# G3 1548 "My take on a classic"



## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

Hello all,

I have always owned aluminum boats, but am brand new to the site. What a wealth of knowledge that is contained in these threads! I was inspired to build something special in part by my love of fishing, but also because of the awesome projects that I have been following on TinBoats. Well, before I get started, I'm gonna apologize ahead of time. I got so carried away with my build, at times I forgot to take pictures. I'll do my best to post the pics I have along with a good description of why and how something was done. Any feedback, positive or negative, is appreciated. BTW, I mostly fish shallow salt water, but since I grew up bass fishin', I still try to target largemouth from time to time. I am in the Marines, currently stationed on the east coast of North Carolina. My home of record is on the gulf coast of Florida near Tampa Bay.


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

The following pics show some of the first mods that were done, but I wasn't completely happy with all of them. The "real" mods are still to come.


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## Kismet (Jul 1, 2012)

You've really made that boat your own. Nice job.

How does it like the water?


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## IwanaFish (Jul 1, 2012)

I like the openess of the center. Nice and clean layout. But I have a question, what is the monster lurking in the garage?

Lonny


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

Kismet said:


> You've really made that boat your own. Nice job.
> 
> How does it like the water?



Thanks for the compliment. She loves the water. The 35hp Honda has been good to me, but it's tired. I looked into repairing all the small issues with the motor, but in the end a brand new motor looked to be the best course of action. I just ordered a 2012 Yamaha F40LA. It's gonna be so nice, and she's gonna fly!


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

IwanaFish said:


> I like the openess of the center. Nice and clean layout. But I have a question, what is the monster lurking in the garage?
> 
> Lonny



Thanks. I appreciate it. The monster? That is my '67 Firebird dynoed at over 900 horsepower. I say "over 900", because the tires kept spinning on the dyno rollers. 917 was the best number I could post before wheel spin occurred. That was on race gas. I think this belongs in another thread. Ha ha :mrgreen:


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

Ok, so I fished the boat in the configuration you see in the pics above for about two years. It was working out pretty well, but I knew I could make it better. BTW, I realize the pics pop up in the reverse order that you upload them. Just start from the bottom, and go up.


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

After I had removed all of the factory paint, I also removed the thin aluminum "platforms" that were welded in the bottom near the transom. They might have been used originally to hold a battery or tool/tackle box, but years of abuse had cracked and bent them. Out they came, and in went 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate. Two platforms in the rear to replace the thin, broken factory ones, and another larger plate to mount the console to. Overkill? Yeah, probably so, but I guarantee you won't be breaking these any time soon. Besides, after I removed all that heavy wood and carpet, I figured I could afford a few pounds of extra aluminum in there. I had a guy who works at the welding shop on base put them in for me. He only charged me $20 bucks. You can't beat that! 

I also enlarged the hole in the bench to accommodate a new cooler. I wrapped the bottom of the new cooler in a heavy duty trash bag, and dropped it in the hole. I then sprayed expanding foam around it. When cured, I removed the cooler, and trimmed all the excess foam away. (The cured foam doesn't stick to the plastic trash bag) Now I have a custom fit for my cooler, and it doesn't wobble or shift in the hole anymore. I wanted something that could be stood on and used as a casting or poling platform. It's as solid as a rock.


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## DearJon (Jul 1, 2012)

I looked around for a long time on the internet, (weeks) before I decided to do the inside of the boat in Herculiner. The majority of people who had used the product had good things to say. The rest complained of chipping, or peeling soon after the application. I felt that with the proper amount of prep work, this product would work out fine. That being said, I didn't realize how much time it takes to get the boat "ready". I spent three weeks sanding, and grinding. I'd come home after work and spend a couple of hours slaving away at it, or plug away on the week ends. After all that sanding, it only took one day to paint it! To anyone interested in doing this to your boat, I say do it, but don't skimp on the prep work. The product normally comes in black. For obvious reasons, I wanted a lighter color to reflect some of the sun's heat. I had to special order the gray color. I ordered two gallons, because I wanted to put two coats on all vertical surfaces, and three coats on all horizontal ones. Contrary to popular rumor, this stuff is not that heavy. Each gallon weighed about 8 lbs. Figure half of that when finally dry. Check out Old World Industries if you want more info.

I do miss the perfect, flat bottom that the carpeted plywood provided, but this stuff weighs less, has great grip, looks good, and doesn't trap moisture. How much time do you spend walking around on your boat anyways? I try to spend most of my time up front on the casting deck with a rod in hand. You know? Of course there are those frequent trips back and forth to the cooler. #-o


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## Coach d (Jul 1, 2012)

Great looking boat! You have done a great job on it.
Thank you for your service. I am from NC also. In Fayetteville. I look forward to seeing what else you do to the boat.


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## theyyounggun (Jul 1, 2012)

You should get a yeti cooler!


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## bigwave (Jul 2, 2012)

First off :WELCOME: and thank you for your service. That is one nice rig you got.


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## DearJon (Jul 2, 2012)

theyyounggun said:


> You should get a yeti cooler!



Yeah, I finally broke down and got me a Yeti Tundra 45 qt. That is what I molded the expanding foam around. You know, the Yeti's are expensive, but it is the best cooler I personally have ever owned. I truly believe that I will never have to buy another cooler. Well, not to replace this one anyways. Totally worth it!


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## theyyounggun (Jul 2, 2012)

Thats what I was thinkin when you said you want to use it for a casting platform :-D I got a 65 but the 45s are the best I think cause they can be carried by only one person.


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## DearJon (Jul 4, 2012)

Thank you all for the compliments. Happy Independence Day to you and yours.

The next few pics show the Herculiner once I pulled it out of the paint booth (my garage). I really like it so far. I haven't experienced any peeling, or chipping, but it is still really new. I'll keep ya'll posted if I start to have issues. I rolled on the coating fairly thick (2-3 coats), so it actually does help with sound deadening. Hull slap is reduced, and if I drop pliers or something, it won't wake the dead. The plywood/carpet was better in this respect, but had too many other cons. (namely weight) I'm much happier now.


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## DearJon (Jul 4, 2012)

Once all the painting was done, the fun began. This time I'm being serious. I really enjoyed the re-assembly portion, as most guys do. As I started putting things back in place, I tried to repair/replace issues as I saw them. I'd think of a better way to do something, and then implement it into the build. I really wanted to get it out on the water, but I had to be patient. The worst part of the build was having to rely on my buddies to take me fishing. (ha ha) I used to fish from the bank all the time, but once you get spoiled with a little boat, you don't want to go back there.

I bought this Yeti Tundra 45 qt. cooler, and custom molded the foam around it. It sits solidly down in the hole, and doesn't rock, wobble or shift in the least. It feels like it's bolted down, but I can still remove it for cleaning, draining, etc. I also installed a SeaDek pad on the lid just to give some additional cushion to your feet, or butt. Whatever happens to be contacting it at the time.


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## DearJon (Jul 5, 2012)

Since I am so concerned about weight, I wanted to find a way to transfer some towards the bow. When you get a 200 lb. guy driving, a fuel cell, starting battery, an ice chest full of drinks, and a 200 lb. motor hanging off the back it starts to get ridiculous. Add a fishing partner, and it gets worse. One of my solutions was to move the fuel cell up under the casting deck in the bow. This accomplished a couple of things. It freed up some room in the back of the boat, and moved some weight forward. A standard fuel cell wouldn't fit under the bow, because it is too narrow under there. I went with a rubber fuel bladder, because it is thin and durable. We use these in the Marines under extremely harsh conditions, so I knew it would stand up to anything I could throw at it. Fuel capacity went from 6 gal. to 18 gal. I probably won't be filling the bladder to capacity any time soon, but it's nice to know I could if I wanted. I don't fill up nearly as much now, and always use Sta-bil Marine formula to keep the fuel from deteriorating.


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## Kismet (Jul 5, 2012)

Nice.

You have a pump on the bladder, or does the vacuum from the priming bulb serve?


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## DearJon (Jul 5, 2012)

Kismet said:


> Nice.
> 
> You have a pump on the bladder, or does the vacuum from the priming bulb serve?



The priming bulb is sufficient to move the fuel all the way to the motor. Since the bow curves upwards, gravity keeps the fuel towards the bottom where the valve is. Whenever I fuel up, I make an effort to "burp" the bladder, or remove all air trapped inside. No air bubbles means no air in the fuel lines, and no place for condensation to form.


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## DearJon (Jul 5, 2012)

Next, I needed to find an alternate means of anchoring the boat. I was using a fluke style anchor with an anchor chain, and 50 ft. of anchor line. This set up held the boat firmly, but took up too much space in the bottom of the boat. Secondly, it was very noisy. It was always banging on the hull, and setting it in the water without spooking wary fish proved a daunting task. Third, it seemed to snag things a lot and get tangled. My cast net was attracted to it like a magnet. 

Most people are familiar with Power Poles. They are awesome for shallow water, but their size, weight, and cost prevented me from using one. I saw that a company called Wang anchors was making a shallow water anchoring system using fiberglass rods. I decided to custom make my own "redneck power poles". 

Materials used were: 1" X 96" solid fiberglass rod stock (I think 3/4" is plenty strong if I had to do it again)
1" (i.d.) X 12" schedule 40 aluminum pipe
PVC "T" handles
stainless steel screws
angle grinder
aluminum epoxy (similar to JB Weld)
MIG welder


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## fool4fish1226 (Jul 6, 2012)

Nice set-up - I love my anchor pins one of my best investments.


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## theyyounggun (Jul 6, 2012)

Here's you a stupid question on your Yeti the the pad says yeti on it but is it the yeti brand or a different brand?


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## DearJon (Jul 6, 2012)

theyyounggun said:


> Here's you a stupid question on your Yeti the the pad says yeti on it but is it the yeti brand or a different brand?



Yes sir, it is the Yeti brand. It was on back order for a few weeks, and they called and offered me the light blue, or seafoam green color instead. Obviously, on this boat I had to have the gray. Worth the wait though.


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## DearJon (Jul 6, 2012)

When I first got the boat, it was rigged up for flounder gigging. It had flood lights on the bow that were in the way. I removed everything from the bow, including the navigation lights, so I'd have a clean space to mount my trolling motor. Well, I never got around to putting any lights back on it until now. I wanted to replace all the old incandescent lighting with newer, brighter L.E.D.'s. When you are running off of a 12 volt system, amp draw is definitely a concern. I got these lights from Ozonium.com. They are super bright, draw 1/10th the amperage of a standard 906 bulb, and don't get hot. The website says they are water proof, but I sealed them with clear silicone just in case. Everything was wired to a three-way switch on the console, and I put an in-line fuse next to the battery. Can't be too careful.


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## DaveInGA (Jul 7, 2012)

Your boat is looking fantastic. Light weight, effective and simple. I really like the LED approach you're using and using them in my build. I'm going to see if I can find LED lights for my Nav lights as well.

The https://www.oznium.com/ website has tons of listings. Which lights are those you have and did the rear light come from there as well?


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## DearJon (Jul 7, 2012)

DaveInGA said:


> Your boat is looking fantastic. Light weight, effective and simple. I really like the LED approach you're using and using them in my build. I'm going to see if I can find LED lights for my Nav lights as well.
> 
> The https://www.oznium.com/ website has tons of listings. Which lights are those you have and did the rear light come from there as well?



Yes, all lights on the boat came from Ozonium. I'm very happy with them. Fast shipping, reasonable prices...what's not to like? Like I said above, even if it says "water proof", seal it anyways. Better safe than sorry.


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## gator1gear (Jul 7, 2012)

LOVE the boat! Wanna see more pics of that Pontiac in the background too :mrgreen:


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## DearJon (Jul 8, 2012)

gator1gear said:


> LOVE the boat! Wanna see more pics of that Pontiac in the background too :mrgreen:



Thanks gator1gear. Yeah, there's just something about Tin Boats, and all-steel cars that satisfies the soul.


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## DearJon (Jul 11, 2012)

My little Honda finally gave up the ghost last week. She was a 1994 35 hp four stroke, and a damn good little motor, but I think she saw one too many seasons of salt water use. I have only had her for the past two years, and have religiously flushed and rinsed her after each outing. I started getting some hesitation, and then hesitation turned into what seemed like misfiring. Power was way down from what it had been. I immediately thought carburetors, but alas that wasn't it. Even after a thorough cleaning, the problem persisted. An inspection of the spark plugs revealed rust on the #3 plug. I inserted the blow off nozzle from my air compressor into the #3 spark plug hole, and gave it some air. Quite a bit of water blew out onto my hand. I knew I had real trouble at this point. The real fun came when I went to check the oil, which I had just changed a week earlier, and something resembling chocolate milk came shooting out of the dipstick tube under pressure. Sigh. She's done for. I know it could be as simple as a head gasket replacement, but there are a myriad of other little issues here and there. So rather than put more money into an old motor......

I decided to re-power!

I bought a 2012 Yamaha F40. She is sweet, and purrs like a kitten. I also added a digital tach, and new 703 controls. My new prop hasn't come in yet, but strangely enough, the prop off the Honda fit perfectly. I used it today, and got the first two hours of the break-in procedure done. I am loving this new motor. No more carbs!


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## gillhunter (Jul 11, 2012)

The boat looks great!! Congrats on the Yamaha! They are great motors, had one on my last tin. Don't envy anyone that has to maintain a boat in saltwater :LOL2:


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## DearJon (Jul 17, 2012)

Well, I've gotten about 5 hours of break in done and am really pleased with the new motor so far. I did have a couple of issues though. When I first ran the boat, it would raise the bow too high before it would plane out. I added a Stingray hydrofoil, and the problem is solved. It is a much nicer boat to operate now. I had one on my Honda, and it worked really well too. I was running my old prop on the new motor to get the break in procedures started, and until my new prop arrived. It had quite a few dings in it, but no structural damage. It is a Michigan prop in 13" pitch, and the motor reached 5700-5800 rpm's with it at WOT. Top speed with that prop was 33 mph. The new prop came in the other day, and I installed it right away. It is a Solas Amita in 14" pitch. I had high hopes for the new prop, but alas it actually performed worse than the old, beat up Michigan prop. The motor would only reach 4700 rpm's with the new prop, and top speed was 29.5 mph. The manufacturer recommendation is an operating range between 5000-6000 rpm's, so I ordered another prop in 13" pitch. Hopefully this one is the ticket. It should come tomorrow. I'll keep ya'll posted on the results. If it works out well, then I'll most likely order an identical stainless steel prop for the motor, and then keep the aluminum one for a spare,


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## DearJon (Jul 18, 2012)

Hello all,

I figured I'd take a break from building, and post some fishin' pics. Here they are....enjoy :mrgreen:


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## bigwave (Jul 19, 2012)

Very nice new power.....if you don't mind, what does a new one of those cost?


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## theyyounggun (Jul 19, 2012)

It looks good! I would of started crying installing the hydrofoil...


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## DearJon (Jul 19, 2012)

bigwave said:


> Very nice new power.....if you don't mind, what does a new one of those cost?



Thanks. The motor ran about $5,200. Controls, gauges, and other items required for rigging totaled close to a $1,000. Not cheap, but I fish a lot, so I plan on getting my money's worth.


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## DearJon (Jul 20, 2012)

I've been trying to do some last minute additions just to make the boat more user friendly. Whenever I needed to fill up on fuel, I would have to pull out the bladder from under the bow to access the filler cap. It's easy to pull out the bladder when it's empty, but trying to put it back under the bow with 80 lbs. of fuel in it is a pain in the neck (and back). I originally thought that fill ups would be pretty infrequent, so I would just deal with the inconvenience once a month. After filling up in 95 degree heat the other day, I vowed never to do that again. I was completely soaked with sweat. I decided to install a hatch that I got through Tempress. Now it's a breeze to fill up at the local marina. With ethanol-free fuel of course...

I also added a couple of large cup holders that accommodate the Koozie too. I got really tired of spilling my beverages. They are dark gray, match the boat well, and seem pretty sturdily made.


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## hollywooddippa (Jul 20, 2012)

Great work!!! Looks like a pretty versital boat!!


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## DearJon (Aug 2, 2012)

I ordered a "Splash" cover for the new motor, and it finally came in last week. I had a chance to use it on the water the other day, and I'm very pleased so far. The cover seems to be well made, and fits very tightly. It has vents built in, so it is designed to stay on at all times, even when running, or trailering. 

I also installed a bow mounted trim switch. This is a feature I had noticed on many of the larger, nicer boats and I wanted one too. Now, I don't have to leave the bow to raise the motor. It was only about $30, and was an easy 3 wire hook up.


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## hunterguy86 (Aug 4, 2012)

Looking good!

Can you go into a little more detail on the bow mounted trim switch. I'd like to do that same mod.


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## Brock T (Aug 4, 2012)

Do you ever fish around Bogue Field? I was stationed there during my enlistment. We had pretty good luck with the reds!

Semper Fi


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## DearJon (Aug 5, 2012)

hunterguy86 said:


> Looking good!
> 
> Can you go into a little more detail on the bow mounted trim switch. I'd like to do that same mod.



Thanks hunterguy. I was just going to send you a PM, but I figured there might be someone else out there wishing to do this mod. So, here it goes.

This is a pretty simple mod, but one which you will use often. The switch I used is made by T-H Marine. You can buy it through many boat accessory retailers. Cost ranges between $29-$35. The switch has three wires coming from it. One purple, one light blue, and one light green. The purple wire is your "hot", or power. The light blue wire is "up". The light green wire is "down". Obviously, the wiring diagram may change from one model of controls to another, but I think these colors are fairly standard for the industry. I've included a picture of a wiring diagram for a newer Yamaha. Maybe it will help.

Before starting any work, make sure the battery or power source is disconnected. Identify the location that you want to mount the switch. It comes with two black screws, but I replaced them with quality SS ones.) From the 18" pigtail that comes off the switch, extend each wire using water proof butt connectors so that they reach the controls. Make sure you leave a little extra room to work with. You can always trim the excess off later. I like to put a dab of dielectric grease on all connections for peace of mind. Heat shrink tubing or liquid electrical tape will help prevent water from entering the connection as well. Make sure you route all wires so that they are protected and out of the way. I used flexible wire loom, or conduit that runs down the channel on the side of the boat. Some use PVC for this. Once the switch is mounted, and all wires have been run, it's time to open that control box. Remove the screws that affix the controls to the boat, so that you can access the back cover. Remove the screws that hold the cover in place to reveal the wiring inside. In my case it was easy to identify the three wires I needed to connect to. There was a Light green wire, a light blue wire and a red wire coming from the motor and running into the control box. These correspond to the green, blue, and purple wires running from your new switch. Avoid using wire taps to make your connections, as they can bring problems down the road. Splice into the wires with good solid butt connectors, and waterproof them the same way you did the others. Do not rely on the control box itself to protect the connections. Once all connections are made, reconnect the battery and test the trim switch on the bow. Then test the trim button on the controls and the one on the motor to ensure everything is working properly before starting reassembly. If everything checks out, replace the cover on the control box, and mount it back to the boat. Enjoy!


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## DearJon (Aug 5, 2012)

Brock T said:


> Do you ever fish around Bogue Field? I was stationed there during my enlistment. We had pretty good luck with the reds!
> 
> Semper Fi



I actually haven't. I've been stationed here for over 10 years, but usually I don't fish any further north than the New River Inlet. I usually target reds, flounder, and sea trout from New River down to Bald Head Island. I really need to get up there though.


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## Scandalous (Aug 5, 2012)

whats the weight capacity on your tin?


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## DearJon (Aug 6, 2012)

Scandalous said:


> whats the weight capacity on your tin?



My boat is rated at 800 lbs.


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## hunterguy86 (Aug 6, 2012)

Thanks for the info! So you made the connection in the control box. I was going back and forth between there and at the motor. That's a big help.


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## DearJon (Aug 6, 2012)

hunterguy86 said:


> Thanks for the info! So you made the connection in the control box. I was going back and forth between there and at the motor. That's a big help.



My pleasure. I think connecting in the control box is the way to go. Connections are closer to the switch (less wiring), protected by the control box and are hidden to provide a clean install. When you get yours mounted, be sure to post some pics. Good luck!


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## novaman (Aug 9, 2012)

Really cool job You've done, something to be very proud of. =D> =D> =D> I hope You now have uninterrupted time to enjoy it. Nice "Tin Indian" in the garage, is it Poncho powered, or BBC?. If it wouldn't be so hard on it, imagine the look on peoples face at the ramp, when You came in with sounding like a Pro Gas car ready for a burnout, with a boat behind it! 8)


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## DearJon (Aug 10, 2012)

Thanks for the comments novaman. There is a BBC between the fenders. It's displacing about 500 cubes. They say there's no replacement for displacement. So, are you really a "Nova" man?


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## DearJon (Mar 18, 2013)

Hello all,

So it's been quite awhile since I've visited the site. Mostly due to the tempo at work and the cold weather. Well, now it's spring, and I thought I'd share some new upgrades that I worked on over the winter. 

My trolling motor is a nice Minnkota Riptide saltwater with 55 lbs. of thrust, but it's only a 12V model. After a long day of fishing, the battery will be laboring pretty hard to pull the boat around. Even with my blue top Optima, I sometimes get back to the ramp with only 25% juice left. What I really hate is that I always worry about running out of power. When I'm out on the water, I just want to think about fishing and enjoy myself, so I came up with this fix:

I decided to double up on batteries to extend my trolling motor's performance. I wired up the batteries in parallel to keep the system at 12 volts, but effectively doubled the capacity. I built some aluminum hold down brackets to keep them from bouncing around. These, coupled with the Yeti tie down straps, make for a pretty secure mounting. I installed a ProMariner ProMite 3 bank on board charger to keep everything topped off and ready for the next outing. As a precaution, I wired a single circuit switch between the positive jumper cable connecting the batteries. I turn the switch off when charging, which separates the batteries. When I'm ready to fish, a simple turn of the switch connects the batteries together again. My cause for concern was that each battery is fed by its own 12V lead coming from the charger. I believe that if I had kept the batteries in parallel while charging, I would actually be sending 24 volts into the system (12v + 12v). Obviously, this would not be good. The instructions that came with the charger weren't really clear. They show how to hook the system up on two batteries in series, but not parallel. Any members out there who are more knowledgeable on electric circuits, feel free to comment. Anyways, I feel confident that what I did will work just fine, so long as I don't forget to turn the battery disconnect switch to the off position before charging. I will post some pics of the install tomorrow. Feedback welcome: Positive or negative.


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## 23mako (Mar 19, 2013)

Good deal on the upgrades. I really like your rig.


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## DearJon (Mar 19, 2013)

23mako said:


> Good deal on the upgrades. I really like your rig.



Thanks 23mako. I appreciate it!

Here are the pics I promised from the post above.


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## 23mako (Mar 20, 2013)

True story on maximizing space. Does that floor get hot on your feet?


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## DearJon (Mar 20, 2013)

23mako said:


> True story on maximizing space. Does that floor get hot on your feet?



Truthfully, the heat's not bad, but it is rough. If you have soft feet, it is not comfortable to walk on bare foot. Luckily, I have gnarly feet, so it's no problem. My wife and daughter always wear some kinda sandals, though.


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## 23mako (Mar 21, 2013)

I have something like this in my boat and like it a lot. Keeps cool and is easy on the feet. Also allows water to drain rather effortlessly. 

https://www.rubbercal.com/Dura_Chef_Interlock.html


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## fishingmich (Mar 21, 2013)

First off nice job on everything! A couple of questions. Where did you find the over sized cup holders, one that size that can hold a can in a coozie is nice. And B, where did you get the fiberglass poles for the anchors?


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## 23mako (Mar 21, 2013)

https://www.mgs4u.com/shallow-water-boat-anchors.htm

That is where I got mine.


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## DearJon (Mar 21, 2013)

fishingmich said:


> First off nice job on everything! A couple of questions. Where did you find the over sized cup holders, one that size that can hold a can in a coozie is nice. And B, where did you get the fiberglass poles for the anchors?



Thanks for the compliment, fishingmich. I got the oversized cup holders at West Marine, but you can find them at Boater's World, Bass Pro Shops and other boating supply stores as well. They come in super handy, especially in the summer. Without a coozie, your drink will stay cold for what, 3 minutes?

I got the fiberglass poles from an online pipe, plastic and metal supply store. If you do an Internet search for "solid fiberglass rod stock", you will find many options. Look around for the best prices. Mine were sold in 12' lengths, but the shipping costs for something that large are ridiculous. The company I purchased from offered convenient "cut to length" options in order to keep shipping costs down. That worked perfectly for me, since I only needed 8' lengths anyways. I ended up with a 4' piece of scrap that I'll probably never use, but it was worth it. I love these things. No more fluke anchor. I fish shallow water mostly anyhow, but if the fish are deep I just drift for them. Cheers, and good luck.


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## DearJon (Mar 23, 2013)

Hello again everyone,

I'm so stoked that Spring is finally here, and I can't wait to get out on the water! I went ahead and pulled my boat off the trailer the other day, so I could do some trailer maintenance. So often, we upgrade our boats, but neglect the trailer. If you've ever beaten on an axle spindle that had a disintegrated bearing practically welded to it at night, in the rain, on the shoulder of Interstate 95, then you know the importance of keeping your trailer in tip top shape. (True story BTW) Anyways, here's a list of some of the things I replaced:
New wheels and tires (High speed)
New hubs and bearings
Bearing buddies added
New leaf springs (Old ones were rusted out)
Recarpeted the bunks (side and bottom)
Replaced a lot of rusted iron hardware with SS
New winch strap (old one was dry rotted)
New trailer jack

I did all of this over a few weeks to spread out the cost. Figure a few hundred bucks to purchase all the parts if you do the labor.

On a final note, I just renewed my registration for three years and the new decal came the other day. I could'nt stand the way the previous owner had painted in the letters to fill in places where it had rubbed off. So, before applying the new decal, I decided to redo the registration number. I scraped off all the old stickers and sanded the area smooth. I masked off the area and painted it. First with aluminum primer, then with two coats of white gloss. Once dry, I affixed the new characters. Came out pretty nice. Thanks for looking.


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## DearJon (Mar 30, 2013)

Hey guys,

Well, I finally got out on the water for about two hours today. It's the first time I've had the boat out this season. It's just been so darn cold! Anyways, I wanted to test out some of the new mods and upgrades I had made, so out I went. I didn't even bring my fishing poles, but I did bring the wife! I must be coming down with something. Haha I did full speed runs with the current and against it to see how the new SS prop would perform. I was able to muster a best speed of 31 mph, but my RPMs were hovering around 5000-5100. That is way too low for my Yammy, which will be happiest topping out between 5700-6000 RPMs. Now I have to get a new prop to replace my new prop. What a pain. The one I ran today is a Solas SS that measures 11" diameter by 13" pitch. I am probably gonna go with the same prop in an 11" pitch. This should get my RPM's where they need to be, and top speed should increase. I bet she'll do at least 35 mph at WOT with the RPMs just under 6000. 
I also fooled around with my new Lowrance Elite 7 HDI fishfinder. I'm pleased so far, but I still don't really know how to use all of the features. I mainly cruised around to see what speed I got the best picture at, and the top speed I could maintain without losing the bottom image/depth reading. I also played with the settings, and learned how to set waypoints, etc. I'm pretty happy. All in all, it was a good day even though I had higher hopes for the new prop. You know how it goes...two guys could be running the same boat with the same motor, but put the same prop on each boat and sometimes you get different results. It's like voo doo. haha


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## erictetterton (Mar 30, 2013)

very nice. where in NC are u located. Im assuming somewhere near some salt


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## DearJon (Mar 30, 2013)

erictetterton said:


> very nice. where in NC are u located. Im assuming somewhere near some salt



Just north of Wilmington, in Hampstead. I live 1.5 miles from the Intracoastal Waterway.


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## Ringo Steele (Apr 7, 2013)

Hey DearJon... very nice build you did there. I used to live on the north-east side of Wilmington, just off Gordon road (Murrayville road to be more precise). I loved the area, just couldn't make a living there in my field (electronics tech). Man has that area grown in the last few years. :shock: 
If you see a 16' Ford tractor blue semi vee down your way putting around, be sure to stop by and say hello! I hope to be down near Topsail several times this summer to try for some reds and flounders. :mrgreen: :USA1:


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## DearJon (Apr 8, 2013)

I'll keep an eye out for you. Anything Ford blue is sure to get my attention! Tight lines, friend.


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## Ringo Steele (Apr 8, 2013)

It's blue, alright! 8)


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## DearJon (Apr 15, 2013)

Hello everyone,

I thought I would share another little mod I did over the weekend. I replaced my old trailer lights with some new fully submersible LED ones, and also added some LED clearance lights to the tops of my trailer guide posts. Having the tops of the guides lit up gives some extra confidence when backing up the trailer at night and also when driving the boat up on the trailer in the dark. It sure doesn't hurt to be a little more visible on the highway either. Oh, and yeah that totally is a jolly roger hanging off my stern light mast. Save it.....my wife already made fun of me. :LOL2:


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## Gators5220 (Apr 24, 2013)

Man that's one sweet build, nice job man! =D> =D>


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## DearJon (Apr 24, 2013)

Gators5220 said:


> Man that's one sweet build, nice job man! =D> =D>



Thanks Gators5220. Looking through your thread makes me homesick for Florida and the flats I used to roam around on. NC isn't bad, but it can't hold a candle to FL. I miss snook...


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## FishAllDay (Jun 21, 2013)

Man, those LED nav lights look nice!! Im checking out the site now for those and white LED's for the stern


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