What have you done to your Tin Boat today?

Boosh said:

Saw a thread like this on a motorhome forum and though it was great! lots of storage and upgrade ideas. It probably made me spend more money then I should have! I thought I'd get one going on this forum, similar to what @LDUBS just posted. So I will start with an upgrade I did today. Been trying to figure out how to stow the bimini top while not using it. I bought a Bimini slide track kit to push the bimini back while not using it. I ordered the 18" kit but probably needed it to be longer Slide track kit It helped make more room in the boat (16' Crestliner) and allowed seating in the back. Here's what it looked like prior to the slide, no way for someone to sit in the back.
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after sliding rail

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I ordered a Kayak roof mount "foam". Not sure this is the answer for supporting the bimini, but for now, this is what I'm doing. I think there's something better out there, so hoping I see a better solution. I have more sections available for the kayak roof foam if anyone need it. I just cut off a piece and velcro'd it to one of the poles.

Kayak Foam

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Didn't the Canadian model come with bow and rear side rails? My dad was looking for a Canadian last year but could not find one close enough. He ended up finding a Crestliner Sportsman 14. He added his own custom made rails since he liked how they look on the Canadian. He opted to paint them red since he made them from 1/2" conduit.

Boosh said:

Saw a thread like this on a motorhome forum and though it was great! lots of storage and upgrade ideas. It probably made me spend more money then I should have! I thought I'd get one going on this forum, similar to what @LDUBS just posted. So I will start with an upgrade I did today. Been trying to figure out how to stow the bimini top while not using it. I bought a Bimini slide track kit to push the bimini back while not using it. I ordered the 18" kit but probably needed it to be longer Slide track kit It helped make more room in the boat (16' Crestliner) and allowed seating in the back. Here's what it looked like prior to the slide, no way for someone to sit in the back.
View attachment 120801
View attachment 120802

after sliding rail

View attachment 120803
View attachment 120804

I ordered a Kayak roof mount "foam". Not sure this is the answer for supporting the bimini, but for now, this is what I'm doing. I think there's something better out there, so hoping I see a better solution. I have more sections available for the kayak roof foam if anyone need it. I just cut off a piece and velcro'd it to one of the poles.

Kayak Foam

View attachment 120805


View attachment 120806

Click to expand...

Boosh, didn't the Canadian models come with bow and rear side rails? My dad was looking for a Canadian last year but could not find one close enough. He ended up finding a Crestliner Sportsman 14. He added his own custom made rails since he liked how they look on the Canadian. He opted to paint them red since he made them from 1/2" conduit.

3/4" pin bases on all three bench seats and two Millennium B100 seats on the 1964 Model 15.

Tin Man said:

Didn't the Canadian model come with bow and rear side rails? My dad was looking for a Canadian last year but could not find one close enough. He ended up finding a Crestliner Sportsman 14. He added his own custom made rails since he liked how they look on the Canadian. He opted to paint them red since he made them from 1/2" conduit.

Boosh, didn't the Canadian models come with bow and rear side rails? My dad was looking for a Canadian last year but could not find one close enough. He ended up finding a Crestliner Sportsman 14. He added his own custom made rails since he liked how they look on the Canadian. He opted to paint them red since he made them from 1/2" conduit.

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They may have been an option or maybe added to a different year? The gunnels are high on the Canadian, something I was looking for. For me I'd rather have a bimini over side rails. I don't know that it was an option for the 2007 model.

Replaced old cable drive 24v TM with a MK Power drive TM, then added a Co-Pilot remote. The lead acid batteries (3) have been replaced with 100AH LifeP04 ...had a 50AH lifeP04 to power electronics went back to 100ah , moved the 50ah to a portable power box build for off grid.tailgating and hunting.

Discount tire is having a nice 4th July sale so I replaced the chinese rainier st tires that came with the trailer with some Goodyear endurance. These should last me awhile!

flatheadsteve said:

Discount tire is having a nice 4th July sale so I replaced the chinese rainier st tires that came with the trailer with some Goodyear endurance. These should last me awhile!

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Unless things have changed, those are the only trailer tires made in America.

LDUBS said:

Unless things have changed, those are the only trailer tires made in America.

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I think carlisle still makes a couple at a plant in TN but they are a HD tire more intended for 10k gvw+ type trailers.

Carlisle makes a good tire in all sizes. Those outlasted my Goodyear by a good margin. I'm done with Goodyear, but maybe I just got a bad batch.

Honestly, GY tires have never been a good fit for me in anything I ever owned. Both Carlisle and Kenda have been great for trailer tires, usually rotted out long before having any issues with them. On our motor home the " Hankook" brand gave the best ride/ wear and overall performance. Michigan were the worst. I believe in made in USA whenever I can, but overall performance beats where it is made.

Added some side guides to the trailer. Boat floats over my low bunks when the winds blowing. Hopefully this will make my life easier when when I’m by myself

When I pulled my trailer out from the side of the house this past May, I somehow clipped the fender on the boat that was laying on its side against the house. The fender broke. Because this is a Chinese made trailer and boat, I was able to order a new fender from Amazon. Just 30 bucks Canadian. 4 bolts later and the new one is installed.
Before...

And after the repair...

I feel much better now.

Boosh said:

Added some side guides to the trailer. Boat floats over my low bunks when the winds blowing. Hopefully this will make my life easier when when I’m by myself View attachment 121997

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I've been toying with the idea of incorporating side posts into the existing side bunks. I'm kind of surprised no one has done that yet.

LDUBS if you don't have side posts put a pair on. My current trailer doesn't had side bunks. I put posts on soon after I got this boat and trailer. Makes it much so easier just keeping track of the trailer when you are launching and retrieving much less making it easier loading the boat. I have lights on mine also from when I used to tow after dark. After you have them you'll wonder how you ever did without them.

LDUBS said:

I've been toying with the idea of incorporating side posts into the existing side bunks. I'm kind of surprised no one has done that yet.

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I did mine last year, post don't help me much other than to know for sure that boat is centered on trailer. Also a nice visual when backing the empty trailer. I used PVC pipe and bolted them onto the side guide uprights. My side guides are 5' long and poles are attached to the rear uprights. I only have about a 1/2" plus on each side of the side guides, no issues loading in wind, and always centered !!

Yesterday, I decided to make a better mount for my Livescope.

Previously, I made one using a shaft and clamp base from a trolling motor. I spray painted it silver to look "factory"...


It worked great, but when we moved, it tilted up across the boat, blocking a big area. For long runs, it was easiest to just take it off and then put it back on when at the next. Not super-difficult, but kind of a pain.

So I bought one of these:


It does a GREAT job of holding the Livescope pole. I removed the clamp mount but kept the depth stop and it's excellent,

I don't want it sticking up all the time, so to mount it to the boat, I cut a square piece of 3/4" thick PVC board as a base. I rounded the top and corners with a router and drilled 1/4" holes to match the holes in the baseplate. Then I set nuts into the bottom of the PVC base for a super clean look.

To set the nuts, I partly widened the bolt holes to just smaller than the nut, so that only the tips of the nuts went beyond the edges of the holes. Then, I spun the nut onto a bolt and then used a hammer to drive the nuts into the holes. It worked perfectly! They set in tightly, no adhesive or anything needed.

Then I mounted the plate onto my gunnel, nice and clean. It just looks like a puck. When I want the Livescope, 1" bolts with lock washers secures the mount solidly. Also, I'm thinking of getting some 1/4" thumb screws to make it even easier to attach and remove.

Besides being easily swapped from one boat to another, this mount swivels in several directions, so that when fishing, I can lift and swivel the pole out of the way for short runs, or just turn the knob and lay it down for long runs.

It's been storming, but I'll take some pictures when I get a chance.

gillhunter said:

LDUBS if you don't have side posts put a pair on. My current trailer doesn't had side bunks. I put posts on soon after I got this boat and trailer. Makes it much so easier just keeping track of the trailer when you are launching and retrieving much less making it easier loading the boat. I have lights on mine also from when I used to tow after dark. After you have them you'll wonder how you ever did without them.

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Thanks Gillhunter. I had them on the previous boat and agree they work great. For some reason, I put short side bunks on this boat. I think adding side posts would give me the best of both worlds. Seems I always have a list of potential upgrades.

airshot said:

I did mine last year, post don't help me much other than to know for sure that boat is centered on trailer. Also a nice visual when backing the empty trailer. I used PVC pipe and bolted them onto the side guide uprights. My side guides are 5' long and poles are attached to the rear uprights. I only have about a 1/2" plus on each side of the side guides, no issues loading in wind, and always centered !!

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Thanks Airshot. I have short side bunks -- just one bracket on each side holding a 24" long bunk. Still your approach would work. In fact, I wonder if I would even need the side bunks if I put on posts.

LDUBS said:

Thanks Airshot. I have short side bunks -- just one bracket on each side holding a 24" long bunk. Still your approach would work. In fact, I wonder if I would even need the side bunks if I put on posts.

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I have had both, poles and side guides. Poles are a visual decoration in my opinion, they do very little for centering the boat. From my experience, longer side guides only help, no deterence in any way ! Well let me re state that....the long side guides do make cleaning the boat sides while on the trailer more difficult....but for loading...awesome....I don't think I could get my boat off center no matter how hard I tried !

When it comes to guide posts, these are the only ones I ever found useful !!

airshot said:

I have had both, poles and side guides. Poles are a visual decoration in my opinion, they do very little for centering the boat. From my experience, longer side guides only help, no deterence in any way ! Well let me re state that....the long side guides do make cleaning the boat sides while on the trailer more difficult....but for loading...awesome....I don't think I could get my boat off center no matter how hard I tried !

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Thanks Airshot. I can see how long side bunks would really center the boat, especially if driving the boat up on the trailer. They fit the boat kind of like a glove. With guide posts the bow of the boat could possibly go off center depending on the set-up. But once you snug up the bow winch, the rear of the boat would be centered and settle right down on the bunks. At least that is my experience.

Either way, your post made me realize I should seriously consider the option of another set of brackets and longer side bunks. In my case the current set-up works fairly well, so it is really one of those "nice to do" as opposed to "must do" things. The main issue it would avoid is what @Boosh mentioned -- on some ramps the boat can float over the short side bunks at the rear of the trailer.

By the way, even with my short ones, I unbolt and remove the side bunks when cleaning the boat (probably not as often as I should).