Macrosill
Well-known member
So Long story short, I bought my 1st boat last year. It is a 14' aluminum Sears Gamefisher. I took it out once last year and new things could go better right away. I went out alone. Every bit of weight was in the stern, me at 180, 2 group 29 batteries and the trolling motor. No outboard. The bow sat very high. So high that the wind would spin the boat. I spent more time trying to keep the boat straight than fishing. I decided I wanted to move the batteries up front for some better weight distribution but that was easier said than done. There was no where to put the batteries, Since it is a Mod Vee hull I would have to build a flat mount for them. Since I am doing that I also decided I needed a flat floor. The exposed struts across the floor are just begging me, or one of the kids, to trip and get hurt or fall in the water. That needs to be fixed. I was reluctant to do anything for some time as the boat is in new condition and I did not want to ruin it. Well, yesterday I was bored and threw caution to the wind.
I started this mod by drilling out the rivets that hold the middle bench seat in place. The seat is out and I have a nice large area to build a flat floor. I cut the floor joists and they are in.
My plan is to have a nice flat middle area along with a front deck at the height of the bench seats. I will have hatches on the front deck for storage and battery access. I am not sure about the rear deck. I may just cover the rear bench seat or extend a deck from the seat to the transom with hatches for storage access.
Thus far, the floor joists for the middle floor is made from kiln dried 2x4 16" on center. This gave me 5 joists. The last 2 I had to rip down to 2.5" so I would have the clearance to run wiring underneath.
I ordered some 2 awg copper cabling to run from the batteries in the bow to the 55lb thrust trolling motor at the stern. At 24vdc, with a 50amp load I will only lose .25v or 1.04" due to voltage drop. This is figuring a 16' run of cable.
Picture to follow. As luck would have it my laptop crapped out yesterday and I have to send it to Lenovo for a new motherboard. It is going to take a few weeks. All my pic are on that machine so I will get some new ones today. The weather is nice and I hope to do bit more work today.
Wish me luck that my Gamfisher does not turn iintot eh USS Minnow!
I started this mod by drilling out the rivets that hold the middle bench seat in place. The seat is out and I have a nice large area to build a flat floor. I cut the floor joists and they are in.
My plan is to have a nice flat middle area along with a front deck at the height of the bench seats. I will have hatches on the front deck for storage and battery access. I am not sure about the rear deck. I may just cover the rear bench seat or extend a deck from the seat to the transom with hatches for storage access.
Thus far, the floor joists for the middle floor is made from kiln dried 2x4 16" on center. This gave me 5 joists. The last 2 I had to rip down to 2.5" so I would have the clearance to run wiring underneath.
I ordered some 2 awg copper cabling to run from the batteries in the bow to the 55lb thrust trolling motor at the stern. At 24vdc, with a 50amp load I will only lose .25v or 1.04" due to voltage drop. This is figuring a 16' run of cable.
Picture to follow. As luck would have it my laptop crapped out yesterday and I have to send it to Lenovo for a new motherboard. It is going to take a few weeks. All my pic are on that machine so I will get some new ones today. The weather is nice and I hope to do bit more work today.
Wish me luck that my Gamfisher does not turn iintot eh USS Minnow!