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1248 Weldbilt Project
- Thread starter mfu5324
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I am extremely happy about how stable the boat was..... I could stand on the sides and walk to the front to back with very little tippyness.... It is almost like a toy... it turns on a dime (see pic). I took it out to the bigger water too and it had zero problems with larger waves... very surprised about this
More to come.....
I am extremely happy about how stable the boat was..... I could stand on the sides and walk to the front to back with very little tippyness.... It is almost like a toy... it turns on a dime (see pic). I took it out to the bigger water too and it had zero problems with larger waves... very surprised about this
More to come.....
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rscottp
Well-known member
I dig your little boat! Looks like a tiny tank on the water. We have tons of 13' whalers with side steering all over the place up here in NE. You see them out in all kinds of big seas!
Centrarchidae
Active member
Looks like you have a young boat pilot in training. That is what it is all about. He is going to remember that for life!
Centrarchidae,
OH YEA... that little boy worked all fall on "his" boat... He was on cloud nine driving that thing yesterday. You are absolutely right.. at the end of the day, see my little boys emotions made the entire project worth it.... kids these days need projects like this instead of those darn video games etc....
OH YEA... that little boy worked all fall on "his" boat... He was on cloud nine driving that thing yesterday. You are absolutely right.. at the end of the day, see my little boys emotions made the entire project worth it.... kids these days need projects like this instead of those darn video games etc....
Good job on your boat and thanks for sharing the pictures because they inspire us to get moving on our own EVA foam projects. I am excited to put my boat in for the first time since November - I finished going through the motor over the winter with general tune-up and replaced the water pump last month. This Spring I was busy with the flooring (and youth turkey season for friend's son). Man a boat floor and the decks are time consuming to restore but really rewarding when it's done. We should be good to go with EVA foam floor galore for years to come. Your boat looks great and professionally restored, in my opinion. =D>
Update... well been using the boat about dozen times so far... its excellent for running bank lines in the river... not tippy at all and can go uin foot and half deep water without dragging motor.
I must say, im kind of disappointed in the 18hp tohatsu. By my self it screams out of the gate and will hit 26 mph. With two people in it or more.. its a total dog... can hardly get it to plane...
So any suggestions... 25hp? what is the lighest 4 strokes out there? does the motor weight kill me?
I must say, im kind of disappointed in the 18hp tohatsu. By my self it screams out of the gate and will hit 26 mph. With two people in it or more.. its a total dog... can hardly get it to plane...
So any suggestions... 25hp? what is the lighest 4 strokes out there? does the motor weight kill me?
Update 2: the eva foam flooring is AWESOME. it is NOT HOT in the sun. it is extremely durable as we have been tromping in it and throwing 10-15 pound cats around in it all summer. A few nicks and nacks in it but holding up.
My dad already ripped his carpeting out to put this stuff in and two of his fishing buddies are doing theres this fall that way. You wont go wrong using it guys!!!
My dad already ripped his carpeting out to put this stuff in and two of his fishing buddies are doing theres this fall that way. You wont go wrong using it guys!!!
They go up in weight when you get into 25 hp and higher. My 30 hp weighs around 180 lbs but has PT&T. Without it I believe it is around 25-30 lbs lighter. It hit 32.1 mph. It flies no matter what I do. If you fish more by yourself I wouldn't worry about it. If you fish with a partner all the time and bogs down I'd look into a 25 hp.
Well... I used my little weldbilt all summer long.. mostly running trotlines and banklines on the river. Never had an issue or a scare or anything. Only complaint I had was the little 18hp tohatsu has no power to plane the boat with 2 or 3 guys in it. Gonna buy a 20hp Suzuki EFI this winter.
Anyway, like I said we ran the boat all summer and caught over 140 cats in it. We hit trees, stumps, rainstorms, whitecaps ... had 1 ft of water in it during one rain storm... and zero issues. Never once came close to tipping or anything.
So Friday night, I took my 7 year old son, and his two grandpas out to run some jugs. We got on the river about 7 pm... calm nite, river barely flowing... awesome nite to fish. We drove from boat ramp to fishing spot... 2 miles maybe .. going about 10 mph. We saw shad working... I pulled back on the throttle... and wham! the front of the boat went straight down, and water rushed over the front....
All of us were safe..... the boat took about 1 minutes to fill with water... and then it flipped over on its top.... and floated like a champ. We pulled it to the shore (still 2 foot of water at the shore).. I swam and grabbed all the gear. We did lose marine batter and tackle box..... the three of us got our wits, flipped the boat over and we bailed out all the water in about 1/2 hour.
The motor wouldn't start... so we trolly motor back to dock.... 1 1/2 hours to do so. My son was a champion... never got nervous during the whole process. Once we got to shore, he sobbed for his mom... but today he is all smiles and cant wait to tell his friends.
Got the boat back home, hooked the charger up and the motor fired right up and ran great.
So why did my boat sink? It rained all week at my dads place (where I kept the boat)... I didn't pull the plug before pulling it to river and letting I in. I think there must have been full of water under the plywood floor and when I pulled back on the throttle, it all ran to the front. That or I have a hole in it but we didn't see one.
Anyway, if you wonder about the safety of a 1248 weldbilt.... well they take about 1 minute to fill with water.... they will flip over... but they will float once tipped over (about 1 foot out of water).
What did I learn. 1 - always pull the plug and put it in before launching. 2 -- getting two bilge pumps (one for each back corner)..... 3 -- don't let people ride in the very front (although it was no issue all summer... but safety first!)
Gonna take it out 1 more time before I winterize. Love the little boat..... no regrets
Anyway, like I said we ran the boat all summer and caught over 140 cats in it. We hit trees, stumps, rainstorms, whitecaps ... had 1 ft of water in it during one rain storm... and zero issues. Never once came close to tipping or anything.
So Friday night, I took my 7 year old son, and his two grandpas out to run some jugs. We got on the river about 7 pm... calm nite, river barely flowing... awesome nite to fish. We drove from boat ramp to fishing spot... 2 miles maybe .. going about 10 mph. We saw shad working... I pulled back on the throttle... and wham! the front of the boat went straight down, and water rushed over the front....
All of us were safe..... the boat took about 1 minutes to fill with water... and then it flipped over on its top.... and floated like a champ. We pulled it to the shore (still 2 foot of water at the shore).. I swam and grabbed all the gear. We did lose marine batter and tackle box..... the three of us got our wits, flipped the boat over and we bailed out all the water in about 1/2 hour.
The motor wouldn't start... so we trolly motor back to dock.... 1 1/2 hours to do so. My son was a champion... never got nervous during the whole process. Once we got to shore, he sobbed for his mom... but today he is all smiles and cant wait to tell his friends.
Got the boat back home, hooked the charger up and the motor fired right up and ran great.
So why did my boat sink? It rained all week at my dads place (where I kept the boat)... I didn't pull the plug before pulling it to river and letting I in. I think there must have been full of water under the plywood floor and when I pulled back on the throttle, it all ran to the front. That or I have a hole in it but we didn't see one.
Anyway, if you wonder about the safety of a 1248 weldbilt.... well they take about 1 minute to fill with water.... they will flip over... but they will float once tipped over (about 1 foot out of water).
What did I learn. 1 - always pull the plug and put it in before launching. 2 -- getting two bilge pumps (one for each back corner)..... 3 -- don't let people ride in the very front (although it was no issue all summer... but safety first!)
Gonna take it out 1 more time before I winterize. Love the little boat..... no regrets
Glad to hear you'll are ok. I swear I am the only one when I'm on the lake that wears a life jacket. Better safe than dead!!!
Also glad to hear you are really loving your boat. Sounds like you are getting more use out of it than I am mine, lol. I have to find a way to free up some of this work. Only complaint I have with mine is it can be a challenge in the wind trying to control. Of course I am targeting crappie and dipping trees, lay downs, stumps and what not. Sure got better when I purchased the GPS for the trolling motor though. Is yours hard to control or do you have to do precise trolling motor control like this?
Also glad to hear you are really loving your boat. Sounds like you are getting more use out of it than I am mine, lol. I have to find a way to free up some of this work. Only complaint I have with mine is it can be a challenge in the wind trying to control. Of course I am targeting crappie and dipping trees, lay downs, stumps and what not. Sure got better when I purchased the GPS for the trolling motor though. Is yours hard to control or do you have to do precise trolling motor control like this?
