Im moding a 10 ft but running in to weight issues, any idea?

[EVAN_COCHRAN]

The boat i have i got on a trade decided to mod it after learning about moding. I started and found out a 10 ft is to small but do not want to abondon my project. Im only putting a 5hp, a trolling motor one seat and swivel,carpet and battery. any suggestions. keep in mind im not gonna give up on the 10ft i plan on building than trading or saleing for bigger one to do as i plase.

 

[njTom]

Pictures would help. If you can take some pics and post them, members could get a better idea of the kind of boat you have and maybe give some options.

 

[EVAN_COCHRAN]

Thanks... Ill get em up tommarrow.

 

[Jim]

It seems you are on the right track. If it was my boat I would do the exact same thing except I would put a removable level floor. That would consist of regular plywood cut out to the shape of your floor, then carpeted. That is all I would do. It will make it comfortable and you will not have to worry too much about the weight limit.

The weight limit of your boat will consist of everything on it. You, your motor, your gear, battery & trolling motor. You start to hit the upper limits of weight capacity and then safety starts to play in. If your going to hit small kettle type ponds then you will be ok. Bigger lakes with waves....could and will become an issue with a boat that size.

 

[wasilvers]

I'd seriously consider only using a trolling motor. You'll be able to get around just fine with it and there will be less hassles and you could save a good amount of weight. I usually start the motor up on the boat, run around the lake a bit, then fish by the boat ramp - go figure.

Otherwise, pictures would help for other suggestions.

 

[EVAN_COCHRAN]

I mainly fish rivers and i didnt put a deck simply made the floor smooth with light weight plastic. Dont know the specs on my boat its old, no plates.

 

[huntinfool]

Check out the 10 footer in my signature. I'm leaving out of town later, but I could get you some more pictures if you would like them. Just send me a PM and I could take some more.

 

[bobberboy]

I'm not sure what kind of 10 footer you have but I looked at the specs for a Lowe 1032. Depending on what you want to do, you may be able to do some things with the boat you've got. The specs for the Lowe 1032 are a max of 3hp and max weight load of 275# with a max person weight of 180#. The spec sheet rates this as a 2 person boat but it would have to be 2 pretty skinny guys. Seems like you should assume it is a 1 person boat or a 1 adult and 1 little kid boat. The difference between the max weight and max person weight is about 95#. The trick will be how to prioritize how you want to use the 95#. I looked at 2.5 - 3.5 hp outboards. They weigh between 30-40# so let's call it 35#. Motors that small have integral tanks so the weight of a quarter to third of a gallon of fuel is minimal. You'll want a gas can in the boat of course and I think gas weighs about 8#/gal. I couldn't seem to find the weight of a trolling motor, but a 30# thrust would probably be fine for your boat. I'm guessing the weight at maybe 15#. A group 22, 850 amp battery weighs in at 38# so the combination of battery and trolling motor weigh as much as a small outboard. You're most likely going to have to pick one or the other, not both. You should be able to add the swivel seat(s) depending on if you get the molded plastic ones or the big padded ones. You can see when you add all the other things up like a paddle, anchor, lots of lunch, tackle, life vests that you don't have a lot more to work with. Carpet and deck? Probably too small and unstable for too much standing up. You'll have to make all those choices but my advice is don't stress about it. If it were me, I'd probably go for the electric trolling motor and when you sell this boat and upgrade, keep the trolling motor so you don't have to get one for the next boat. If you get a 2.5-3.5 gas motor now, you'll surely want a bigger one for a bigger boat later. Do some basic things and have some fun. If you are a new boater, use this one to learn from and figure out what you really want to do with the next one. I bought too small at first too and scaled back what I wanted. It's not the end of the world. Do a good job of whatever you do to it to make it easier to sell later. Or, if you're like many here, you'll keep your 10 footer for little ponds or electric only lakes and you'll get a second bigger boat! Anyway, good luck. Let's have some pics too along the way.

 

[Oldgeek]

Evan,
Welcome! I had a 10 footer for the last two years and found that it really did limit what I could do. I used a trolling motor and fished big ponds/small lakes. The 10 ft jons just don't give you much room for anything besides one person and gear.
That said, it can still be a ton of fun. Of course a young skinny guy could take a lot more gear than an old fat guy like me. :lol:

 

[redbug]

Evan,
Welcome! I had a 10 footer for the last two years and found that it really did limit what I could do. I used a trolling motor and fished big ponds/small lakes. The 10 ft jons just don't give you much room for anything besides one person and gear.
That said, it can still be a ton of fun. Of course a young skinny guy could take a lot more gear than an old fat guy like me. :lol:

So do you fish Devils kitchen or little grassy? I have a cabin in Marion that has a lake the the spillway drains into devils kitchen.
great place to fish out there

 

[Oldgeek]

Evan,
Welcome! I had a 10 footer for the last two years and found that it really did limit what I could do. I used a trolling motor and fished big ponds/small lakes. The 10 ft jons just don't give you much room for anything besides one person and gear.
That said, it can still be a ton of fun. Of course a young skinny guy could take a lot more gear than an old fat guy like me. :lol:

So do you fish Devils kitchen or little grassy? I have a cabin in Marion that has a lake the the spillway drains into devils kitchen.
great place to fish out there

Hey Redbug!
Not in a long time. When I had my bigger boat I fished Rend almost all the time. With the 10 footer, it was mostly farm ponds and strip mines. I retired in December due to health problems so I should have time to fish them all again. Ever fish Lake Murphysboro? I had my best day of bluegill fishing ever there, but that was a while back. We caught nearly 100 hump back redear. How much of the year do you spend at your cabin? One of my daughters lives in Waynesburg in the SW corner of Penn. Small world.

 

[weezer71]

You can checkout my 10 footer that I made more comfortable. It's not much, but works for me until I find something bigger to fish out of. Just click on my link! :idea:

 

[huntinfool]

Evan,
Welcome! I had a 10 footer for the last two years and found that it really did limit what I could do. I used a trolling motor and fished big ponds/small lakes. The 10 ft jons just don't give you much room for anything besides one person and gear.
That said, it can still be a ton of fun. Of course a young skinny guy could take a lot more gear than an old fat guy like me. :lol:

So do you fish Devils kitchen or little grassy? I have a cabin in Marion that has a lake the the spillway drains into devils kitchen.
great place to fish out there

Hey Redbug!
Not in a long time. When I had my bigger boat I fished Rend almost all the time. With the 10 footer, it was mostly farm ponds and strip mines. I retired in December due to health problems so I should have time to fish them all again. Ever fish Lake Murphysboro? I had my best day of bluegill fishing ever there, but that was a while back. We caught nearly 100 hump back redear. How much of the year do you spend at your cabin? One of my daughters lives in Waynesburg in the SW corner of Penn. Small world.

I have fished Rend before....but that was many years ago. I was born up that way, but haven't been back in a while.

SORRY TO HIJACK.....CARRY ON!