I did it again....

[Kismet]

Nice to see you posting again. You are a married man by now, right? Congratulations and best wishes!

You've come a long way, sir.

Nice boat-in-progress. You happy with engine, and how durable have those seats been?

Have fun, be safe.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Kismet » Today, 10:57[/url]"]Nice to see you posting again. You are a married man by now, right? Congratulations and best wishes!

You've come a long way, sir.

Nice boat-in-progress. You happy with engine, and how durable have those seats been?

Have fun, be safe.

i am a married man now! haha... thank you for the congrats!

i have been really happy with the engine! with two people and all fishing gear she pushes the boat 16mph. it has been reliable up until recently... i fished a bass tournament and in the excitement of weigh in i didnt lift the motor up before taking the boat out of the water. needless to say the one time i didnt lift the motor is the one time the motor hit the ramp coming out of the water and broke the motor mount which is part of the middle housing. so i rigged it all back together with a heavy duty strap and its back to normal. except now i am having running issues? it doesnt like to run at full throttle. revs up and down like it is starving for gas? i cleaned the carb (wasnt dirty at all) changed the spark plugs and put it back together... still does it! now i am thinking its the fuel pump or the primer bulb? when i pump up the primer bulb it runs great for a short time and then goes back to running like crap again. i am guessing either the fuel pump isnt doing its job or the primer bulb has gone bad and is not keeping the fuel flowing like it should?

the seats are the cheap walmart seats and i couldnt be happier with them! very sturdy and comfortable!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

i have recently become a member of Denali Rods Pro Staff fishing team... pretty excited about being a part of such a great company that makes really amazing fishing rods! i have been fishing several local tournaments and have been thinking about painting my boat... i have come up with something simple but sharp in my opinion!



what do you guys think?

also not really happy with the front deck i built.... i originally wanted to raise the deck up higher and bring it back further but in my haste i went for the easy route and just copied what was already there. now that i have been fishing out of it i really wish that i had more room up front and i wish the deck was set up higher to make pitching easier without having to worry about hitting the rail of the boat with the rod/lure. here is a couple ideas i stole for my deck...

 

[longshot]

That looks like some of Dawson's work at Fish On Fabrications

 

[Gators5220]

Man I dig your new boat man, tracker boats are nice boats to modify.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Ok... I FINALLY got around to doing the front deck the way i wanted... been so busy fishing that i havent had a free weekend to work on the boat. today i decided NOT to go fishing and instead i worked on the boat. ill let the pictures do the talking...



Before


All the bracing in... done with 2x2's for the most part with a couple 2x4 sections where the storage hatch is





All Finished!










Really pleased with the way it turned out (except that the new carpet is grey instead of black like the old carpet... Lowes doesnt carry the carpet i used in the beginning anymore)

There is a battery/storage hatch up at the bow of the boat so now the battery is down below and out of my way. there is a large storage hatch right in front of the side console that i will store my BIG tackle bag. The fishing rods will be strapped down on the left side of the boat and i left the front deck open underneath for endless additional storage room.

i used 1/2" plywood this time instead of 3/4" so i dont think i added much if any weight?

 

[joseph101088]

Looks amazing as always with your builds. Hopefully finishing mine when I get back and get the time.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

@joseph101088 thank you bud! good luck on your build!


little change has taken place to my boat other than recent work on the motor has taken place... had to put a new power pack and coil as well as hood latch, new fuel lines, and lower unit oil change. but she is back up and running now! I do however have a new tow vehicle! haha... 2011 f150 4x4 with the new 5.0 V8! SOOO much more power and way better fuel economy than the old bronco!



NEED TO CLEAN THE ALUMINUM! any body have any good recommendations for a spray and rinse that will work well?



a picture from my 7th place finish yesterday... not top 3 but not last place either!

 

[joseph101088]

i told myself this year i was going to get into a few more tournaments. then work decides i dont get a summer in va. top ten is a win in my book.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

scored some coil/condenser cleaner today for free and went to work on the boat! turned out pretty good for about 45minutes of work. only hit it one time so its not perfect but my boat isnt perfect so im not too worried about it.

Before/After


also ordered a ''Mini-Tach" on ebay for $25 so that will be here soon and i will be able to get the RPM's at WOT... here is a pic of my current prop size and how low my outboard sits to the bottom of the boat. looks like i am about 2 inches too low? i have been doing some research and am considering building a jack-plate? anyone see a benefit or harm in doing that? I am trying to squeeze out as much speed as possible! once i figure out my max rpm's i will be ordering a stainless steel prop with either a higher or lower pitch to obtain more speed and correct rpm's... anyone out here have a 9.9-15 hp on a big heavy jon boat? looking for some tips on gaining top speed!

 

[Kismet]

Boy, you've come a long way from the guy with the girl-friend and the tiny boat in the big water!

Nicely done, on all fronts.

Quite sharp. =D> =D> =D>

 

[Timtactical]

Check out my build, I have some info listed on prop calculation. I have a OMC Johnson/Evinrude 9.9 that has been converted to 15hp.

The conversion basically frees up an extra 500 rpm with ends up being about 3-5 mph

9.9- 5000 rpm
15-5500 rpm

When I run my motor in the drive way with dog ears on it, it screams like a dirt bike. On the water under load it is really quiet but still moves the boat pretty well.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

been awhile since I've posted on here... figured id check in and post a few updates!

this is what i have been up to.. fishing the FLW BFL series bass tournaments

my rig... 2011 Ford F150, 2012 Skeeter ZX20 with Yamaha 250, and 2016 Palomino 550 camper



had a buddy give me this 14ft (skinny tin) (boat and trailer only) so i decided to deck it out and added live well for the local hp restricted lakes...




















After a few trips in the 14 skinny i decided it just wasn't gonna do for my needs.... UPGRADED! 1640 Landau boat and trailer. Transferring over the "9.9" Evinrude and Minnkota trolling motor









don't let the middle piece of plywood fool you... that was put there by the previous owner. this boat will be almost completely decked when i am finished!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

got a little bit of work done on the new tin...
















still a LOT left to do... ordered all the parts to make the center tote a livewell. TONS of carpet to install, hatches to cut out, electrical wires to run, and throwing around the idea of a rod box.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

finished the decking, carpet, and hatches this weekend... all thats left is the plumbing for the livewell. parts are ordered and on the way!









hatches...






livewell...

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

got to work on the livewell today...

used a hole saw to cut the drain and fill holes and installed the plumbing for them. the pipe in the middle is removable to allow complete draining of the livewell when out of the water. this system will run off one pump pumping fresh water in. it will fill to the top of the overflow pvc pipe then drain out the side of the boat.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

livewell completed...

found a "plug' at home depot that fits the factory drain tube from the original livewell ... (had to be hammered in and sealed with marine sealant)


finished product...

 

[Fire1386]

Very nice installation of the livewell, very clean looking..... Is the livewell supported by anything, or sitting on anything?

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Very nice installation of the livewell, very clean looking..... Is the livewell supported by anything, or sitting on anything?

thank you very much! the livewell is supported by the two 2x4's attached to the bottom of the livewell box. those 2x4's rest on the bottom of the boat and then the top of the box is screwed into the framing for the decking.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

here is a link to my youtube video of the livewell running... i need to shorten the drain tube so there isn't as much water but other than that it works great!

https://youtu.be/d1nZCtBua1w


also a couple pics from today...