Ethanw08's 1542 Jon to Crappie Cracker

[Ethanw08]

I'm an accountant! And a boat owner!

Following along. I live in North Texas and have been to Arbuckle and lake dirty bird. Sounds like you have an awesome motor and dry boat. The rest will come together. I like the gas charged struts! Save a smashed finger or two...

It sounds like we have a lot in common! You must fish the south side of Texoma quite a bit! (I am assuming of course.) I think Thunderbird (I do hate how dirty it is!) will be my most common lake since this is a crappie boat and that isn't half bad for sauger and crappie. I did grow up spending my summers at Arbuckle and man, that lake is gorgeous! ....nice and clean water there for sure!

Thanks for the compliments on the motor and dry boat. I am hoping it will be stable enough with all these mods I am doing to it. I have to say those struts are my favorite mod so far, they are so handy! I know they will definitely be worth their weight in gold when I have to start taking the gas tank in and out, and also for cleaning.

 

[Ethanw08]

It came with a Mercury 25 hp electric start with only 30 or so hours on it

OK that makes sense. I thought $2500 was an awful lot of money for that boat

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Yeah, 2,500 would have been a bit steep if it did not come with that motor for sure. Since the motor is worth about 4k new I figure I basically just bought the motor and got the boat and trailer for free.

 

[Ethanw08]

Alright guys time for a bit of an update:

Tonight I went to Bass Pro to get an impeller/water pump for the motor. Reason being - my cousin said he had not changed it in about three years and from what research I have done on outboards (I am a complete newbie at them) says that they need to be replaced every two years especially if they are not used often because the rubber will take a set and not spin correctly. Since this boat has not hardly been ran in the past three years I decided I needed one. Long story short Bass Pro did not carry them and told me they would have to order one. I decided to get one off Ebay and so now I have one coming to the house. The price tag was about 26 bucks or so which I didn't think was too bad of a deal.

Since I was at Bass Pro I decided to splurge a little. I bought a seat post for one of my seats that was originally matched with a bench attachment. When I bought the boat it came with two seats. SO, now instead of two bench seats, I have one camo seat for the back bench (to steer when driving) and then another camo seat which will mount to pole that is quick-mounted/inserted in the floor.

With that said, the previous owner (not my cousin) mounted this receptacle/pole base way up front. ALOT further than I would have. To paint the picture for you, it is about 9-10 inches centered behind the bow rail. Because of this, when I am sitting in the chair my feet dangle, and sit literally very tip of the bow rail. What I am trying to say is that if my fata$$ snaps that pole I am going in the water. :LOL2: It seems stable enough so I will give it a go for a few trips to determine if I am going to keep it there.

Since one of my plans is to have the gas tank in the bow - I bought a big spool of fuel line and as I was doing the mock up I noticed that the fuel pump thingy is ripping from being old so I purchased a new one at BPS tonight for a whopping 25 dollars..holy cow for what that thing is, 25 dollars seemed excessive....

So, in summary, I now have a working casting chair setup, all necessary fuel line parts, and I have started painting the inside of the hull a flat brown color.

What color do you think would go well on the outside? Green, brown, what? I was thinking I would do brown on the inside and then green on the outside as kind of a two tone but maybe that would be ugly...I don't know at this point.

In the works:
Future plans include buying a battery (to be bow mounted as well), 4 gauge wire to run to back to the engine for electric start and accessories.

I bought 3/4 pvc for the wire channeling but it proved too large to run through the gunnel channels so I am going to have to downsize to 1/2" I guess. My plans so far is to have the fuel line running along the passenger side of the gunnel protected by pvc and then the electrical is to be ran on the driver side gunnel. None of the wiring or gasoline is going to be ran on the floor.

What do you guys think? I will have pictures to come tomorrow night most likely.

 

[thedude]

Never seen the fuel tank up front but no reason it shouldn't work. If you can get the fuel and battery both up there it should be a nice weight distribution.

 

[Scott F]

I noticed that you said the motor is electric start and you have a trolling motor but you are only using one battery?

 

[Ethanw08]

I noticed that you said the motor is electric start and you have a trolling motor but you are only using one battery?

Technically I don't even have one battery yet lol. When i built the frame, I incorporated enough space for two batteries but I didn't know if two batteries were necessarily needed. If I did do two batteries would yoi suggest I use a dual purpose or a starting type battery for the main motor/accessories?

 

[Ethanw08]

Another update:

I was able to get most of the boat painted with the exception of the bottom. Here are some pictures of what the boat looks like now, it isn't exceptional in my opinion, but it is better than the camo pattern it had before. Maybe it didn't grow on me since I am not a hardcore duck hunter, but I think a brown/green simplistic pattern is best for all around hunting and fishing which is how this rig is going to be used.

I was also able to get to the store and pick up some of the electrical stuff that I am going to need. I also got new trailer jack and wheel. the old one with the flat spot was not cutting it. That thing has been such a PITA every time I needed to move the boat.

Here are some pictures.

 

[Prowelder]

You should order a cat tail stencel they're only like 15 bucks. And you could spray the outside of it with some different colors that green is awful. I hate to see you do all that work to it I leave it that color...

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[Ethanw08]

You should order a cat tail stencel they're only like 15 bucks. And you could spray the outside of it with some different colors that green is awful. I hate to see you do all that work to it I leave it that color...

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I am definitely open to ideas, however, I have no reason to do a cat tail pattern. The green definitely isnt my favorite either. I am hoping the green grows on me, otherwise I might repaint it a tan color

 

[Prowelder]

You should order a cat tail stencel they're only like 15 bucks. And you could spray the outside of it with some different colors that green is awful. I hate to see you do all that work to it I leave it that color...

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I am definitely open to ideas, however, I have no reason to do a cat tail pattern. The green definitely isnt my favorite either. I am hoping the green grows on me, otherwise I might repaint it a tan color

I definitely recommend repainting it. But that is just my opinion

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[Ethanw08]

Alright, so this weekend was pretty productive. I finished the paint, ran the fuel line to the front, and started the electrical last night. While in the paint process I was able to get some more information on my boat. It seems that the previous owners that painted the boat, painted right over the LOWE decal. So, now I at least know what brand my boat is. The Lowe measures 15 feet long by 42 inches wide, but I do not see this boat offered on their website. Does anyone know what year Lowes may have made these?

Anyways, I just thought it was neat that I was at least able to figure out what brand the boat was. Stay tuned for the update coming with pictures.

 

[ncfishin]

Good job. I really like the hatches. BTW, I hope you didn't have your CZ in the case when you was grinding! I got the same exact case with a nice 97B. Sweet guns.

 

[ncfishin]

Just re-read the thread. Glock magazine, no big deal. I'd think about a different storage for the tinder.

 

[thedude]

Alright, so this weekend was pretty productive. I finished the paint, ran the fuel line to the front, and started the electrical last night. While in the paint process I was able to get some more information on my boat. It seems that the previous owners that painted the boat, painted right over the LOWE decal. So, now I at least know what brand my boat is. The Lowe measures 15 feet long by 42 inches wide, but I do not see this boat offered on their website. Does anyone know what year Lowes may have made these?

Anyways, I just thought it was neat that I was at least able to figure out what brand the boat was. Stay tuned for the update coming with pictures.

No title to the boat? I figured it would say what model and year.

 

[Ethanw08]

Alright, so this weekend was pretty productive. I finished the paint, ran the fuel line to the front, and started the electrical last night. While in the paint process I was able to get some more information on my boat. It seems that the previous owners that painted the boat, painted right over the LOWE decal. So, now I at least know what brand my boat is. The Lowe measures 15 feet long by 42 inches wide, but I do not see this boat offered on their website. Does anyone know what year Lowes may have made these?

Anyways, I just thought it was neat that I was at least able to figure out what brand the boat was. Stay tuned for the update coming with pictures.

No title to the boat? I figured it would say what model and year.

I got the title for it just last night, so at the time I didnt have that to look at..

 

[Ethanw08]

Good job. I really like the hatches. BTW, I hope you didn't have your CZ in the case when you was grinding! I got the same exact case with a nice 97B. Sweet guns.

Thanks! Fortunately I did not have the CZ in the case! It is safely inside the house. I love my CZ 75B. It fits the hand so well!

 

[Ethanw08]

Just re-read the thread. Glock magazine, no big deal. I'd think about a different storage for the tinder.

LOL the tinder that was ignited was all I had so no worries on it happening again! I am sure the issue was that I didn't have a lid on it. Had I had it sealed it wouldn't have happened lol.

 

[Ethanw08]

Update:

So, looking at the previous update I have since got the wires for the navigation lights, bilge pump, and electric start ran. I built a navigation/console for my new 6 gang switch assembly and possibly a stereo. I have to say, wiring up the navigation lights in the front was a PITA. A serious PITA for real! That alone took probably 4-5 hours.

I am getting a little hasty, I want to get the boat in the water Friday the 2nd and so I am trying to just kinda throw it all together and I will make it look nicer next week.

The navigation panel could look a lot better, it is just bare plywood and I am considering it unfinished even though it is fully functional. Again, I want this thing to be nice so I just kinda took some rough cuts, slapped some screws on it so that I can focus on the trolling motor.

I scored a really old motorguide bow mounted setup (probably 80's model.) It looks pretty rough, but works in all speeds so it will definitely do the job. I am having trouble figuring out a good place to mount it because I had originally planned on using a transom mounted motor.....

So I am in a pickle so to speak. I have a 30lb thrust transom and a 40 lb bow mount. Only issue I am having with the bow mount is making a raised platform for it to be mounted to, but if I do that. I don't have access to bolt it down. Pictures are to come, and I have been snapping them throughout all this new stuff I have been doing, but I just haven't had the time to sit down and do a good write up. it is coming though for sure, I promise.

 

[Prowelder]

Update:

So, looking at the previous update I have since got the wires for the navigation lights, bilge pump, and electric start ran. I built a navigation/console for my new 6 gang switch assembly and possibly a stereo. I have to say, wiring up the navigation lights in the front was a PITA. A serious PITA for real! That alone took probably 4-5 hours.

I am getting a little hasty, I want to get the boat in the water Friday the 2nd and so I am trying to just kinda throw it all together and I will make it look nicer next week.

The navigation panel could look a lot better, it is just bare plywood and I am considering it unfinished even though it is fully functional. Again, I want this thing to be nice so I just kinda took some rough cuts, slapped some screws on it so that I can focus on the trolling motor.

I scored a really old motorguide bow mounted setup (probably 80's model.) It looks pretty rough, but works in all speeds so it will definitely do the job. I am having trouble figuring out a good place to mount it because I had originally planned on using a transom mounted motor.....

So I am in a pickle so to speak. I have a 30lb thrust transom and a 40 lb bow mount. Only issue I am having with the bow mount is making a raised platform for it to be mounted to, but if I do that. I don't have access to bolt it down. Pictures are to come, and I have been snapping them throughout all this new stuff I have been doing, but I just haven't had the time to sit down and do a good write up. it is coming though for sure, I promise.

This looks like the Most common way to mount a front trolling motor. It's like a hat section channel attached to the decking

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[Ethanw08]

Man, I bet you folks might think I fell off the face of the Earth by now!

Quite the contrary! I took the boat out last Friday and found that it had a leak in the transom, and also a leak in the floor. The transom leak was easy to fix but the leak in the floor only occurs at speed (10-15mph) so it is a bit harder to troubleshoot, but I will find it in due time.

Accomplishments since the test ride on Friday:
Mounted and wired the Garmin Striker 7SV fish finder.
Sealed Transom Leaks
Grabbed my hole saws and punched a hole in the side of the boat for my bilge pump hose. Since I routed it to go into the console and pour out the side of the boat at that location you cant even see the hose. It looks pretty clean.

Things in the works:

1.) Trolling Motor - Guys, the trolling motor I bought works fine. There was nothing mechanically wrong with it. My issue was with that dang foot pedal. I found when sitting in the casting chair, there was just not much room to use a setup like that. If you remember from the previous body work postings, the casting chair mount is only like a foot from the front rail of the boat so it doesn't leave much room if any at all to work the pedal. Anyway, I figured a transom mount with a hand dial would be the ticket for this seat location on the boat. So I went to Bass Pro today and bought a brand new Minn Kota 55lb Endura Max with a fancy Digital CPU/monitor that is supposed to save quite a bit of run time. They advertise it will save up to 5x the running speed. I doubt it, but we will see... I am pretty excited about this new trolling motor and look forward to removing that old 40lb thrust 1970-1980's model one and installing the new and improved one.

2.) Find that pesky leak!
3.)Carpet the benches and Navigation console
4.) Install one more latch for the casting deck hatch.