My new project - 12' Sears Semi-V Pic Update 3/21

Rick James · Apr 4, 2011

Froggy said:
Boat looks reall good Rick, hitting the Mohawk soon....still ice around... should be good real soon!!

I actually tried to launch yesterday at both the Kiwanis launch, and at Freemans Bridge, both places the water is too low still........ :x I hope they start to raise the water soon. I ended up dropping in at Collin's Lake and just cruising around with the trolling motor for a while. Can't wait to get out on some bigger water soon. With any luck I'll be on Round Lake next Sunday.

gdsteward · Apr 9, 2011

Boat looks great. How stable is the boat? Does it rock alot when your setting on the seats?

Rick James · Apr 9, 2011

gdsteward said:
Boat looks great. How stable is the boat? Does it rock alot when your setting on the seats?

Thanks!

I've only fished it alone so far. It's plenty stable enough with one person, I was fishing in some pretty good chop last weekend and had no issues on the front pedestal, and was also standing quite a bit. I'm not sure if you would want two people standing at the same time, haven't tried it yet but I'll know more soon.

From what I've seen so far, I don't know if I'd change the way I did anything. I'm very happy with the boat so far. I'm hoping next weekend I can get it out on a body of water that will let me use the gas motor to see how it planes out and the weight distribution, etc.

Rick James · Jun 13, 2011

Thought I would make a quick update to this thread for those of you following it.

I've fished the boat a LOT over the past 2 months. Overall I really like it, I don't think you could ask much more from a 12' boat.

A few things I'd do differently next time..........

The rear pedestal is pretty much useless. While one person on the pedestal in front is fine with one person sitting on the low seat in the back........two pedestals are too much. I stand up and fish all the time both alone and with a passenger.......but two people standing is a bit much. It's truly the perfect one person boat though.

I will likely need to redo the middle bench top and the piano hinge at some point. There is no lip to provide extra support on the hinge side of the hatch, and the hatch sags a bit there. The other option is to maybe have the seat hinged on the side. Word to the wise, if your seat is on a pedestal and the hinge is on the front of the door..........don't turn around 180 degrees quickly to see what the person behind you is reeling in, you may just go for a quick ride. :lol:

While I'm glad I have the electronics and trolling motor in this setup, and while I love the onboard charger......if I were to do a mod like this again I'd want a 14' boat for this type of weight. When fishing with 2x 200lb guys, the boat is fine when underway but I wouldn't want to be out when the water gets bad. I got stuck on an island camping during pike season, and had to head 3 miles to the launch through 2' rollers. Luckily another person there was able to take my wife back in their boat because it was a bit scary.......I was OK on my own but 2 people would have been a disaster. With that said, the boat is super stable and is truly the ultimate 1 person boat.

I'm getting 18.3-19mph on the GPS (with the old prop) when it's just me in the boat and it rides well with just me.....but when 2x 200lb guys are in the boat I'm only getting around 14.5mph and there is a LOT of boat in the water. If I trim the motor up past the second hole when there are two people in there, there is too much weight upfront with the passenger and batteries, and the motor will cavitate. If I wasn't worried about flotation, I'd cut the back bench open and move the small battery and charger back there, but I don't really feel like it's worth the hassle, and I want the flotation foam in there in case of a disaster..........I'll just keep it on small waters when I have two people.

While the Harbor Freight trailer is nice, I want to put full length bunks on it. I think there is too much weight on that middle roller. I'll likely modify this for next season.

Finally.......this past weekend I almost finished cleaning the motor up. I degreased the entire thing (what a chore!), sanded edges of any paint chips, washed, degreased again, and then painted with OMC brand paint for that specific year motor. It's now the exact color it was when it left the factory. I also ordered the decal kit today as well, I'm hoping it's here for this weekend so I can apply and then get the motor remounted on the boat. In addition to this, I purchased another brand new 9.5x10 Quicksilver prop, the original was in pretty rough shape and I figured it was time for a new one. I also had a local OMC mechanic go through it a couple of months ago, and he scoped it and did a compression test, and said it's in perfect shape inside. Now after the paint and decals, I'm hoping it lasts another 34 years, and it should look pretty good too once the decals get here. I'm curious if the new prop will pick up some speed for me, and will test it this weekend. If nothing else, I'm hoping the paint and decals will give me another 10mph... :mrgreen:. Regardless, it looks much better now than it did with the duck boat camo spray paint job on it.

The only pic I have of the motor after paint, I'll try to get some updated pics of the boat so you can see the floor, etc.....all in it's final stage.

Rick James · Jun 21, 2011

One quick picture of the boat in it's final state. I was fishing on a local electric only lake and snapped this picture. I'll post more when the motor decals get here and finally get installed.

z0mbie f1sherman · Jun 21, 2011

super sweet rig you got there!

really love the color combo

---==[ ZF ]==---

SmokerChris · Mar 19, 2012

Wow, really nice! Ive been working on my conversion since last Summer. I got my decking done but ran into some things I wasnt sure of. I have the same troller and the same-type bow (it angles up). I wasnt sure how to mount it. My boat looks like yours so Im following your lead on mounting the troller. I'll also follow your wiring scheme as I have just about all the same gadgets as you do. I plan to post my build once I get it finished. Thanks for a great bunch of pictures!

DyerBassman · Mar 19, 2012

Really looks good! Nice job! Good to hear that the trailer works out for you. I am planning to get one for my 12'.

KevinWI · Mar 19, 2012

for a smaller boat you've done well to maximize space. Nice job

sgt tee · Mar 28, 2013

Your boat project came out nice, reason I was checking it out I want to instill my bow deck like yours, How did you attach that piece of wood, I asked this question on another forum but no hits, I was hoping I can run deck screws or self tappers straight into the top curl of the boat. I am a electrician not a carpenter but this is going to be where I start, right on the bow of the boat. I am not a fan of how high you have your seat. I like to be a little more stable in the boat.My Motor Guide motor came today from UPS, when I was unpacking the motor and shaft I heard a piece rattling around in the motor head. I called and wrote the company and notified PayPal as I want to ship it back for a full refund, I cant be bothered bringing it to a repair shop. maybe its nothing but when I spoke to the dealer he assured me there is not suppose to be anything rattling around in the motor head, which is just common sense/. I ordered it through OsiasDigital. I told them I want a full refund and to send me a shipping label to send it back to them. Hopefully they are a good company. Its just upsetting when a plan does not come together. I am 100% disabled Vietnam vet and UPS delivered it and I told them to set it up by the garage, so I unpacked it up there and thats when I stopped right after I heard that rattle, I will give a report back once the company contacts me. If you can explain to me how you attached that wood on your bow I would appreciate it, Thnks for listening, Pete