Skwerl

Is the plywood spanning a gap to create a raised floor? How big of a span between supports? You want as light as possible but still strong enough to not bow or crack. You can also build some lightweight support or bracing under the widest unsupported spans. Usually 3/8" or even 1/4" will work fine. Screws need to be long enough to pass through the plywood and get a good bite on the underlying material. I'd think about 1/2" penetration into the fiberglass is good. Be aware of whatever might be behind what you're screwing into.

Madhouse, what did you do with the 43 Motorguide you took off the skeeter?

Yep, sometimes as quickly as 10-15 minutes. Although enticing them to bite another lure is another matter altogether. ;D

For a 16' Aluminum I'd think the 55 lb would be more than enough. But I'd get a second trolling battery anyway in case you plan on running the troller all day long. I'm going to be adding a second trolling battery on my bote this season. edited to add: Ben, I'd like to hear more details about the digital/ 24 volt models. Cost, advantages, specifics, etc. The trolling motor that came on my (new to me) 8 year old bote fried out on my 3rd trip out and I'll be replacing it very soon.

Stainless steel wood screws should work fine. My entire boat was assembled with screws. Every tiedown, hand rail, door hinge, seat mount, center console, windshield and rod holder is attached with stainless screws.

As far as the beeping, I was told by a local dealer that (in general) a steady beep is a low oil warning (for those models with a separate oil tank) and an intermittant beep beep beep is for a water temp or water pressure issue. Is the water ticking out the back of the motor housing and is it warm or cool?

Extra towels in a dry storage box. Ziplock baggies in case somebody needs to protect their wallet or cell phone, etc. I almost always have a cooler on the bote with water and/or drinks.

Absolutely it will be worthwhile. I used to have a 14' aluminum V hull with an enclosed bow and single bench. I cut a piece of plywood for the main floor area, wrapped it in carpet and put it in. I also mounted a swivel seat post near the back for another fishing seat. Then I reinforced the front bow area and put another swivel seat base up on the front. It was a very comfortable fishing boat for two men with enough room to keep out of each other's way. Running longer wire in order to stick the battery up in the nose is another good way to level out the boat weightwise. Moving that 60 lbs makes a big difference when getting up on a plane. Fully loaded my boat used to get up on a plane very easily. Weight towards the front also helps keep it from getting squirrelly when trolling along in the wind.

The best part is when it's done, you'll know exactly what you got and you will also be more likely to keep up on little problems in the future instead of letting them go. I suspect you'll be enjoying that bote for many years to come.

The 40 will be plenty. The number is a rating number approximating the foot-pounds of thrust (or something like that). My first bote was a canoe with a trolling motor bracket, I used a 30 lb and got around great. Next was a 10' jon boat and a 30 lb was still plenty of thrust.

My last bote was a 1963 14' aluminum V hull with a 1985 Suzuki 40hp. It was a blast to drive and I could fish all day and never use up the 6 gallons of fuel in the can. It would jump up on a plane with 15% throttle and would run almost 40 mph. The only time I brought extra fuel was when I ran the St. John's river and spent most of the day cruising. Currently own a '98 Scout 155 (deep V center console fiberglass) with a 60 Yamaha. Much heavier bote and it uses a bit more fuel. Spent 8+ hours on the river one day last week and burned about 11 gallons of fuel.

If the troller is your only source of propulsion (besides a paddle) then I recommend getting TWO batteries. Use one till it's dead and then switch to the other. Otherwise your fishing trips will be very short and you might end up paddling back to your launching spot. If you fish alone then you will want to get some good heavy gauge wire and extend the leads on your troller so you can put the batteries all the way in the nose of the bote. This will help balance out the bote so it tracks better and the wind won't kick the nose around so much. I fished out of a canoe and then a 10' Jon boat for several years, using a troller on both. I bought the cheapo $99 Minn Kota 30 lb trollers from Wal Mart and I'd get about 2-3 hours per battery. With a second person in the bote I'd position the batteries in the middle but when I was solo I put them in the front to balance the bote.

I'd be looking at places where the wires go through a hole in the frame, where they go around a sharp bend and where the little metal clips hold the wires on the trailer. These are the types of places where the wire insulation can break. You can also narrow it down to which wire by determining if it's the running lights (brown) or left or right brake light (yellow left, green right).

how about a bowline knot? :-/

Orlando area here. My 'home lake' would probably be the Winter Park chain (Lakes Maitland, Minnehaha, Osceola, Mizell and Virginia). Also close to the St. John's river, I've fished the stretch from Lake Monroe to Lake Harney.

You can use something called a 'nut-sert'. It attaches similarly to a rivet but it's threaded on the inside so you can bolt the board to the aluminum. Similar anchors are used to attach side mirrors to trucks, etc. They install as simply as drilling the hole, dropping them in and running the bolt down into them. Tightening the bolt compresses the nut-sert so it squeezes around the hole and locks itself in place.

Check your local papers and web classifieds. Also check your local boat dealers for trade-ins. On a local board near me a guy is selling a 2005 Yamaha 6 for $300 (as an example). He's also selling his 2005 Gheenoe for $500. Several years ago I had a 10' jon boat and I'd buy the $99 30 lb thrust trolling motors from Wal-Mart and I'd bring 2 batteries with me. I could fish a 150-200 acre lake easily but got caught a couple times in storms cause the wind was too strong for me to fight my way back to my truck. On normal days I'd go 4-6 hours before having to break out the paddle.