New Boat Owner - Old Boat - Rigging questions

[hagcel]

Hi,

I recently got my first boat, it was my grandfathers. A 1978 Crestliner.

A few questions I have:

The boat is rigged with an anchor hoist system which does not work (handle is broken and the rope doesn't drop or retrieve well).

I'm thinking I'll remove the existing system completely. Any suggestions on rigging an anchor for a closed bow boat?

In that first anchor picture you can see the huge foot controller for the trolling motor. Is it possible to by a different foot switch or are they all specific to the motor?

What kind of white touch up paint should I use on the inside? Just white spray paint or something else?

As you can see the trailer is rusty. What is the best way to refinish that paint?

How difficult are new depth finders to install? I'm considering the LOWRANCE Elite-5 Fishfinder/Chartplotter. Basically Would I just be attaching the transducer and routing the cables to the box? Would the Down Imaging be better than the fishfinder?

I realize these are pretty basic questions. Thanks for any help!!

[EBass]

I had one of those crank up anchor contraptions. I tossed mine cept the anchor and I have a board I wrap the rope around. I bolted on a "gripper" up front for the anchor rope to attach to.

For the trailer I would assume it would need to be sand blasted and repainted. I would think it would need to be baked on. No idea though

Yup installing a new depth finder isn't that difficult. Instructions come with them, but running the wire may give the most headache.

[hagcel]

Any suggestions for trailer sand blasting and painting in the twin cities?

I was considering getting a wire wheel for my drill then hand priming and painting but maybe that would be more hassel than it is worth.

Thanks!

[TruthWalleyes]

Toss the anchor system. Attach your anchor line to a cleat. Use a 5-gallon bucket to store anchor rope.

I'd let the trailer rust if you can stand looking at it. Too much work to do yourself, and likely a good amount of $$ that you could spend on side imaging depthfinder rather than down imaging. Your boat is fairly "Open" so running wires shouldn't be too bad at all. You can most likely follow the wiring of the existing depthfinder.

I think you would be fine with white spray paint or brushed on.

Enjoy the new boat.

[BoxMN]

I ground a trailer down to bare metal when I was about 14 years old - long time ago! Just use a cheap ($14) 4" angle grinder and wheel (will work better than drill, but I did use a drill). It wasn't that hard. Just do a section, prime it, then move on to next section. When it is all done, just paint it. I used spray paint, but now I would use a compressor and oil based "whatever" paint, as it would be cheaper, if you have access to compressor and sprayer. Can paint it black too, that is what I did.

While you are doing all that, if you plan to keep it, I would just run new wiring while the boat is off, and everything is easy access. Then you know you are starting new, and it isn't much cost really.

When you attach x-ducer, I recommend using one of those poly mounting boards, so adjusting is easier, and it one ever breaks off it simply breaks from the board, not from the alum hull. You wiull likely go thorugh several over course of time, and mounting holes rarely match up

Good luck!

[hagcel]

Thanks for all the replies. I've been making good progress.

I have my depth finder, boat lights, 12v cig charger (with inline fuse) and trolling motor all hooked up to my deep cell.

Can I attach my battery charger directly to the battery with everything hooked up or do I need to unhook the battery before I charge? I have a cheap black and decker battery maintainer and a nice Schumacher XC103 charger.

[Kyhl]

You should switch all that stuff, except the trolling motor, to run off the starting battery. Assuming you have electric start, the boat motor will recharge the starting battery on it's own while driving to your fishing spot, depending on how long the drive is.

Plus, the trolling motor can interfere with your depth finder causing bad readings if they are on the same curcuit. Not saying it will but it can.

The only thing on my deep cycle is the trolling motor. Everything else runs from the starting battery.

As for hooking/unhooking. You should be fine charging with everything hooked up. I recommend not running any electronics while the external charger is charging the battery. The sawtooth shaped DC wave from a battery charger can be hard on electronics designed for a clean 12vdc signal.

[hagcel]

Great info. Thanks!

[kerryd15]

depending on the trolling motor model you may need to disconnect the troller while your not on the water. Some models like copilot and I assume all wireless remote models are looking for a signal and use some current when hooked up.

[Kyhl]

Good point. I forgot that I unplug it from the socket when not in use.

[hagcel]

It's an old Johnson Sea Horse trolling motor. I actually have it hooked up with a minnkota quick connect between the battery and the main trolling motor line so it will be unplugged when not in use.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

So far when I have been trailing the boat I leave the 35 HP Evinrude in tilt. Should it be in Full Up position? I also notice that it bounces to some degree. Should I look into some sort of transom saver to support it?

I also see in the boating guide that 'Safety chain or cables are required' on the trailer. My boat only attaches with a winch to the trailer then I have a ratchet strap around the back half of the boat. Is that legal or do I need to figure out a safety chain of some sort?

[BoxMN]

Bolt a short section of chain to the winch post, and a hook on the other end. This is in case the strap breaks (and they do/can) you will still have to bow attached so it won't flip up and fly off the trailer.

The ratchets strap on rear is fine. Good luck.

[EBass]

Yup gotta have a safety chain. You'll find out that owning a boat is a money pit. How are those tires by the way?

[hagcel]

Thanks. I wonder if Fleet farm would sell safety chains?

I rewired the trailer, new lights and had the tires changed and the axels greased.

Just to be clear: I have two safety chains crossed and attached to my hitch. We're talking about a saftey chain from the boat to the trailer correct?

Re-reading the manual it sounds like maybe the state only requires safety chains from the hitch to trailer:

"Hitch and Coupling

The hitch and coupling of the trailer must meet state standards. Safety chains or cables are required."

I would feel better having a safety chain on the boat to the trailer too but I thinking it's not required now?

[BoxMN]

Regardless of whether it is required, I would add it from winch post to the boat. You can simply go to hardware store, get a 2' section of chain and put a steel hook or STEEL (not weak alum) carabiner at the end. Or you can even use a short ratchet strap to do the same thing, but I find a chain with an open hook works easier/simpler.

This is to save yourself some $$ is the strap ever breaks, and more importantly the person behind you on the freeway if it ever breaks.

[hagcel]

Yeah I agree. The idea of the boat falling off the trailer really freaks me out.

So hook the chain to the same eye that the winch attaches too then what is the best way to attach the chain to the trailer? I'll get some photos tonight of the current setup.

Thanks!

[BoxMN]

You can just drill a hole in the stand, or use an existing one, or loop the chain around the stand. There is usually something you can bolt to, or get a flat piece of steel with a D ring, something at menards fastner section would prolly work

Or you can attach to the trailer itself.

Do a search for "boat safety chain winch stand" and you will see plenty of images of different ways to do it You can get creative without breaking the bank! Good luck!

[EBass]

Quote:

So hook the chain to the same eye that the winch attaches too then what is the best way to attach the chain to the trailer?

Yup

[hagcel]

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

I rewired everything last night. Depth finder, lights and 12 volt cigarette is all on my starting battery with only the trolling motor connected to the deep cell.

My trolling motor has a third, green wire, which is not currently hooked up. Would this be for 24v operation? The foot controller does have a 3 position switch with 12v in the bottom position, nothing labeled in the middle position and 24v in the top position.

[BoxMN]

Regarding the 12v plug, make sure to put a fuse in, that matches what the wire draw capacity would be. For example, if you are using 18 ga. wire and plug in a big old super power light, or a 12v vacuum or something that draws high power, you don't want the wire to get too hot and melt or short, you would rather have the fuse blow to save your wiring. But if you only run low power stuff (handheld gps) then it won't matter as much. The 12v plug can be tricky though, as many folks figure "if it fits into the plug, I can use it"...

Can't answer the green wire question, but 24v should only have two wires that I know of.

[EBass]

Quote:

My trolling motor has a third, green wire, which is not currently hooked up. Would this be for 24v operation? The foot controller does have a 3 position switch with 12v in the bottom position, nothing labeled in the middle position and 24v in the top position.

Are you using the T-motor that came with the boat? That's really old and I wouldn't think 24v, I don't know what the green is for but could be the switch. Plus I think 24v's are 65lbs of thrust to 80lbs of thrust. 101 lbs is 36v. What do you have? (I have an Minnkota Fortrex 80lbs which is 24v.) There's a power and ground wires coming from the T-motor. I haven't heard of using 12v on low setting and 24v on higher. More pics please

[hagcel]

Yeah there is a fuse in-line with the 12v cig adapter.

Yes it is an old trolling motor that came with the boat. I think my grandpa bought the trolling motor in the 80's. I'm going to get the model number tonight and see if I can't find out more about it.

[hagcel]

Big update here.

Went out on Sunday with a buddy from work. Went to turtle lake but it was packed. No parking spaces and a line. Buddy from work wanted to hit bass and that's the best lake I know for largemouth.

Went over to Gervais and missed a medium (sub 40") tiger right by the boat on a mepps working the weeds and docks on the right side of the opening to the lake from the boating in channel. Tossed top waters as there was tons of surface fish action, some bass orenos, rattlers, plastic worms and nothing else but a few bites...so we switched to slip bobbers with crawlers and got a bunch of small large mouth and bluegills.

The motors all worked fairly well. The 35 likes to die at slow speeds which there is a lot of on that lake making your way over to and from the launch. Any idea why it likes to die at no wake speeds? Works great with a wake and above.

I replaced the prop on the 35 (evinrude 35753C) because it looked like this:

The new prop fits great, the prop shaft feels good. I cleaned everything off. And I re-greased the shaft. Now I have read that you shouldn't grease the shaft? Is that true?

I looked up the model number on boats.net and it looks like I am missing a spacer prop nut:

#44

http://www.boats.net/parts/search/BRP/EVINRUDE/1977/35753C/GEARCASE-35%20HP/parts.html

The prop does move back and forth maybe a 1/3".

In its normal position:

pulling it tight to the nut:

The old prop had this movement too. I know I didn't lose anything. I assume their exploded diagram is correct and I need to order that spacer nut? I can easily move the prop back and forth.

When I changed the prop I installed the called for cottter pin which was 1/8 x 3/4 but that looks too small to me. So I picked up a 1/8 x 1. So because of that I'm calling into question the diagram...but maybe that pin should be ok? You can see the pin in the photo.

Here's the prop on the 6 Horse:

Think that should be changed?

I ran into a problem with the 6 HP on the water. It wanted to drop down from full tilt at full speed on the 35 and drag in the water. There is a lock lever but it only engages on the down position:

It's kind of hard to see but there is a little gap at the back of the boat where the motor rests. I tightened down the motor as much as I could which mostly made it harder to raise but still fairly easy to fall:

Any suggestions to keep it in the full up position?

Here are some of the trolling motor photos. The model number plate was hard to read but I think it says:

JBFL 4H or J5FL 4H. Neither have any results in google.

My original question about the trolling motor was what the green wire would be for. I have the red and black hooked up and am running it on 12 volts and all works fine. I'm guessing the green is for parallel operation.

Tons of questions there. I really appreciate any opinions or help! They are all small problems really, I just want to get it all running smooth!

Thank You!

[BoxMN]

First, try red or purple 6-7" rubber worms on that lake. Used to work awesome, and the tigers would hit them too! Caught most of the big bass almost on shore all around that lake (Gervais) - we used to fish it couple times a week, but years ago.

Second, on the prop, I think you need to get to a dealer or somewhere and find the spacer, that prop should not slip back and for any I am pretty sure.

Third, on the kicker, you will likely need to fabricate some sort of gig to keep it up, likely consisting of a 2x4, 2x2, 4x4 or something, and a bungie cord. You can't trust whatever little latch they have on it. There used to be commercial brackets, Bracket Pro comes to mind, but I am not sure who makes them now. I bet an couple hours with a beer, 2x4, and bungie cord and you could figure it out

Fourth, if it is dying at idle, I would think a carb cleaning or rebuild would be worth trying. Can't recall if you did that already. If not, it is not that hard really, even for rookies like me. If you have, then it would be likely an idle adjustment, maybe on the carb itself. You put in new plugs? Good gas? Can't recall if you put in new bulb and fuel line, but I would think that would make it bad on full throttle if it was bad. Others know more about engines than me, so will let them help you

good luck, have fun!

[hagcel]

Quote:

First, try red or purple 6-7" rubber worms on that lake. Used to work awesome, and the tigers would hit them too! Caught most of the big bass almost on shore all around that lake (Gervais) - we used to fish it couple times a week, but years ago.

Thanks! I was throwing rootbeer and he was throwing a white with some silver flake. I actually really like being out there and it's close to home so I'll probably fish it more often now.

Quote:

Second, on the prop, I think you need to get to a dealer or somewhere and find the spacer, that prop should not slip back and for any I am pretty sure.

Ok, good to know.

Quote:

Third, on the kicker, you will likely need to fabricate some sort of gig to keep it up, likely consisting of a 2x4, 2x2, 4x4 or something, and a bungie cord. You can't trust whatever little latch they have on it. There used to be commercial brackets, Bracket Pro comes to mind, but I am not sure who makes them now. I bet an couple hours with a beer, 2x4, and bungie cord and you could figure it out

Ha, my first thought was wedging a 2x4 in there.

Quote:

Fourth, if it is dying at idle, I would think a carb cleaning or rebuild would be worth trying. Can't recall if you did that already. If not, it is not that hard really, even for rookies like me. If you have, then it would be likely an idle adjustment, maybe on the carb itself. You put in new plugs? Good gas? Can't recall if you put in new bulb and fuel line, but I would think that would make it bad on full throttle if it was bad. Others know more about engines than me, so will let them help you

Yeah it's had it's carb rebuilt, new water pump, new plugs, new fuel line and tank. I do have an idle adjustment. I haven't messed with that yet. Good idea! Thanks BoxMN!