This is a fiberglass boat so its a little different than most I have seen. Requires working with fiberglass in upstate ny in winter which is fun. I still have to glass the deck to the boat to support the edges where there is no framing. It is suppose to be almost 60 here today so I am going to take advantage. I am keeping the remote steering and throttle so in future posts hopefully you will see a homemade console. I got some bass pro certificets for xmas. What are peoples thoughts on bow mount trolling motors. I have a 36" transom mount that I was going to rig up to bow mount. I kinda want to do it right and buy a bow mount maybe with a tiller handle to save some cash. Any thoughts on this are def welcome. Thanks

Well I have gotten some more work done. I also just scored a bow mount evinrude trolling motor 43lb thrust for 75 bucks. Its a tiller but i don't care its in great shape. Its 12/24v and I really want to run 2 batteries and maybe even an onboard charger. But its a small boat. My goal is to get both batteries under the bow cover where the troller mounts. But it will be a tight fit. Are there good ways to secure the batteries with little space? They wont fit under the platform. I may mount the charger under there.? Next pics hopefully she will be painted and carpeted.

For better boat balance, you should put the batteries at the transom end. Put one on the port side and the other on the starboard side and have space for the gas tank ( if used ) in the middle.

For ease of operaton of that motor, put a Big Foot switch on the negative wire for the on/off operation and that will let you fish more with less struggling with the motor operation.

Really? I'm glad you told me that. So then you have to run all that 6 gauge wire up to the front obviously. Man I was really hoping to hide those buggers in there. How if I found lower profile batteries and put them on the floor under the console area on either side of the boat? It wouldn't be so close to the tip of the bow and the weight would be lower and more balanced. Think that would be good enough? I just hate to have to run all the wire up front and I was hoping to build in a cooler in the back. I already picked up the big foot and plan on grabbin an extension arm as well.Thanks

I just decked my 12ft V the other week, man was it a fun project. That boat will look sweet once your finished.

BTW if you chose to go with just one battery I would leave at the bow and just mount it on the platform and center it as much as possible. I bought a battery box for my battery at walmart and just bolted it down on my deck and used the battery box top to secure it and it does the job. Its also easier to get to the terminals that way to hook up your trolling motor rather than mounting it up under the platform.

Hey I just checked out your boat.  DAng you did all that in 6 hours. Nice!!My brother always told me I was slow ;D.  I have been workin since fall. But I do have a newborn so that'll be my excuse.  Enjoy your boat I have a couple months till the ice breaks. .

looking good, looking good.

Fun looking project.  two questions for you.  What motor is that on the transom and what type of steering control (DIY) are you using.

Oh man that little lady on the back is a 1956 Evinrude 30hp.  She is my girl.  We have had huge fights but in the end we still love each other.  And I am using a cable-over-sheave (pulley) system for steering.  It use to run down both sides but now I am going to rig it just down the starbird side.  I am trying to keep it as much of the vintage as possible.  50's era with some modern fishing gear.  And I am happy that I got the evinrude trolling motor.  I love the rudes!!  Here is the link were I saw how to run that sheathing down one side.

 http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/columns/max/05/part2.htm

I need to figure out where to place the batteries and charger. My initial idea was both batteries under the bow and charger under the front platform. Then a couple people suggested that would be to heavy. I think they were right. But the problem is i planned that from the beginning so now I am a little painted in a corner. Then I was going to put them behind each seat. But man that takes up a ton of space. I have these cedar boxes I am planning on using for battery boxes. Where I am at now is shown in the pictures. The battery and charger under the bow and one battery in the middle back. I really want the cooler and gas can where they are but I am open to ideas. The seats are on pins so once I arrive at my spot we'll pick the seats up from the driving position (where they are in the pic) put one on a pin base/pedestal on the front deck and one where i have it in the picture (middle back not yet installed). Thats what I am thinking but any ideas are welcome. I wish there wasn't ice everywhere or I would just test it out. My 2 major concerns are all the batteries in the back it will be tough to plane off and too much up front I'll be off balance when i fish alone.

Front -back compromise--how about building new mounts for where your seats are now, that the batteries can be in. Less wire to run forward, weight centered, & boxes built out of wood look good.   Great work your doing.

Well I saw the other guy doing the fiberglass project so I figured I post the last pics of my glass boat. I ended up putting both batteries upfront under the trolling motor and the charger under the casting deck floor. Already had it out this year and the weight is no problem up front. Very stable maybe even more stable with the added weight of a second battery and the decking wood. Kinda created a ballast. I think if it was aluminum I may have had weight issues upfront. The glass boat is heavy I think it takes more to unbalance it.