Rigging a boat on a budget.

[Wind Knot]

To make a long story short, my beloved 16'x54 jon boat is in need of a facelift. It started life with a brand new outboard that was promptly stolen. Primary propulsion became a mud motor. I hunted ducks and gigged frogs out of this boat extensively in Central Florida for several years. I wanted to turn it into a dual purpose rig, but at the time I had a number of friends who owned every type of boat imagineable, from flats boats all the way to three engine go-fast center consoles.

I have since relocated to Southwest Tennessee and I have found that a mud motor is severely lacking around here. I am on a limited budget and spent over a year trying to find the "perfect" outboard and I finally came across it- a 2002 Merc 40 2 stroke that was never cranked. I hung it on the boat, added a prop, and we're ready to go.

Now it's time to get serious about rigging this boat as a dual purpose hunting and fishing rig. As it stands right now, it's virtually a bare hull with a rod/gun box running from the rear seat to the front casting deck. The rear seat pods hold additional storage. For hunting purposes, I have a Beavertail boat blind that is removeable. I am rigged with my batteries in the front storage compartment of the boat. A power box (not a fuse panel, but a set of wing nuts) is in the rear of the boat.

My plans so far include, in order of importance:

- Navigation lights wired to a switch panel located in the rear of the boat
- A bilge pump wired to the same switch panel
- Trolling motor
- Depth finder(s)- 1 in the rear, one on the trolling motor
- Rod holders for spider rigging and/or trolling
- Power tilt and trim
- Replace the plywood floor with an aluminum one. More on this later
- Hydroturf "carpeting"

What I really need help on is what to buy in terms of a trolling motor and electronics. What would y'all do?

Some things to consider-
1- I have about the same budget that a new teacher would have. In other words, I'm not in a position to spend $3,000 on a trolling motor and depth finder.
2- I like equipment to be removeable. For example, I went with the Beavertail brand boat blind because it could be completely removed from the boat. I completely understand that some mounting brackets are necessary, but some are certainly more flush and streamlined than others
3- I'm relatively handy.

Pics of the rig:







What would y'all do? What works and what doesn't work? Where should I start? As you can see, we're working with a relatively blank canvas and I'd be happy to post pics as it progresses.

Take care,
WK

[Wannabe...]

Man, I could write a book......

OK, for Trolling power...assuming you're not going to want to troll cranks with the TM. I'd either go with a used MK Maxxum in 24V 74# or a used PDV2 with co-pilot. Given your boat, you could probably go with 12V and find it pretty handily in the PDV2, but might have to search high and low to find a 12V maxxum with variable speed.

Any one of the MK quick detach will work here and mounts can be had used.

For FF, I'd again look for used, but I'd spend the $ to get color, 5" and GPS on both units. You can cheap out here if you're not a conessieur of fine electronicals, but you'll regret it. H'bird 500 or 700 series here would be good. Lowrance, you can go LMS 332 or 520Cs. I'd go with H'bird since we're talking used and pretty much with them either they work or they don't. With lowrance, you have the seal worry. If removability is an issue here, RAMs are the way to go, but are budget breakers and are hard to come by on the cheap used. Johnny Rays are much more economical and work very well, although you get no rise out of them to get them off the deck...Enginuity comes into play here.

Rod Holders - Check with EZ Rod Holder here or a lot of folks like the Hi-Teks. I run the former and have a knock off version of the latter.

Hydro-turf - Go with the seconds from their site and save some $.

PM me when you decide exactly what you want and I'll hunt you up a FF or TM used on the cheap.

Wannabe...

[Wannabe...]

Hmmm, a little budget cypherin':

TM: $400 to $600

FF (2): $500 to $800

FF Mounts (2): $90 or less

Holders (2 racks, 4 holders each) $160 - $220

Fuse Panel: $60 (Wag)

Bilge: $40

Hydro Turf: $200 (Wag)

Tilt and Trim - Used PT65 $200 (gonna have to be patient here)

Misc and Sundry: Wires, screws etc $100

Total Low Side: $1,750
Total High Side: $2,310

Rough estimates, but doable given your budget. It all hinges on if you're OK with used stuff and just how much FF you want. If you have to have 10" with side imaging or just have to have an Ipilot, then you're gonna have to rethink the $.

Wannabe...

[creekslick]

PM sent

[Wind Knot]

Wannabe,
Thanks for the info. I have a few questions:

1- What are the advantages of a color depth finder over a greyscale? Believe it or not, we used a paper unit for years when we were locating reefs in deep water for grouper. We hit a point where we'd use a LCD unit to find the bottom, then switched to the paper unit when we knew we were where we wanted to be. Finally, it became impossible to find paper and when we did it was prohibitively expensive. At the time, color units didn't do much but mark hard bottom with slightly more detail than their black and white cousins. I'm definitely behind the 8 ball when it comes to newer electronics. I guess what I'm asking is can someone catch me up on the progress of fish finders from paper to greyscale to color?

2- I assume the GPS feature is used for marking points for quick reference. I need to get used to this muddy water stuff. Used to be that we could just mark spots based on light and dark colors on the bottom out to around 15'. Not so much here.

One point I forgot to add:

I'm not quite done with saltwater fishing in my lifetime and I still fish with the Ambassador 5000 I bought when I was 12. I tend to hang on to things. Also, I'm unmarried, I have an awesome girlfriend. In other words, mounts, rod holders, and the like are expenses, but not major deal breakers one way or the other.

I've looked at the MK Powerdrive and it looks to fit my bill. MK makes a similar unit designed for saltwater use. On one hand, it's wireless and upgradeable. On the other hand, it's pretty expensive. Certainly more than I'd like to spend off the cuff. What experience do folks have with FW trolling motors holding up in SW use, especially with the electronic features prevalent in modern trolling motors?

Thanks for the positive feedback. Y'all are a class-act and I really like the way y'all run a forum.

[crappiebandit]

hey wind knot these guys around here will show or tell you the best, cheapest and easiest way to do anything. I also am in the southwest part of tn so maybe after hunting season is over and you get your rigs setup we share so lies and wet some lines.

[slimeyslab]

First things first. Lose those wing nut motor mounts on that outboard and bolt it on for good. Remember your first one. At least make tham work for it. As far as fishfinder's, the color is my favorite just because to me it shows better detail and I can see it better. One can be found on the cheap if you are patient and buy used. GPS is a must, not just for marking spot's but for tracking your speed(many believe that is the most important thing in trolling). IM CHEAP AND I BUY EVERYTHING USED

[maachuu]

First things first. Lose those wing nut motor mounts on that outboard and bolt it on for good. Remember your first one. At least make tham work for it. As far as fishfinder's, the color is my favorite just because to me it shows better detail and I can see it better. One can be found on the cheap if you are patient and buy used. GPS is a must, not just for marking spot's but for tracking your speed(many believe that is the most important thing in trolling). IM CHEAP AND I BUY EVERYTHING USED

Just a word of caution, If slimey says he has a Fish Finder he will drop off at your house for you to mount on your boat, you might wanna open the box before you go very far and for sure if you are thirsty Im sorry for hijackin this Slimey but I just couldnt help myself

maachuu

[slimeyslab]

Now maachuu, you gotta admit that it was funny as heck. Would have loved to seen his face when he opened the box. BWAhhhhahhahah!

[Wind Knot]

First things first. Lose those wing nut motor mounts on that outboard and bolt it on for good. Remember your first one. At least make tham work for it. As far as fishfinder's, the color is my favorite just because to me it shows better detail and I can see it better. One can be found on the cheap if you are patient and buy used. GPS is a must, not just for marking spot's but for tracking your speed(many believe that is the most important thing in trolling). IM CHEAP AND I BUY EVERYTHING USED

The motor mount is kind of funky. This model is a commercial unit, so it has some different stuff. It's rope start, has a primer bulb like a generator or lawnmower and does not have oil injection. It's all pre-mix. Finally, it came with clamps for the top and through bolts for the bottom, though the motor has a standard four bolt mounting plate. When I hung the motor, I mounted it with four bolts like a "normal" mount that has the "normal" hole pattern. The clamps are somewhat redundant and I'll remove them when I hang the motor on PT&T. Other than that, it's a still a 59 ci three cylinder Merc. On one hand, it has fewer creature comforts. On the other hand, there are fewer parts to fail. Even when I install electric start, the rope start will still be functional.