the final touches on it just before last weekend.... It was now a seaworthy vessel! Here are some shots taken on the morning of June 1st on our dock... just before its maiden voyage... Some of the new additions include: adjustable & removable pedestal seating, carpeted and leveled flooring, cargo holds, livewell, lockers and storage areas for tackle, gas, batteries, elevated front casting deck with pedestal seat mount, new minnkota trolling motor, horizontal rod holders, customized control console and many other "small" touches. I got the engine serviced to ensure a good season and she started on the first try. Headed up the river and was rewarded with this 17" beauty right off the hop... I will admit that the bite was tough for flies for some reason and I fished a bit with both setups during the day. Managed some nice wallies, smallies and pike throughout the day. Final verdict: After an intense weekend of fishing from my "new" boat I honestly doubt I could ever go back to the old one ever again. It actually makes me wonder how much better a professional bass boat actually is... Anyways, as you can tell I did absolutely nothing with the outside. I have a friend who does boat painting and decaling and have considered getting it done. However, I kind of like the brand new inside in constrast to the old style outside. Besides, my boat has always locally been called "The Silver Bullet". Why change it now? ;D If anyone is interested in redoing their old boat I am considering creating a website with much more detailed information step-by-step on how it was done. For less than $1000 you can redo yours, not only does it completely change your fishing experience but also increases the boats resale value as well. Can't wait to get back at it next weekend!!! Cheers, James. At the end of the 2011 fishing season, after three awesome years of fishing from the renovated boat and 35+ years of service, I decided it was time to sell the silver bullet. Here is the photo of the day it was sold with my dad proudly standing behind it... it will be missed. With the funds from the sale and with money in our slush fund, I purchased a beautiful new ride that will hopefully last as long as the good ol' silver bullet did. My new boat is a Lund Pro Angler with a 75HP Evinrude Ficht Ecodrive. It is fully loaded with all of the latest electronics and gadgets that are "supposed" to help catch more fish (yeah right!). I absolutely love fishing out of it and I am sure that many new memories will be made in this boat.