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 Removable Deck Extension Build 
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Removable Deck Extension Build
Posting this incase anyone else wants to try this later or wants any general start for welding. Lots of info here for comments so I learn, and also for anyone else trying to start fabricating from scratch down the road. Good bad and ugly all included.

After consulting with a few other MMT members to include but not limited to Russ, 4Cody, N. LA Hunter, and a few others, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at fabricating a removable front deck.

I had truly ZERO welding experience (aside from applying JB weld to leaking Jon boats) so I did some reading on here and other sites. My buddy and I got our hands on a Titanium 2000 MIG/TIG/Flux welder from harbor freight. Not commercial grade by any means but it did well for what we needed and at our skill level. Used the harbor freight spool gun with 4043 wire and a .045 tip. Ran 100% argon at ~15 CFM. Good prep with a wire brush or flap disk makes the welds a LOT better. Move fast on aluminum so you don’t burn through.

Spent a while trying to get decent beads. With .100 or thicker aluminum, we ran DC 220v at ~19-19.5 V, spool speed of ~430 and made decent welds for total novices.


For the project I used 3”x.25” 6061 angle extrusion that was 48” long to go over the gunnels, 1” .125 square 6061 for the “box”, .75” .125 angle for runners, and .125” 5086 for the deck. I may go back later and either add 2 more square tubes next to current angle runners because their is a very slight bit of flex, though it’s structurally sound.

The 3” angle was riv-nutted to the gunnels, then we tack welded in the front and back square tubes, pulled the unit out, and then welded in the square that ran along the angle to support the deck sheet.



Once that was done, we added the runners, welded everything down, then cut and added the sheet. It all went back into the boat fine with minimal heat warping on material. We did take our time and work all over so as to not overheat any area and warp it, though some small amounts still did occur.


It came together well. I did a quick paint job, and have thus far laid in some of the turf. The rest will be done when it arrives from UPS.


Overall, not the most difficult project, good learning experience and enjoyable. Took 2 hands and some patience to get it to work. We have thus far tested it with 2 of us (approx 450 lbs total) and there is a little flex, hence why I mentioned coming back and adding in another square tube or two later, but overall, decent drop deck. Total weight is between 40-50 lbs so not hard to install and won’t affect my boat for bowfishing or bass fishing.

Let me know if I forgot anything else. This is what my novice knowledge has taught me, so if you have any good suggestions, critiques, etc post away so others don’t struggle as much down the road figuring out where to start.


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Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:42 pm
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MMT 1000 Club

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 7:19 pm
Posts: 1103
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
Looks good. I like it.


Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:05 pm
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MMT 1000 Club

Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:33 pm
Posts: 2455
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
Good work!

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B. MacDonald


Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:49 am
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build


Added the final turf square so it’s officially complete.


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Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:47 pm
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MMT Member

Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2018 1:08 pm
Posts: 9
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
Looks Good.


Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:07 am
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MMT 1000 Club

Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:07 pm
Posts: 4820
Location: West Monroe, LA
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
That one strip of turf looks different. Rip it all up and start over.

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Sat Mar 28, 2020 8:34 am
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MMT Super Elite Member

Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 8:10 pm
Posts: 16915
Location: Rowlett, TX
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build


Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:14 am
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build


Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:27 am
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MMT 1000 Club

Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:07 pm
Posts: 4820
Location: West Monroe, LA
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
[THUMBS UP SIGN]

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Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:39 am
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MMT Pro Member

Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 11:50 am
Posts: 284
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
mine is like that too... nice work.


Mon Mar 30, 2020 12:08 pm
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MMT Pro Member

Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:42 pm
Posts: 80
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build
Nice! I thought about doing something like this on mine.


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Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:06 pm
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MMT F.E.

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:19 am
Posts: 981
Post Re: Removable Deck Extension Build


Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:13 pm
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