couple questions (seats, paint, trolling motor)

I will soon have a 14' V bottom ( https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9384 ) and have a couple questions. First mod will be seats. I think I am going with camoflauge Wise seats (https://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/wise-camouflage-hunting-fishing-fold-down-boat-seat.aspx?a=196625). First question, how high do the seats need to be? I was considering a 7 inch fixed riser with a swivel plate mounted on top (about $15 for a riser and swivel) on each bench. I dont know if that will be too high. also I dont know if I want to mount the back seat in the center of the bench for weight distribution and fishing, or offset it some for steering the outboard since they will be permanantly mounted. On to my next question, how much paint will it take to do the insided and out. I kind of want to stencil it (dont lots of research, there are some good looking jobs out there) but will probably go with just a base color for now. Will a quart or two do, or do I need a gallon? I dont have a sprayer but I could rent one from H.Depot if I needed to. May just prime it good and rattle-can it if that would be about as effective. Last question (for now), is a 30#/30" trolling motor going to be big enough, or should I spend a little more and get a 36 or a 40#? Thanks for any advise!

First question, how high do the seats need to be? I was considering a 7 inch fixed riser

Click to expand...

you didn't mention how wide your boat is, but you should be fine with the 7" base.

next question, how much paint will it take to do the inside and out

Click to expand...

I would think 1 gallon would about take care of it, depends on how many coats needed. The paint can will have the sq footage coverage in the description. Take your boat WxLxH to roughly figure sq footage.

Last question (for now), is a 30#/30" trolling motor going to be big enough, or should I spend a little more and get a 36 or a 40#?

Click to expand...

This can only be answered by you, how many people/gear/weight will be in the boat on average? Better to have more power then not enough. I have a 17' boat with a 40HP outboard, average 2 people on board with 2 batteries, cooler, 20 gallon bait tank and 2 - 25lb anchors. I have a 46lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor and if it was any smaller it would crawl.

as for the seats, i'd suggest getting out on the water with a partner and test different heights and locations. after i did mine i had to go back and add a taller pedestal in the rear seat. now i'm going to move the rear seat closer to center, boat leans too much to side now with 2 people. a test run will save you a lot of hassle later. all you'll need is the seats and some wood blocks to try different heights and locations.

boat is around 43-48" wide at the top rail in the middle of the boat. I dont have it yet but was just getting ideas for a mod list. i am going to play around with the seating some. Most of the time it will be 2 people, 6hp o/b and fishing gear. nothing too heavy in the boat. thanks for the tips

For the seat, this selection is probably THE most important in any boat. Go test them at a bass pro or other shop or ask to sit in guys boats at the dock or something like that. I ended up with a set of Tempress Lowbacks and would not give them up even if I sold the boat. The seats make the day comfortable. If your butt gets numb or your back starts to hurt you aren't going to fish well. I can sit in these seats for several hours without problems, the Wise seats I replaced had a one hour limit before I absolutely had to get up and move around to get the blood flowing again.

Paint is what it is, paint on a hot day and it doesn't go far, prime first and it goes futher thinner.

Trolling motor, depends on the flow and how much battery you want to drag around. Light boat, low flow, 30lb should be fine. Mine is a 33lb and it does well enough in normal conditions. If the rivers up I'll fire off the motor to go upstream.

Jamie