# 1648 Center console or stick steer?



## rotus623 (Dec 6, 2016)

Hey fellas, I got a really nice welded 1648 Polar Kraft boat. It has a Mercury 25/20 Jet tiller steer on the back. We can run with a full load, about 16-17MPH and run in 6" of water or so.

I use this boat in rocky, skinny water. The bottom is coated with a kevlar epoxy to help protect the bottom some. The plan is still NOT to hit any rocks!!!

The issue that I am having is my guest sits up in front of me and I hate relying on them to tell me which way to go. I want to be up front.

The boat is wide and stabil enough to support a console, so that is not the concern.

I am wondering between two different setups. There is no bench seat and I do not want a side console. I would prefer a center console way up front so that I can stand and steer the boat. I would have maximum visibility this way. Next option would be a stick steer, but they arent really made for standing, so that would decrease visibility some.

I went to AK mccallum.com and found some nice center consoles, but they want a ton of money to ship them from NC to VA. The ride is too long to warrant picking it up. If I were to add a CC up front where would be a good place to order one from? Anyone that does this sort of thing in the VA area? Thanks for the help guys, I am still playing with ideas here............


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## Johnny (Dec 6, 2016)

Welcome Aboard, Rotus

what do you think about building your own console
custom designed just for you and your rig ???..........

you could make your own console station out of 1/2" plywood
and fiberglass over it.
- or - aluminum sheet metal riveted (or welded) together.
some sheet metal, angle metal, a jig saw, drill and some pop rivets and it's done.

oh, and your link to Mccallum does not work - maybe it should be https://www.akmccallumco.com/


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## Catch Release Repeat (Dec 6, 2016)

They're shipping to me when they quoted me for a side storage box 30x12 which is pretty large was really reasonable only like 30 dollars. I'd contact them again and ask if they can do better then that. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## richg99 (Dec 6, 2016)

I owned a stick steering boat once. 

I hated it. I had to be seated at all times. It jammed me way up in the front of the small boat. I had 2/3rds of the boat behind me and all that I could use comfortably was the front 1/3rd. cluttered with the trolling motor, anchor and me.

Did I mention that I didn't like my stick steering boat?

richg99


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## rotus623 (Dec 6, 2016)

Thanks for input guys. Rich I'm with you I don't think a stick steer is for me. CRR the console I wanted tohabe shipped is 40" long and they assured me that it would be around $200. I could
Drive down There if I had to but it's a 4 hr ride each way. 

Johnny, I am a custom build Guy for sure. Wish I could weld aluminum. I'm not opposed to riviting but sheet aluminum is expensive and I'm not sure I'd save a ton of money making one. Plus I got a welded boat so I was hoping not to add
Rivets.


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## richg99 (Dec 6, 2016)

I have a welded G3, but the front deck is riveted on. I have no problem with that.

I'd visit a couple of scrap yards and see what is around. If nothing else, you might find some sheets that would work. Or, drop by a local sheet metal/welding shop. See what they can bend up for you. 

Four-hour drive....Hmmmm...I've done that way too many times, sometimes in one day to buy a boat....

I remember leaving at 2 a.m. in the morning one time to go about 3 hours one way. Boat wasn't what I wanted... so the trip was almost wasted. 

I did get to listen to the audio version of Silence of the Lambs on the cassette player all night long. Some of you might remember cassette players Ha Ha...
richg99


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## rotus623 (Dec 6, 2016)

Rich I have done the same brother! I'm all over the east coast with my boat endeavors but time on the road equals less time on the water. I got a great welder up the road from me but he has gotten into some contract work. Riveting isn't terrible but I'm sure after I get the angled aluminum and some aluminum sheets the price will be up there. Sounds like a trip to the local scrapyard may be in order.


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## richg99 (Dec 6, 2016)

Where do you live...it isn't on your data?

What about a fiberglass console? Lots more of them around. Some at boat bone-yards. rich


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## rotus623 (Dec 6, 2016)

Rich I am near Richmond Virginia. Right by the good old James River.


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## richg99 (Dec 7, 2016)

Call these guys. See if they have a FG console.
https://www.edsmarinesuperstore.com/


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## Ebug (Dec 7, 2016)

Rotus623...I recently did a console conversion like what you are inquiring about. I searched hi and low for a console that met my requirements of budget and size. I could find either one or the other but not both.
I finally ended up building my own. I had the resources to weld it myself so I saved some money there, but had about $200 in the console once it was over. 

I will recommend going as narrow as possible on the console. My boat is a 1754 and my floor is 60" wide. The console I built is 20" wide. While there is a fair amount of room on either side, I still hold onto the windshield frame when walking around it. I wish I had made it only the width of the steering wheel now. In my case the console is only there to hold up the steering wheel and throttle.

I have a lot of info on what I do and don't like about the conversion, including what I spent, and what the conversion led me to spend afterwards.

Ask questions if you like.

Rob

Coming to you from planet Earth.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Dec 7, 2016)

It's a definite trade off. Consoles take up a lot of room in a 48" boat.


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Rich,
Thanks for the link. I called Eds and they said they don't sell center consoles only side consoles and they quoted me $1200 uninstalled. Crazy!!!

EBug thanks for the input. I think you are correct will be better to make or have it made. I talked
To Starkey st james River jets and am going to bring the boat by there and have him take a look. I am considering having him tunnel the hull and welding 1/2" Rod holder bases to the rails. He does good work and is very reasonably priced for the most part. I'm going to head there hopefully on Friday and pick his brain some. But i do agree with you guys the size of the console will play a big part. I'm going to make it as small as possible, probably 15" or so wide and 12" deep. Just big enough to get a group 24 or 27 under the console and have a little room for odds and ends.

I really like the idea of standing and being as far forward as possible so I can see what's going on up ahead and have the stern sit a little higher in the water. Mainly a catfishing boat so I won't be going on and off the front casting deck much. Won't need to get by the console too often.

I have a 20' deep v that I striper and catfish out of with a 130 evinrude. That's my big water rig. I don't want to get a bigger aluminum boat because I like the accessibility that this 1648 gives me. I have owned a 1232, 1432 and 1436 and would never DREAM of adding a console on a boat that small. There is a WORLD of difference when moving To the 1648. What a good decision!!


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 7, 2016)

Do you plan on mounting the console up on the deck or on the floor? Mine is on the floor because I wanted to keep the deck open and the height is fine for me since I'm 5'6" tall. The Lowe console is probably the widest I would go on a 1648, I have a 1652. The Lowe is smaller dimensions than what you mentioned so maybe that would be cheaper to ship. Here's my setup to give you an idea, I have the battery under the console to help get weight forward. I had a custom railing and windshield made for it.


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Man you guys are so helpful on here!! Jeff I too am 5'6" so I probably don't need a console as big as I am thinking. I am guessing you have the Lowe console? If not, how tall is it? Also how did you flip your side control box over
To fit instead of using a center console box?


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 7, 2016)

Yes, my boat has the Lowe console, it was in the boat when I got it. It's 30" tall which is perfect for my height. I like having a railing to hold onto so I had it made and it's comfortable. I think all the side mount controls are reversible, I know my Mercury is and my OMC one was. You take the bolt out holding the handle and flip it around. I don't know if there would be enough room on the console for the wheel and a top mount control, you would need a smaller wheel to fit both. My console was farther back when I got the boat so I moved it about 2' forward to get the weight balanced out better and you can see better as well.


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Awesome man!! Thanks you so much


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Oh one other thing, where did run your steering cable?


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 7, 2016)

I ran the steering, control cables and wiring out the bottom of the console and up the side of the boat on back.


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Wow thanks! You have been a huge help! I am going to call ak and see what they will ship the Lowe console for. I plan on putting my build up on here.


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## 57Aero (Dec 7, 2016)

No matter what set up you will need steering gear and Merc controls. I have both if you are interested PM.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## richg99 (Dec 7, 2016)

Over the years, I've owned a number of center consoles. 

As I best remember, NONE of them had Binnacle (CC) controls. All of them had a side mount. Some on one side, some on the other. I adapted to every one of them without thinking too much about it. I am a little bit ambidextrous.


richg99


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Cool man side controls are much easier to find


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 7, 2016)

I put the binnacle controls on the top of the console on my old 15' Hobie Power Skiff. I had to move the wheel over a little so it would fit and be comfortable to use. Top mount definitely has a better feel but there's often not enough room and side mounts are more plentiful and therefore cheaper. I did get lucky with mine and found a brand new OMC top mount control on Ebay for $48 for that Hobie. It was the year Florida had all those hurricanes and I'm guessing it was insurance sell off stuff.


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## rotus623 (Dec 7, 2016)

Well Jeff, you will be happy to hear that I took your advice strongly and ordered the Lowe center console. Thanks to you I have saved myself a ton of time. I am all about fabbing my own stuff but sometimes it doesn't pay off. The guy at the local aluminum yard wanted almost $200 for the supplies I would have needed to build the console. I got the console for $220 and a small lockbox/livewell for $100. Got it all shipped for $400. Can't wait to get it!!

Crazy though since my console will be so far forward I'll need an 18' steering cable and about 20' throttle and shift cables.


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 8, 2016)

Depending on where you decide to mount the console, you may want to wait until you have it mocked up to determine which cables to get. I went with a Uflex steering cable 16' long. Probably could have gone with a 17' if I wanted to run it out the front of the console to keep it along the edge of the deck and a little more out of the way. Take your time and search around Ebay and you can get new cables shipped at a really decent price. I also got the battery cable wire off ebay and put ends on them myself. You might be able to find a complete steering installation kit with helm, wheel and cable for a decent price as a package if you search around.

A quick tip if your floor is a slight V like mine is, I think the dealer installed the console in my boat originally for the previous owner and they took a piece of angle aluminum, cut a small V notch in the middle and bent it to match the floor contour and riveted it to the front of the console so that aluminum angle piece would be flush with the floor to rivet it to the floor cross beam. I wish I took a picture of it before I installed it but I forgot to.

Here's a quick picture showing the angle piece riveted to the floor. There is a gap about 1-1/2" between the console and the front deck which leaves room to put the fishing net and all the leaves that fall during the season. :lol:

And don't pay attention to the flooring that came unglued from the deck edge, so much for outdoor contact cement.


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## rotus623 (Dec 9, 2016)

Jeff,

I am uncertain what I will do for a floor, but I know I can get 1/8" (.125) 4x8 5052 marine grade aluminum for $150 a sheet. I do have a 5 degree dead rise so my floor has a V in it and I can't stand it. I was going to run aluminum angle across each crossbeam and Rivet it In a few places all the way across. This would give me a flat mounting surface.

If the aluminum will flex too much I would just get marine ply and nautilex marine vinyl and be done with it.

I actually had someone offer me
$2750 for the tiller steer 20 jet so now I can just buy a bigger motor set up for console steer. What kind of top end are you getting with the 60/45? What is your minimum planing speed? Thanks!!


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 10, 2016)

My floor has the slight V to it but it's no big deal, I got used to it pretty quick. If you put marine ply in the boat, it will add quite a bit of weight and slow you down. My top speed is around 28-32 mph and it planes off in 1 or 2 boat lengths with the weight forward. I normally run upstream around 19-20 mph because it's the smoothest cruising speed(I'm in no hurry and I hate to waste gas). I think it will still plane around 14-15 mph but never really paid attention to it. I have a jet tunnel so my motor is mounted higher up, not sure if that hurts or helps, but I don't worry as much about the rocks. This year was probably the lowest the Delaware River has been in a long time so it was nice to have a tunnel jet setup. I'm happy with the overall setup of the boat and the only thing I might add is a bimini to be able to get out of the sun. Here's a picture before I put the windshield and railing on the console.


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## rotus623 (Dec 10, 2016)

Sounds like a good match power wise.

I am trying to figure something out you may have an answer to.
My boat has 50hp on the rear tag. I am not a big fan of overpowering a rig. I would imagine a factory 50hp jet would be okay to run, but if the serial number on my rig said 75hp and I added a jet pump to get 50hp aftermarket, I would be comfortable safety wise but wouldn't think the insurance company would like it very much. Amy insight? I'd love
To put a 60/40 or even a 75/50 on there!!


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 11, 2016)

I never really thought about it too much but I put 45 hp for the insurance since that is what it is rated at. I'm by myself 95% of the time so I could get away with a 50/35 and it wouldn't be a big deal since I'm never in a hurry. I'm running a short shaft motor with the tunnel so I was lucky to find a short shaft 60/45 locally for a great price. The oil injection doesn't work, the overheat module went bad but it runs well so I don't want to mess with it too much. I never run more than 10-15 minutes at a time due to limited range on the river so I just keep an eye on the telltale to make sure water is pumping through ok.


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## stinkfoot (Dec 11, 2016)

Power is rated at the pump. Weight would probably be your biggest problem going with a bigger motor. Having said that putting yourself so far in the bow would tend to counteract a heavy back end. You could always see how your boat sits in the water by adding the weight of a 75hp motor in bags of sand or cement in the stern and then standing where you hope to have your console. I get about the same speed out of my 16 foot welded jon with a 25hp prop or a 40hp jet but the boat rides much nicer with the heavier motor.


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## rotus623 (Dec 11, 2016)

stinkfoot said:


> Power is rated at the pump. Weight would probably be your biggest problem going with a bigger motor. Having said that putting yourself so far in the bow would tend to counteract a heavy back end. You could always see how your boat sits in the water by adding the weight of a 75hp motor in bags of sand or cement in the stern and then standing where you hope to have your console. I get about the same speed out of my 16 foot welded jon with a 25hp prop or a 40hp jet but the boat rides much nicer with the heavier motor.



That's good input right there. The funny thing is that with the20 jet on there (a whopping 124lbs) me in the back (135lbs) a 6 gallon tank and a battery with my buddy (175lbs) and cooler/gear up front, the boat still ran pretty stern heavy. She planed out good but I felt like I needed more power to really get the tail end up. You know when you have an adequately sized motor and you have on plane, then you have ON PLANE? I never really got ON PLANE!! By that I mean the boat was moving good but I still felt like she was dragging some. We would move at 17 up and out of the water but I think moving the weigh up forward and putting more beef at the tail end will do some good.


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## rotus623 (Dec 14, 2016)

Got my console in! Looks good, good recommendation Jeff!


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 14, 2016)

I'm easily on plane cruising at 18 mph but another thing to consider is the transom angle. I had to add transom wedges to get rid of porpoising but that also helps get on plane better. Without the wedges and the motor trimmed in all the way, the bow still wanted to rise and then would porpoise when I got over 20 mph. I ended up moving the motor up one hole at a time to see what resulted in the best cruising speed and WOT without getting too much spray back into the boat. I went 1 hole too high and got a lot of spray back and it got louder which meant it was aerating a bit as well so I had to go back down. It definitely takes some trial and error to get everything set up the way you want it.


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## rotus623 (Dec 14, 2016)

JL8Jeff said:


> I'm easily on plane cruising at 18 mph but another thing to consider is the transom angle. I had to add transom wedges to get rid of porpoising but that also helps get on plane better. Without the wedges and the motor trimmed in all the way, the bow still wanted to rise and then would porpoise when I got over 20 mph. I ended up moving the motor up one hole at a time to see what resulted in the best cruising speed and WOT without getting too much spray back into the boat. I went 1 hole too high and got a lot of spray back and it got louder which meant it was aerating a bit as well so I had to go back down. It definitely takes some trial and error to get everything set up the way you want it.



You are right about that, for sure!! I think a hydraulic jack plate has its place, even though they are costly and add weight to the transom. Power trim and hydraulic jackplate gives endless options!! I am also wondering about tunneling. At this point I may as well sell what I have and get what I really want.


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## richg99 (Dec 14, 2016)

......"At this point I may as well sell what I have and get what I really want.".....

I've said that many times. Acted on it a few too many times also. Might be why I had all of those boats. My problem was always changing my mind about what it was that I really wanted. Ha Ha. Rich


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 14, 2016)

The only issue with the hydraulic jack plate with a jet is that it pushes the motor further back which can mess up the way the water would funnel into the jet if it's a jet tunnel boat. I got lucky and stumbled on my tunnel jet boat when the guy just had it advertised as a mod v with 40 hp prop. I think if you wanted to plan out a boat new, I would probably still look to buy an empty tunnel jet hull and then put a console where you wanted it. My preference would be a Sea Ark 1660 mod v tunnel jet hull with a floor and then I would outfit it the way I wanted. I think the G3 1656 tunnel jet is a sweet setup, but the cost and the weight scared me away from it.


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## rotus623 (Dec 14, 2016)

richg99 said:


> ......"At this point I may as well sell what I have and get what I really want.".....
> 
> I've said that many times. Acted on it a few too many times also. Might be why I had all of those boats. My problem was always changing my mind about what it was that I really wanted. Ha Ha. Rich



Me too, me too. I have been looking on CL and boy, these welded hulls are EXPENSIVE, even used. I found some tunnel hulls, but most of them have tiller motors on the and are .080 gauge. Mine is .100, although I'd like .125 or .190. Also, if there are any boats with consoles, they are all side consoles and some are center consoles where you sit on the back deck. It is looking like tunnelling this hull and setting it up CC won't be a bad idea at all. Especially since after I sold the motor I only have $1300 in the boat and trailer.


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## rotus623 (Dec 14, 2016)

JL8Jeff said:


> The only issue with the hydraulic jack plate with a jet is that it pushes the motor further back which can mess up the way the water would funnel into the jet if it's a jet tunnel boat. I got lucky and stumbled on my tunnel jet boat when the guy just had it advertised as a mod v with 40 hp prop. I think if you wanted to plan out a boat new, I would probably still look to buy an empty tunnel jet hull and then put a console where you wanted it. My preference would be a Sea Ark 1660 mod v tunnel jet hull with a floor and then I would outfit it the way I wanted. I think the G3 1656 tunnel jet is a sweet setup, but the cost and the weight scared me away from it.



Yea you are right about the jack plate. The man at James River Jets recommends just building the transom up.


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 14, 2016)

CMC sells a riser plate that bolts to the transom and then you can bolt the motor to the transom and riser plate and get the height you need it at. I really got lucky finding the tunnel jet boat and then finding a short shaft Mercury jet outboard for it so I didn't need the riser or to build up the transom. I found the same hull as mine for sale locally a couple of months ago and that guy didn't have it advertised as a tunnel jet either and it had a prop motor on it. You can transfer all the good parts to any hull for the most part so it's not worth overpaying for a hull.


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## rotus623 (Dec 14, 2016)

Jeff,

Thanks I found the riser. Crazy they want $200 for a piece of metal. The manual jack plates cost that much. I actually had a short shaft jet (15") on my boat too. They are rare but most tunnel hulls have the raised transom anyways.


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## richg99 (Dec 14, 2016)

*Crazy they want $200 for a piece of metal*

If it says BOAT.....well, you know the saying. 

I'd go to a scrap metal place and see what they had. They might have to cut it to size. It cost me $10.00 for my place to plasma-cut my material for some kayak rudders. Sure beat me hacking away for an hour.

richg99


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 15, 2016)

Yeah, the best I saw was TH Marine on Ebay for around $151 shipped for 2 pieces of angle aluminum basically.


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## rotus623 (Dec 15, 2016)

JL8Jeff said:


> Yeah, the best I saw was TH Marine on Ebay for around $151 shipped for 2 pieces of angle aluminum basically.



Well, I may have gotten lucky. I may not need to jack up the transom. I found a 2000 Mercury 60/45 (Factory)Jet, short shaft with controls, local for $3000. Going to check it out in the morning. Ill let you guys know how it goes!!


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## rotus623 (Dec 15, 2016)

Jeff, when you have a second person on board where do you keep em? Will the boat plane and ride level with them in 
The back?


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 16, 2016)

With one other person it doesn't really matter where they are, it isn't enough weight to throw things off too much. I've had 2 other people sit up front and you can start to feel it plow a bit. An extra person in the back works fine as well. If that 2000 Mercury is a short shaft then you might be good to go depending on your transom height. My Mercury is a 94 or 95 so it's pretty much the same motor. Mine did not have power trim when I got it, but I found a new PTT setup on Ebay for $400 and it works great.


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## rotus623 (Dec 17, 2016)

Jeff,

Thanks for all your feedback on the subject. So I got seemingly lucky and found a 60/45 short shaft with power tilt and trim and ended up buying it. Do you have any pics of your boat from the rear? I am interested in where your foot is placed with the tunnel.

I am having a hard time seeing how you got that motor mounted on the tunnel hull without a riser plate. It looks like I can get my motor mounted high enough without the tunnel, but I dont have room to lift the motor another 2-3" if I get the tunnel installed later down the road. I am wondering if I should just put a tunnel in now and build up the transom so I dont have an extra set of holes in the transom.


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 17, 2016)

My transom is around 22-23" around the center area and the tunnel is about 2.5-3" tall. I have the motor mounted about 2.5-3" above the transom and the foot is just inside the tunnel. The boat is backed up against the wall in the garage so I tried to get some pictures but it's not that easy to see it.


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## rotus623 (Dec 17, 2016)

Cool thanks man! I think you said earlier that you had to wedge the transom, was that because you couldn't trim down far enough?


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 17, 2016)

Yeah, you can see the transom wedges, the boat would porpoise when it was trimmed all the way in so it needed more trim angle. It would porpoise with the 40 hp prop motor as well so I think there wasn't enough weight up front and the transom angle wasn't enough.


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## rotus623 (Dec 26, 2016)

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I was wondering, lots of you guys run your start battery under your front console. What gauge wire are you running? That is a long run from the battery to the engine so I would imagine youd be running some rather heavy wire. I have heard lots of guys running welders wire.


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## richg99 (Dec 26, 2016)

Here is a PDF from MinnKota that should help...

richg99

https://www.minnkotamotors.com/Support/FAQs/FAQ-Details/What-gauge-wire-and-fuse-is-needed-for-my-trolling-motor-/


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 26, 2016)

I went with marine 4 awg gauge and it seems to be more than adequate. The stock cables were 6 gauge so with the 4 gauge being thicker, it took a little working to get the cables to fit on the engine. I had to file down the plastic cover for the positive cable to fit with the cover closed all the way.


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## rotus623 (Dec 26, 2016)

Cool man. As long as she starts up in the cold and the wires dont get hot than the 4gauge is ample. I couldn't imaging running 2 gauge to the engine........


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## richg99 (Dec 26, 2016)

Whoops, sorry I didn't read the query correctly. My reference to the Minnkota Trolling motor PDF was totally incorrect. 

You should be fine with 4 gauge for the engine. richg99


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## JL8Jeff (Dec 26, 2016)

Just make sure it's marine grade cable.


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## rotus623 (May 2, 2017)

JL8Jeff said:


> I ran the steering, control cables and wiring out the bottom of the console and up the side of the boat on back.



Jeff, I was hoping to get some more pics of your control box. Do you have a trim switch in the handle? Looks like you moved the keyswitch. I want to get the control cables down like you have done so they dont shoot straight out towards me, but the angle of the box looks a little awkward.....


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## JL8Jeff (May 2, 2017)

The trim switch is in the handle and the wiring goes through the handle and under the console where it connects with the main harness.


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## richg99 (May 2, 2017)

Just FYI. My trim switch went out. My mechanic said they no longer make one for my 96 Johnson. He installed a double switch next to the control. Works but not as convenient as ...in the handle.


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## rotus623 (May 2, 2017)

Thanks guys.

I took my box apart last night to make sure I can flip the handle to the other side and I certainly can. I have to add a wire harness extension to my controls and change out the throttle/shift cables to 3-4' longer cables. When I am in the box I may just run the keyswitch to the console like Jeff has done. It's funny because in January I sold my "project" boat and got this boat. Now I have decided that I want to change the layout and weight distribution so I am on to another project. I hope to finish this one though.....


Floors up!! Pulled out about 50-60lbs. of soaked foam. That's gonna make a difference!!








Boxes grinded and cut out without harming the structure of the boat stringers or boxes. Another 50 or so lbs. gone. These boxes are heavy duty .190 gauge aluminum!!










And here is where I am hoping to put the console.


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## rotus623 (May 11, 2017)

Making Progress!!

Got some fresh foam and .063 gauge aluminum floors in. Sealed all the gaps and edges in with paintable silicone. Next, to scuff all the aluminum, prime, and a few coats of Herculiner bed liner for a nice sealed, grippy floor. Goal is to be able to have traction, lightweight and most of all be able to spray the floors clean after a fishing trip.


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## Fire1386 (May 11, 2017)

Hopefully the Herculiner gives you enough traction. I can only imagine how slippery that would get once water gets on it..... Interested to see pics after you apply Herculiner.... Looks like it is coming together nicely.


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## rotus623 (May 15, 2017)

Got the floor all done this weekend. Fire, This stuff is rubberized and has some serious texture (if you mix frequently and apply it correctly.) I expect that it will not be slippery at all when wet. Hopefully it holds up well. If it does, I will likely remove all of the carpet and hit the whole inside of the boat. At $70 a gallon, who's crying?


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## Fire1386 (May 16, 2017)

Thanks for the after pics, does look to have a good bit of texture to it. Looks nice applied also.


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## rotus623 (May 16, 2017)

Fire1386 said:


> Thanks for the after pics, does look to have a good bit of texture to it. Looks nice applied also.


 Sure thing!

It's been 2 full days now, full cure is 2-4 days. Been nice and warm out with a bright sun, so it has done well. Has a real rubbery feel to the touch. I like it!!

There was quite a bit of morning dew on it this morning. I hopped in and walked around. Felt solid, didn't feel slick. I think if your soles were slick you may go for a ride, but I had my normal boots on and had good traction. I have heard from others that you can add sand for even more grit. I think that would be a good idea. 

It was very easy to lay down a few coats of this stuff. Took my time and rolled on real nice and textured. I have a bit of painting experience but I think a novice could do this as long as they spent the time and didn't rush through it.............


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## rotus623 (May 18, 2017)

I would like an opinion here guys. I have a bit of a decision to make.

I would like to have my passenger up with me when running. I also want the boat to not lean to one side or the other when I am the only one in it. It would be nice to have the console directly in the center of the boat, but if I do that there isn't enough room for my passenger to stand comfortably beside me. I was thinking about moving the console to the right about 6-8", kind of splitting the difference. What do you guys think? Here are pics of direct center and shifted to one side. Does it detract from the looks some?


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## richg99 (May 18, 2017)

You might consider adding adjustable trim tabs. Lenco makes some good electric ones, and Bennet makes hydraulics.

While I like Smart Tabs, the two brands listed above will allow you to adjust on the water for whatever weight or balance considerations you run into.

Now, since I don't know much about bass boat hull shapes, there may be some reason that tabs won't work...but they work on tons of other boats.

richg99


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## rotus623 (May 18, 2017)

richg99 said:
 

> You might consider adding adjustable trim tabs. Lenco makes some good electric ones, and Bennet makes hydraulics.
> 
> While I like Smart Tabs, the two brands listed above will allow you to adjust on the water for whatever weight or balance considerations you run into.



Very true. But for sake of simplicity I don't think I want to go this route. Plus I don't want tabs hanging down when I'm running the rocky shallows.


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## richg99 (May 18, 2017)

Adjustable tabs can be directed to be level or even above level.


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## mbweimar (May 19, 2017)

Having a passenger up there next to you will be a challenge no matter how the console is mounted. I would say center the console so it's well balanced.

You could always fabricate some sort of leaning post with a grab bar on the back for your passenger. That way he/she could stand right behind you. 

Also, I'm not sure if you have your steering figured out yet, but I have a 15' Teleflex QC steering cable that need to get rid of. It's in really good shape, and I really don't want to throw it away. I'll make you a really good deal on it if you're interested.


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## onthewater102 (May 19, 2017)

rotus623 said:


> ... At $70 a gallon, who's crying?




You will be on a summer day with that black floor!


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## rotus623 (May 20, 2017)

Here's the finished layout. Just need to get my wires all cleaned up and get my fuel and battery placement figured out.


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## rotus623 (May 20, 2017)

onthewater102 said:


> rotus623 said:
> 
> 
> > ... At $70 a gallon, who's crying?
> ...



Nah I don't fish barefoot.


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## richg99 (May 20, 2017)

Looks nice. 

I do think the deck will be hot, but probably can't be any hotter than the shiny all aluminum deck that I had in my former Lowe. I could have fried eggs on that one, after a day in the Texas sun.

richg99


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## rotus623 (May 20, 2017)

Yea it hasn't been too bad in the 90 degree sun we have had. But yea I mean thenboat is unpainted aluminum so...... you won't catch me out in this in the mid day sun anyhow. That's what the 20' fiberglass boat with canopy is for.


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## rotus623 (May 27, 2017)

Took her out for a run yesterday. She ran great!! Had a buddy up front with me and we hopped right up on plane. Since I beat the dimples out of the bottom of the boat, the cavitation is gone. I was on a lake with a decent amount of chop and wakes coming At me. I can even trim out to 90degrees once I am planed and still no cavitation!! I am so much happier with this boat, it is unreal!


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