Flotation pods

[lgpjr49]

In this video in the link I'll post here
https://www.catfishedge.com/floatation-pods/
The guy talks about having them so he can get into skinnier water with his boat, I like to fish for bass and bream like this and get way back into skinnier water. Would this help my boat since my stern sits heavy to begin with? I have a 87 lowe 1448 "14 big Jon" is on the coast guard plaque I have an 88 Johnson 2 stroke on it with a 45 lbs TM on the back as back up along with the battery and gas tank to run them. I've tried moving the battery around and getting the weight more distributed, I have moved the main bow mounted TM battery up under the bow which helps,but can't think of a way to get less weight in the back. Would the pods help me in skinnier water or not help me as much as i would hope and for the cost of them and install just not worth it?


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[lovedr79]

Pods would help. I deleted my starting battery, ran jumper cables wire to my fromnt TM battery for electronics and started. Moved fuel tank up under console. Helped a lot. Pods would help even more.

 

[whitetailhntr]

How big of a motor is on the boat?

 

[lgpjr49]

Oops forgot that detail 25hp


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[riverrat717]

Pods were the best mod I made on my old 1542. Raised the stern(shallower running and drifting), made the boat more stable(moving around inside), act like trim tabs to get on plane faster(no stern squat on takeoff), and, they make a handy step for getting in and out of the boat.

 

[lgpjr49]

Now one more question, I assume most of y'all welded the pods. However I can't weld mine on because my transom is bolted on and If I weld them on I won't be able to get to the transom. How much of a difference strength wise would the difference be if I bolted it with lots of back plates and mounting points?


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[surfman]

If done right bolting is just as strong and as good as welding.

 

[momule]

You stated that you have "a 87 lowe 1448 "14 big Jon" is on the coast guard plaque I have an 88 Johnson 2 stroke on it with a 45 lbs TM on the back as back up along with the battery and gas tank to run them". Your boat is rated for probably 25HP max just like my Lowe 1448 Big Jon, so if you really have an 88HP with gas and battery in the stern you are not only overloaded but way overpowered. Pods would help but not enough to keep you safe. After you research the cost of adding pods I'm sure you'll find that going to a larger hull will be more cost effective and for sure way safer. At least if you're running in skinny water you won't sink too deep when you scrape the .072 bottom off the boat or rip off your transom. By the way, are you running a jet?

 

[lgpjr49]

25hp yr model 88


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[momule]

ahhh, gotcha. That's different from the original Johnson 88 Special. When I bought my Lowe 1448 it had a Merc 25hp short shaft on it. Ran GREAT. In order to get on skinnier water I've repowered with a 40/30 Yamaha jet. Weighs approximately 205lbs and I moved the console, steering, and passenger seat to the front bench and the 12 gallon gas tank and starting battery to in front of the rear bench. Boat now runs in mere inches of water, gets on plane very quickly, but the speed has dropped to approximately 25mph...fast enough for skinny water and blind turns in Missouri creeks.

 

[riverbud55]

look in at beavertail pods, think you can get bolt on pods from them,,, they would have the info on how its done,,https://explorebeavertail.com/flotationpods.html
,, been doing some research on them and a lot of different theory's on how they are made and installed