Reed's 1542 Alumacraft Swamp Sled.

[Ictalurus]

Looks sharp =D> Running in the mids 30's :shock: That must feel like your flying in a 1542!

 

[cmatthews_jm]

Nice looking boat man, I hope I can get mine to performing like that. And looking like that too

 

[fatherfire89]

Heck ya man. Looks great

 

[reedjj]

Thanks guys!

I got the console painted last night and ordered some custom numbers from vinyl Images (site sponsor plug).

I am leaving work early today to pick up another 2 inch ball hitch and some cheap wal-mart numbers to temporarily put on till the good ones get here and then take her for a test drive. Cant wait to see how she does.

My wife took the SUV this morn so I am gonna use my honda civic si to tow and put in. lol. It has a hitch and a reciever that I use for a bike rack, and is rated for 1500lbs trailer so I should be good. the tounge weight is nothing with this boat and trailer. I will take a pic when I get it all hooked up it should look pretty funny hooked to my car.

Here is a pic with the console painted. The paint wasn't quite dry yet but it looks pretty good. Im happy with it anyway.

 

[reedjj]

i got to take it out today for a 3 hours. The boat ran great and handled better than any flatbottom I have ever had. The weight of the decks and flooring helped to make it stable and it does not slide at all, it leans in the turns, and grabs like V hull.

It hopped up on plane just fine with 2 guys but I would prefer it to get on plane a little faster, but without power tilt and trim and it set in the current position it was pretty good. The top speed howerver was a lot faster than I thought it was going to be. I got it to full speed and then backed off about a 1/4 throttle and she cruised real nice. I did not have a gps with me so Im not sure but It felt like what my mech said was right somewhere around 34-36 at top speed. Cruising speed felt like about 26 or so. I also did a lot of slow speed cruising (no wake speed) through the forest. It only burnt 3 1/2
gallons of fuel in almost 4 hours of continuos use.

I got it back in the woods pretty far before I hit bottom and had to hop out into the creek and lift the boat off some mud and sand. Then about another 1/2 mile I hit a log and motor kicked up. By this time the creek was just wide enough for me to turn the boat around and bounce over the log again. Glad I live in F I was only going idle speed for about 3 miles when I was deep in the woods. l am glad I live in Florida it was around 80 and sunny. Water temp is still too cool for me to want to go swimming but there were several girls in bikini's on boats and at some of the beaches several were swimming.

A trolling motor is a must for me to really get back in the woods. The Creek goes another 4-5 miles from where I turned around it also opens up again in several spots.

I saw several turtles and squirrels but no alligators or manatee today. I was more out on the water just getting a feel for the boat and putting it through the paces. Had a great time and cant wait to take it out again. I do have a few pics to post in little while.

 

[reedjj]

Here's a couple shots of Black Creek in North FL where I live. And one of my friend Marcus driving. He had never been on a boat much less drove one. He liked it!

 

[jasper60103]

Awesome mod and sounds like you had fun today.

 

[reedjj]

Although it was great I did notice that it sat a little lower in the back than I would have liked. So today I removed the rear deck completely. I then used the little hatch that was attached on hinges to cover the gas tank area, to make a cover that just covers the opening. I secured it down to the boat with 4 strips of self adhesive Velcro. Now when I need to access the transom/gas tank area all I have to do is pull it up.

After I removed all the wood I weighed it.....In all, I'm 32lbs lighter.

Next I think Im going to rebuild the bench/storage area that my seats are mounted to with 19/32nds plywood instead of the 2x6's that its currently build with. That should be another considerable drop in weight.

 

[reedjj]

Here is what the back deck looks like now without 32lbs of wood on it.

 

[reedjj]

I hooked it up to the Civic last night, towed it to the boat ramp and went for about an hour ride and pulled it back out.

Its a pretty steep boat ramp and I didn't have any trouble at all. Didn't even know it was back there.

 

[Ictalurus]

Hey Reed, just noticed this, do the bunks on the trailer reach the transom of your boat. Haven't seen a pic on the trailer until now and it looks a little short.

 

[St.Johnsriver]

Looks good man. :shock:

 

[reedjj]

Hey Reed, just noticed this, do the bunks on the trailer reach the transom of your boat. Haven't seen a pic on the trailer until now and it looks a little short.

Not quite, They are a little short. About 14 inches from the back of the hull. It doesn't seem to affect anything, so im not worried about it. I am able to sit in it and drive it off the trailer no problem. I wouldn't sit in it without the trailer attached to the ball though. The boat and trailer both would tip up on me. I can get in the boat when its in the yard as long as I don't go too far behind the wheel base. But it wouldn't matter if the bunks when all the way or not, it wold still tip on me.

 

[reedjj]

The trailer is really for a 14 ft boat. But I couldn't pass it up for $350.00 (NO TAX) New tires and wheels, new bunks, new carpet, new lights an wiring, and its a drive on. I can live with it being a little short.

 

[reedjj]

Took it out today for the first time alone (kinda). Very easy to launch and recover. I got deeper in the woods than I have ever been. I got about 2 miles past where I got hung up last time. I saw some wild turkeys and about a million turtles and 1 Manatee! Im not from Fl so seeing the manatee was a first for me.

Only hit a few logs at idle speed that barely kicked my motor up, and I only ran aground once lol. My best friend and spotter up front wasn't doing his job!

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Lengthen the tongue or put longer bunks on it. You don't want to put a hook in the hull.

 

[reedjj]

The winch on the tounge is as far fwd as it can go without adding some length by welding some new material to the trailer. I went out and measured the over hang. The boat is 19 inches past the bunks. That is a little more than I would like it to be, but I am confident the way the Alumacraft is constructed with the design of the rear deck and all the supports it has that it will be fine.

But....... I will be replacing the bunks with longer ones as soon as I have the opportunity. I'm gonna run them out to about 2 inches from the end of the boat. I am going to be adding pods to the transom soon, and I dont want them on the bunks. I don't know if its true or not but I heard they are supposed to hang off.

 

[reedjj]

I also went ahead and re-ordered a hatch to put on my center bench for when I cut the hole in it to mount the cranking battery. My Father in-law gave me 2 sears gift cards this past Christmas and I am going to use one to buy a cheap battery box for the cranking battery.

I also ordered one of those MinnKota power centers (fancy battery box with fuses, external posts, charge display, and 2 12volt outlets). for my trolling motor battery that will be mounted under the front deck. I will purchase a new deep cycle battery from sears with the gift card as well.

I am going to get one of the Cabela's trolling motor jon boat adapters so I don't have to cut/drill or fabricate any type of trolling motor mount. They say it can be mounted on any rail on a jon boat so I may try to mount it on the drivers side right near my throttle control so I can sit in my drivers seat and steer the troller with my throttle hand. I am not going to be using the trolling motor much for conventional trolling like a bass fisherman would. Its going to be used to get me back in the woods through timber, cypruss knees, and very shallow water where Im afraid to run my outboard (thanks to everyone here in FL for talking me out of a jet). And for sneaking up on gar, hogs, turkey, deer, turtles, frogs, flounder, cats, and any other fish or animal you might want to eat!

Academy sports has a the 30lb thrust min kotas for $99.99 and Im probably going to be going that route. Unless I can find me a deal on Craiglslist or soemthing.

 

[reedjj]

Saturday we went for a little ride and scouted a few spots out. I found this little creek that opens up once you get back in there. I kept seeing the water swirl and thought at first it was gators. Turned out there were FL Gar Everywhere. Next time Im bringin my bow and killing a lot of them.

I thought my dog was going to jump in after them he was having a blast (glad he didn't they might have ate him). Most of the ones we saw were about 2-3 feet long. Not like the gar in LA or Texas but pretty good for FL or so I was told.

 

[reedjj]

I was just looking though my thread and noticed that I had a pic of my friend Marcus on here but none of me. Haha.

Here is one of me and my bro Marcus, one of me and my ole lady with the huntin dog. And another of my crazy Father in-law and my daughter. My daughter has gone into the family business (military) and will be leaving for Air Force Boot camp on April 19th.

When you are as much of a badazz as I am, you can get away with having a toy poodle and no one usually calls me out on it. LOL! Really, I am just an worn out old jarhead that is gettin ready to retire next year.