# 2013 Aluma Gator 2060 - new schtuff



## bulldog

After my two previous boats leaving me unfullfilled I decided to bite the bullet and make a dream of mine come true. In February this year my brother and I placed an order for a new boat. We looked around a lot at all the different brands of inboard jets and it always came back to either a Riverpro or a Gator. We kept going back and forth and finally went with the Gator. It was a tough choice that seriously came down to a coin flip. I wanted the Riverpro and he wanted the Gator. 

On Saturday morning I picked up my 2013 Aluma Gator 2060. I had some custom options added to the base model and really made the boat my dream boat. It is powered by a fuel injected small block Vortec 350 with 325 hp at the crank coupled to an American Turbine pump. I had the bottom reinforced with 1/4" piece of aluminum in an area near the intake and down the middle that is 24"x8' for when I hit something. I had an 8' rod locker/gun box added, one large live well, and one cooler. The floor is perforated aluminum and the rest of the boat is spray in bed liner. I fish and run the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and gumbo mud stains the crap out of carpet. I wanted to have a boat that I can jump in to covered in mud then when I am on my way home I can stop at a self wash power car wash and rinse it out and that is exactly what I ended up with. The spray in bed liner is silver with metal flake in it and grips extremely well even when wet. The only areas with carpet are the inside of the rod locker and one storage compartment. I had manual trim added and a Hot Foot. 

As far as performance, this boat absolutely rips. I topped it out for a short time today and with 4 guys, 20+ gallons of gas, guns and a full cooler I got 56 mph out if her. I have to have 10 hours on the motor before it is considered broken in so I think I might get 58 out if her with a light load when she is broken in. It does not matter though, I cruise at 47ish at 3500 rpms and it does not seem to drink too much gas like that. I do have to run at least 91 octane so it gets expensive quick. She jumps out of the hole and gets on plane in about 40', maybe. If you are running 20 mph and floor it, you reach 50+ mph in seconds. 

My wife keeps saying that I don't seem excited and I'm pretty calm about the whole thing but honestly I'm just speechless. I'm so happy and the whole thing is just overwhelming. I work long hours and I work very hard and to be able to afford this boat is amazing to me. Really a dream come true and it is very humbling. 

Future plans are to add all the stuff I have been buying for the last few months ASAP. Trolling motor and batteries, anchor rein, stereo, 3 bank charger, fish finders, and after the warranty period is up on the motor I plan on building the motor and adding a turbo to it. Why you ask, why the hell not?! I will more than likely never get rid of this beast so go big or go home. 

I should note that Randy at Gator is the man. He was kind and very easy to work with. I expect the customer service to continue should I have any issues. 

Pics to come tomorrow.


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## dougdad

Grats BD, looking forward to seeing some pic's.... so I can dream... :LOL2:


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## stevesecotec02

Sounds like a hell of a rig congrats!


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## bulldog

Here are some pics of the build and some other randoms.


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## Genius

Good for you man, only live once!...


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## Jim

Awesome man! Congrats on the new boat. :beer:


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## Loggerhead Mike

Bad ass!


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## SaltyDog

Gnarly boat! Congrats!


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## semojetman

Awesome boat man. I love Gators.


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## bulldog

Thanks guys. I worked a little tonight to mount the trolling motor, stereo, and anchor rein. Measure 46 times cut once. It feels weird drilling and cutting on a brand new boat but I'm only making it better. Pics to come later in the week when it is all complete.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Hey Bulldog we ordered our boats at the same time ,remember I had you make some decals for a black Riverpro.Congrats we will have to get together one day.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=318277#p318277 said:


> SPACECOWBOY » Today, 03:58[/url]"]Hey Bulldog we ordered our boats at the same time ,remember I had you make some decals for a black Riverpro.Congrats we will have to get together one day.



Yes sir, I remember. I'm stacked with work and travel until the beginning of July but after that I would love to meet up and run some water. I would really like to see our two boats next to each other and compare all the details and performance. I absolutely love RiverPros.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Sounds great drop me an email [email protected]


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## bulldog

I spent some time on the front deck the last couple nights. I had to get the front graph mounted, the trolling motor mounted and the achor rein mounted. I had the graph left over from a previous build and it still works so I figured why not. I found the trolling motor on Craigslist for $300 and picked it up about a month or two ago. It is a Motorguide 78 lb thrust 24 volt and has minimal hours on it. Pretty good deal. and Finally I got the anchor rein off of Ebay for $30 shipped. The anchor rein is awesome and I recommend anyone that ties their boat up or uses an anchor to look in to one. I think there is 40' of rope on a retractable spool. All you see is the little cleat on top of the deck, the rest hides below the deck. All the new Rangers have them. To get the rope out you just twist the cleat, then pull the rope and tighten the cleat back up and it hold strong. Awesome little invention.

I also mounted two speakers on the engine hatch. Two more will go in the front deck and the head unit will hopefully be in tonight. The plastic covers will be painted to match the decking at some point. They look gaudy and I don't care for the white but for now they will work just fine.


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## Seth

Awesome ride!


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## Lennyg3

I must say, this is a very good lookin boat man. Congrats!


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## bulldog

Thanks guys!

I took it on its first fishing trip Saturday morning and got the big Skunk. My uncle did manage to catch a nice stick bass AND my seat with a top water popper and put a nice little hole. Man did we laugh about that. Can't take old people anywhere I tell ya. It was either laugh or toss him in the water and he's a good guy so we decided to laugh after that awkward look at each other. But I did get him back when he did not put his sunglasses on and they flew off his head and in to the drink. 

We managed to get one spot bass in the boat but all in all the fishery we were at has gone way down hill since last time I was there. We fished Rockford Beach on the Big river. As we were heading back to the ramp we saw about 8 boats fishing and 3 more putting in so there's the answer to the decline in the fishery. Really sucks but it will rebound at some point. I will give it another try some time but not any time soon I don't think. 

I also learned that I need a butt seat for the front. The boat did not come with one and let me tell you it was not enjoyable at all standing there fighting to balance.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Bulldog I heard you at 6:30 sat mourning I'm the house on the hill when your on river . The only good fishing on that sections at the dam you have to go around the tree that's down.You have a Gator now ,mash that sucker trough there!


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## bulldog

I hope the boat sounds good! 

I made it around the tree and barely touched rocks. I am very surprised how shallow the boat will run. It is nice. It will not be long until you won't be able to make it around that tree. Possibly by next weekend. Someone needs to make some cuts with a chainsaw and it will be good to go. My uncle was saying "you should slow down, John, you should really slow down" as I hammered it around that tree. After we made that he had the same confidence I have in what the boat will do. 

I'll be getting ahold of you after the 4th of July for a fishing trip. Too busy until then.


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## bulldog

I wanted to make a note on the reverse gate on the American Turbine pump that came on my Gator. It is trash, absolute junk. It is better than nothing but it really is almost as good as nothing. The reverse thrust almost does not exist and if you put it in reverse and give it some gas, the water will absolutely soak the driver and passenger. Everything is set up just like it should be, I triple checked, it is just a horrible design. They make a better one but pricing is in the $350 range. I'm going to have to buy one just for safety's sake but I am less than pleased about the stock gate. Besides not having any reverse pulling power and soaking the people in the boat, if any sort of rock or even large sand gets in between the gate and the nozzle, you have to clean it out before you shift from reverse to drive. 

Ill get off my soap box now.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Yeah it does sound good, the local guys will cut it out before too long.I don't go to that access much fishing is way better upstream.
Reverse on jet boats suck period


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## RivrLivn

bulldog,
Congrats on the new boat, looks very nice and I love the way you did the flooring. I don't think I would ever have carpet again after getting away from it.

AT does make some better reverse kits, the HTR II and the SDR, but I think they are way over $350.00. Not sure if you have the trim feature, to shoot the pretty rooster tails, but I think only the stock reverse cap can be used with that.

Just so SPACECOWBOY knows, my jet boat has amazing reverse. It has great slow speed maneuverability and I can make crazy fast emergency stops. I run a Hamilton HJ212 pump behind a 5.7l in a 21' boat. However, I can't run near as fast as the ATSD309 pump. Can only get about 45mph.


Love the color choice too!! That is a beautiful boat =D>


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## SPACECOWBOY

> Just so SPACECOWBOY knows, my jet boat has amazing reverse. It has great slow speed maneuverability and I can make crazy fast emergency stops. I run a Hamilton HJ212 pump behind a 5.7l in a 21' boat. However, I can't run near as fast as the ATSD309 pump. Can only get about 45mph.



Yeah mine stops in the length of the boat going 25 or under but from a dead stop its pretty weak.Going to get one of these soon https://www.wooldridgeboats.com/blog/post/another-wooldridge-breakthrough-invention


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## RivrLivn

Yeah Wooldridge does some good work. Lots of great mods available for the Sportjet. 
ExWelding does some stuff for them too. https://exwelding.ca/Default.aspx?PageID=20
I love your RiverPro too. Kevin builds a great boat.


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## bulldog

So there has been an odd high pitched whine/squeal coming from my motor from 3000 to 3450 rpms. It seems to be coming from the bottom of the back of the motor near the pump and it has been making the sound since the first time we took it out so I did not think anything of it. I called Randy and he said to bring it in because that is not right. I dropped the boat off today and he is going to fix whatever the problem is. I hope to have the boat back ASAP as there are plenty of smallies to catch. He said it was probably something to do with the pump. Hopefully it is an easy fix and not a big deal. Still a little worried. I does suck to have a brand new boat and not actually have it in my possession.


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## SPACECOWBOY

> I love your RiverPro too. Kevin builds a great boat


 Thanks I just wish I had more time to enjoy it.Bulldog that sucks hopefully they get her fix before the holiday.


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## Quackrstackr

Those boats are absolutely bad ass.

I posted a video on here a long time ago from a guy that used to frequent a forum I mod. Same type setup only his was a big block and a prop boat for running in soup mud as well. It would run right at 70 mph in stuff that looked like near solid ground. :shock:


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## bulldog

So the squeal is not coming from the pump it is coming from the intake manifold. Randy at Gator pulled the pump apart and all is normal. He ordered a new intake manifold and it will be in tomorrow. Hopefully it stops. It does not effect anything performance wise, just my sanity. I hate squeals, taps, squeaks, things banging, or any other annoying sounds. I'm hoping it will fix the issue. 

On another note, I have been debating on posting this huge mistake because I am embarrassed but if it saves one of you guys from going through the pain and embarrassment then it is worth it. 

If your boat has a motor cover that also acts as a fishing deck, make sure you latch it down before you drive 70 mph on the highway. I forgot to and the darn thing flew open and smashed some stuff. It ripped my speaker covers off, broke my trim cable, put 4 nice holes/scratches in my paint and put and enormous dent in the motor cover. I pulled over to the side of the road and almost got sick. I don't remember the last time I felt so disappointed in myself. 

Needless to say, I got a new trim cable put on, ordered new speaker covers and beat the dent out and you can hardly tell it was even there. If you didnt know it happened, you'd never know. I'm going to wait until Winter to get the paint fixed or just throw a wrap on it like already planned. 

Brand new boat, not any more. I swear I could mess up an anvil in a sandbox.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Its OK my boats has a dent already ,there are 2 kinds of jets boats ones that have dents and ones that are going to get them.When I picked up my boat Kevin said don't forget to lock motor cover he has seen it happen if not for him saying that I wouldn't have remembered to.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319632#p319632 said:


> SPACECOWBOY » 38 minutes ago[/url]"]Its OK my boats has a dent already ,there are 2 kinds of jets boats ones that have dents and ones that are going to get them.When I picked up my boat Kevin said don't forget to lock motor cover he has seen it happen if not for him saying that I wouldn't have remembered to.



When I first got my boat from the guys at Gator they said to lock the motor cover down probably 3 times. They made sure I was listening and made sure I heard them. It happens to the best and worst of us. Expensive lesson learned.


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## Quackrstackr

Is the cover hinged? If so, why don't they just hinge it so that the wind would keep it blown shut?


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## smackdaddy53

That boat is sweet bro


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319645#p319645 said:


> Quackrstackr » Today, 10:27[/url]"]Is the cover hinged? If so, why don't they just hinge it so that the wind would keep it blown shut?



The hinges are on the back. If they put the hinges on the front of the deck nthere is no way you could get to the motor when you are on the water. I think the design is great as long as you dont have a brain fart and not latch it closed.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319699#p319699 said:


> smackdaddy53 » Today, 17:08[/url]"]That boat is sweet bro



Thanks man!


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## lukeD

Gator Boats is just down the road from my house a few miles. Randy is good people and builds one heck of a boat. i would love to have one but the wife says no. so ill jsut have to put more motor on mine next year. the 100HP just aint gonna cut it for much longer.


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## Seth

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=319959#p319959 said:


> lukeD » Today, 08:14[/url]"]Gator Boats is just down the road from my house a few miles. Randy is good people and builds one heck of a boat. i would love to have one but the wife says no. so ill jsut have to put more motor on mine next year. the 100HP just aint gonna cut it for much longer.



You have an 1856 Alweld right? If it's the JC jet you better just go have Troutt slap a 250 pro XS on the back and be done with it. :LOL2:


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## bulldog

I have a stress crack in the front deck of the boat just in front of the rod locker. I'm not sure what to say at this point. The boat has 14 hours on it and I have done nothing out of the ordinary and only run the Missouri, Mississippi, Big, and Meramec rivers. No big lakes or anything like that. No huge waves at speed or anything that would cause an obvious jolt to the structure of the boat. The rod locker is an option that I chose to have added and the hull is under warranty so we'll see how this pans out.


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## SPACECOWBOY

Bulldog where the hell is that at on the deck?


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## Ranchero50

Nice looking boat but isn't kind of a novice move to hing the cover in the rear?

Per the stress crank, how is that corner tied into the rest of the boat? Is it supported underneath or just floating?


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## smackdaddy53

Ranchero50 said:


> Nice looking boat but isn't kind of a novice move to hing the cover in the rear?
> 
> Per the stress crank, how is that corner tied into the rest of the boat? Is it supported underneath or just floating?


You make some pretty rude posts man. Does it make you feel better to be an internet bully?


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## RiverBottomOutdoors

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321526#p321526 said:


> smackdaddy53 » Today, 12:41 am[/url]"]
> 
> 
> Ranchero50 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice looking boat but isn't kind of a novice move to hing the cover in the rear?
> 
> Per the stress crank, how is that corner tied into the rest of the boat? Is it supported underneath or just floating?
> 
> 
> 
> You make some pretty rude posts man. Does it make you feel better to be an internet bully?
Click to expand...


Jamie is one of the most knowledgeable and helpful members on tinboats.net. I don't see anything rude about what he is saying, if anything...you're the rude one.


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## Quackrstackr

Looking at the build pics, that looks to be probably the weakest joint in the entire boat. Also looking at the crack pic, it doesn't really appear to be a crack but rather he didn't weld out to the corner where the bend is and the paint has cracked and popped because there's some movement there. It looks like there is no weld until about one full length equivalent to the missing paint past that point.


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## smackdaddy53

How novice of me...


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## lovedr79

Novice or not his boat is much more badass than mine. We learn from making mistakes. I think its great he posted his mistake as a reminder to the rest of us to not over look even the small things when setting out with our rigs.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors

Was there a reason for wanting the hood to open that way? I'm sure accessing the engine is easier.


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## Ranchero50

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321526#p321526 said:


> smackdaddy53 » 08 Jul 2013, 00:41[/url]"]
> 
> 
> Ranchero50 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice looking boat but isn't kind of a novice move to hing the cover in the rear?
> 
> Per the stress crank, how is that corner tied into the rest of the boat? Is it supported underneath or just floating?
> 
> 
> 
> You make some pretty rude posts man. Does it make you feel better to be an internet bully?
Click to expand...



Ha, I'm not an internet bully, just an internet pessimist. Life has treated me well because I always try to figure out the best way to do things not necessarily the easiest. 

This boat goes 50+ mph on water. Vibration and speed is hard on latches so I'd expect the latch to fail and the lid to pop up eventually and if it would require me to remember to latch it every time I move it's certainly going to fly up more than once. As a boat manufacturer they should know better than to rely on the end user to latch the darned thing all the time. The cover should have been designed to hold itself down by it's weight at the very least and be designed so wind wouldn't get under the lip to lift it up. To build a poorly designed cover and expect the end user to latch it every time is indeed a novice move on the builder part.

On the boat I designed and built the covers do not pop open on their own and I didn't need latches to hold them either.

Per the stress crack, if the corner joint isn't supported correctly it'll flex and pop. Again as a designer and builder you need to figure on these things and build to prevent them. Is the crack simply from the user weight on the joint or is it induced from hull flex? Lots of dynamics to figure out and plan for. Shoddy manufacturing should be the last reason for a failure, especially where it should have been a simple weld.


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## catmansteve

I agree with Ranchero that the hood was a poor design on the builder's part. I understand hinging it from the rear to allow easier access to the engine compartment from inside the boat, but the fact that it has to be manually latched every time is just silly in a boat of this caliber/price. A self-latching lid like on a truck toolbox/car door/etc. would have made a whole lot more sense. Still an awesome boat, but maybe Gator should put a little more thought into the little things.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321323#p321323 said:


> SPACECOWBOY » 05 Jul 2013, 20:09[/url]"]Bulldog where the hell is that at on the deck?



It is on the rear of the front deck. Below is a picture. The crack is to the top right of the speaker where the front deck meets the rod locker. I believe the aluminum to be cracked and it not just to be a crack in the spray in bed liner. It looks like it have some sort of oxidation forming in the crack. I'm not about to start stripping the bed liner to check it. If it is not a crack in the aluminum then I'll have a nice messy hole in the bed liner.


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## bulldog

Here is a picture that shows the side of where the deck is cracked. It has a solid weld along the top where the rod locker meets the front deck as well as 2 6" welds down the side. It appears to be strongly supported so I'm at a loss.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=321487#p321487 said:


> Ranchero50 » 07 Jul 2013, 15:30[/url]"]Nice looking boat but isn't kind of a novice move to hing the cover in the rear?
> 
> Per the stress crank, how is that corner tied into the rest of the boat? Is it supported underneath or just floating?



I'm not too sure of any other way for them to hinge it. If it was an auto locking cover that would be awesome. Like I said before they went over the lock 3 different times to make sure I heard them. It was my fault it happened. I like how it is hinged from the back just in case I need to get to the motor at any time while on the water. Also there is storage in the engine bay as well.


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## bulldog

I put a Humminbird 998c SI unit on the boat mounted to a RAM mount. I have not gotten out to use it too much but from what I have used it for it is pretty awesome. I opted to not get the HD model as it was about $600 more. The only difference in the HD or the model I got is that you can see the HD in direct sunlight better. That is not worth $600 to me. I'll just turn the boat around.

Yes the graph is held on by 6 zip ties. I did not have any stainless bolts. It will be bolted on very soon.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors

Cool flooring. Never seen a floor like that. What do you call that?


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## bulldog

Perforated aluminum. I wanted to be able to power wash the boat out after each trip to keep it looking nice and clean. All the grit and grime from the decks goes on to the floor and falls through the little, approx. 3/16", holes and then gets washed out of the drain plug holes. I am told it will not get hot either even in direct sunlight. I like it a lot.


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## Ranchero50

I just realized I could blow up the pictures to larger sizes, derp. The crack looks like it's just a spot where the weld was too hot and thinned out the metal. The weld is a valley about 2x the length of the crack with some porosity. The joint looks well supported so I wouldn't expect it to migrate beyond the poorly welded spot. I'd just try to fill the 'crack' with some color matched paint and maybe some Alex caulk if it needs built up.

For you latches, here's the setup that Lincoln used on my LS to latch the rear seat. It's a pull cable setup that you open from the trunk, works pretty slick and shouldn't be too difficult to fab up.

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/2000-2001-2002-LINCOLN-LS-REAR-SEATS-LOCK-LATCH-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqVHJCEFBk+e6-gbBQiY)UyGPg~~60_57.JPG

I'm not a big fan of the hood latch pin sticking up through the floor where someone might step on it during a moment of excitement.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322720#p322720 said:


> Ranchero50 » Today, 14:40[/url]"]I just realized I could blow up the pictures to larger sizes, derp. The crack looks like it's just a spot where the weld was too hot and thinned out the metal. The weld is a valley about 2x the length of the crack with some porosity. The joint looks well supported so I wouldn't expect it to migrate beyond the poorly welded spot. I'd just try to fill the 'crack' with some color matched paint and maybe some Alex caulk if it needs built up.
> 
> For you latches, here's the setup that Lincoln used on my LS to latch the rear seat. It's a pull cable setup that you open from the trunk, works pretty slick and shouldn't be too difficult to fab up.
> 
> https://i.ebayimg.com/t/2000-2001-2002-LINCOLN-LS-REAR-SEATS-LOCK-LATCH-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqVHJCEFBk+e6-gbBQiY)UyGPg~~60_57.JPG
> 
> I'm not a big fan of the hood latch pin sticking up through the floor where someone might step on it during a moment of excitement.



Thanks bud. Appreciate it.


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## Seth

Bulldog, how did you mount the transducer so that the pump didn't interfere with the side imaging view? I've heard most guys who run inboards had to run dual side imaging trasducers (one on each side of the pump) and connect to the graph with an AS SILR Y splitter cable to get a clean side image picture on their unit.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322957#p322957 said:


> Seth » Today, 11:58[/url]"]Bulldog, how did you mount the transducer so that the pump didn't interfere with the side imaging view? I've heard most guys who run inboards had to run dual side imaging trasducers (one on each side of the pump) and connect to the graph with an AS SILR Y splitter cable to get a clean side image picture on their unit.



I mounted it just like you would any other transducer on the transom. The side imaging reads perfectly up to about 8 mph then it just gets fuzzier as you increase speed as it is made for slower speeds. The transducer sticks about 1/4" below the bottom so I'm sure I will hit something with it at some point but it is hinged at the top of the mount so it will kick up and not rip off. It does not seem to throw any water or anything like that either. I'll let you know more the more I get to use it.


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## bulldog

Rotated the pic.


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## lowe1648

I've been leaving the plastic gears out of my transducers after breaking 3 last year. Kicks up a lot easier and stays adjusted right on my boat but I run about half the speed you do.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=322967#p322967 said:


> lowe1648 » Yesterday, 14:02[/url]"]I've been leaving the plastic gears out of my transducers after breaking 3 last year. Kicks up a lot easier and stays adjusted right on my boat but I run about half the speed you do.



I have thought to do something like that as the transducer is $200+ to replace. It is made to kick up but it has to be a heck of a hit to do so as it is really tight. I believe if I hit something hard enough to kick it up the transducer, it will be damaged. 

The boat runs 55+ mph but I average 35-40 normally. With premium gas prices like they are it gets expensive quick. It is cool to top it out every once in a while but I enjoy cruising along and seeing everything. I went out yesterday evening with a couple buddies and within 3 hours we saw 3 bald eagles, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spot bass, channel cats, drum, suckers, vultures, the biggest flock of crows I have ever seen, ducks, great blue herring, a massive wood pecker, a bunch of deer, a beaver and a Riverpro. We probably saw 50 different species of trees as well. Nature at its finest.

This is a pic of a 18" 3+ lb largemouth my buddy caught. This is the biggest bass I have ever personally seen pulled out if the Meramec. I think I was more excited than he was.


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## bulldog

Put a 6' Power Pole Sportsman on the boat a couple weeks ago. I can't even begin to explain how awesome it is in the shallow rivers I fish. BUT I can totally see why people get two of them to keep from spinning around. 

I also mounted 4 Driftmaster rod holders on the rear deck. They seem very stout and I'm happy with them. I put them to use last Saturday but got skunked. I'm going to try again this weekend. 

The boat is coming along. Everything is just so darn expensive, even splitting it all down the middle with my brother. I can say that I don't need too much more. It is all the "wants" that keep me dreaming.


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## Seth

Those accessories add up in a hurry! I would love to have powerpoles on my boat but I doubt I ever will. A Humminbird 998 is about the only thing left that I truly want for my rig. You have an awesome setup there! If I had an inboard I would have that baby setup exactly how you have yours.


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## bulldog

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326211#p326211 said:


> Seth » 15 Aug 2013, 11:53[/url]"]Those accessories add up in a hurry! I would love to have powerpoles on my boat but I doubt I ever will. A Humminbird 998 is about the only thing left that I truly want for my rig. You have an awesome setup there! If I had an inboard I would have that baby setup exactly how you have yours.



Thanks Seth. I am slowly getting all the stuff and making it my dream boat.


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## bulldog

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. The boat now has 90+ hours on it and I still love it as much as the first day I got it. I had some issues with a couple welds popping. Randy at Gator fixed everything and I am still very happy with the guys over there. I have learned quite a lot about driving the boat and consider myself a very confident driver. I have taken this boat in places that people told me I could not go and made it with no problems at all. I have skipped it over solid ground, logs, shoals and white water on a few occasions and it holds up perfectly. Just an awesome machine. It fishes extremely well. I love it and I am happy to own one. 

Only performance mod I have made since buying it is a stainless impeller. Great buy and I recommend it to anyone. I got maybe 1-2 mph top end and my hole shot is a lot better. It seems to just run smoother as well. 

2 more years on the motor warranty and I will be pulling the motor and building it to about 450 horse power and adding as much as 150 shot of nitrous. I'd like to get over 500 horse out of the small block but we'll see what happens. Reliability is the most important thing for me so I don't want to overbuild and lose the reliability. While the motor is out I will absolutely be installing a UHMW bottom. Being a 20' boat and with the shallow rivers I run I have it some shoals, I want to slide not stop. 

My fist child, a son, will be here in about 2 weeks so it may be a while until I post again.


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## Seth

I think you have my favorite Gator setup, mostly because it's actually setup for fishing and not just joy riding! Good luck with the new addition. Your new fishing partner will love the Gator in a few years once they are older.


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## bulldog

Two years? It's been two hers since I updated this thread? Where does time go?

My first son is now 2 and I have another son on the way to be here in December. The 2060 is going STRONG and it gets wet a couple times a month. No new mods to the boat besides some dents and scratches but I love this thing today as much as I did the day I got it. Motor is still stock and I'm not sure if I want to build it any time soon. I bought another aluminum jet with a big block so when I want to go 90 mph I just jump in that thing. 

All in all life is good, recovering from open heart surgery currently. I had a bad aortic valve and had to get it repaired. It'll be a lengthy recovery but all is going well. 

The amount of new members is insane and it seems like the amazing culture is still here. That's really nice to see.


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## Lil' Blue Rude

Good to hear from you bulldog, been a while. Hope everything goes well with your recovery and glad to hear things have been going good.


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