# Working on my Tracker 1448 Grizzly



## bobberboy (May 12, 2010)

MY APOLOGIES TO READERS: DUE TO NEW PHOTOBUCKET THIRD-PARTY HOSTING POLICIES THE PHOTO'S ACCOMPANYING THIS THREAD ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. WITHOUT THE PHOTO'S THE INFORMATION HERE HAS LOST MUCH OF ITS USEFULNESS SO PROCEED IF YOU WISH. GREED AND MONEY AS USUAL TRUMP EVERYTHING.

I've been working for a few weeks trying to get some changes made to my new (to me) boat. I picked the boat up in February and really scored on the price. In fact it wasn't until I registered the boat and trailer that I was sure it wasn't stolen. The boat and trailer are 2008 with practically no water time. The motor is a 2009 that has never been in the water. The former owner had a 9.9 on it originally. In the fall of 2009 he replaced the 9.9 with a 25 hp Merc 4-stroke EFI. It's electric start and tilt/trim. I got a 55# MinKota and two batteries. Five grand. What a sweet deal.








Mine is like this one but without the floor.






I don't really have that much to do on this boat but I want to make a few changes. I am going to add navigation lights, interior lights, install and wire the TM, add a finder, cover the battery and gas tank, put a floor in and carpet the floor and deck. I fish catch-and-release and with artificial bait so I won't be adding a live well. Given my love of lunch and snacks, I guess I should find a spot for a cooler though. My brother came down last week and we almost finished the wiring - I still have to harness all the wires and finish some odds and ends.

You can see the mess I've made in the next pic. I had to move the rear seat mount - it was in the worst possible place, directly in front of the motor. I can't imagine why they are installed that way. Maybe I'll put a cup holder in place of the old one - or just cover it up. I needed a place for a small switch panel for the lights and decided to put it on the side of the seat (the blue 4x4 elect box you can see in the pic). It also gave me an opportunity to add some covered storage in the rear of the boat. I removed about 40% of the flotation from the rear seat but I added it back under the floor so I thought it was ok. I couldn't believe how long it took to get that foam out. I finally took a Sawsall with an 8" blade and shredded the foam and once I could get under it things went a little faster.







My brother fashioned this mounting plate for the transducer and speedo out of some left-over Sintra from my last project.







Here you can see the interior of the partially excavated rear seat with the wires going everywhere. We made the bus bar out of Sintra and an aluminum scrap. I finished getting the foam out but still need to harness the wires and cover the buss bar.







I got the foam in the floor, glued and foamed all the gaps and holes. It may not have been necessary to fill the gaps but the sound of squeaking styrofoam makes me crazy so I wanted to be sure all was firmly stuck in place. I got the pattern made for the floor and then it started raining. It's not quite 40 days and 40 nights yet, but this weekend is the opener and the boat is as you see it. I've got Friday off and it's supposed to be clear. Hopefully I can get a week's worth of work done on Friday. 






Anyway, more to come...


----------



## Waterwings (May 12, 2010)

Nice score! Keep us posted on the mod, it's lookin' good! 8)


----------



## UtahBassKicker (May 12, 2010)

I see the hole and the missing foam but all that is in it's place is a small electric box and a bus bar, what are you going to do with the other space you cleared out? Looks like a sweet aquatic ride, I bet it scoots with that 25HP on it. Looking forward to your updates.


----------



## bobberboy (May 12, 2010)

UtahBassKicker said:


> I see the hole and the missing foam but all that is in it's place is a small electric box and a bus bar, what are you going to do with the other space you cleared out? Looks like a sweet aquatic ride, I bet it scoots with that 25HP on it. Looking forward to your updates.



I never have a place to keep my tackle and my beloved lunch and I thought it would be a good spot for that. I have a hatch lid to fit over the hole. I just need to be careful of the wires and especially the bus (I gotta get it covered).

I haven't even had the boat in the water yet and the motor's not broken in so it will be interesting to see what happens when I can crank it. Seems like it will get along pretty well...


----------



## cavman138 (May 12, 2010)

nice ride man


----------



## Jeffrey Curtis (May 12, 2010)

I have a boat about like yours but alittle older.Mine has a 15hp Mariner and she will travel at 22 to 23mph on my hand held GPS.What will that 25 hp do on your boat?

Also wanting to know what your plans are for a lid where you cut out on your back deck?That a good idea right there.I may end up doing that to mine.Make good storage area for battery,I might even do both side of my boat but need to figure a good lid setup first


----------



## bobberboy (May 13, 2010)

Jeffrey Curtis said:


> I have a boat about like yours but alittle older.Mine has a 15hp Mariner and she will travel at 22 to 23mph on my hand held GPS.What will that 25 hp do on your boat?
> 
> Also wanting to know what your plans are for a lid where you cut out on your back deck?That a good idea right there.I may end up doing that to mine.Make good storage area for battery,I might even do both side of my boat but need to figure a good lid setup first



I let you know how fast once I get it in the water. It'll be a little while though because I have to break in the motor.

I ordered a deck hatch from Great Lakes Skipper to cover the hole (and I double checked the cutout size before I started cutting!) Here's the link to it...

https://greatlakesskipper.com/produ...ress-13-inch-x-17-38-inch-boat-cam-hatch.html

BTW, Great Lakes Skipper is a good resource. I have purchased several times and always good service, good prices - fast delivery too.


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (May 13, 2010)

nice! that thing should scoot


----------



## BaitCaster (May 13, 2010)

That is a really clean cut you made in the bench seat. What did you use? I am planning to install a couple of storage hatches in my boat seats too. Are you going to be using the bin that goes with those Tempress hatches?


----------



## dyeguy1212 (May 13, 2010)

Have you put the boat in the water with that FF transducer yet? I put mine in a similar location and its spraying water like crazy once I get going with the outboard. I tried moving it up and down, so I'm starting to thing the location is the issue.


----------



## bobberboy (May 13, 2010)

BaitCaster said:


> That is a really clean cut you made in the bench seat. What did you use? I am planning to install a couple of storage hatches in my boat seats too. Are you going to be using the bin that goes with those Tempress hatches?



A jig saw with a fine tooth blade. Don't use a metal (or hack-saw type) blade as the teeth get plugged up with the aluminum. Any fine toothed wood blade will do. I wasn't very careful though about scratching the paint. Either tape the foot of the saw or the area around the cut with masking tape to prevent too many scratches. I hadn't thought to use the bin but it's a good idea. So far I have started to line the cavity with 1/2" pink foam just to clean it up a bit. Maybe I'll rethink that, depending on how expensive the bins are.


----------



## bobberboy (May 13, 2010)

dyeguy1212 said:


> Have you put the boat in the water with that FF transducer yet? I put mine in a similar location and its spraying water like crazy once I get going with the outboard. I tried moving it up and down, so I'm starting to thing the location is the issue.



I haven't yet. I did have trouble with my last boat. The spray actually somehow went up and forward and I got wet. I'll have to see what happens. One good thing about putting a mounting plate on is if I got the transducer in the wrong place I can move it without more holes into the transom.


----------



## Froggy (May 13, 2010)

Nice looking rig, I see you even have a winch in the right place this time..... I did find a rather clever answer to that whole deal! Good luck with it!!


----------



## BaitCaster (May 13, 2010)

bobberboy said:


> BaitCaster said:
> 
> 
> > That is a really clean cut you made in the bench seat. What did you use? I am planning to install a couple of storage hatches in my boat seats too. Are you going to be using the bin that goes with those Tempress hatches?
> ...



Thanks. I hadn't thought of using a wood blade, but I guess it majes sense. The Tempress bins are great, but they are pretty pricey for what they are. I've nbeen checking them out on the Cabela's website.


----------



## cyberflexx (May 13, 2010)

Nice boat..


----------



## bobberboy (May 13, 2010)

BaitCaster said:


> bobberboy said:
> 
> 
> > BaitCaster said:
> ...



Don't go to Cabela's. Check out Great Lakes Skipper first https://greatlakesskipper.com/. Maybe others here have suppliers they could also recommend...


----------



## bobberboy (May 13, 2010)

Froggy said:


> Nice looking rig, I see you even have a winch in the right place this time..... I did find a rather clever answer to that whole deal! Good luck with it!!



Froggy, I had a trailer just like yours for my 1236 and I tried everything I could think of to get that thing right. The tongue was too short or something. It was pretty annoying to have the handle of the winch slapping the water at me every time I pulled on the rope. If you figured out something that works maybe you should post a pic. Lately there have seen a few people buying those Harbor Freight trailers and they will have to solve the problem. All-in-all it is a nice trailer and perfect for a 10' or 12' boat.


----------



## Froggy (May 14, 2010)

Its all here with pictures, finished it the other day

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=13389&start=10


----------



## Jeffrey Curtis (May 14, 2010)

I been thinking if water gets in to your compartment how it going to get out?You take all the foam out or leave some in?IF you leave it in you must come up with solution for drainage of water from compartment.


----------



## bobberboy (May 14, 2010)

Jeffrey Curtis said:


> I been thinking if water gets in to your compartment how it going to get out?You take all the foam out or leave some in?IF you leave it in you must come up with solution for drainage of water from compartment.



The boat seat has a bottom, I guess the whole seat is made then installed in the boat with the foam-in-place last (at least I think it works that way). I took all of the foam out of the port side to almost half way so it's open to the bottom. I could drill a hole through the bottom of the seat compartment and let the water drain into one of the strakes and then out of the back. The hatch cover I bought doesn't have a gasket on it and I've been wondering whether I should try to put one in. I guess, now that you mention the water drainage, I better do that. Thanks for the tip.


----------



## longjohn119 (May 14, 2010)

bobberboy said:


> Jeffrey Curtis said:
> 
> 
> > I have a boat about like yours but alittle older.Mine has a 15hp Mariner and she will travel at 22 to 23mph on my hand held GPS.What will that 25 hp do on your boat?
> ...




I got one just like that direct from Tempress a couple of weeks ago, for 40 bucks you just can't beat them and in my case with an aluminum deck, you can't hardly make you own hatch for that price and it'll never seal as good. My only gripe is it weighs more than an equivelent aluminum hatch and more than a piece of 3/4" plywood the same size. Still I don't regret the purchase one iota 

I got a small 'slam' hatch too I put in the seat beside me and when I cut out the foam I kept it so tight that I could also use it as a 6 pack cooler, there is 1" of foam on the long sides, 2+" on the bottom and about a 2 foot of foam on the short sides. Way more insulation than the average cooler ....


----------



## fishshtick (May 15, 2010)

I love my Tracker 1448 SC. I haven't considered putting storage or electronics in the rear seat. I have console for my electronics switches. I would like more storage. I have addressed my needs at the moment by bungeeing a 5-gallon bucket under my console. I am also working on making a simple aluminum hatch door to cover the opening under the front deck.

You're going to love that boat and you are going to fly with that 25 hp. I have the Mercury 20 hp on mine, and I do 25 mph without breaking a sweat (even with batteries, trolling motor, seats, console, floor, and two people). I had my boat out yesterday to pull some early season bass off stumps. So much fun!


----------



## bobberboy (May 16, 2010)

So my brother came down for the weekend and we spent it working on the boat. Finished up a lot of stuff so here goes...

I had the floor parts cut and ready to go. I used 1/2" exterior plywood with 2 coats of poly on each face and 4 coats on the edges. I couldn't cut the floor out of a single piece of plywood so I decided to configure it as you see in the photo below. 







The floor can't be flat because I needed the room below the front hatch to fit the cover on so I made the three pieces with the narrow center so the floor would follow the contours of the ribs. You can see the angle of the floor here and how close the factory hatch opening is to the floor. The first photo shows the slope of the floor and what little room I had below the cut-out of the factory hatch. The second shows the cut for the new hatch cover with the floor in place.











Once I dropped the floor in I tucked the carpet in on all the edges.






You can see here one finished side and one unfinished. I left about 3/4" of carpet beyond the plywood floor to tuck in along the edges. That was also enough to nicely fit around the ribs to close up the notches cut into the floor for the ribs. I did not cut the carpet completely into the notches, only about 3/4 of the way in and I was able to tuck the carpet in a little so it looks like a custom fit. I didn't have the right length screws so I still have to screw the floor down.






Here it is finished.






In case that wasn't clear






I haven't cleaned it up yet but the carpet turned out ok.






And a detail






Here are a couple of shots of the rear deck. I made the deck in three parts. The center is 12" wide and either side is about 26". I forgot to take a photo before I glued the carpet on, but I glued the deck parts to the carpet as if it was a single piece. The carpet acts as the hinge with the center section being screwed to the framework and each side opens up like any hinged deck. I cut the corners to pass by the gussets in the back corners of the boat and added a 1" web strap as a pull.






You can see in this photo how the carpet is serving as a hinge, the cut back corner and the web pull strap.






I did a little more work to the inside of the cavity I made in the back seat. I finally got all the foam out then put some 3/4" foam in to clean it up.






Here are a couple of photo's of the back more or less finished.






and...






Here are a couple of the cable ports I used to manage wires and the gas line.











The last thing we did today was to get the transom saver installed. Now the back end is pretty well ready.






I'm down to a few details. While all of Minnesota was out for the opening fishing weekend I was dutifully finishing the boat to get it ready for when bass season opens on the 29th. My brother pushed me pretty hard - he's more excited than I am to get this thing on the water, which I have yet to do. Sorry about the bright photo's. The original exposures were really nice but somehow they became washed-out in Photobucket. More later...


----------



## Rat (May 17, 2010)

What is the name of this seat and where can I buy them? That is the coolest looking seat I have ever seen. Is it comfortable? Is there a model with a seat cushion?


----------



## longjohn119 (May 17, 2010)

dyeguy1212 said:


> Have you put the boat in the water with that FF transducer yet? I put mine in a similar location and its spraying water like crazy once I get going with the outboard. I tried moving it up and down, so I'm starting to thing the location is the issue.



Generally as a rule the more of a 'V you have the more you need to move it toward the center. Where he has it is great for a flat or a modified V that's flat in the rear but with a V the sides start coming out of the water on plane and so does the transducer if it on the out edge. Width also makes a difference, on a 36" you almost have to go to the edge to get it away from the motor but almost all 36" are flat in back

On the plus side he has that nice mounting board where he can experiment without putting new holes in the boat. I'm thinking of adding nylon strips about the same size on both sides of my boat so I'll never have to put a hole in the transom again. I've also found that height adjustment can make a lot of problems go away. The board makes tweaking the height easier too because you don't have to worry about resealing the screws every time you loosen them. I had a small one on my other boat just so I could tweak the height *on the water" when I put a Garmin 300C on it last year because I was taking the NMEA output to my laptop and plotting depths on GPS maps so I needed it to be accurate and stable. The main reason I bought the 300C was for that output but am greatly impressed with the color LCD quality and how much easier it is to interpret what you see, it's the first finder I can turn the Fish ID off and read it like it's supposed to be read with the arches. I can also tell the difference between mud, sand, gravel, and rock bottoms and can tell if that lump is a stump, a rock or just a clump of vegetation. The brain just works better with color information than it does with greyscale information.


----------



## ober51 (May 17, 2010)

Great job on the floor, carpet. That's the one thing I goofed on in mine, I was so excited to lay the floor, I forgot to notch the ribs #-o and have even had a crappie fall in there, ha. 

Keep up the good work, love those grommets/port thingys.


----------



## bobberboy (May 17, 2010)

Rat said:


> What is the name of this seat and where can I buy them? That is the coolest looking seat I have ever seen. Is it comfortable? Is there a model with a seat cushion?



I saved them from my 1236 when I sold it. I got them in the fall of '08 at Northern Tool. They had all their boat stuff for 1/2 price so I bought the seats and mounts for a steal. I forgot the brand name but will look tonight. I like them a lot - very comfy. I originally got them because they were so lightweight and the weight of stuff in my 1236 was beginning to add up. They're nice seats. I believe I have seen a model with a cushion at Fleet Farm in Mn. Let me check into it for you.


----------



## Froggy (May 17, 2010)

Great Job man!!


----------



## bobberboy (May 17, 2010)

I forgot to mention that one of the reasons my brother was pushing me so hard over the weekend was that he had figured out I was dragging my feet on getting the boat done. Once it's done I'll have to get another boat because I love the work so much. Well, actually I already have another one...I pick up this sweet thing in June.






I want to restore it to mostly original. I will be asking a lot of questions once I get it but the one thing I do know is that I'm going to paint it the color of my dad's '58 Plymouth Savoy - turquoise and white. This will be a long-term project. The boat is in good shape but the interior is trash. The trailer has already got new tires and tail lights in order to get it to Wichita where I'm picking it up. Can't wait!


----------



## Rat (May 17, 2010)

I went and looked at your 12 build again and found the name, Attwood Seats. Also, why didn't you use Sintra again? Wondering if you found something about it you didn't care for.


----------



## Jeffrey Curtis (May 17, 2010)

I see you did flooring work and hatchs over the weekend and you did a great job,I allso floored mine up today but no carpet for me as when the boat gets dirty I pull the plug and hose her down.You find out as to the top speed of her with the 25hp yet?


----------



## bobberboy (May 17, 2010)

Rat said:


> I went and looked at your 12 build again and found the name, Attwood Seats. Also, why didn't you use Sintra again? Wondering if you found something about it you didn't care for.



When I used it on the 1236 I did so because I wanted to keep the boat as light as possible. This time there was no question the boat would always be on a trailer. The Sintra is great to work with and will last forever but I guess this time I wasn't afraid of a little more weight. Also, at about $120/sheet it would have cost me $240 for this boat and I decided to put the money to other uses. I keep my boat covered when I'm not using it so I expect to get a lot of years out of the plywood floor.


----------



## bobberboy (May 17, 2010)

Jeffrey Curtis said:


> I see you did flooring work and hatchs over the weekend and you did a great job,I allso floored mine up today but no carpet for me as when the boat gets dirty I pull the plug and hose her down.You find out as to the top speed of her with the 25hp yet?



By the time I finished the work on Sunday it was too late to get on the lake. Also it was opening weekend here in MN and I didn't really want to deal with what was a very busy weekend on the area lakes. We had really nice weather and I am sure everyone was out. I have to be out of town for a couple of days at the end of the week but I will have it on the water this weekend. I still have to break in the motor and then we'll see how fast...


----------



## Rat (May 17, 2010)

Yea, I hear ya on the cost. I would love to build a Dynacore mod jon boat but the price is just too much to swallow. Maybe when I redo my buddies Panga I can order a couple of extra sheets and then do one; at least that way I can save on shipping. 

I found the Attwood Venture seats at Wal-mart.com for $40.00, 3 week lead time tho. But those are definitely the seats I am going to order. Very nice.


----------



## bobberboy (May 30, 2010)

A couple of you asked to I'm reporting on the maiden voyage. It has taken forever to get the boat on the water. Too many things to do first like finish the boat and get the gardens planted.

The motor had never been in the water so I had to go easy. It started right up and ran perfectly. I didn't dare to go wide open for more than a few seconds but it topped 27mph on my locator (not gps). I did run at about 2/3 throttle for a bit and the speed was around 22-23 mph. I guess it may even hit 30 once it gets broken in. Everything worked really well. The boat is really stable - we were able to walk around on it casting and poling it into the lily pads. We poked around the shallows and it moved easily with the push-pole. All the changes/additions were good ones - no regrets or mistakes to speak of. I wasn't able to try out the TM because I forgot the foot pedal in the garage. I assume it will be fine and I'll remember the controls next time. Compared to my 1236 this was a dream. We felt safe - waves and wakes weren't a problem. The coolest thing of all was the electric trim. I've never used one before and they're awesome. At first I forgot I was able to set the trim on the fly and the front end was way up. I thought I'd have to relocate a lot of weight to balance it out. Once I remembered the electric trim I adjusted it and the boat sailed. I never got my 1236 to plane right so this was pretty cool. So, it's all good, and three 16" bass to boot! I still have some work to finish and some pics to add. My camera batteries were dead so no pics from the shake-down cruise.


----------



## wolfmjc (May 30, 2010)

Great job!!!!! =D>


----------



## bobberboy (May 30, 2010)

bobberboy said:


> A couple of you asked so I'm reporting on the maiden voyage. It has taken forever to get the boat on the water. Too many things to do first like finish the boat and get the gardens planted.
> 
> The motor had never been in the water so I had to go easy. It started right up and ran perfectly. I didn't dare to go wide open for more than a few seconds but it topped 27mph on my locator (not gps). I did run at about 2/3 throttle for a bit and the speed was around 22-23 mph. I guess it may even hit 30 once it gets broken in. Everything worked really well. The boat is really stable - we were able to walk around on it casting and poling it into the lily pads. We poked around the shallows and it moved easily with the push-pole. All the changes/additions were good ones - no regrets or mistakes to speak of. I wasn't able to try out the TM because I forgot the foot pedal in the garage. I assume it will be fine and I'll remember the controls next time. Compared to my 1236 this was a dream. We felt safe - waves and wakes weren't a problem. The coolest thing of all was the electric trim. I've never used one before and they're awesome. At first I forgot I was able to set the trim on the fly and the front end was way up. I thought I'd have to relocate a lot of weight to balance it out. Once I remembered the electric trim I adjusted it and the boat sailed. I never got my 1236 to plane right so this was pretty cool. So, it's all good, and three 16" bass to boot! I still have some work to finish and some pics to add. My camera batteries were dead so no pics from the shake-down cruise.


----------



## millertime4242 (May 31, 2010)

I see you installed a standard electrical box for your switches, but what is the face plate? I need a switch panel for my boat and am looking for ideas. Is that one waterproof? Where can I find one? Thanks for any info, and sweet ride! =D> I'm jealous!


----------



## bobberboy (Jun 1, 2010)

millertime4242 said:


> I see you installed a standard electrical box for your switches, but what is the face plate? I need a switch panel for my boat and am looking for ideas. Is that one waterproof? Where can I find one? Thanks for any info, and sweet ride! =D> I'm jealous!



The face plate was from Cabela's so I probably paid too much but I was in a hurry. Here are two examples from Gander Mountain. I wish I has found one with the accessory plug built in. Mine is the same brand/style but with 4 switches only. My accessory plug is off to the left of the switches and works fine, it was just another hole in the boat. The panel came with a set of labels.












So the 4x4 box was screwed to the hole from the outside with 2 sheet metal screws. The face plate was larger than the 4x4 box and neatly covered the hold. The switches have little rubber covers and are waterproof. This worked out really well. My neutral buss bar was a homemade affair andworks fine but doesn't have a cover (yet).


----------



## mbhutton (Jun 1, 2010)

Nice boat and upgrades. I to would like the 1448Grizzly, they are nice user friendly boats. Well Done


----------



## bobberboy (Jun 1, 2010)

mbhutton said:


> Nice boat and upgrades. I to would like the 1448Grizzly, they are nice user friendly boats. Well Done



Thanks. I'm pretty happy with everything so far.


----------



## Jeffrey Curtis (Jun 2, 2010)

SO you have it running out in the river or lake?


----------



## bobberboy (Jun 2, 2010)

Jeffrey Curtis said:


> SO you have it running out in the river or lake?



Yes but not at top speed yet because it's not broken in. I know it'll do 27 but still don't know what the top end will be.


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 24, 2010)

It's been a while since I've worked on the boat. It's either too hot, it's raining or there is fishing going on. I've had two problems I couldn't figure how to solve. One was a location for the second seat. The one on the front deck was fine for the butt seat but not for running or trolling. The other problem was where to put the battery for the TM. I decided to try to solve both at the same time. I finally managed to get hold of a road sign without resorting to stealing it. A friend had one (that he probably stole) from the 90's that gave me just enough material. I can't weld aluminum so I decided to construct a box made from cut panels and alum angle. I pop riveted the corners, it was simple to make and strong enough for this purpose.







I made the top of 3/4" hardwood plywood in order to mount the seat bracket.






A few coats of OD paint...






...and the finished box.






To hold the top on I used angles attached to the underside and drilled through the side of the box into the angles and tapped for 1/4x20 threads.






Two screws on each side and the top is held in place.






The battery is tied down to the floor of the box and the wires go under the floor to the front of the boat...






and at long last I have my TM battery and wiring installed.






Finally with the seat on..






...and one last detail I've been meaning to get to for a while.






I have to take the top of the box off to charge the battery but this was the best compromise I could come up with. One possible solution to the charging problem could be replacing the clip ends of the charger with a TM plug and essentially run the current backwards through the socket to charge the battery. Has anyone ever tried that and would it work?


----------



## cprince (Jul 24, 2010)

Nice work bobberboy!

I have a small collection of road signs that I will be putting to use once I have my boat in dry dock!

Keep it up, and I will be following your progress.

Craig


----------



## Howard (Jul 24, 2010)

Very resourceful and nice work. you might want to put some vent holes in to let the battery breath a bit.


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 24, 2010)

Howard said:


> Very resourceful and nice work. you might want to put some vent holes in to let the battery breath a bit.



I wondered about that. What kind of ventilation should I put in?


----------



## Zum (Jul 24, 2010)

Nice job.
I can't see why that "charging"through the plug wouldn't work.The wires are big enough the handle the trolling motor.
If you were to do it though,I'd put vents in,charging will make heat .


----------



## Howard (Jul 26, 2010)

You used a vent cover on your last mod I think would work well. Why did you not go back with the Sintra floor?


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 26, 2010)

Howard said:


> You used a vent cover on your last mod I think would work well. Why did you not go back with the Sintra floor?



I used it on the 1236 because I wanted to keep the boat as light as possible. This time there was no question the boat would always be on a trailer. The Sintra is great to work with and will last forever but I guess this time I wasn't afraid of a little more weight. Also, at about $120/sheet it would have cost me $240 for this boat and I decided to put the money to other uses. I keep my boat covered when I'm not using it so I expect to get a lot of years out of the plywood floor. In fact, at this point it'll probably outlast me.


----------



## bobberboy (Aug 21, 2010)

Jeffrey Curtis said:


> I have a boat about like yours but a little older. Mine has a 15hp Mariner and she will travel at 22 to 23mph on my hand held GPS. What will that 25 hp do on your boat?



The motor is finally broken in. It takes a long time when you just run to the fishing spot and then use the TM the rest of the time. I don't have GPS but hit 34.5 on my paddle-wheel speedometer the other day with just me in the boat and didn't get the trim as good as it could have been. Even if the speed from the paddle wheel is 10-15% off, that's pretty good. Yesterday with 2 people in the boat I managed 30.5 on a glassy smooth lake.


----------



## fishshtick (Jan 20, 2011)

Zum said:


> Nice job.
> I can't see why that "charging"through the plug wouldn't work.The wires are big enough the handle the trolling motor.
> If you were to do it though,I'd put vents in,charging will make heat .



More importantly charging produces hydrogen gas that is explosive. You absolutely must have a vent if you plan to charge the battery inside that box.


----------



## smittles1179 (Jan 21, 2011)

Nice!


----------



## peabody (Jan 13, 2013)

wonder how it did with the 9.9 ? ..... i have a yammie 9.9 ... all i need is the boat.


----------



## inlovewithsurfin (Jan 14, 2013)

very nice looking boat! great job on the work!!!


----------



## Kwack1448 (Apr 18, 2013)

Where did you get the black cover for under the casting deck?


----------



## bobberboy (Apr 18, 2013)

Sorry, I haven't been active for a while. I need to get at some updates for my projects soon.

I am pretty sure I got the hatch cover at Great Lakes Skipper. I've found them to be reliable, quick shipping and reasonably priced.

https://greatlakesskipper.com/en_us/boat-doors-hatches-port-windows/deck-hatches


----------



## bobberboy (Sep 14, 2014)

[url=https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?p=157089#p157089 said:


> bobberboy » 21 Aug 2010, 08:45[/url]"]
> 
> 
> Jeffrey Curtis said:
> ...



I haven't been able to get an answer to Jeffrey's question yet but I got close recently. I finally got a GPS (iPhone app that seems very accurate when compared with car speedo) this year but the lake I fish has had very high water levels all summer and "no wake" postings. Last weekend I went to my brother's and we fished the weekend on a large lake in central MN. In moderate chop with three people - into the wind - we hit 25mph. I was really glad to have a welded boat because the pounding to the boat (and some other more delicate things) was much more than I'm used to as I'm generally on small, smooth lakes. You guys who fish coastal waters or very large lakes may be used to not seeing over the top of swells, but that's not really what I'm used to. It was good to have the boat on a busy lake in wind to increase my confidence in its ability. The waves and wakes posed no problems and we bobbed around without incident - even when a dumb-ass in something that looked like a fire boat decided to come between us and a pontoon about 50 yds. away.


----------



## fishingeezer (Feb 19, 2015)

Damned good job you did. I only hope that once I am able to get my trailer hitch and my boat trailer, that I will find a deal on a 9.9 outboard. Hoping I can buy my 1436 by next summer. My plane is to deck the second seat forward enough to put in a livewell and pedestal seats in the aft and center seats. Wishful thinking for me right now...but we can hope!!


----------



## mook1754 (Mar 12, 2015)

Any issues with your transducer mount location?


----------



## rusty2112 (Mar 12, 2015)

What did you use for your transducer cable clamps (on the back of the boat)?


----------



## bobberboy (May 4, 2015)

I haven't paid attention to this thread for a long time so sorry for the unanswered questions. I have not had any particular issues with the location of the transducer. The only problem I've ever had with the transducer is that I launch at very shallow locations and the dang thing keeps getting knocked out of adjustment. Last summer it really took a beating when the stem got broken and the mount mangled at a concrete launch. Ouch! I made a temporary repair with half a roll of electrician's tape and used it for the rest of the season that way. In the fall I used epoxy to glue it back together and then epoxy putty to reinforce the break. Haven't had it out since and am hoping I don't get a rooster tail out of the deal.

The mounting tabs are for use with small cable ties. They came with self-adhesive backs that won't last. I removed the self-adhesive stuff and used epoxy but did not scrape the paint first. They eventually fell off and it is a repair I need to do before the season starts this year. I'm going to scrape paint and uses super glue gel and hope it will last.


----------

