Rat's 1977 Polar Kraft 1440 refit

[Anonymous]

wow - that is sharp !

This place always impresses me.

 

[CHILLWILLATX]

You can't go wrong with those cabin lights..... I don't know what I would do with out Acamedy? I have the same switch box- did you buy your bus bars from Acamedy also?

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

never seen the kiwi grip before, looks sharp!

 

[blazinmoto]

That looks simply amazing. Once again Rat, you keep raising the bar.

 

[Rat]

You can't go wrong with those cabin lights..... I don't know what I would do with out Acamedy? I have the same switch box- did you buy your bus bars from Acamedy also?

Yea, most of the hardware came from Academy and Cabelas in Buda. Of course, Academy is closer, so I go more often to Academy and they have as good a price as Cabelas; just not the huge selection.

I got her on the water this weekend, full write up coming soon.

 

[Rat]

It's always the little things. I rushed home early from work to finish the boat enough to get a weekend camping and fishing trip in. I knew it wasn't going to be perfectly complete, with no seats, and only a few rod holders. So after Patrick and his two boys arrived all five of us headed to Lake Georgetown for the Shake Down cruise.

The fist thing after the launch that was painfully obvious was that we were taking on water at a pretty rapid rate. No problem said I, we have a bilge pump; flip switch...nothing! Flip switch a hundred more times, pull panel check fuses, check wires; all seems fine, but still no pump. So I hit the lake at full throttle and pull the plug to drain the water. Get back to the dock load everyone up and head to camp.

After we got unloaded and camp set up I headed out alone to find the source of the water leaks. I had neglected to seal some of the rivet holes where I removed stuff from the transom, like the handles. There are five or six big ole holes not sealed and that is where the water was coming from. The bilge also started working while I was out there and has worked the whole time since, I don't know what was wrong with it.

So Saturday we hit a couple of spots looking for crappie, and ended up catching a few, but the wind was pretty wicked and the boat traffic was high. We ended up heading over to some big rocks up river and swimming for a few hours; letting the kids jump from the rocks and get sunburnt. We had a good time,even if we did need to run the bilge every hour or so to get rid of water.

The trolling motor also pounded loose in the heavy water. The self tapping screws I used just pulled out. I need to use toggle bolts something in that Alu. to get a real good hold. I think the seating is going to work out okay; especially when we only have three on board. Five people is too many in this boat for any type of seating; no matter what you will be crowded. But for three people my seating arrangement will be fine. The seats are on order and I need to do a little prep work before they get here. But I will keep everyone posted.

Trim of the hull is very good. With just me and Gage it sits perfect in the water. The motor is in the perfect position and I am playing with the tilt for that perfect ride. The Transducer sprays water all over the place. With just me in the boat and all the fishing gear, we ran a little better than 18 MPH on GPS.

So I have a little work to get her ready, but all in all it was a good shake down cruise.

Pictures, of course...

 

[Brine]

Good write up Rat. Sorry to hear about the water coming in, but sounds like you've got a handle on the leaks.

I'm anxious to hear how the mud washes off of the kiwi-grip. I'd be fairly "excitable" if that was all over my new carpet. Still haven't decided on the best product for me though.

 

[ober51]

Shiza, that's a lot of water. Hope you get that settled and enjoy the rig.

 

[Rat]

Good write up Rat. Sorry to hear about the water coming in, but sounds like you've got a handle on the leaks.

I'm anxious to hear how the mud washes off of the kiwi-grip. I'd be fairly "excitable" if that was all over my new carpet. Still haven't decided on the best product for me though.

Yea, it was aggravating to pump water every hour or so, but wasn't that bad I guess. I've had to it on some of the bigger lakes around here when I stayed out longer than I should have and got caught by a front.

I washed her down just now and the mud came off pretty easily. I just used the water hose and a soft bristled brush; only required about 20 minutes of work.




The one picture with all the water in the boat is after it sat all night beached.

One of the main reasons I wanted this type of finish is just why you see here. And in fact, this is pretty mild compared to a four day hunt at Granger; throw hog blood, fish slime and kids into the mix and carpet becomes a nightmare. So it performs perfectly for its intended use, it looks good and its easy to clean. I even had a guy at the courtesy dock asking me a bunch of questions on my rebuilt Jon, pretty cool.

 

[bluegillfisher]

I think a boat looks better with mud and slime on it.
Nice job.

 

[huntinfool]

'bout time! Looking good! I told you that the Skid no more would have been better. We had a customer try the Kiwi grip. Easy to install, but does not clean as good. Besides the Skid no more is much cheaper($60)and cleans easier with just a hose. Boat looks great and sorry to hear about the leaks (rookie mistake :LOL2: )Beside it gives you a reason to work on it a bit more. Does the rear of your boat sit in the water that low? (i guess it is just because you had 5 people in it) I finally got a trolling motor and I should have it installed this week. Then for now I am done. But I have plans for a center console and a floor and I just got a plastic tank that I am contemplating putting in the rear seat as a livewell. Should be interesting.

The bilge issue could have been too much grease inside the switch. Sometimes you have to switch them several times to make a good connection. But I would probably guess that it is a ground issue. Usually is. Never heard from you on the crappie bite at granger. But glad to hear you have her on the water.

 

[Wildman]

Yea, pretty soon you will see why I wash MF at the river. COOL BUILD BRO! Now you need to fix a few holes and I will go on the "next" trip. =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>