Fisher 1860AW... New Boat -- New Construction

[russ010]

Well it's been a while, but I got the itch again to do another modification. I've fished out of my Xpress 1546 for a few years now, but it's time for an upgrade - and I mean a big jump to an all welded 1860. I'll take better pics when the sun comes out, but these should do for now. This is a 2004 Fisher 1860, and looks like it just came off the show room floor. The owner said he had it out on the water maybe 10 times since he bought it for fishing in Hilton Head on vacation. The motor is a 2006 Mercury 9.9 4 stroke Big Foot Motor - with maybe 10 hours on it. He still had all the receipts for boat, motor, trailer and the aluminum floor and side walls. These pictures just don't do justice for how big this boat actually is... the room inside the boat is unreal. I'm planning on an all aluminum construction - but I may have arthritis by the time I'm through with all the riveting. I think it's time for a pneumatic rivet gun

 

[V8_TITAN]

looks great, I wish I could get something like that.. I dont have any clue where I could just get the hull since they arent common down here..I dont want to spend 15k for a (huge) jon boat.

 

[Captain Ahab]

You better get a bigger motor! I would put at least a 40 on that beast

 

[Zum]

Are you planing the all electric route?
Clean,blank canvas for sure,nice find.

 

[Bugpac]

Russ you'll love that boat, 1860 is the way to go for what we do. I love mine.

 

[russ010]

Are you planing the all electric route?
Clean,blank canvas for sure,nice find.

Yep.. electric for the majority... BUT - last year I fished a few bass boat tournies out of my 1546 and didn't do too bad so I'll probably do that again this winter. We also have a few lakes on our trail where we can use gas motors.

I've got an Atlas Tilt & Trim jack plate to put on it...

Here's the plan we have so far.

1. Ordered Minn Kota Fortrex 101 today.. on backorder (through Tacklewarehouse) with 15% off for Labor Day... lowest price I could find
2. Have Minn Kota Rip Tide 101 for back
3. Paint... going to go with Petit Easy Poxy again. The paint looks fine on there now, but I noticed it's starting to get chalky and anywhere you touch it, it leaves your hand prints... Burgandy is probably going to be the primary color with black lettering and also paint trailer black.
4. Convert my 150qt cooler back into a livewell. This time I'll take the top of and deck over the top. I'll use 1/4" plexiglass inside and cut a hole in the top so that when we open the doors, the fish don't come flying out. By the way - If your cull balls don't have floats on them, get some that do... when a fish jumps out of your livewell back into the water (it's happened to me twice this year..), he can only stay down so long before that float wears him out and he floats back up to the top....
5. LEDs on brakelights... probably going to light this boat up even more with all of the Bluewater LEDs I have laying around

As far as a layout...
1. Rod lockers on both sides.. both sides will be over 8' long
2. Extend Front deck back between 3-4'
3. Extend Rear deck forward 4' --- this will leave us about a 2' gap or so in the middle
4. Storage all over the place... and this time I will make everything accessible

 

[theyyounggun]

Im ready to watch this! Im adventually wanting to get a 1860. opcorn:

 

[Talons]

I must say, I am envious!

Nice boat!

Can't wait to see what you do and how you do it!

Talons

 

[russ010]

Im ready to watch this! Im adventually wanting to get a 1860. opcorn:

I went from a 1232... to a 1236... to a 1546... and now an 1860... next step is fiberglass, BUT - I have a feeling I will always stay in a tin can.. this one will take up to a 75hp - but my actual "want" is an Xpress X21 with a 250HP.. as Tim "the tooman" Taylor would say "roh roh rooohh roh rooohh"

 

[theyyounggun]

Nothin says you cant have two boats! :LOL2:

 

[russ010]

Nothin says you cant have two boats! :LOL2:

umm.. yea I do and she's sitting right beside me! it's time for the 1546 to go

 

[Ictalurus]

Nice boat Russ =D> =D> =D>

 

[russ010]

Little update... so far, here is all the new stuff going on the boat

1. Minn Kota Fortrex 101 bow mount foot control
2. 3 - Odyssey 34M-PC1500ST TROLLING Thunder Marine Dual Purpose Battery for front TM
3. 2 - NOCO GEN3 Genius Black 12-36V 3-Bank 30A On-Board Battery Charger (these are by far the best chargers I've ever used. I've got a 2 bank charger now that I've been using that will now go to the electronics battery)
4. JENSEN JMS2212 AM/FM/USB/iPod/SIRIUS w/Weatherband... I've got an older model, but it's time to upgrade. Sirius Satellite is the only way to go (get the lifetime subscription for like $300-400, it will pay for itself)
5. Z-Launch Watercraft Launch Cord -- this is for when I'm fishing by myself. No more getting wet
6. BoatBuckle Retractable Transom Tie-Down
7. Comfortroll recessed foot pedal for TM
8. Petit Easy Poxy paint for boat - Burgundy to match my truck
9. Herculiner for the trailer (someone gave me a gallon a few years ago and I never used it) - scratched this idea...
10. 2 of Marine Grade Cigarette Lighter Socket

 

[Zum]

Sorry for laughing abit,when I heard acouple fish went free...it's only because I know your pain,hope it didn't cost you to much.I've also threw out my 5th fish before,thinking I had another
Anyways,googled that launch cord,for me I think I like a rope better,only because it would seem I would have more control on where to steer my boat before it gets to shore.
Does anyone on that electric tour use a electric outboard style motor.I've seen a few on youtube and some seem to really fly,are they legal for your tournaments?

 

[russ010]

Zum - on the fish that got away, luckily we had the cull balls on them and after a few minutes they came back up and we just netted them up, so we didn't lose any fish

As for the electric motors, none of the guys in my club have them... but I've fished against other clubs that had them. In that particular tournament, I had a 71 on the front, and 2 - 82s on the back. The guy I was following had a 3.5hp Briggs & Stratton. He ran that, and I was side by side with him for a good bit. He did pull away from me after about 200 yards, but he didn't run away from me.

Now there was another guy there with a Ray electric outboard... He literally left everybody sitting still and was half way down the lake before I was done taking a sip of Mountain Dew

The clubs south of Atlanta are putting on a tournament where the winner will get a Parsun (I think that's how you spell it)... but not sure. It's hard for me to drop that kind of cash on an electric motor when I could go out and buy a gas for the same price. But at the same time - the electric lakes we fish, I'm not worried about speed... no one fishes as deep as I do most times

 

[Troutman3000]

Glad I stopped by over here. This one should be good.

 

[russ010]

everything is pretty much ordered... waiting on good weather so that I can sand it down and start painting. By the time that is done, hopefully I'll have all the aluminum angle, square and aluminum sheets in from ordering.

But... I've got an anniversary this weekend, a tournament the next weekend... but maybe I can play hooky a few days the following week and get it taken care of.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Nothin says you cant have two boats! :LOL2:

haha... except for my fiance!!!!

 

[russ010]

Finally was able to get the boat out a little and do a little cleaning.. then again, all I've done so far is take out the aluminum floor and side kit that had been installed. It's amazing how much room this actually took up. I think I'm going to be using this floor and sidewalls as part of the decking... it's definitely strong and thick enough for it. More to come later.

Right now I'm trying to figure out if I want to paint it first before modding, or wait and paint just before I install the deck lids with the carpet on it. Right now, I'm leaning towards the end only because as tall as this boat is, I'm sure I'll hit it with something getting in and out and make some blemishes.

Anyways, here's some boat porn for you guys.... dressed - then undressed

 

[Brine]

Congrats on the rig man. That's a beast for sure.

I'm giggling looking at how deep it is. The 9.9 looks to be in great condition too.

Boat envy 8)