More Riggin'

It's the kind of solution that creates a new set of problems.

Horsepower.

I already had 111 pounds of 4 stroke Yamaha hanging off the transom, but I wanted to increase the speed and especially the hole shot.

After exhaustive research it boiled down to one solution.  A 30 HP  Evinrude E-tec.  At 150 pounds it was the lightest weight in its HP class by 40 pounds or more.

WEIGHT

Still, 39 pounds is 39 pounds.  The obvious solution was to move some weight forward in the boat to offset the extra weight.  Gas weighs about 6 pounds per gallon and with a 6 gallon tank tucked between the rear bench and the transom it was obvious that moving the tank up under the front deck was the answer.  Except...

Except that the space between the front deck cross brace and the ribs of the hull, the max clearance I had was 8 7/8".  I think I looked for a year for a 6 gallon tank that would fit.  I even considered running two 3 gallon tanks.  On my 37th hour-long search online, I finally found what I was looking for.... http://www.five-oceans.com/articulo/6-gal-deluxe-poly-portable-fuel-tank-w-gauge-label/3312

With a height of 8 3/4", I ordered one up.

The deck access cutout from Alweld was about 1/2 an inch short so the jigsaw came into play.  I replaced the edge trim with some new stuff since with the added circumference of the new cutout the old stuff was too short.

In the end it was a snug fit, but the 36+ pounds were now riding under the deck. 

measure twice, cut once

fuel source, fore

POLING PLATFORM

With the weight concerns worked out, I needed to move the poling platform up.  The E-Tec is larger and it was hitting the platform when tilted.  I pulled the platform off, made the necessary mods to the mounting and decided to fabricate a shim that would act as a hole filler for the old holes in the transom and also change the angle of the platform by a couple of degrees.  One of the things I noticed on the original mounting is that the top deck of the platform seemed to be sloped aft...it wasn't a big deal when I had another angler on the deck, but poling solo felt a little like I needed to lean forward.  The shims worked well, the platform leveled out and the old holes were covered and sealed rather gracefully.

up, up and outta the way.

FIXED JACK PLATE
The two inch rise fixed jackplate on the Yamaha installation worked out fine but it appeared a little too high up on the E-Tec.  As a rule of thumb I have settled on mounting the Anti-Cavitation Plate of the motor 1" above the bottom of the transom at centerline.  This meant that the plate needed to be cut down about an inch.  Jigsaw to the rescue.

SPLASH GUARDS
I've been thinking about adding something like this for awhile and was struggling with a clean way of mounting them.  Now, with the platform raised up, the obvious tie in point is the top of the platform mount.  I cut some impact resistant ABS (in a gray color not too far off the hull paint color) and built some blocks to sandwich them between the mounting plates of the poling platform.  I was even able to recycle the edge trim from the deck access to give them a finished look.

 

The first trial run with the new motor went really well.  Heavy wind (26 mph) was blowing from the south but fortunately the closest boat ramp is on the south shore of the lake.  I ventured out into the chop and cranked it down.  I was startled by the little amount of time it took to get on plane.  My phone based speedometer clocked top end at 31 mph.

After the test run, with the wind still kicking hard I had a little trouble getting it back on the trailer.

That created a new riggin' project.

BOAT TRAILER GUIDES

Sure you can just buy these, but what fun is there in that?
I needed a few blocks of UHMW plastic for the mounts, some stainless steel U-Bolts and some PVC.
I stopped by my local plastics distributor and found some suitable blocks.  They were supposed to run me $10 a pound and I'd grabbed 5 pounds worth.  The guy at the counter said, "Have you got a fiver?"  Deal Done.  5 bucks.

The PVC and U-bolts I picked up from the local hardware store.  I decided to add a little class to the guides and perhaps save a little wear and tear on the gunwales by applying Hydroturf to the top of the guides.

The next trailer load went smoooooth.

Pole Clips

It took a little trial and error but I was able to come up with some DIY pole clips for the boat that
1. Hold the pole in place while motoring or trailering.
2. Don't interfere with the option to row
3. Don't cause a line snagging issue from for the bow caster.

Here is how it went...

1 1/4" Schedule 40 PVC...

...worked out well but I was a little concerned with the strength of the bolt hole area.

UHMW - great stuff

2 identical for the bow and stern and a mirrored version for the midline

snapped tight...and doesn't mar the pole

Sturdy with just enough spring to POP the pole in.

Good clearance so it doesn't rattle on the road.

Revised Bow version...

...snaps down when fishing and doesn't grab line.

Rigging 4

The lean bar and the deck Hydroturf are down.  The next step is to paint the floor and lay down some more Hydroturf.  It appears that the planning and research has paid off....exciting times.

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Rigging 3

It's time for an update.

I toyed around long enough trying to decide what the floor material should be.  I called around and spoke to reps, suppliers, manufacturers, hitmen, and showgirls.  I settled on ABS.  A local plastics guy took my order and told me he needed a week.

I also sent my check into my metal guys for the lean bar.

Finally, I jumped back and forth between Seadeck and Hydroturf for the casting deck...in the end I settled on Hydroturf since they had wider sheets and also sold "blemished seconds".

All three orders arrived yesterday and today.

I made a template for the ribs of the boat to speed up the patterning of the floor.  I hauled the 48"x96" sheet of 1/4" abs into the house last night and started drawing out the cuts.

Tonight, I set-up the saw-horses and started cutting.  I have a little finish work to do but overall the stiffness and pattern looks great.  I've read that ABS doesn't do well with UV.  I may paint over this with gray paint and then add some Hydroturf to give it some grip and cushion.

The Hydroturf looks good too.  I still have to decide on a pattern for the casting deck and then figure out how I will use the overage for the floor.

My custom stainless steel lean bar showed up at my doorstep today and I was a little apprehensive as a cut the cardboard off.  All I can say is that the metal fab guys nailed it.  I ran some measurements and they are dead on.  Kudos and thanks to Rick and the crew at TBC Metalworks in Green Bay.

I've been doing my planning based on 1 1/4" schedule 40 PVC assuming that 1 1/4" schedule 40 Stainless would be the same outside diameter.  As it turns out Stainless is just a tiny bit larger o.d. than PVC.  I reworked the lean bar deck braces but I still need to mill out the underdeck mounting cups.  I'd rather that the stainless o.d. was larger instead of smaller...it's a little more work but overall an easy fix.

Things are coming together.

Rigging 2

Oar Lock Sockets are complete and installed.  I applied double sided tape and a sheet of foam between the hull and the socket prior to bolting them through the gunwale with 1/4" stainless bolts.
The idea is to dampen any sound transfer from the oars to the hull.  It seemed to work well on Jon Johnson...

I made a few calls and located a metalworker who is building me a stainless steel lean bar for the casting deck.  Things are moving along...

Boat Rigging #1

Labor Day was the last day that I saw Jon Johnson.  He hitched a 1 7/8" ball ride west on I-94, swung North on 53 and kept going on Hwy 61.  I brief couple of days in a lonely driveway until TP swung by to collect on a verbal agreement whereby he is the rightful owner.

In case there is any doubt about the selection process...I received this text from TP yesterday:
"Picked up the boat.  Words don't explain how perfect this boat is for me THANK YOU."

I already knew that Jon Johnson was streamlined, no-nonsense, kick-ass fishing machine.  What the text proves is...so is TP.

The lesson: If you have to move and you can't take your beloved black lab with you.  Make sure it ends up with one of your buddies who digs black labs as much (or more) than you do.  No sense in remorse...
Jon isn't the family pet.  But, he might as well have been.

Jon Johnson - bags packed.

Alrighty then.

The next order of business is to get Jon's replacement (yet to be named) up and running.
I've got grand plans and the time to make them happen.
The Yamaha is hung and I even took the kids for a joyride on the local lake. Things went swimmingly or rather not swimmingly...maybe floatingly is more apropos...

The first rigging task is to assemble a floor.  I picked up some 2" foam insulation, cut out a jig and mass produced a floor leveling system.  I had to buy a handful of retractable box cutters from the local hardware store as these seem to be the best way to cut the foam.  The guy working the checkout asked, after I dropped my purchases on the counter, if I was planning to fly somewhere soon...
I couldn't help but think it was still too soon for 9/11 jokes.

Back to the project.

Sections of foam cut-outs were glued and wrapped in landscaping cloth (as I did with Jon Johnson) to keep the floor from sagging and to make sure that the whole works didn't squeak when stryo met aluminum.  Cheap system + added floatation = winning.

Foam cut to create a level floor

Foam strips glued

Glued strips dropped in to check fit...

Landscaping cloth wrap - silence is the key.

Finished wrap.

Cut glued and wrapped.

I've been researching the decking options and have been shopping around.  The plastic plywood that I decked Jon with is no longer available from the local Menards.  I looked at acrylic and polycarbonate and decided they weren't quite right.  I have been asked a few times why I'm not using plywood and my answer is...because I don't want to.  I called a local plastics shop and the guy (Jim) suggested I look at Marine Grade HDPE.  I told him I was considering ABS.  He said that he had a sheet of 1/8" ABS that I could come take a look at so I drove up and checked it out.  The good news is that 1/8" ABS would probably work very well, and if I am concerned about strength, I can custom order 1/4".  the bad news is that it only comes in black.  Black would look cool, but it would certainly not feel cool (especially on bare feet).  He is now making a few calls to see if he can get me some 1/4" marine HDPE in gray.  While I was there I mentioned that I also needed some UHMW for my oar lock sockets.  He had a 4"x4"x12" brick that I thought would work well.  He told me to take it and that we'd settle up when we got the sheeting/decking worked out.  One phone call and a short visit and they are already letting me buy on credit.  Unheard of these days...

Oar Locks - Last night I did some drawing and brainstormed my plan for the oar locks.

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Tonight I started milling the sockets...things are underway.

Underway...

I hope to keep reporting on the progress.  If this stuff doesn't put you to sleep, stay tuned.