Help Me Pimp My Boat

[Rich McVey]

i build boats for a famuos boat builder. the wood you are using needs to be marine grade then resin coated if you want it to last. i cant see in your pic how you are attaching it to the hual. its great fun to build boats for your own custom specs. any questions--c.m.kubeck@hotmail.com i dont read mail but once a week

Good to hear from ya. I love working on the rig I just got 5-6 months ago and doing the mods myself that add up to a better experience on the water. Next upgrade for me is a kickin sump pump. I just got back from a trip where the boat stayed in the water for 5 nights and it rained on at least 3 nights. The last couple days it seemed to be sitting really low in the water. When I recovered it and pulled the drain plug, an uncomfortable amount of water drained out.

[Dustin07]

Hey where did you get that storage lid you put on there? I would love to cut little storage compartments in the benches on my alum boat-

[Anonymous]

Cabellas @ www.cabelas.com carries various sized hatches and accessories from both Tempress and TH Marine. I used the large Tempress cam-latch hatch when I built the bow deck for my boat (see previous post @ http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... -deck.aspx). I am very pleased with the hatch and it looks great in the boat.

[Mike Carey]

Bow mounted trolling motors. This is the mod I did on my boat. Sorry for the poor photo quality.

[saltyseadog]

mike,#-o what a rats nest

[Mike Carey]

yup. I get it from my wife.

[bob johansen]

Yep, It is not the most tidy boat I've ever seen but it works very well and has seen a few nice bass come over the gunwale. I rode the back seat a few times and found it can get the job done just about as well as the big $40,000,00 fiberglass behemoths. Besides, a day on the lake with Mike is special in any boat.

[Dustin07]

Hey I think half the fun in these less expensive aluminum boats is that you can do pretty much anything you want to them and they won't rot out!

Besides, a day on the lake with Mike is special in any boat.

sounds bromantic!

[FishingFool]

I forgot to mention this. Earlier this month, I received an email from a "Sean" titled "Pimp Your Boat".
I have no idea who it is, but it has to be from this site.


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Yeah, I have no idea wtf that means....


PS, due to the recent rainstorms, my boat is full of water. It's so heavy, I cant even lift up on the tongue of the trailer to drain it out the back.

[G-Man]

I know this is an after the fact reply, tilt up and remove the plug whenever you are storing a boat outdoors as water always finds a way into a boat. Be sure and tie the plug to the boat so as not to forget it when you go fishing. To remove the water you have in there you can use a siphon, a garden hose will work if that is all you have access to. Just fill it up completely with water, plug both ends (thumbs will work), place one end in the water, place the other end below the level of the first and unplug them both. No mouth siphoning required!

[FishingFool]

I know this is an after the fact reply, tilt up and remove the plug whenever you are storing a boat outdoors as water always finds a way into a boat. Be sure and tie the plug to the boat so as not to forget it when you go fishing. To remove the water you have in there you can use a siphon, a garden hose will work if that is all you have access to. Just fill it up completely with water, plug both ends (thumbs will work), place one end in the water, place the other end below the level of the first and unplug them both. No mouth siphoning required!

I need to find something high for the tongue to stand on.

[Anonymous]

[quote="FishingFool
I need to find something high for the tongue to stand on. [/quote"]

I think you have the same boat style, size as I do. 14' aluminum approx. If so, you should be able to just pull your plug from the bow... and lift the trailer tongue high. The water will drain out just fine. With your outboard motor prop brought up high you should be able to get a quite a steep angle on the lift. The length of the trailer will offset the weight. My motor alone is 175lbs, but it's easy.

Edit: Oops, sorry dude. I didn't see the post that said your boat was full of water.

[Rich McVey]

I need to find something high for the tongue to stand on.

My neighbor is using a 3 step ladder to support his.

I could only lift mine as high as the hitch when it flooded, then I towed it to the street which has a nice angle so it could drain.

Need a hose to siphon with?

[FishingFool]

I know this is an after the fact reply, tilt up and remove the plug whenever you are storing a boat outdoors as water always finds a way into a boat. Be sure and tie the plug to the boat so as not to forget it when you go fishing. To remove the water you have in there you can use a siphon, a garden hose will work if that is all you have access to. Just fill it up completely with water, plug both ends (thumbs will work), place one end in the water, place the other end below the level of the first and unplug them both. No mouth siphoning required!

I didnt have a garden hose, so I went down to Home Depot and bought a roll of 3/4" flexible tubing to siphon. Didnt work out so well. The tubing was too flimsy and would kink up and stop the process.


But we eventually got enough water out to be able to lift it and drain the water. Now I gotta figure out how to keep water out. The "waterproof" boat cover isnt working so well. I need a skeleton or brace for the top of the boat to prevent the cover from sagging and creating these pools on top, which gets seeps through. Thought maybe putting up a real tarp over it might work also.

Then need to find something high for the tongue to rest on to give the proper storage angle in case water gets in.
I was thinking, maybe a tongue swivel jack will work?

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... /0/0?N=377 710 1885&Ne=0&Ntt=Tongue Jacks&Ntx=mode matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5005&subdeptNum=17&classNum=759



If I can raise the tongue up to roughly 20" off the ground, that will be high enough for water to head to the back of the boat.

[G-Man]

While a tongue swivel jack is a handy item to have, it isn't what you are looking for to help with your storage angle. Think cheaper and more stable, like a saw horse. The more angle the better, as you will have little to no water pooling on your cover. I've also seen folks use step ladders, 4x4's and stacks of cut tree rounds. Again, it doesn't need to be pretty, it just needs to work. Your boat should be light enough to lift the tongue by yourself, if it isn't you may have a bit too much tongue weight, which some would say is a contradiction in terms. All you need to do to lighten the tongue is to move or put more weight in the aft (rear) of the boat, you can always remove it when you are finished. For outdoor storage you'll want at least a 30 degree angle. When you think your good to go, just throw some water into your boat near the bow, it should make it's way down to the drain hole rather quickly. One last pearl of wisdom to add, whatever you use to cover your boat make sure it provides or you leave openings for ventilation. If you seal the boat off, you'll have a mold farm in no time.

[Rich McVey]

If I can raise the tongue up to roughly 20" off the ground, that will be high enough for water to head to the back of the boat.

I have a hydraulic floor jack and some materials to get it jacked up to the 20 inches you want, do you have something to put the hitch on to keep it elevated once drained?

[The Quadfather]

I previously had a boat which I kept outside. As far as keeping something under the boat cover so the water didn't pool up... whiat I did was just take a couple of 4x4 fence posts, cut them to whatever length was appropriate, and then nail a piece of plywood to each end. I think the plywood was about 15" square. Enough so that the post would stand up.
Place one about 2/3 the way forward in your boat, and the other a little aft.