Gotta lot of work to do~

Well, I finally made it home from overseas. Had a bunch of boxes waiting on me and I went and got the old Sea Ark out of storage. I will really be ramping up my questions for you guys on this forum as my crappie prep and fishing is moving from the theoretical to actual trying to catch one!

Here's some of the things I've got to do-
-Un-winterize the motor,
-Install 16 Hi Tek rod holders (8 up front, 8 in back--but I've also got a EZ Pole Perch dual seat for up front, so I will have to think hard how to place them so that I can fish with single seat, or use the dual seat.),
-Build another floor in the bottom of the boat (took the wood floor out last summer, right before I got unexpectedly deployed--would have left it in had I known that),
-Install Lowrance HDS-5 fishfinder/transducer (getting a HDS-7 and LSS-2 with ethernet cables from BBG Marine this week--don't know where to put the 7 and 5 -- 7 at console, I guess)
-Install new 8 foot gunbox, and
-Put these new 12 foot rods into service.

Any ideas, especially on rod holder placement and Lowrance advice, if you have any ideas. Thanks, BradAttachment 118807Attachment 118808

Welcome home,Can't be much help on placement since i fish a toon but at least for me rigging new toys is about the most enjoyable work to do. Right after getting out and using them. Enjoy!

Glad to hear you made it back, takes for your service. Were are you located, might be able to help you with some fishing locations. Good luck in keeping the family in fish.

Welcome back and thanks for your service!! Looks like pretty tight quarters on the front of that boat. I had the same problem (tight quarters) when I installed my Hi Tek rod holders. I'll take some pictures for you tonight and post tomorrow.

Just one thot before mounting rod holders,,,,, TROLLING MOTOR!!!! The ease of deployment and retractment MUST be considered. You might just limit to 1 rack in the middle. Even wid 2 in front,,, just 6 poles. :welcome back and hope ya git out soon!! <*)}}}><

You did have me wondering about your sudden disappearance from the CdotC sandbox and now glad to see you safely home. It sure looks like you've got a nice fishing platform there and for sure some work to do --- something I really shy away from even when it comes to actual fishing.

As for me being classified as a redneck spider rigger using only two rods with one in each hand I wouldn't be of any help in setting up your Hi Tek rod holders.

I'm sure you are already well aware of some the really knowledgeable fishers here that can and do offer great assistance and information towards helping other fishers.

I'm sure hoping either a major or minor get together will eventually be developed for Milford Lake this year since KAG and DroptineJoe have sure made that lake sound like a place I've never fished - but now would like to check out someday.

hey man good to see you back.

The weather today out at Milford was absolutely great....battling a bug so no fishing today for me but sitting on the deck looking out across it. I always think the best way to decide things on placement is to get in the boat and sit there for a while and imagine having t o use everything. Set it up for ease of use and function. Something to keep in mind is kansas and the 3 pole limit. I spend most of my time pushing or pulling something.

When you are ready let me know and we will take a ride on the lake to get you started on some spots.....there are no "Secret" spots on Milford....only well known and lesser known....its only 15k acres and just 3k of it is worth fishing

That SeaArk looks like really well cared for.....they are solid boats and will serve you well


I am all for a spring minor get together as it looks like i may have some extra time with the Furloughs coming...

Welcome home Brad...glad to see and hear you are back on American soil...Let me know when you are going for a boat ride with Kag as I would like to learn them spots too....lol

And forgot nice looking boat...

Ok trying to post a picture here of my setup haven't posted a picture for about a year so bear with me if I screw this up.

In the picture the seats are 41" center to center. The rod holder bases are 37" center to center. For me I found the best distance was for the rod holder post to be about 24" from center of seat post (this may be different depending on how big a fellow you are). I wished I was able to put my seats and rod holders closer together but as you can see by the picture I wasn't allowed to do that becasuse of the 2 compartments. I built a removable mount for my humminbird that fits in the existing seat pedestal mount so it was close enough to operate. The humminbird is on it normal Ram mount in the picture (I would definitely suggest Ram mounts for electronics they are very nice....kinda pricey though). Everything is removable and looks clean when removed, that one of the reasons I went with Hi Tek.

I agree with the comments made above that you should lay everything out and see what feels right.

I think I enjoy installing this stuff more than I do using it. :biggrin


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/...pse53bd8f5.jpg

Thanks for the replies! Crappie Hunter15, I'm going to take my phone with your pics out to the boat tomorrow morning to sort of try different setups. Thanks so much. I tried it this afternoon and me and my "helpers" ended up playing more than working! Will probably have more questions esp. as soon as the Lowrance stuff comes in. Brad

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Welcome home, thanks for your sacrifice and service. Any time you want to hit Pamona, Melvern let me know we can set something up.

Went to scrap dealer, got some aluminium. Starting on floor. Cheating with old ladder thing for frame.

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Scouts Out, get you another set of mounting brackets. Mount the ones you have where they need to be for double seat, then mount an extra in front of your single seat. That way you can just move a set when fishing by yourself. Get Calshay to build you one of his finder mounts. When fishing double mount it in the middle when fishing single mount it to one side you will still be able to see it and reach the buttons.

Cray, thanks, great ideas. I ordered a couple extra mounting brackets with my first order, but gonna go ahead and get the fishfinder mount, too! If you had a Low HDS-5 and and HDS-7, where would you put each? 7 at the console and 5 at the front?

Depends on where you are going to spend the most time. Most would put 7 at console and 5 at front. If it was me, as i spend most of my time Spider Rigging i would have the 7 on the front. My reasoning is when at console you are usually closer to finder and a better view so 5 should work fine when in serch mode or running. Front finder is going to be a little farther away thus the need for larger screen. Easier to see structure and mark way points. Thats just me. You could try both ways since all you will have to do is move head and bracket.
By the way thank you for your service from a old Vet.

Okay, finally got good enough weather and got over a cold or something. Got floor in. $63 in scrap aluminium and some rivets and screws. Thought the floor would be waaay more than that. Got lucky at the scrap dealer. As we say in TN, "It ain't 'plumb' plumb, but it is 'some' plumb." Ordering hydro-turf tonight unless someone has a better idea to cover it. "Back deck" will give the back-seat guy a little more room than there was.

Next will tackle the Hi Tek mounts and Lowrance. Got the LSS-2, HDS-7, and HDS-5 and three transducers to try to figure out. Never done any of that before. Having fun, though! Brad
Floor Attachment 120334
Back deckAttachment 120335

Looking good. If that is angle next to the gun box I'd pull that up put down carpet then trim it all around with angle to hold down edges.

Finally about ready to get in the water! Thanks for all of the great advice. I took all of it into account, still made some mistakes, but only drilled 1 extra hole!


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Sure looks like the crappie are in BIG:biggrin trouble!!! Very nice work!! <*)}}}><

Great job. Got her looking good. That will catch some crappie for sure.

really nice! Lets go fishin

Tired of being a giant dark blob at all my duck holes, so I thought I'd lighten up the boat some. CamoClad worked good. Got the cheaper product, but I have a cheap boat! Had good help today! Gotta do the transom, motor, and trim the insides with my scraps, but this was the hard part. Brad

Its looking good, ducks beware.

Looks pretty good Brad!!

Looks ducky to me.... quack, quack.

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Looks good, looks like first rate help!!


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Thats a GREAT job! Looks like you have some good help for the projects on that boat; you are blessed.

Dang, ha , old thread! Hey fellas! Still in the Army, this boat down in GA now on the Chattahoochee River and Eufala Lake. Still doing good, and yes- we’re still killing ducks too. For those who remember my girls—. We just got our first dove this weekend! Brad