sstout

Oh, and the cable for the electric start/alternator is run to the battery that has my electronics and bilge pump wired to. That way theres juice flowing back to it. Then the main motor is on it's own starting battery that is just used for that. That way the battery that is getting drawn down is getting charged by the kicker. Then the battery for the main motor is just for starting that. It's worked well and hasn't failed me yet.

I have an 8 hp tohatsu 4 stroke with electric start on my 16ft starcraft. Love the motor. Super quiet, super smooth, and enough power for a backup if the main doesn't start. Great little motor

It's pretty easy and laid out great. Did the whole floor in 1 continuous piece. I really like the nautolex vs the old carpet. Hose it down and its clean. If your going to take the time to re-do the flooring you might as well use a good quality product so your not doing it again anytime soon.

When I replaced all the flooring and side panels in my boat last year I used nautolex marine vinyl. I measured how much I thought I needed and ordered it from defender marine online. It came as one big roll which made it easy to trace out a pattern. Before I ordered the actual vinyl, I ordered a sample card to see the exact color I wanted. It worked out well. The nautolex is not cheap, but is great stuff.

Theres videos on YouTube using this stuff. They are using it to repair fiberglass boats, and glassing it in. I agree, I dont know that you would want to rivet it in, just pass bolts through it with sealant. I'd be interested if anyone does an aluminum boat with this

I agree with everyone. I just got off the phone with John Mann. I told him what I was looking for and we threw around a few ideas. His timeframe is great, materials sound great, and the quote was fair for price. He will have my business once the boat comes out of storage. I have no doubt his work will be great. Thank you all for the replies

Thank you all for the responses. I will call around and see about pricing. Hopefully it wont break the bank for just a small boat canvas job.

Hi all, I just rebuilt my boat this past year. I have a crappy cheap boat cover that leaks. I ended the season with putting a tarp over the cover to keep the water out, which worked but was a pain. I dont like the idea of sinking all that money into rebuilding the boat and then the cover leaks everytime it rains. The boat is stored on the trailer except for 1 week a year . So, is custom canvas the way to go? Or does anyone know of any other decent covers? Not looking to break the bank. Also, I'm located in the ithaca area. Any recommendations on custom canvas in the area? It's just a 16ft boat.

What's the opinion on slide diver color? I was thinking black? Spooling wire for the first time was definitely interesting. It was hard to get it started without it free spooling. My wife helped me hold tension on the spool while I reeled it on. I put 100 feet of 30lb mono on as a backer, then the wire. It filled the spool perfectly. I can see one loop in the wire that looks a little loose near the surface of the spool. Tomorrow I'll tie the wire to a tree or something and walk it way out, then reel it back on under more tension. Overall I think it went well for the first time. It definitely helps to have a helper put tension on the spool, like many others have said

Makes sense. I was on slide divers website yesterday looking around. I just bought a fish hawk TD as well, so I plan on using that to help with the depth reading. I originally bought the TD to try to help with figuring out where the temps are at, an X4 isnt in the budget, and I also like the ability to use it to figure depth as well. I've always been curious what the blowback is on my 14lb cannonballs going 2.8 or 3 is. We will see in the spring. But for now, I think I'll pick up a slide diver and weight set. I'm planning on spooling the wire this afternoon with the wifes help. Hope it goes well haha.

That sounds like a good setup. I do plan on running spoons some of the time. I will pick up a couple slide divers. I was thinking slide divers would be a good idea with a small boat and 9 ft pole. I would imagine it would make it easier to net the fish. Thanks for the advice

Yup, 210s. Both were ebay finds. Paid about $30 each. Both worked perfectly, just took apart, cleaned and greased. Cant beat them for downrigger reels. Made in the US and solid. They are my two workhorse reals. I absolutely love them.

Played around with the camera on my phone last night. Here's the new cold water inbetween my two primary downrigger reels, made in the US Penn 210s. Cant wait to get the new reel spooled up.

I already told her she might be needed to help put resistance on the wire spool. Luckily for me she was game. Theres alot of good info on here about loading wire. LOU is a great resource 👍

Thank you everyone for the advice. I made the decision today to go with a wire diver. I baught an okuma colwater 30 today and just ordered bloodrun wire for it. I still have to figure out what length rod I want to go with. I'd like 10 ft but being in a small boat that might be difficult, so I'm contemplating 9 ft. My downrigger rods are 8'6 at a 90 degree angle of the side, so itd be nice to be a bit longer than them. First impression of the okuma coldwater is that is really nice and seems solidly built. Only time will tell. I'm optimistic about this setup, but we will see after my first time trying to spool wire haha

I agree 100%. Depending on what I'm targeting I usually just use 2 riggers with sliders. If its landlocks or rainbows on cayuga I run just the two riggers so I can run fast and corner quickly. But, if I'm slowing down for lakers or fishing salmon in the fall on Lake O with a mix of flashers and spoons on rods, I add another line. That line in the past has been a makeshift braid dipsy rod. So I'm thinking the best option would be a dedicated wire dipsy rod. It wouldn't be used all the time, but I think would be a good tool to have later in the season

I think I'm sold on the wire diver idea. The first plan would be to run it straight out the back with a smaller dipsy to get more distance from the boat. But it still gives the option to run it off the side as well. Through bloodrun tackle they have a place that pre spools the wire, and upgrades the drag on the okuma reels and then ships them. Seems like a nice idea. I will have to look into it more. Thanks for all the advice.

Here's a pic of the 8hp 4 stroke next to the 60hp merc, 1988. You can see the tohatsu is farely large and almost the same size. Great motor though

I have an 8hp tohatsu as a kicker on a 16ft starcraft hooked with a steering bar to the main 60hp two stroke. The tohatsu has been awesome. I installed a troll master this last season, so throttle is up front as is steering tied to the main. I will say the weight thing though. It's not bad, but you do notice theres more weight on one side of the boat. I like having the kicker as a backup too. My main 60hp merc is older, but still reliable. If I had to the tohatsu, which is new, can push the boat well enough to get me back. I like the 8hp. It trolls right down but is still powerful enough to act as a backup if need be. My tohatsu might weigh a little more since it has options like electric start. Its run on it's own fuel tank since I premix the other two for the main. I cant comment on the bracket idea. My transom has a spot for a kicker. Goodluck, outfitting your boat just the way you want is the fun part

The more I think about it I am leaning towards a dedicated wire dipsy rod. I think it would be a good addition iut the back. Then I still have my makeshift braid dipsy rod if need be. I'm curious about trying wire. I actually stopped using my braid dipsy rod when the fleas came since it got so gummed up. I'm thinking an okuma coldwater reel spooled with 1000' ft of bloodrun wire on a 9 or 10 ft dipsy rod to get some distance either out the back or out the side. The plan would be to have the wire dipsy be the high line and then the two downriggers set below that.

Thank you everyone for the ideas. I like the idea of running a dipsy off to one side. I run an inline planer off one side with a downrigger on the same side in the spring sometimes and it works well. I think another rigger would be the easiest thing but I dont really want to invest in another rigger. I've got Penns for my other two. I've toyed with the idea of a lead core straight out the back, and the more I think of it the more I like it. I could see that being pretty easy and effective especially in the spring. I'll keep doing some thinking on that. How deep can you get lead core to go? Is 50ft max realistic? Then I could set the two riggers below that with fixed cheaters and cover alot of water between let's say 50ft and 80ft