Thread: "new" stick steer conversion

I posted on a thread pertaining to stick steer boats recently, and thought I'd post some pics of my newest rig. This boat is a 16' VIP that came with no decks, but had a console. It came with a factory side-mounted live-well and small live well on the bow. I removed the console and console seat (seat was fiberglassed into the floor-major PITA) and installed stick steering, got longer throttle and shift cables, built a custom rod box, moved the speedo and tach up front, made a panel for the bow which was missing and relocated the trolling motor plug into it, and relocated the motor controls. I've still got to re-install the trolling motor (which had the foot pedal cable too short from the factory) with a different trolling motor and mount the pedal to the floor properly. I also have to weld up some aluminum rod holders for spider-rigging as well. I'm hoping to have a decent sonar by next fall as well, though the old Lowrance at least shows depth. If you notice, the hull has a nice Vee to it which I believe will somewhat cut down on the beating when going through a chop. I've never put it in the water since I got it home except in my pond, so I'm anxious to try it out and see how the stick steering handles with me up front. It has a 60 Yamaha on it and although I had to replace the water pump impeller, it ran out nice the day I bought it and easily go the boat up on plane and ran about 35mph, which is plenty of speed for me. I don't like for my eyelids to flap while running my boat! Not a pretty boat, and not fast, but I believe it will be very comfortable for the kind of fishing I do. My rod box has a separate door for both driver and rear seats, along with separate conduits for the rods. Hopefully it will cut down on the number of snapped rods and broken reels that I have had in the past. I bought it before Christmas a couple of months ago, and am just now "finishing" it. Will post some results after the first test run.
I love my stick steer boats that I don't have a lot of money tied up in.