Just a quick introduction to my project. After buying and selling a few boats and motors I ended up with a Lowe 1456 and a trailer for a 10' jon boat. My Lowe is in very good condition and will be used on a private lake 95% of the time but I still want to customize it for my use which includes Bass, Panfish, Catfish and Crappie in that order.
I have the tongue tacked in place in this photo, see where the rear rollers are now? They were about 24" forward before I extended the tongue. I did not like the idea of the boat cantilevered off the back even with a light 2-stroke motor.
Most of my work has been on the trailer so far: lengthened the tongue 24", added a new 2" coupler, jack, taillight poles and rebuilt the hubs. The original coupler was a 1 7/8" screw type and the safety was long gone. I still need to run new wire, add a few braces and gussets, safety chains and a license plate mount.
I may pull the 14" tires off my utility trailer and use those in place of 8" tires on the boat trailer but that will require new hubs and fenders. For now I am going to see how the 8" tires work with new bearings and grease. My utility trailer wheels are galvanized with car tires that are not rated for the loads I haul so I would be better off moving them to the boat trailer and buying trailer tires.
I made the lights and brackets removable so that I can slip a piece of PVC over them to protect the boat. I might use a long bunk roller but I need to load the boat on the trailer to check the fit first.
So far I have a Minn-Kota Endura 50, Wallyworld Deep Cycle battery, Attwood anchor roller and a Humminbird 565. I use the trolling motor as primary mounted on the transom but lug the motor and battery from the house to the back of the boat almost every day. I mounted the trolling motor on front once but without an outboard on back I need to make a rudder to keep the back in from swinging around.
My plan it to build a temporary deck on the front to see if I even like fishing up that high. I definitely want to move the battery and trolling motor to the front for convenience and add an on-board charger. My boat is out in the lake 24/7 so I have to decide on how to keep the rain out. A cover would work but I may build a deck that could have a boat cover.
SV
I have the tongue tacked in place in this photo, see where the rear rollers are now? They were about 24" forward before I extended the tongue. I did not like the idea of the boat cantilevered off the back even with a light 2-stroke motor.
Most of my work has been on the trailer so far: lengthened the tongue 24", added a new 2" coupler, jack, taillight poles and rebuilt the hubs. The original coupler was a 1 7/8" screw type and the safety was long gone. I still need to run new wire, add a few braces and gussets, safety chains and a license plate mount.
I may pull the 14" tires off my utility trailer and use those in place of 8" tires on the boat trailer but that will require new hubs and fenders. For now I am going to see how the 8" tires work with new bearings and grease. My utility trailer wheels are galvanized with car tires that are not rated for the loads I haul so I would be better off moving them to the boat trailer and buying trailer tires.
I made the lights and brackets removable so that I can slip a piece of PVC over them to protect the boat. I might use a long bunk roller but I need to load the boat on the trailer to check the fit first.
So far I have a Minn-Kota Endura 50, Wallyworld Deep Cycle battery, Attwood anchor roller and a Humminbird 565. I use the trolling motor as primary mounted on the transom but lug the motor and battery from the house to the back of the boat almost every day. I mounted the trolling motor on front once but without an outboard on back I need to make a rudder to keep the back in from swinging around.
My plan it to build a temporary deck on the front to see if I even like fishing up that high. I definitely want to move the battery and trolling motor to the front for convenience and add an on-board charger. My boat is out in the lake 24/7 so I have to decide on how to keep the rain out. A cover would work but I may build a deck that could have a boat cover.
SV
