As I mentioned in the previous post, I took the boat out and it was a bit windy. The wind had me drifting quite fast, making any kind of fishing difficult. I had to drift into pads or reeds just to stop and be able to cast around or drop a bobber in. I guess it’s time to add one of the two Anchormate IIs I bought for the boat.

The Anchormate II, which I got from Cabelas, is a nice unit that allows you to wind up your anchor, and have the anchor itself sit securely in a holder mounted to the boat. No leaning over the edge to lift, no mess from bringing the anchor into the boat. Since most of what I’m doing now is temporary (I’m installing casting decks eventually), I’m just doing the simplest mount I can to make it functional so I can get out on the water.

I used some treated 2″x4″s that I cut to size to hold the ‘bow fixture’. I screwed the bottom one to the bow seat with some deck screws, then screwed through the bow fixture and the top piece into the bottom piece. I designed in a notch so I could route the rope down low close to the seat, but after testing it found that it added a bit to much tension. In the final version I’ll definitely use a pulley wheel there.

For the reel part, I simply screwed it to the side of the console, which is where I think I’ll mount the final version as well. Now, when I want to drop anchor, I simply turn the dial on the reel, and the anchor lowers itself down. When I want it back up, I reel it up. Perhaps someday I’ll go the power reel route, but for now I’m cool with this setup.

The Anchormate II bow fixture

The Anchormate II reel mounted to my console

The Anchormate II set installed

Just thought I’d throw in some shots I took while actually using the boat. The closest lake to me (besides Lake Michigan) is Big Muskego, which is really closer to a swamp than a lake I think, with it’s maximum 4′ depth. I never saw anywhere I went that looked close to 4′, most looked to be 1′-2′, and is very weedy, so I don’t go too fast. I’ve seen in some forums that people are getting good fish though, both Northern and Large Mouth Bass, as well as some Bluegills.

On my first fishing trip, I did catch a little bit, which was difficult as it was windy, and I hadn’t yet added an anchor (can you guess what my next post will be about?). My first fish was a Bluegill a little smaller than my hand. I didn’t get a picture since it was hooked deep, so I was focused on getting the hook out and then getting it back into the water. Second fish was a tiny Pumpkinseed, seen below, Third was a little Perch, probably about 4″ long. Finally, while doing a little casting with a ‘Scum Frog’, I got a 12″ Large Mouth Bass, that immediately went into some pads, so I had to slowly pull my boat over to it and reach in to pull it out.

No keepers, nothing grand, but it’s officially a fishing boat now!

At the Boxhorn launch for Big Muskego Lake

Motoring at low-speed on Big Muskego Lake

My second fish, a Pumkinseed smaller than the bobber

A 12 inch Large Mouth Bass to initiate my fishing boat

This was a pretty easy and inexpensive addition, but from what I read around different forums, an important one to help protect your transom, motor and mount. Transom mounts are very commonly attached to the roller on the back of your trailer, but since I don’t have any rollers, being fully ‘bunked’, I got a bolt on version.

The ‘Bolt on Transom Saver’ that I got from Gander Mountain is quite simple to use. I just drilled one 1/4″ hole in the rear cross member of the trailer, and bolted the attachment point to it with included hardware. A pin than passes through the bracket and the transom saver itself to hold that end in place. On the motor end, rubber pads on the ‘mouth’ cushion the motors lower end. Before I installed the tilt/trim unit, I had to use a ratcheting strap to hold the motor down against the transom saver, or else it would have the potential to pop out when you went over a bump and the motor bounced. With the tilt/trim unit in place, I can now just used the included rubber ‘bungee’ strap to hold it in place, and then put a slight downward pressure with the tilt/trim unit. Note that most of these transom savers say that they are for use only with a tilt/trim unit for this reason.

The transom saver bolted to the trailer cross member

Full view of the transom saver in use

I had originally thought about adding power tilt/trim to easily lift my motor on demand. After taking the boat out on a really shallow lake (max dept 4′, average depth seemed close to the dept of my prop!) I was pushed further to want this feature, so I went out and got it.

The unit I purchased is the CMC PT-35 Power Tilt & Trim, and it is gorgeous. Designed for motors of 35HP or less, it is made from machined aluminum and is not only sturdy and functional, but beautiful to look at as well. I slid my motor over on the transom, found the center line, and after lots of calculations, decided on the mounting height.

The unit moves your motor back another 5″ or so, which makes mounting the motor higher desirable since the water that comes under the boat will begin to rise after clearing the transom. They suggest mounting the motor 1″ to 3″ higher in relation to the transom than it was before. After doing all the math and looking at my layout, I mounted the top of the transom side of the unit level with the top of the transom itself. This put me at the minimum 1″ higher mark as a starting point, and I figured I could always raise the motor up on the mounting plate if I needed to.

After measuring everything about five times, and marking the bolt holes onto the transom, I finally did the deed, drilling holes into the transom of my new boat. Once done, I test fit it with the bolts and thankfully everything lined up perfectly. I then used some gutter sealing caulk around the holes on both sides, added some large stainless steel washers on the boat side of the transom, and bolted the unit on with 1/2″ stainless steel bolts and nuts. The caulk spread out the edges of the hardware nice and evenly, so hopefully I won’t have a problem with any leakage.

I then lifted the motor off the transom and onto the tilt unit. Though it only weights 110lbs, it is very awkward to grab onto, so this was easier said than done. One on I clamped it down, hooked up the electrical, and gave it a test. It’s moving! The fun was short lived as I found a problem. The clamping bolts were hitting against the transom when I raised the motor up.

The boat side of the transom with 4 new mounting bolts

The tilt unit mounted with the motor tilted up

Clamping bolts hitting the transom

As much angle as I can get for now!

Step one to try and fix this problem was to remove the large handles from the clamping bolts. This gained me a few more degrees of lift, but the ends of the bolts eventually hit the transom. I didn’t want to cut the bolts off as it would make future adjustments very difficult. I came up with the idea of threading bolts in from the inside, and then backing them out so the head would press against the mounting bracket, expanding into place to lock the motor in. I tried to find some bolts with the proper thread and found that this thread is not common.

I decided to go with my plan, but with bolts that didn’t thread into the holes for the clamps, but instead just barely slid through them. I put a nut on the side closest to the hole, and the head on the other side, then once the motor was on the tilt unit, expanded the length of the bolt until it tightened against the clamping plate. It seemed to work. I then cut the extra length of bolt flush with the motor’s mounting bracket, and was able to tilt the motor up so the bracket actually sits flush with the top of the transom. Great, but there’s a new problem.

Now that I can tilt it up fine, when I lowered it down I found that the lower bolts that go through the motor mount were hitting against the housing of the hydraulic unit. The solution, raise the motor up one inch. I made a spacer from rock hard Maple to raise the motor higher, drilled two new lower mounting holes in the aluminum mounting plate and tried again. This time everything worked fine. Up all the way, down all the way, no hitting. I’ll eventually replace the wood spacer with some aluminum, but that maple will take some time to show any wear.

Expanding bolt as clamp

Mounting bolt head hits hydraulic unit

A perfect fit at full up tilt

View from the back with original mounting holes now exposed

Full view of the motor at maximum upward tilt

Full view of the motor at maximum lowest tilt

The ‘clamping’ bolts cleaned up and the spacer in place

The unit comes with a long cable attached to the ‘up-down’ switch, which was long enough for me to route it to the console. I drilled a hole behind the steering wheel and mounted it there. I also ordered an extra switch, the “Transom Mounted Tilt Switch” from iBoats.com that I mounted on my battery box to make tilting the motor at the launch easier. I used some wire splices from True Value to splice the three wires for the switch onto the wires for the original switch so they both work and do the same thing.

Splicing the wires for the extra switch onto the stock wires

Toggle switch is original, other on right is optional add-on

Toggle switch mounted to console

Transom tilt switch mounted to battery box

I took the boat back out onto the shallow lake, and it worked great. No leaks, and the motor tilted up and down very easily. The bolts seem to hold things well, no movement or loosening at all. This was an expensive addition, but in the end one I’m sure I’ll be glad I have.

Once I had the console built, and everything connected, I tried starting it up in the driveway with a hose attached to the motor. I was able to get it to start, but not to stay running for very long. It seemed like there was something strange with the remote throttle/shifter, and the idle was off as well. I have an excellent boat motor shop just a few blocks away (Mack’s Motors in St. Francis WI), so I took it in and they took a look at it.

Later that day, they had it running like a top for me. The controller had a missing ground wire, and they had to adjust the min and max timing among the few small things that were needed to get it running perfectly. I was ready to hit the water!

Now though I live not far from Lake Michigan, this boat isn’t designed for such a large body of water. It’s convenient though, so I rounded up a buddy and we headed off to the nearest boat landing on a calm day. In my excitement, I forgot the oars, and a mooring rope, so he had to hold onto the dock while I parked the truck, and we had to cross our fingers that the motor ran well. Lucky for us, it did. We got going pretty well out there. I didn’t have a way of measuring the speed, but it felt like 25-30mph. It seemed to plain out well with us sitting on the middle seat. I had him move to the back seat and the nose really went up in the air, so I’m definitely sure I don’t want the console back there.

Loaded up ready to go

My friend preventing the boat from floating away

I wanted this boat to not only function well as a fishing boat, but to be able to cruise a bit in it as well. I know it’s not going to be pulling skiers or anything, but sometimes just driving around can be enjoyable. For that reason, I choose to go with console mounted controls for the motor instead of a tiller handle. Since I plan on eventually building casting desks and such, for now I wanted to get a temporary console in so I could at least test the boat and motor, and use it till I was ready to start building.

The factory location for the console is between the rear and middle seat, but I had envisioned it between the middle and front seat, which allowed for a better layout, and a nicer view while motoring. I decided to test it where I wanted between the middle and front seat, but I could always move the setup back to test it there if needed.

I had to order longer throttle/shift cables than the ones that came with the motor (they were 8′, I needed about 15′). I got “TeleFlex® Lubri-Core Control Cables“, model 600A in a 15′ length from iBoats.com which worked perfectly. Thankfully the electronics cable was long enough, so I had what I needed for the remote controller.

Next to plan was the steering. I wasn’t even sure how it worked in the first place, so after looking around at pictures on the internet for a while, I finally understood how the steering cable connects on one end to the box that the steering wheel is attached to, and at the other end to the tilt tube on the motor, from which an arm comes off to the motor itself. I went with the 16′ version of the “Teleflex NFB 4.2 Rotary NFB Steering System Package“, again from iBoats.com. The NFB stands for ‘No Feed Back’ which means you don’t have to hold the wheel every second, and if the motor bumps something, it’s not likely to easily change the steering position. I attached a “Viper Steering Wheel, Soft, 13.4“, also from iBoats.com to finish off the steering system. In the pictures you’ll see what looks like two cables attached. One is the steering cable itself, the other shorter one with the blue cap is the ‘overflow’, where the extra end of the cable goes when you steer towards the port side.

For the console itself, I wasn’t to concerned with looks, this is temporary, so I wanted it to function well, and go in quick without leaving much damage once I removed it. I just used some old treated decking and some plywood I had lying around to whip together a frame that I could mount everything too. I then used deck screws to attach it to the the ribs on the bottom of the boat, and at one point on the middle seat. It’s very sturdy and has worked well so far.

The motor hung on the transom and the controller sitting on the middle seat

A bow view of the temporary console

A port side view of the console

Another port side view of the console

The steering cable connects to the tilt tube, to the steering arm, to the motor

Back view of the Teleflex NFB 4.2 Rotary

Side view of the Teleflex NFB 4.2 Rotary

I plan on taking my boat out myself often times, so I want it to be easy to load and unload. I’ve heard that side bunks can help with the loading process, helping to guide the boat onto the trailer more easily. Being a non-standard setup, I knew I’d have to custom build the side bunks, as I did the bottom bunks.

I found some brackets at a local boat store that were close to the angle and length I needed. The thing that made my setup tricky was that the trailer framing formed a V, so the side framing wasn’t vertical, it actually angled in a bit. I couldn’t find brackets with the exact angle I needed, but found that if I created a spacer to make the brackets vertical, they worked nearly perfectly.

I used some cutting board material to fashion the wedge shaped spacers. They are weather proof, and wouldn’t shrink over time like wood might. I drilled a hole that one of the bolts would go through to hold it into place. I then used two stainless steel bolts to attach the bracket to the trailer with the wedge putting the bracket into the proper position.

For the bunks themselves, I again used treated 2″x4″s with the left over marine carpet from the bottom bunks. Since the didn’t need any fancy notching or anything, I didn’t use glue this time, just two rows of galvanized roofing nails to hold each edge of the carpeting. I then sanded, primed and painted the brackets black to match the trailer, bolted the bunks onto the brackets and insto-presto, side bunks! I’ve now loaded the boat twice by myself and the bunks definitely make it almost effortless to guide it properly in place.

The brackets bolted in place with wedges to position them properly

A better look at the spacer wedges for the brackets

The side bunks in place

The trailer with all bunks in place, after dumping the boat into the lake

As I mentioned in a previous post, my trailer was originally setup for a V-hull boat. I have a flat bottomed Jon boat. I would have to custom build some bunks to hold it. I wanted the bunks to allow the boat to sit as low as possible on the trailer to make loading and unloading easier. They also had to handle the elements, so I don’t have to replace them any time soon.

I found some black marine carpet at my local boat shop, 12″ wide and 12′ long, so I got two rolls. I had previously bought two 8′ treated 2″x4″s to use as temporary bunks to get the boat home, and I would use these for the final bunks as well. For length, I want the transom to sit over the cross member at the back of the trailer, so I made the back of the bunks hang over the cross member by 1″. I made the front correspond to the angle of the trailer as the framing approached the tongue. This part was easy.

The harder part now was to get the bunks to sit level, as the trailer has a ‘V’ angle to most of the cross members. I ended up notching out the wood at an angle where it sat over one of these angled members so that in the end the tops would be level to support the boat properly. The rear cross member was slightly lower than the others, so I had to had some blocks to support the bunks. I then drilled holes and countersunk them for stainless-steel bolts that would hold them securely to the trailer framing.

A bunk notched out to sit level on the trailer framing

Both notched bunks on the trailer while boat is suspended

The bottom of the bunks, showing notches and spacer blocks

The tops of the bunks showing the countersunk bolt holes

Test fitting the bunks onto the trailer

With the bunks fitting nicely, I moved on to carpeting them. I used some leftover vinyl tile adhesive on the top and sides of the bunks to help hold the carpet into place while I attached it, and hopefully help prevent it from wrinkling or coming loose later in use. Once dry, I laid the bunks upside down onto the back side of the carpet and slowly molded the sides to conform to the boards. Some creative trimming with a sharp utility knife helps it all to fit. Finally I used a row of galvanized roofing nails spaced about 4″ apart to secure one edge of the carpet to the bunks, than followed it with another row to secure the other edge. I hope to get a number of years of use before the chemicals in the wood are able to eat away the nails (the new chemicals in treated lumber will eat most metals, so use stainless steel where possible), and they should last much longer than staples would have.

The bunks covered with vinyl tile glue using an 1/8

Forming the carpet onto the bunks

One bunk completed, the other under way

Trimming around the spacer blocks was trickiest

Carpet attached, bolts in place

Bunks attached, boat lowered into place

In the end, I’m quite happy with how they turned out. They look great, fit the trailer like a glove, and are functioning perfectly.

My boat is rated for a maximum of 25HP, so of course that’s what I wanted to put on it since I’d like the option to just cruise around in it as well as go fishing. New 25HP 4-Strokes are so expensive, so I opted for a used 2-stroke. I found one on Craig’s List that seemed to match what I was looking for: 25HP, long shaft, with remote and electric start.

The motor wasn’t set up so I could test it, so I was going on the word of the seller that it ran fine last fall. The only problem he was aware of was with the starter, which he suspected would need to be replaced. I of course factored this into my offer, and ended up spending $625, which compared to others like it I had seen, seemed reasonable.

I removed the starter and the shaft in it was very loose, so it would appear the bearing were shot. Found a replacement on e-Bay ($79) and bolted it in, perfect fit. When I finally got a battery and was able to test it I became quite frustrated, it wasn’t starting properly. The starter would rotate, but wasn’t popping up. A buddy and I sat around with beers in hand trying to figure out what the problem was until divine inspiration hit me in the face, I didn’t hook up the battery backwards, did I? Yup, doh. After that the starter worked fine.

With the cover off on a stand

I looked around for a used trailer once I had ordered the boat. With this being a wider than usual boat for this length, most of the trailers seemed a bit narrow to me, being 48″ between the fenders. My boat is 48″ wide at the bottom, so if I wanted the boat to sit low on the trailer to make getting it in the water easier, the fenders would probably interfere.

I found a wider trailer, 60″ between the fenders, which seemed like a nice fit, and it was in decent shape, so I bought it. It was made for a V-hull, and was setup with tilting rollers in the back, and also has the tilt option in the middle of the trailer to tip the whole thing up if required. I originally planned on keeping the tilt roller bars in the back, and simply convert them to bunks, but the guy at the boat store suggested it would be overkill, just get the bunks as low to the trailer as possible and it would be plenty easy to load and unload that way. The axle can be adjusted forward and backward, and there are ‘walking planks’ built in to make loading and unloading easier as well.

I didn’t think to take any pictures when I got the trailer home, so I don’t have any of the unmodified trailer, but here are some after I started removing unnecessary items, like the rollers. I wire-wheeled some of areas on the trailer that didn’t look so good, then primed with Rustoleum primer, and finished with Gloss Black Rustoleum. This helped it look better, and will hopefully help keep it rust free for a while.

The trailer with most of the rollers removed

A sideways view including the tongue

A view from the winch, which I later replaced

A view from the back

Tilting brackets that the main rollers attached to