Post by Seanstone on Jan 29, 2012 23:45:35 GMT -5
Got home Thursday night and went back to work on the boat. I hate to bombard you guys with pictures, but maybe it will help someone in the long run.
Thursday night I met someone off of craigslist and bought a Lowrance x52 fish finder for $110. It was brand new, none of the packages had been opened. I thought it was a good deal since they retail for about $190-200. So when I got home I started thinking of where it needed to go. Since I do fish solo from time to time I wanted it to be where I could see it from the back bench. So stealing another one of bassmasseys ideas, I mounted it in the middle bench. I then mounted the transducer as specified in the manual. Which just happened to be on the bottom stern of the boat. I then filled the holes with silicone. Trust me I don't like the idea of drilling holes below the water line, but I did it anyway for the sake of having an accurate fish finder. I did not have a joint in the middle of the boat in my cpvc so I just used corrugated pipe and ran the wires to the battery. Here's a few pics.
Fish Finder location:
Mounted Transducer:
At this point I had ran out of energy to work. I woke up the next morning and started digging around in the barn for scraps of metal I could use for a trolling bar. I fist found some really heavy duty angle iron. It was in 10' pieces and probably weighed 100lbs. After making the first cut I soon realized that there had to be a better way. After moving some hay around I found the perfect piece of metal. I cut it to 48" and layed it on the boat to see how it would fit. For the most part it fit alright, a little long, but ok. I did however notice that the motor was awful close to the bar, and that if I raised the motor too much it would come into contact with it. With that said, when the motor is in its locked position for transport it is fine. I ended up taking another 2'' off. i then marked my holes where I would plan to mount each side of the bar. I used the drill press and cut 3/8" holes. I then slapped it on the boat and marked where I needed to drill holes on the boat. I drilled the holes and found the hardware to mount the bar. Here's what it looked like at this point.
I then began to clean and sand the bar. An hour or so later here's what it looked like.
At this point I was officially out of work. I called up Rylan and asked if he wanted to make the trip to bass pro. All willing, we went. I picked up 4 driftmaster rod holders. 2 Duo255H's and 2 Duo Troller 255H's. The only difference in the two are the fact that the trollers set at a slightly higher angle, I figured that they would sit nicely on the outside while the duo255h's were at a lower angle on the inside. I also bought a bilge pump and hoses...etc, a spot light for navigation, and another anchor.
Got home at around midnight and started working again. I began by placing the rod holders in various positions to see where I wanted to drill holes. I then decided to mount the rod holders 7 and 13 inches from the outside of the boat...on each side. I had to use a nut to stop the rod holders from falling through the hole, and I used the supplied wing nut to secure the rod holders in place.
At this point it was time to begin coating the bar in the the dupli color bed liner that I had left over from the bottom of the boat. After two coats I mounted the driftmaster rod holders. Here's what it looked like.
While the paint was drying in between coats I went ahead and ran wires for the bilge pump. Since the cpvc was full with other wires, I decided to run the bilge pump wires in corrugated wire along the groove of the boat. I then wired the bilge pump. At this point I had to make the decision to drill a hole in the transom or just toss the pipe over the back. I figured at this point that since I had already drilled holes for the transducer, whats another hole. I then cut a hole for the pipe and mounted the bilge pump hose, and adapter with silicone.
Here's the corrugated pipe along the grove:
Bilge pump:
The new hole: ;D
Since I had to re run wires I figured that I should go ahead and do my best to mount the wires up off of the bottom of the boat. I used zip ties where applicable, and went ahead and sealed all of the cpvc with glue and silicone...(in the tops). I also added toggle switches for the bilge pump and lights. I then connected all of the wires to alligator clips. Here's a few pics.
Zip ties and silicone:
Silicone, Alligator clips, and the battery:
At 5am I decided to call it quits. Sunday I woke up and realized that I still needed to make a bracket for my trolling motor in order to use it on the bow. Since my trolling motor is a transom mount, I would have to rotate the head of the motor. It was as easy as taking a screw out, turning the head 180 degrees and putting a screw back in. I then went down to the barn and started looking for anything I could use to make my mount. I ended up grabbing a sheet of particle board. I cut a few squares out and made a little box for the mount. I then drilled holes and mounted it to the bow. After a few coats of dupli color truck bed liner, it was good to go.
The Mount:
The trolling motor:
Hopefully the boat will set even enough for the trolling motor to set in the water a few inches. However I have my doubts. Might have to install a bait tank.
All in all I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out. However with this weekends purchases the boat has $1000 in it, $1130 if you count the battery that i bought for our other boat last year. I hope to have it in tip top shape come March.
Once again sorry for all the pics, just hoping it will help someone with their own boat project.
Thursday night I met someone off of craigslist and bought a Lowrance x52 fish finder for $110. It was brand new, none of the packages had been opened. I thought it was a good deal since they retail for about $190-200. So when I got home I started thinking of where it needed to go. Since I do fish solo from time to time I wanted it to be where I could see it from the back bench. So stealing another one of bassmasseys ideas, I mounted it in the middle bench. I then mounted the transducer as specified in the manual. Which just happened to be on the bottom stern of the boat. I then filled the holes with silicone. Trust me I don't like the idea of drilling holes below the water line, but I did it anyway for the sake of having an accurate fish finder. I did not have a joint in the middle of the boat in my cpvc so I just used corrugated pipe and ran the wires to the battery. Here's a few pics.
Fish Finder location:
Mounted Transducer:
At this point I had ran out of energy to work. I woke up the next morning and started digging around in the barn for scraps of metal I could use for a trolling bar. I fist found some really heavy duty angle iron. It was in 10' pieces and probably weighed 100lbs. After making the first cut I soon realized that there had to be a better way. After moving some hay around I found the perfect piece of metal. I cut it to 48" and layed it on the boat to see how it would fit. For the most part it fit alright, a little long, but ok. I did however notice that the motor was awful close to the bar, and that if I raised the motor too much it would come into contact with it. With that said, when the motor is in its locked position for transport it is fine. I ended up taking another 2'' off. i then marked my holes where I would plan to mount each side of the bar. I used the drill press and cut 3/8" holes. I then slapped it on the boat and marked where I needed to drill holes on the boat. I drilled the holes and found the hardware to mount the bar. Here's what it looked like at this point.
I then began to clean and sand the bar. An hour or so later here's what it looked like.
At this point I was officially out of work. I called up Rylan and asked if he wanted to make the trip to bass pro. All willing, we went. I picked up 4 driftmaster rod holders. 2 Duo255H's and 2 Duo Troller 255H's. The only difference in the two are the fact that the trollers set at a slightly higher angle, I figured that they would sit nicely on the outside while the duo255h's were at a lower angle on the inside. I also bought a bilge pump and hoses...etc, a spot light for navigation, and another anchor.
Got home at around midnight and started working again. I began by placing the rod holders in various positions to see where I wanted to drill holes. I then decided to mount the rod holders 7 and 13 inches from the outside of the boat...on each side. I had to use a nut to stop the rod holders from falling through the hole, and I used the supplied wing nut to secure the rod holders in place.
At this point it was time to begin coating the bar in the the dupli color bed liner that I had left over from the bottom of the boat. After two coats I mounted the driftmaster rod holders. Here's what it looked like.
While the paint was drying in between coats I went ahead and ran wires for the bilge pump. Since the cpvc was full with other wires, I decided to run the bilge pump wires in corrugated wire along the groove of the boat. I then wired the bilge pump. At this point I had to make the decision to drill a hole in the transom or just toss the pipe over the back. I figured at this point that since I had already drilled holes for the transducer, whats another hole. I then cut a hole for the pipe and mounted the bilge pump hose, and adapter with silicone.
Here's the corrugated pipe along the grove:
Bilge pump:
The new hole: ;D
Since I had to re run wires I figured that I should go ahead and do my best to mount the wires up off of the bottom of the boat. I used zip ties where applicable, and went ahead and sealed all of the cpvc with glue and silicone...(in the tops). I also added toggle switches for the bilge pump and lights. I then connected all of the wires to alligator clips. Here's a few pics.
Zip ties and silicone:
Silicone, Alligator clips, and the battery:
At 5am I decided to call it quits. Sunday I woke up and realized that I still needed to make a bracket for my trolling motor in order to use it on the bow. Since my trolling motor is a transom mount, I would have to rotate the head of the motor. It was as easy as taking a screw out, turning the head 180 degrees and putting a screw back in. I then went down to the barn and started looking for anything I could use to make my mount. I ended up grabbing a sheet of particle board. I cut a few squares out and made a little box for the mount. I then drilled holes and mounted it to the bow. After a few coats of dupli color truck bed liner, it was good to go.
The Mount:
The trolling motor:
Hopefully the boat will set even enough for the trolling motor to set in the water a few inches. However I have my doubts. Might have to install a bait tank.
All in all I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out. However with this weekends purchases the boat has $1000 in it, $1130 if you count the battery that i bought for our other boat last year. I hope to have it in tip top shape come March.
Once again sorry for all the pics, just hoping it will help someone with their own boat project.
