Jim Day and Friend (click for larger image)

When we decided to start this series, there was no doubt in our mind who the subject of our first profile would be. Jim Day was the obvious choice. To call Jim an "innovative angler" and "skiff fishing fanatic" would be akin to calling LaDainian Tomlinson "a good running back". His exploits in his heavily-modified Western aluminum skiff are well-known in Southern California, and his inspired designs and willingness to experiment were a major source of inspiration to us in putting together Toy Boat 2.

So who is Jim Day? He's a metal sculptor by training, holding an Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred Univeristy in New York. He has a number of commissioned pieces in places like the Los Angeles Natural History Museum.

But he is also an inveterate tinkerer, master fabricator, and when he's not fishing, he seems to be happiest when he has a torch, hammer or saw in hand, working on a new design, or when he is talking about his latest ideas. When asked why he wound up an artist, rather than a mechanical engineer, he let out a trademark belly-laugh, then grew introspective.

"I sort of fell into art because I have a talent for it. I suppose if I had to do it all over again, I just might have become an engineer." It definitely shows in conversation on any of a range of technical or aesthetic topics. Jim has an inquisitive mind, and sops up information like a dry sponge in a wet bilge.  

His skill at designing and building things caught the eye of the people at "Monster Garage", and he was featured in Episode 8 - "Pontoon Boat". He also takes on non-art related special projects for clients, and attacks them with the same enthusiasm he has when fighting a large yellowtail.

The idea for his skiff did not originate from any specific need. An experienced ocean fisherman, Jim received the original 14' Western aluminum hull with a 16 HP Suzuki outboard as payment for a job when the client ran out of money. The boat was serviceable, but needed a lot of work.

His first thought was to fix up the hull and use it to do a little fresh water fishing. But after looking at the hull, and doing some head scratching, he came up with the idea of converting it into a small, fully functional offshore fishing boat. A sort of "Personal Water Craft" for the offshore fisherman.

To get there, he made the following major structural changes to the boat:

• Added additional aluminum to the bow and gunnels, in order to increase freeboard
  
  
• Added material to the gunnels to stiffen the hull
  
  
• Added a center console
  
  
• Added a hull extension/motor bracket to move the motor outside the hull
  
  
• Converted the transom to a full transom to keep water out
  
  
• Converted the boat to dual outboards
  
  
• Added additional fuel capacity
  
  
• Added a full set of electronics: sonar, GPS, radio, radar, and autopilot

There are also a bunch of other features he added to improve fishability, which we'll talk about in the other sections of this article.