Lowe Roughneck 1448 - Sheet Metal Fab and Wiring Question

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
May 10, 2020
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Picked up a 2008 Lowe Roughneck 1448 a few days ago with a 25 hp Mercury. Pretty stoked. It's going to be an awesome river and small lake fishing rig.

Got three questions.

1. I will be fishing the Susquehanna River and other shallow rocky rivers in the PA/VA/MD area and I would really like to have a bilge pump mounted in the transom area.

The battery compartment has a floor in it. See attached picture. And it's about 2" 1/2 high. I really don't think there's any way to mount a bilge pump without cutting out a small area of the floor so the bilge pump can be right on the boat's hull. I don't want the boat to take on a hundred pounds of water before the bilge's finally able to suck out water if I rip a hole in the hull from a rock.

The battery floor is really solid. Do you think it would be enough to just cut out a small circle in the floor that the bilge could fit through or would it be better to cut out a square and try to create a new lip and weld the corners together for better structural integrity?

I will have 2 group 29/31 batteries and a 6 gallon gas tank in there to give you an idea of the weight on the floor.

2. When I install new battery trays, would it be better to use screws or pop rivets with this type of floor? I am going to use the TH Marine plastic trays with metal buckles and I am not really sure how to secure these trays with the recessed mounts with pop rivets. See link for picture. https://thmarinesupplies.com/collections/battery-trays/products/battery-holder-tray-with-stainless-buckle

3. The boat has almost zero wiring in it right now, except for the 12v TM that is on there right now. I am going to add bow and stern navigational lights, a bilge pump, a 24v trolling motor and one or two fish finders.

Would it be worth it to install a buss bar and a switch panel at this time? I could see the use for a buss bar but I am not entirely sure about the switch panel. I was thinking about a going with the Sea Dog 3 switch panel that also has a 12v plug in it so I could use a spotlight if needed. Any thoughts or suggestions about how I can get this boat wired in the best way possible will be appreciated. See link. The product does not say that it is waterproof, though. https://www.wholesalemarine.com/switch-panel-with-lighter-and-battery-tester.html

Thanks!!! Really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you have.
 

Attachments

  • 2008 Lowe Boat Pix .jpeg
    2008 Lowe Boat Pix .jpeg
    4.2 MB · Views: 300
  • 2008 Lowe Battery Floor Pix .jpeg
    2008 Lowe Battery Floor Pix .jpeg
    2.7 MB · Views: 300
Not trying to be a wise guy here. I guess a small bilge pump is 2.3 - 3" diameter. I think I would make sure I couldn't fit a small bilge pump in the gap where you tape measure is before I started cutting anything.
 
Bilge Pump
The Rule LoPro will fit under there as it is less than 3" tall. Plus with automatic operation, you won't need a separate switch. Here's a 900GPH one for $70, and for that $$, you'll have good pumping capability with auto operation: https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=2661389

Battery Tray
Rivets or through-bolting is superior to screws, as the teeth on the screws continue to 'bite' into the parent tin material and WILL loosen up over time. You could also place rivnuts at each of the 4 corners of the plastic base, see: https://www.rivetsonline.com/ribbed-l-series-rivet-nuts-rn1024130alr/rn1024130alr I could easily send you 4 of them, 10-24 thread, but you'd need to make your own install tool, from simple washers & allen-head 10-24 SS bolt.

Wiring
  • I'd keep the trolling motor separate from the other wiring
  • Bring a 10 AWG +/- main up to a 6-circuit fused or breakered combo block, where the Nav lights can be on a simple Pull (Off - On) or (Off - On1 - On1&On2) switch.
  • Just connect the fishfinders to the block

.
Rule-LoPro.jpg
 
Thanks tdubs and daleh. I appreciate your replies.

One thing I don’t think I really understand and I’m going to ask this again.

If I leave that floor in without cutting anything, the bilge pump will be mounted anywhere between 2 and a half inches to 3 inches above that floor’s lip.

That means the boat could have 2 to 3 inches of water in it before the bilge pump starts sucking out water.

That means I could be forced to run the boat in an emergency with anywhere from 100 to 200 pounds of water in it possibly.

Am I wrong in seeing it that way?
 
Given that ... I'd cut a hole in the battery compartment floor so fast! Yes, you want the bilge pump as low as possible for that exact reason - WEIGHT!

Here's a sobering statistic from 'flooding' a boat, granted from my 'saltwater' boating files:

A 2" hole that is 1' below the waterline results in 78 gallons/minute entering the boat. With every minute the hole isn't plugged or pumped out, one is adding 650-pounds of freshwater weight to the boat or ~671-pounds of saltwater weight to the boat, and that ratio only increases as the boat sinks lower and lower into the water, or heels ... which is why my saltwater boats always had a bilge pump exit out each side of the stern.
 
Thanks daleh. Yes, that’s what I’ve been thinking all along.

This is a small 14’ boat and I absolutely need to have the bilge able to drain as much water out of the boat possible. I just can’t have 100-200 lbs (or even 500-600 lbs!!!) of water in it in a cold, rocky and fast flowing river. That would be a recipe for disaster.

I really think the floor is thick and solid enough so that I can cut a small circle out of it and fit a round Rule 1100 GPH pump in there without having the floor’s structural integrity affected.

The batteries and gas tank will be mounted anywhere from 4” to 6” forward of the circle and shouldn’t stress the area too much. I really think that’s looking like the best way to do this.

Appreciate all of your input. Keep the suggestions or thoughts coming, everyone. Thanks.
 
Another thing those pumps are good for is in case you get caught in a down pour. It's happened to me twice and I do watch the weather. I don't go out on the water without a good bilge pump. Dale, that pump you posted a link to looks like a great pump.
 

Latest posts

Top