Centre Console/Side Console Conversion

[allykraft445]

Owner of an Allycraft 4.45m with a 40HP Mercury XR Lightning outboard motor. Wanting to consider conversion to side/centre console. Is difficult to have a clear view when currently driving. Has anybody had any previous experience with conversion...or suggestions? We need to upgrade to centre/side console, as we plan to venture out deep sea fishing on occasions.

[shauno]

mate im in the same situation as you i have a 440 with a 50hp a couple of blokes told me it is better to have centre consol for that sort of thing and i was told is cost around $2000 and up. so if you go to my post i think it is on page 3 you will see a couple of replies.

# shauno

[revs57]

G'day Krafty,

We did the exercise at Rip tide with Dave Claussen's help a few years ago on a 4.45 bermuda viper powered by a 50 merc we picked up cheapish. We cut the sponson seats out, kept the floatation, lifted the floor to full width and length, made new flooring our of 12mm CD ply, painted and carpeted it, built the transom in with a splash tray/live bait tank in centre and two storage spaces under port and strboard for 25 ltr fuel cans. made a seat box big enough to fit a nully tub in the top (lift in and out) and slide a nully under for a kill box. I split the seat so the first mate could stay seated if I needed any stuff from under the seat. Put the floatation we pulled out of the seats back under the floor, made a Centre console with a removable frame around the top so we could park it in the garage, the GPS & sounder mounted into this frame one above the other. We made it so there was enough room for a milk crate for the anchor rope and so our 55ltr esky could go infront of the console to use for a front seat, put a pair of bow rails on it with tubes to store the anchors so they wouldn't rattle around, made a removable bait table with 4 rod holders, put clips on the transom wall we built to hold gaffs, bait pump, billy etc, made a couple of trolling extentions that fitted into the rear corner rod holders, a bimini finished it off and it worked a treat! I used it to chase reefies up to 12klm or so offshore. Beach launched it regularly. Had it in some decent seas. It was a great set up. We've only recently sold it for 3 grand more than we paid so it was a worthwhile investment. It was a pretty hard decision as the set up worked so well, but we want to go a bit wider so opted for the 6mt platey. I figured I could do it again if need be and I wouldn't change a thing. I have some photo's if you'd like to see what we did...PM me with your email and I'll ping them to you

Regards

Rhys

[Bowser]

If you plan to go offshore I wouldn't be touching a side console. The driving position standing up at a centre console is much better balanced and offers substantially better visibility then the SC. Besides in this size boat you don’t get many days offshore where sitting behind a console is comfortable. I did the conversion on a 4.45 tiller steer Stessco. It was already fitted with full floor and side decks. Pulled out the seats and tucked the flotation along with a number of empty 5L oil bottles under the floor. Strapped some conduit/drain pipe under the floor to carry wiring and cables. Had a professional build a Centre console with a seat/storage box in front. This seat is basically for use when bottom fishing when side on drifting and helps to spread the lines out while giving you somewhere comfortable to sit. It swallows a surprising amount of gear neatly and out of the way. The space lost is not noticed and the comfort and storage is well worth the sacrifice. The console is wider than most and supports a fold T-Top and screen. By using a T-Top you get a stronger better hight shelter without any hindering ties or supports and enables true walk around fishability. This console being wider also holds a bucket load of gear that you need to get your hands on like tackle knifes water, bait esky etc. The seating/driving area is finished of with a largish esky that is not fixed to the floor. This gives you an easy option to slide it around to suit conditions. You can have it athwart the boat as a seat or angle it to suit 2 people sitting when drift or anchor fishing. It is large enough to handle big fish and the right height to sit comfortably on with a padded cushion that is attached to the lid. The final work for now was the building of a full engine well and rear side decks to match. This gives added safety at sea and the decks will have bait/storage tanks sunk into them in the next step along with the underfloor fuel tank.

[kpmack]

Hi Allycraft 445,
having just bought the allycraft 4.55 TANK I have very much enjoyed the space of a rear steer and that big flat floor.quite pleasing for such a small boat with so much room. One has to be careful not to put too many big boat features in a small boat. Outside fishing has been great in this regard. Be careful you don't reduce too much of your room .Cheers............Paul

[revs57]

yeah Bowser is right, the only thing I'd change would be the bimini to a T top...hooked into a marlin last christmas down at Minnie and chased it around the boat...fortunately we had the bimini down cause ot would've definitely been a problem...

[allykraft445]

hi rhys
thanks for the great info
yes i would like to see a couple of photos of your centre console
here is a photo of our boat
regards
allykraft