jemackinnon83

24...I think....yeah...24

Oh yeah.....it's a little lower than I intended. I held it up to the boat to mark and drill the holes, but when I put the nut on behind the transducer it held it out off the boat about 1/4", thus lowering it a little because of the transom angle. It oughtta work the way it is though.

I mounted the TM transducer to the transom with thru bolts and wing nuts. There is a nut on the outside to keep the bolt in place. It's easily removed for when I have to drag it to the water. I started to build a mount out of wood that hooked on the boat and dipped down in the water, but I thought it'd be ugly, so I did this instead. Snaps or velcro also crossed my mind, but I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I used some screws with the finish washer today on my boat. They work great. Better with the washer, a screw by itself twists the carpet as it touches down. Yeah, forget about what I said in the previous post:)

Cool... Makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one "stuck" to this website:).

I built a "console" with 2 cup holders and installed the Hummingbird 525. I also put the seat on the rear bench. I've got the 11" pedestal I can use if I want, I'll take it and try it on the water this weekend. I still need to install 2 rod holders and another seat mount on the middle bench, oh yeah, and hook up the depth finder:)

I like that idea. I think on my next jon boat I'll do the same.

I'd say you need a screw with a wide flat head on it to keep it from ripping through the carpet and to be as flush as possible. Maybe something like this http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100175766&N=10000003+90008+501647

It's been raining here since about 2:00. Can't even see the moon:(

I caught 16 the weekend before last out of Lake Houston.

Hehehe... Santa Claus.... that's awesome ;D

Well I can make one hell of a backlash:) Possibly world record setting.

I have a 1232 that I recently fixed up. I haven't put seats in it because I wanted to take it out on the water first to see how steady it was. I took it and found out that it was way too unstable for a tall pedestal. I think I'll put a seat mounted straight to the bench on the back and maybe a short pedestal on the middle bench, that way I can keep my feet planted on the floor of the boat, not up on the deck. Here's a link to my boat. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1202602713

Try separating the power cable from the rest. I'm not sure about your application, but I know that in a car if you run speaker wires along side a power wire you can hear the alternator whine(static).

Very nice. I'll trade ya:)

I am a framing superintendent. We build apartments.

I just cut a piece of 3/4" plywood to fit across the boat. I attached a 2x2 across the top inside part of it to give it support so it wouldn't flex. I put it up against the rib that runs side to side so I could screw it to it with some self tapping screws. You can see that the lid sits on an inch of the aluminum bench so the weight bears on the bench and not on the hinges when someone stands on it.

Just finished the carpet and put the hinges on the storage compartment.

Don't shoot me:) I didn't use primer. I sanded the original paint with 200 grit, cleaned it well, and painted 2 coats, sanding in between. I was worried because after 24 hours I could still scrape it hard with my fingernail and the paint would scratch. After 2 days it hardened up nicely. I can't scratch it now, not without tools anyway. Today I will finish the carpet and add a plug in receptacle for the TM on the back deck.

I covered the rear bench with plywood and carpet. Another piece of plywood sits on the rear one inch of the bench and extends back to the transom to cover up the battery, which will just sit there and can be lifted out(the plywood). On the middle bench I also put plywood and will carpet over it. There is another piece that sits on the front one inch of the middle bench and extends forward 13 inches that will hinge off of the bench piece making a storage compartment. Just need to finish carpeting and add a couple seats:)

The best way is to strip it down to bare metal. I didn't have the patience for that. I think as long as you sand it down and make sure there isn't any loose or peeling paint it'll be ok to paint over. BTW, the paint is curing well. After 24 hours I could scratch it with my fingernail. Today, 2 days later I can't scratch it, without any tools anyway:)

The boat had its original green paint. Was in decent shape, just very faded. I sanded it with 200 grit sandpaper before I painted. In between coats I used a fine steel wool pad. I don't hardly ever paint, so what I did may or may not be the "right" way to do it. There's more than one way to skin a cat:). The boat also had the factory stickers on the side, which I removed with a wire wheel attached to my drill.

There are a ton of posts on this site with the info you are looking for. It'd be in your best interest to read them. Good luck with the boat:)

I think it'd be ok to sand it down now and paint later. I'd do a quick light sand just before I painted to get off anything that may have gotten on it(bird poop, bugs, water stains, etc.). They sell liners for the spray gun canisters, it's just a plastic bag, it makes cleanup a snap. The gun should say what psi it should be ran at. I used mine at 70 psi. The gun also has a knob for paint volume, I opened mine up almost all the way to get it to spray right. I used Sherwin Williams oil based exterior enamel, the color is rainstorm blue. Bought 2 quarts at $15 each. They were enough for two coats and still had a little left over. By the way, I'm not sure how or if this paint will hold up, so just cause I used it doesn't mean it works:). After a day, the paint doesn't seem very hard. Hopefully it hardens up more.

I used a HVLP air sprayer. Worked great. I picked it up at Harbor Freight Tools for 15 bucks:)