Do you know any one local to DFW that can do this type of work?


http://www.fishonfabrications.com

I'm glad to see this new page. I've tossed around the idea for awhile now of decking out a jon boat. I'm thinking a 1652 might do the trick.

I've seen that website before when I was doing some kayak modifications--they do great work.
With all the custom car builders in DFW, I'm sure there are some that have the skills to do that sort of aluminum shaping and welding. The downside is that they are probably accustomed to custom car builder prices.

There are lots of custom boat builders in Louisiana and Arkansas also. I did an extensive search for a local custom boat builder a few years back, and the closest I could find were in the Houston/Corpus area.

Bennett's Welding and Fabrication in Dallas looks to be qualified and they have good internet reviews
Bennett's Welding

all I know is I would shop around. I went to a welding shop to see if they could weld up some fixed trim tabs. they told me they charge 150/hr to mess with aluminum.

If that's the case there are plenty of these conversion done with wooden decks. If the cost is prohibitive it will probably be much easier (less expensive) to find someone with the wood working skills to do it.

Knowing I won't have much more gear than you would carry on a bassbuster means the extra weight of wood won't be an issue.

Easy to do it yourself if you have a few tools. Check out my post "Drop in deck extension"

There has to be a welding shop that can do this at a reasonable price point. I'll be fabricating one out of aluminum this winter to see how much time is involved.

If these guys can do it, shouldn't be too much trouble. It's a 6 part series and they are slow talkers, but do a good job with the aluminum frame. Having the right tools to cut the aluminum angle is key.

cutting aluminum angle

I was thinking about using square stock but angle might have enough strength.

Maybe use square stock for the vertical frame components and aluminum angle for the horizontal. (just cut square stock in half in the diagonal saggital plane to make the angle) It would save you some cash, save weight, wouldn't reduce the overall strength much, and make riveting easier for the horizontal components.

Check out WJR Customs on Facebook. Joe is the owner and does all the work himself.

I know its not in DFW, but just outside Little Rock and he does great work.
He has done several add ons for my Havoc and he matches the custom camo perfectly each time