Lund SV-18

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Eddy D

New member
I have purchased a 1986 Lund SV-18, in pristine condition. It has a Yamaha F25; which I know is too small for most areas. My question is about the front deck. There is a large deck that extends about four feet into the cockpit. Are any of you familiar with this boat and can you make any recomendations about the deck, leave it, or open it up?
The object being to turn the boat into a good duck rig for the TN River.
Thanks
 
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No, there is a small wooden front deck seat up there at the bow. No floatation at all. The SV model has no large deck, only a smaller one suitable for a trolling motor. I was concerned that removal of the deck might comprimize the structural integrity of the bow, much the same as removal of a bench seat in some boats. That was my concerns for the bow. The deck takes up an inordinate amount of room....if it were filled with floatation, I wouldn't even have asked the question. Thanks anyway.
Eddy
 
Eddy,

I looked up a Lund catalog from 1986 and could not find a SV-18, only a S-18.(see picture below of actual catalog page)

catpage.jpg


This picture is of the S-18 and also shows the smaller 14 and 16 ft versions. You will notice that the smaller versions have a small bow cap instead of a deck such as you describe.

Based on what I see in the photos and the fact that the 18ft model is 5 inches wider that the smaller ones, I'd say to leave the deck in place. I feel it is providing much needed structural support.

Now if the model in the catalog picture is not the boat you have, then my advice may not apply.

overheadview.jpg


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BTW; here is a link to the entire 1986 Lund catalog
 
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Well, I feel completely stupid now because I went back and looked at the registration card issued by the state of TN. The boat is not a 86 model; it is a 94. The deck looks similar to the one in the pic...perhaps a bit longer. I suppose the structural integrity issue should be my main concern. Even if the deck was the same as the one pictured, removing it may not be a good idea. I had thought about putting a foredeck at the level of the larger bench to the front, smaller bench. That would allow the area under the top deck to be a storage area of sorts. Thanks for looking for the catalog. Actually I purchased the boat two years ago and have not even had it in the water yet. I have recently had back surgery, am recovering right now, and planning on transforming that boat (which now looks exactly like the photo) into a duck hunting machine.
Eddy
 
SV-18 has a more forgiving v-hull then the flat-at-the-transom S-18. SV-18 carries the v into the transom, and is a considerably more comfortable ride in any kind of wind than the S18. Great boats - displacement hulls, but solid and seaworthy with even a 40hp - throw a 50hp four stroke on there and off you go through just about anything!
 
Thanks guys. HuntinDave, how do you have access to old Lund catalogs.....is there a website I could use?
For years down here I used an old Alumacraft FD15. Four years ago we moved to SD....all we saw were Lunds. I bought this with the expectation of modifying it for use on the TN River, hunting and fishing. That one water system has everything from trout to crappie to geese and ducks; interrupted only by dams. It starts in the mountains of E TN and coarses through TN, AL, MS and back to TN and then KY. The western portion has many large barges plying the waterway; and the Lund should handle their wake well. It's good to be back home and I really appreciate your (all of those who responded) help and advice.
Eddy
 
Useta have that boat. My cousin still has one. Hunted a whole hell of a lot out of some mid-1980s 16s and 18s with similar designs. All three boats are still getting abused on a daily basis and they are bombproof but I sure wouldn't mess with the deck!

In really hard wave hits the bow deck "oil-cans" ever so slightly, so it's absorbing some energy when the hull takes a hard impact. Never had any issues with structural integrity, loose rivets or leakage with boats with this design.

Their "soft-V" marketing made me laugh at the time and it still does. Especially in high-frequency wavesets they slap more than they slice thru the waves... partly to to with the very light hull weight and partly to do with the shape of the hull. However this same hull will absolutely safely carry a heavy load through heavy seas, and it doesn't take as much motor to push them around as the later lunds, also a function of hull weight. They're great strong boats.
 
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