Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

So as odd as it seems Ive been wanting a older boat with no motor. The goal is to fish some of these smaller lakes that allow no gas motors. So a buddy and I went in on this project. The goal is to make a FULL deck with no console, all deck. A 36 volt Minn Kota 101 with six batteries, run three at a time and use the other three for back up. We both do paint work and I can do some cool glass work. I have a bunch of automotive House of Kolor paint left over from other projects. Should turn out sweet lookin and be a heck of a fishing boat. Ill update this thread as we go. So far we invested

700.00 1988 Procraft boat
640.00 Brand new Minn Kota 101 trolling motor
0. Paint
0. Wood for the deck, donated.
Pics as of 11/4/09

Wow, that sounds like a great project.
Paint the bottom in a green weed pattern, and add some crawdads and bait fish. Really make it blend in.
Have fun, and good luck.

That will be a fun project!
I honestly wish I had some painting talent, (and lots of money to burn) a project boat would be really cool, I know where a center console Skeeter is, that would be the ultimate project boat!

You'd better post some pics as the project progresses.

I had an idea to use a broken outboard.Remove the powerhead and adapt a forklift motor from ebay.Would need a bunch of batteries though.

Butch Brown has an electric motor on his Lagoon boat that damn near puts it up on plane.

Awesome project Biteme, definitely keep us updated on the progress.

If you really make progress on this, they should add it as a feature on the main page.

Neat Idea, since it will only ever be a trolling platform to eliminate the console /seating area ..that will make for a massive fishing platform and liely provide an oppertunity for a ton of storage space.

So we started the destruction today. Yeah it looks ugly now but it wont when its done! Im really shocked at how well this boat has held up over 22 years.

Will the entire deck be flush all the way accross or will it step down from the front? You have me wanting to start a project!

Tin Can wrote:Will the entire deck be flush all the way accross or will it step down from the front? You have me wanting to start a project!

All the way across . Thats why we didnt touch the rear deck. We'll build off of that. Just one FLAT deck! Im stoked! We're thinking Kandy black on the bottom with big silver flake. On top it will be lime green. We have to throw some green in just because we might be going solar.

You going to keep the live wells? What about a graph and electronics?

biteme wrote:

Tin Can wrote:Will the entire deck be flush all the way accross or will it step down from the front? You have me wanting to start a project!

All the way across . Thats why we didnt touch the rear deck. We'll build off of that. Just one FLAT deck! Im stoked! We're thinking Kandy black on the bottom with big silver flake. On top it will be lime green. We have to throw some green in just because we might be going solar.

Solar recharging on the t-motor bats? That's a sick idea!

Yes and yes. It will have a custom made fiberglass console up front for, sonar/gps switches ect. Live wells will be in the same stock location.

Recommend you also (Must) build a Rouder for attachment to the rear of the boat....otherwise your going to be fighting the back once your on the troll'in motor.

Rich

RichThiel wrote:Recommend you also (Must) build a Rouder for attachment to the rear of the boat....otherwise your going to be fighting the back once your on the troll'in motor.

Rich

I agree, I have two T motor now. We might just mount the two. It would also help put it on the trailer.

TomAtkeson wrote:

biteme wrote:

Tin Can wrote:Will the entire deck be flush all the way accross or will it step down from the front? You have me wanting to start a project!

All the way across . Thats why we didnt touch the rear deck. We'll build off of that. Just one FLAT deck! Im stoked! We're thinking Kandy black on the bottom with big silver flake. On top it will be lime green. We have to throw some green in just because we might be going solar.

Solar recharging on the t-motor bats? That's a sick idea!

Yes, we will build a rack to hold the panels. It will bolt to the transom and hang off the boat. Right now we're thinking one panel per battery. The idea is to charge the batteries full time. It would extend the use. We all know how that sun beats down on the water.

Biteme,

It was tried in the 80's one rear and one front....didn't work out too good.

Things have changed a BUNCH! Panel size has also changed, price ect. Remember we will start with three fully charge batteries. I figure its worth trying

Instead of three 12 volt batteries you may want to consider going to 6 6volt batteries, it would help in your hours. And you wouldnt have the weight of an additional set of batteries.

Rich is right about a rudder, or the *** end will swing everywhere! sounds like a fun project, please keep the pics coming as you progress.

very cool. Iv had a similer idea with a flip up console/steering wheel to run a molded in jetski motor.

anyone have a hull and trailer for cheep ?

You might think about a theft recovery.

I looked at one for a like idea, just a boat with a troller kept at a marina for free.

I gave up on the idea because I did not think the batteries and troller would stay onboard when it was left there.

Theft recovery probably will already have the console/steering cut out, no big motor etc. often the trailers are used to dump the hull.

.02 A.G.

Keep the pictures coming. I can't wait to see what this looks like completed.
Rich

Got my LED's in! This is a basic mod that will help a bunch when fishing at night. I got them on ebay for cheap! Man are they bright! I bought eight small strips and two long ones. The small ones will be for the lockers. The big ones will be for where the deck meets up with the sides of the boat. Leds give off directional light. Heres some pics. We start framing the deck Friday, cant wait!
Cost of the LEDs 50.00

Man, you look like you're really doing a great job.
Since the big motor provides a balancing weight, so the boat sits right in the water, you might think of adding additional batteries.
The added amps will be welcome, and the added weight might help balance out the boat.

HOK paint is the shiizzzznit.

The LED's are tight, will that color work as oppose to florescent light for night fishing?

Been really busy but we finally found a few hours to work on the boat. Plan is to go at it again tomorrow. Started framing it up!

Man, seems like a great project. Makes me want to do one my slef! Add a bunch of padding every where! It will help tons when your out from sun up till past sun down! Are ya going to put in a comfortroll or anything like it?

biteme wrote:So as odd as it seems Ive been wanting a older boat with no motor. The goal is to fish some of these smaller lakes that allow no gas motors. So a buddy and I went in on this project. The goal is to make a FULL deck with no console, all deck. A 36 volt Minn Kota 101 with six batteries, run three at a time and use the other three for back up. We both do paint work and I can do some cool glass work. I have a bunch of automotive House of Kolor paint left over from other projects. Should turn out sweet lookin and be a heck of a fishing boat. Ill update this thread as we go. So far we invested

700.00 1988 Procraft boat
640.00 Brand new Minn Kota 101 trolling motor
0. Paint
0. Wood for the deck, donated.
Pics as of 11/4/09

WOW! This is a great idea!!! I can see it workng very well, with all the extra stuff/wieght removed from the boat you should have plenty of room for batteries. I would look into a lipo type battery like the Optimas they are worth the extra coin. And I would shoot an e-mail with my progress to Optima Batteries,Minn Kota,etc... You would be suprized becuase I bet they all would like to be a part of this project and would be willing to donate product.

I am very interested in seeing how this turns out as are the rest of the folks on this site, so I would imagine a whole lot of others would be interested also so why wouldn't a company want to jump onboard? I also agree this should be a WB front page feature story.

P.S.- If for any reason you decide not to finish this project and want to sell, CALL ME i'll buy it, I have refurbished a few boats over the years but never nothing like this. I bet it would be alot of fun to build. Who knows get it right and you may just be the next Forrest Wood!

Any recent updates on the project boat?!?

Yes that last pic is from yesterday. Its tough getting time to work on it. I have a 3month old and we dont have a indoor spot to work on it. So if it rains were SOL. Its pretty frustrating! Im building a 68 Camaro in my garage so we have no room for it.

Awesome custom fishing platform, a 68 Camaro......with the exception of that three month old, you got some pretty awesome things going for ya

Looking good, keep the updates coming!

So did we get alot done over the 4 day Christmas holiday?

I am Seriously interested in this project. I was watching "The Next Generation" on the Outdoor Channel this past week end and they went to fish a private lake, anyway the ranger boat had an Electric Outboard on it.

Thanks for checking in Dom. Nope we didnt get a chance to get any work done, family first. BUT last week we almost finished the framing for the deck. I didnt get any pics because it got dark on us. We should be able to get some work done this week, weather permitting.

Your very welcome, I have this bookmarked and looking forward to seeing it done. Man if you can do glass work and lay paint this thing should be "SICK" when yall are done. I was showing my brother-in-law yalls build over the holiday week-end and he was as excited about it as I was. We'er thinking a conoe for the arodynamics and 3 minn kota 101's to hit top speed Then we started thinking about it alittle more, and thought naw it wouldn't work becuase we aint got that good a balance in our old age

Keep us posted

Took a solo trip yesterday and did some work. Got the old floor all tore out. Man what a mess that was. Will be back on it Tuesday with my partner. We should get a decent chunk knocked out.
I also ordered up 24oz Basscat carpet in gunmetal. New fenders for the trailer, new winch, and a few odds and end for the trailer. The five gallons of fiberglass resin should be in anytime. Cant wait to get some glass work done.

We got some stuff done today. The deck is getting very close! We need one more day to get the supports fiber glassed in from the bottom of the boat to the decking and we'll be finished with the frame. Things should start moving pretty good after that!

dude, keep the posts coming. this is tha bidness, foo!

love it!

Thanks! Oh boy my buddy is going to shoot me,lol. I just ordered these.

Nice, you just couldn't resist the temptation to pimp the trailer eh?


Looking good so far man, this is seriously an awesome project! Reminds me of what we did to my aluminum, only yours is on a much larger scale.

Are they 22's? Great Work! Still watching

Tin Can wrote:Nice, you just couldn't resist the temptation to pimp the trailer eh?


Looking good so far man, this is seriously an awesome project! Reminds me of what we did to my aluminum, only yours is on a much larger scale.

Pimp the boat ya gotta pimp the trailer to avoid having a hoopty rig man!

Just went with 17's, I want some tire. Yep have to do both trailer and boat. Cant go half arsed!lol

Any Updates?

Lol, no. I bought a 2007 Stratos project last month. I did sale my Camaro so Ill be moving this project into the garage. It should start moving soon.

Who needs a 40k boat huh

How's this project going.
Would really like to see some updated pictures.

Really Cool.

Thanks,
Rene

biteme wrote:Lol, no. I bought a 2007 Stratos project last month. I did sale my Camaro so Ill be moving this project into the garage. It should start moving soon.

You bought another freaking project boat? What is wrong with you man

What makes the 07 Stratos a "Project" ? Pretty new for a project boat.

Tin Can wrote:

biteme wrote:Lol, no. I bought a 2007 Stratos project last month. I did sale my Camaro so Ill be moving this project into the garage. It should start moving soon.

You bought another freaking project boat? What is wrong with you man

What makes the 07 Stratos a "Project" ? Pretty new for a project boat.

I know! But I couldnt pass it up, $1500.00 for such a new boat. The damage is not bad at all. Light damage over all its in great shape. Just needs a motor.

Damn, I can't blame you for that. You scored!