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I'll be following your build just to increase my own knowledge. Looks like a cool project. My one input so far regards the fuel tank. Does the boat already have an integral fuel tank? I'm not familiar with your hull, at all, and I don't see a tank. If you're enclosing everything below that...

My experience with my 20HP Merc is that at gross weight with two fisherman, gear, and fuel, I can do right at 20 mph and it planes OK. Since most of the lakes and areas that I fish are no-wake restricted, the outboard I have does just fine.

I was trying to figure out how to lengthen my trailer when I saw your thread. I think you had already done yours when I did mine, so you were at least ahead of me. It was your thread that was key to finally getting the plan for mine and moving ahead. Yes, mine is an S14. 35HP max.

The Extruded Polystyrene is very cost effective and available at any home center.

I removed the old foam. The remaining voids under the wood tops of the benches were filled with Extruded Polystyrene Foam Insulation Board, cut to fit. I am also adding more of it to the underside of the new decks, as well as the area underneath the casting deck. I have one full sheet already...

Cool! Thanks for taking us along.

I've only had a boat now for four years. I've been renting boats at fishing lodges for four years before that. So, I'm not the most experienced boater in the world. That said.............. I like having the switch panel within easy reach of me while I'm at the helm. I also like having the...

I recently finished modifying my trailer for a better fit. I posted a thread over in the Trailers subforum, and you've probably seen it. However, since it's technically still late winter, I haven't pulled the trailer for any kind of distance to see how it rides. It's great in theory, but...

New for 2024 This year so far has been spent mostly on modifying the trailer, which had a number of shortcomings. First of all, it was too short for the boat and the weight distribution was a mess, so it did not pull well. I posted about the trailer in December in the trailer section of the...

New for 2023 I began 2023 by rebuilding the front casting deck. It was a relatively simple task and I reused the solid support structure that was under the original casting deck. I cleaned up the access hatch and added a closed storage area under the platform supporting the TM. It is simply...

New for 2022 The decks were beginning to become noticeably “wonky” with some soft spots developing. I have no idea how old that plywood was. I built drop-in decks that went between the fore, mid, and aft benches. The front casting deck seemed solid enough, so I left that alone. I used 5/8...

New for 2021 Early in 2021, I decided that I was going to give up on the Johnson and ordered a new Mercury 20HP Four Stroke. It arrived in late February. With the help of my Son-in-Law, I swapped out the Johnson for the new Merc. It was a thing of beauty. I splashed the boat and new...

This boat has been a nearly four year journey to this point. In my thread about trailer work, I offered up that I might submit a build thread that spanned several years; a number of forum members indicated they would be interested in seeing it. This thread is that build process. This boat is...

Well, if fish finders spooked fish regularly, I think we'd see at some significant discussion of it by professional anglers and others on YouTube. What I have seen discussed is boat speed, trolling motor noise (particularly the jerky on/off nature of spot lock) and simply not presenting baits...

I didn't know that; thanks. I have a 20 HP Merc EFI. SO I went and looked it up in the maintenance manual. Sho 'nuff, it says to add stabilizer to the fuel and run it to make sure the fuel system is full of stablized fuel before storage. No words about emptying the fuel out of the system...

This past season I ran with the outboard battery cables under the aft bench, under the deck, and into the battery box in the center bench. In the pic below, you can see how the support structure for my deck has spacing for cables to run under it. I have a tiller steer, so I don't have...

Congratulations. You'll really love that motor. I have the Merc 20 HP; bought it in 2021. At that time, there was no meaningful price difference between the Merc and the Tohatsu from online sellers. I was able to buy the Merc locally while the nearest Tohatsu dealer was 200 miles away. I've...

I don't recall having put my boat in the water on a weekend or holiday for that very reason. Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday are my preferred days, and I usually make the decision based on weather. I like a calm and relaxed boat ramp, too, where other fishermen are amenable to friendly...

It all boils down to enforcement. I don't see the no-wake restrictions or speed limits as being any easier or harder to enforce than HP restrictions. If the DNR agent or lake patrol is going to stand there looking for excessive HP motors, then the agent can stand there and look at wakes or...

I, too, looked at marine ply when I needed.to redo decks a couple years ago. The price scared me off. Instead, I used exterior-rated BCX ply. The real difference between BCX and marine ply is that marine ply is supposed to be free of voids while BCX will have voids, sometimes numerous voids...