My First Boat

[Left Coast Chris]

Great boat!   I used to have a 10 hp older Merc. on a 14 ft western.  Very similar to yours.   

All of the input sounds good.  One more thought is regarding the propeller.  I learned to cary a little tool box with an extra shear pin and pair of pliers to get it in fast.  Fast was good in my case because I used it on the Sacramento River where I hit rocks on occasion and once sheared the key heading for a turn in the river.  I was ready to jump clear of the boat but got the pin in and started her back up just in time..... whew... those were the college days.  Might throw in extra plug and a trailer wheel bearing also.

You will have some great fun with that little baby! 

Another fun part..........come up with a name for the boat.  Thats where the boys come in!   Mine was the USS Minnow after Giligans Island......

[Norm]

Let us know the first time you launch without the boat plug in, even to this day I do it. Nothing like leaning over the motor trying to put it in after your in the water.  :D

[doctorb]

I think that many boat owners worry so much over their boat, that they short change the trailer.  I would suggest:

1.  Those trailer tires may be original.  If this boat has been stored outside for a long period of time, those tires may have dry-rotted in the sun and be a danger on the road, if you tow at highway speeds.  I would scrutinize them for cracks and their ability to hold pressure.  It's great that you also have a spare tire.  Don't forget to look at it as well.

2.  Wheel bearings.  May need replacement and certainly need grease maintenance.  Use one of the protective caps after you fill so that grease doesn't leak out much into the lake during launch.

3.  Check the height from the pavement to the bottom skeg of the motor.  If the motor skeg is close to the road, then you can drag the motor when towing over bumps and uneven ground.  They make supports to hold the lower end of the motor locked in the up position, to prevent damage during transit.

4.  Buy a new drain plug.  It only costs a couple of bucks, but you'll get a better seal and it won't leak.

5.  Consider a trailer jack if you don't have a conventional jack in your vehicle.  This is a half-mooned shaped metal device that allows you to pull forward with it wedged between the road and the axle of the trailer, elevating a wheel for tire change after a flat.  Thought it was overkill 'til I had a flat 2 years ago.

6.  Docking the boat on the trailer is easier with side guides on the trailer.  They stick up on each side and funnel the boat into position during trailering.

7.  Wiring on a trailer can be a PIA!.  Clean all connections between the trailer connection and the hitch connection with fine sandpaper.  Make sure the turning signals and brake lites work.

Good luck.  Sorry for the laundry list of ideas!

[Ron Scott]

Good advice, especially on the tires. You may want to replace them with radials if they already aren't.

[metalspinner]

Doc,

1. Check.  Brand new rims and tires.
2  Check.  Bearings repacked and covers added.
3. Will have to look into this.  The motor does lock in the up position, though.
4. Check.  Another backup plug is in the boat's toolbox.
5. I'll have to check if my scissor jack will work for a tire change.
6. I've seen these on other boat/trailer combos for sale. It sure looks like an easy way to load.
7.Check.  My son and I nailed it the first time.  I couldn't believe it!

Keep the list coming, Doc. I appreciate the help you've offered thus far.  Just wait till I ask how to catch some fish. :D

[WDH]

Or how to fix my busted shoulder  :D.

[doctorb]

Small motor like yours may be OK trailering in the up / angled position.  Larger heavier motors may have issues if not further supported.  Problems arise when you hit bumps, becasue the weight of the engine part of the motor is not balanced with the weight / length of the lower end.  So the motor can bounce, levering on its transom attachments.  Most aluminum boats have a strip of wood attached to the stern to mount the motor on, which occasionally needs replacing.  They make an adjustable length device to go between the trailer and the lower end of your motor to prevent this bouncing and levering.

If you have adjustable skids under the boat on your trailer, you can raise them an inch or so to prevent the lower end from hitting if you trailer with it in the more stable down position.  If it makes docking the boat on the trailer more dificult, then raise the front portions of the skids a bit as well, and put the trailer a little deeper into the water to ease it onto the skids.  I like this solution best and is what I do with my small aluminun boat with a 9.9 on the back.

[doctorb]

Metalspinner

'Bout time we got some boating stories and an update on your boat renovations, don't ya' think?

[whiskers]

Repack the wheel bearings. A`lock for the receiver hitch, spare tire and another for the hitch cover may make the difference in who takes your trailer home from the public landing, anything left unsecured has a way of disappearing while you're away. Before launching disconnect the trailer lights, stow the skeg support, install the drain plug, release the over strap and attach a bow launch line. Once you're in the water be certain there are no lines (anchor, bow etc.) left over the side, they'll end up around the prop.  Check the motor's water pump discharge for flow. Check the prop for fishing line. It'll wreck the seal and ruin the lower bearings. If the motor is equipped with a down position latch release it in shallow water, could save you a prop or transom. Your DNR will have a list of required equipment. Lakes are a better place to learn than rivers, current changes everything. enjoy.......       

[metalspinner]

I've been out quite a bit, but it seems the trolling motor brings me home more often than not. :D

The motor is currently in the shop to covert it from the pressurized gas tank.  The last trip out, the tank sprung a leak and I made it back to the dock standing in a puddle of fuel. :

He needs to find a certain plate from a certain year motor to make it work and he thinks it will be difficult to come across.

This guy on You Tube made the conversion and it looks pretty slick.  A $10 fuel pump and what looks like a custom made air intake plate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suuy-827T78

I will swing by the shop tomorrow to check on his progress as it's been a few weeks.  If he hasn't had any luck, I will see if I can make the plate from aluminum plate like the video guy.

As far as the boat,  it's in great shape.  

I decided to put a deck on the front third by running 8/4 cedar cross members in the grooves on the side of the boat. Then it's decked with 4/4 cedar.  Here's a pick of the deck prior to installing the seat plate...





The boat is very stable when sitting and walking around the deck.  My BIL came out with me once, though. He is a big guy and had to sit in the middle of the boat and not reach out or shift around too much. :D


There are two bench seats - one in the middle and the other at the stern.  On each bench seat I put a seat plate for padded swiveling fishing seats. ;D

Other toys...

Humminbird fish finder
Minkota pedal controled bow mount trolling motor
Hard wired for bow and anchor lights and bilge pump
I made a switch plate with rocker swiches for all the electricals
Too may fishing poles
None of the right lures

We have had pretty good luck catching some nice fish with live minnows, though.  Just this week, we had a nice crappie dinner.  I hooked into a big catfish of about 20# that fed the whole family dinner one night and me lunch the next day. ;D  We had a good time fileting him.  The boys performed an autopsy on his guts.  :D  My wife almost cryed when she looked in the ice chest and saw her dinner still swimming. :D :D :D

All in all, it's been fun.

A good story...

One time out, I pulled on the chord and ended up holding the string in my hand. :  After messing with it a bit, I got impatient and just headed out with the trolling motor and spent the afternoon trolling around the cove.  After a while, I noticed a guy put in what must of been a $40,000 bass boat.  It was a sight to see.  Strapped down to the trailer it looked fast let alone when he dropped it on the water.  I was admiring it from a distance as he was getting everything ready  for his day out and felt a bit humbled trolling around on my broken down POS.

He finally got around to starting it only it wouldn't crank up.  He took the cover off and fidgeted around with some things for a while and tryed cranking it again.  Finally, giving up in frustration, he drops the trolling motor in the water and starting puttering around the cove. :D :D  We came within eyeshot of one another, but he wouldn't make eye contact with me. :D :D

Once home from that trip, I practiced replacing the pull chord and made sure I had all the proper tools in the tools box.  I also uncoiled the return spring and practiced that repair, too. That gave me some confidence that I could get'r done out on the water. ;)

We'll talk about the jet sky A!@$%^*+*'s another time. >:( >:(

[WDH]

Sounds like the Jet Ski Guy got his motor cranked  :D.  Good stuff, keep it coming.

[SwampDonkey]

Don't worry about the big shot, probably on his second mortgage. I woulda waved at him and his big hulk with a smile on my face. :D :D Too funny.

I have a 7.5 HP Evenrude just sitting around. It's got almost no hours on it at all, way less than 100. I have kept it because one never knows when I might take to urge to go boat'n. Now a days you have to take an examination on boat safety to even put it in the water. Regulators think these things keep idiots off the water you know. :D

You have yourself a nice little boat, although I'm not so sure I would be walking the deck without a hefty fella on the stern. :D ;) That little walk out there can be a little dicey. :D

[fishpharmer]

MS, the unforgettable memories with your family is really what its all about. The deck looks super.
8) 8)
Keep stories and pics coming., thanks.

[Norm]

Nothing perturbs me more than being in that secluded cove drowning worms when all of a sudden one of those bass boats comes screaming in full bore. Can you guess where my next cast goes.  :D

Great stories Chris, brings back fond memories. Well except for the bass boat.

[Coon]

I hear ya on the Boaters Exam there Swamp Donkey.  It's nothing more than a joke.  When I went for my certification it was nothing more than a multiple choice test and any of the questions that someone was unsure about they gave us the answer and explained it to us.  That consisted of over half the test.  Can't remember for sure but you needed either 80 or 90% to pass.  Somehow there were a few that still didn't pass.  :D  And to think that they charged us $60 per person for this.  : 

[doctorb]

I love the decking!  Nice job MS!  Great little craft.

Swamp + Coon -  I had to get a boater's certification for myself, my wife, and my two daughters just to use our boats up in Canada.  If you fail the test, you just take another.  I saw nothing in the test worthwhile, except maybe the emphasis that you should help another boater in trouble (duh!).  What is really great is the "security" of the test.  You can't have a family member monitor the test to make sure the person taking it isn't cheating.  The monitor has to be from another email address!  Totally a shameless, money-making scam.

[Tom]

It sure makes one wonder why a fellow can't just throw and log in the water and paddle it around, doesn't it?

It's a good thing there were no boating tests 100,000 years ago.  Man would still be in Africa.

[Magicman]

The boat decking looks terrific Chris.  Good luck with the motor.   

[CLL]

Metalspinner, caught more fish in a 16' aluminum boat with a 5hp Sea King(Sears) than any of the bass boats I ever had. Good luck fishing, just be careful in the wind.

[metalspinner]

Before I winterize my little boat, there is some updating to do... ;D

Because of the way I fish, I found myself walking back and forth from the bow to the stern all the time.  And the middle bench seat was getting tiresome to step over.  The ribbed bottom was also kind of testing my patience because all my stuff wouldn't sit flat and just seemed to be in the way.

So the middle seat came out, and I installed a floor in the bottom.

Each rib was different, so they all had to be scribed to their particular rib in the boat bottom.  I cut and installed the front and rear ribs first and added the center floor board.  That gave me the refrence for all the other ribs and things moved along pretty quick. Under each scribed end, I put a piece of weather stripping that give some cushion to the floor.



  

Here are all the cedar boards installed...


  

They extend under the back bench seat but stop shy of the transom....


  

And a view from the captain's chair...


 

Fishfarmer,
You mentioned earlier a foam product and I think I will spray this under my flooring for some added floatation.  Under the front decking I have plenty of floatation in the form of about 100 plastic gatoraide bottles. :  But the middle and rear of the boat is is need of something.

A couple of other things you may have noticed... A new motor! 8) it's a 15hp Tohatsu with electric start. 

Also, on the front seat, I installed a solar charger for my battery.  It won't charge a drained battery in a day, but it keeps me from having to remove the battery from the boat when I get home to charge in the garage.  I fabbed a couple of aluminum brackets and installed them on the the back of the seat.

[fishpharmer]

The cedar looks very nice!    I've heard good things about the Tohatsu motors, electric start sure makes boating more fun.   8)

[Den Socling]

Nice work.  8) I bet you had fun sprucing her up!

[WildDog]

Looks good, the wood and rubber will go along way to deadening on board noise when fishing

[SwampDonkey]

You did a fine job remodeling. Be careful out there, I know how tippy the smaller alum. boats were when we used to fish and anchor side by side on the Saint John river. We had a larger boat. Good thing, my grandfather liked standing up fishing sometimes and I think he felt he was still 30 when casting that fly for a salmon. He was always sober, but you know how you start to get unsteady after about 40. :D ;)

[Leigh Family Farm]

Spray foam can be expensive. If your using foam, I would get block foam from West Marine. Also, you don't need much to keep the boat afloat if its swamped. The only problem with too much foam (blocks or spray) is water logging and that can cause mildew and smells. The stuff I used in racing was ballast bags. They are inflatable bags that provide flotation, can be removed for cleaning, and will keep your whole boat afloat with just two small bags.