What wnspain said...I have a rudder too but being able to center the weight is a big plus.

 

When I am heading to wherever I want to fish I am usually in the middle of the boat. The handle on my tm extends out, but I still have to make small corrections to keep it traveling in a straight path. I will say that it doesn't extend as far as the picture above shows but I am relatively centered I feel. Maybe I do need to try a different position. When I first got the boat I had the tm on the back and did not like it at all. 

I'll tell you the best/cheapest thing for a rudder is find an old trolling motor off CL.  I bought and old one with the metal shaft for 15.00.  Then I just cut off the head and the controller, flattened out one end with a hammer and added a piece of 1/8 sheet metal to it.  It clamps on just like a trolling motor, and won't slip off when making a turn.  And it's adjustable to different depths by tilting it up or down.  I posted a pic several posts back.  Cheap and easy, and definitely a must have. 

On ‎8‎/‎28‎/‎2015 at 9:25 AM, Paintball said:

Thanks for the reply.  I am leaning more and more to the Pelican due to the information gathered from this thread.  I appreciate all the information you all have provided here.  

Now an owner of a Pelican Bass Raider 10E.  Now if the weather will just clear up....

Have any of you guys put rod holders on the back? I am thinking of drilling straight into the haul but not sure. I want to catfish with this boat at times 

I did exactly what @jaaron01 said/did concerning the rudder thing. Can't remember if I posted images of what I did back in all these pages.

I found an old Minn Kota mount locally for $15. Had an old screwed up Black & Decker electric weed eater...never throw anything away! The shaft fit the Minn Kota mount perfectly. The weed eater was/is adjustable length by twisting the black threaded center section. The shaft had a 1/4" slot running up the one side view-able in the image. I ordered a 12" x 12" x 1/4" square section of ABS plastic from McMaster.com. One could use an ABS truck mudflap I guess. Slid the ABS in the slot, cut a few slots for stainless clamps to hold in place. This piece of ABS was a perfect place to mount a small Humminbird transducer also and the shaft of the old weed eater is hollow so I could run the cable right on up and out the top. You can see 2 little stainless nuts on the one image where the transducer is mounted.

Just one more way to do it.

 

Hey guys, new to this site and really like this post. Has anyone seen the new Bass Boy boat? I'm really thinking about pulling the trigger on it. It's the exact same as the bass baby, only no wheels and its two feet longer. I found it on directboats.com. What do you guys think?

Looking for some ideas on reinforcing, and strengthening the plastic bottom of my pelican boat. I dont beleive its a bass raider. Its about 12 ft long but it is pelican brand. Its shaped a bit a bit differently with a flat bottom.

I got it for $200, so I figured its a good deal, but the thing has had some pretty deep scratches in it, and it looks to have been drug around a fair amount.

If one of the scratches were to open up or fracture, what would I be able to do to fix it. The first idea I had was to put a piece of sheet metal over it then use duct sealant to seal it up(worked in hvac for awhile haha).

When dragging it on the ground it mostly lays even, but most of the scratches are in the front corner and the back corner. Anything I can do to strengthen  it up so I can drag it without fear of scratching it?

 

I know the best option would be to get a trailer, but its out of the option. And when Im loading it and unloading a 12' boat thats about 4' wide, it almost forsure has to get drug across concrete a little bit. 

 

Thanks!

6 hours ago, GoCougs14 said:

Looking for some ideas on reinforcing, and strengthening the plastic bottom of my pelican boat. I dont beleive its a bass raider. Its about 12 ft long but it is pelican brand. Its shaped a bit a bit differently with a flat bottom.

I got it for $200, so I figured its a good deal, but the thing has had some pretty deep scratches in it, and it looks to have been drug around a fair amount.

If one of the scratches were to open up or fracture, what would I be able to do to fix it. The first idea I had was to put a piece of sheet metal over it then use duct sealant to seal it up(worked in hvac for awhile haha).

When dragging it on the ground it mostly lays even, but most of the scratches are in the front corner and the back corner. Anything I can do to strengthen  it up so I can drag it without fear of scratching it?

 

I know the best option would be to get a trailer, but its out of the option. And when Im loading it and unloading a 12' boat thats about 4' wide, it almost forsure has to get drug across concrete a little bit. 

 

Thanks!

I would use fiberglass cloth and resin and hardener.  I have used it in the past and it worked very well.

51 minutes ago, Pond fisher said:

I would use fiberglass cloth and resin and hardener.  I have used it in the past and it worked very well.

Excellent idea! Whats sort of stores would have that? And should I apply it to the whole bottom?

Thanks a bunch

1 hour ago, GoCougs14 said:

Excellent idea! Whats sort of stores would have that? And should I apply it to the whole bottom?

Thanks a bunch

Most of the larger auto parts store carry the stuff if they have a paint and body section. O'Reilly Auto Parts, Autozone, and others all have the stuff. If you cant find it stop at a body shop and ask where they get their stuff locally. 

If you attempt to cover the entire bottom of your boat in mat you will likely end up with an ugly, porous, lumpy, non-adhering, brittle POS mess.  Suggest you spot fill any deep scratches with a product that is made for your poly hull, then invest in or fabricate  set of removable strap-on wheels to transport the boat so that you don't continue to damage it.   Google the strap-on wheels for ideas.  An alternative to strap on wheels might be to install a sacrificial keel perhaps 1-2" wide on each side made of starboard, etc., attached with 5200 at the point where each pontoon is most likely to touch the ground.  When dragging on the ground those would protect the hull.  Good luck...

3 hours ago, johnkn said:

If you attempt to cover the entire bottom of your boat in mat you will likely end up with an ugly, porous, lumpy, non-adhering, brittle POS mess.  Suggest you spot fill any deep scratches with a product that is made for your poly hull, then invest in or fabricate  set of removable strap-on wheels to transport the boat so that you don't continue to damage it.   Google the strap-on wheels for ideas.  An alternative to strap on wheels might be to install a sacrificial keel perhaps 1-2" wide on each side made of starboard, etc., attached with 5200 at the point where each pontoon is most likely to touch the ground.  When dragging on the ground those would protect the hull.  Good luck...

Not sure I agree with "likely end up with an ugly, porous, and lumpy". You know fiberglass is a sand-able, mold-able, material that if you do the work can be extremely pleasant to the eye. Not saying I agree with covering the entire bottom of the boat but ugly, porous, and lumpy is not completely true in all cases. How well it stays and weather or not it turns into a "brittle POS mess" I would not have a clue as I have not researched the repairs for his particular boat.

I own a Uncle Buck's Pond Prowler Boat that is made of ABS plastic. A quick search for abs plastic repair brought me About 1,380,000 results (0.77 seconds) according to Google. See what your material is and do some research. 

This stuff here seems to be a possibility. http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html 

I've worked with fiberglass many times dating back to 40 years ago when I repaired the cracked nose on my first Shelby GT500.  Yes its mold able, going ...inside... A mold that is first shot with gelcoat.  Based on the OPs comments it sounds like he likely doesn't have a lot of experience with fiberglass.  In order to gain any strength on an outside repair he will need multiple layers of mat that will require lots of sanding (always fun getting glass residue on your face and skin) followed by spot filling pin holes followed by more sanding followed by either a quality paint or gelcoat made for under water contact.  Then he hopes the repair doesn't crack and break off the first time the boat encounters a flex like these boats do.  IMHO determine the hull material and spot fill the deep scratches with the appropriate filler, sand and spot paint to make it water tight, then construct either a strap on wheel set or add small keel sections to prevent further damage. Good luck to the OP.

Thanks for the ideas guys. So coating the bottom is pretty much out of the picture then. Perhaps I overdid the "worn" hull. I mean it has alot of scraps but nothing appears to be too bad. 

Usually Im loading/unloading it myself. The worst part of it is to get it from where I have to store it to the pickup is about 75ft of grass where I have to tilt it on to its side to fit through the gate.

I tend to park about 10ft up the ramp and then drag it the rest of the way, maybe Ill just try and get as close to the water as possible to reduce dragging.

Thank you guys again for your suggestions. If it would help I could get some pictures of the bottom and you guys could let me know if its anything I need to be worried about?

Hey guys, great thread here, I have a new bass raider 10e about 2 weeks old and I'm loving his thread for ideas. I have my TM and FF mounted up front and wired together to plug in the port up front with the battery in the back.

I'm wondering if anyone tried putting in a carpeted wood floor (maybe 1/4" -1/2" plywood) and then securing 2 pedestal seats the wood floor? I think this might allow for a lot more room down the sides of the boat without the seat rails getting in the way. I've seen people build casting decks, but I don't want to be that high above the water. I like the original seat height level, I just wish it were more open to my left and right without the seat rails.

Would this work, or am I missing something?

3 hours ago, mnsmith25 said:

Hey guys, great thread here, I have a new bass raider 10e about 2 weeks old and I'm loving his thread for ideas. I have my TM and FF mounted up front and wired together to plug in the port up front with the battery in the back.

I'm wondering if anyone tried putting in a carpeted wood floor (maybe 1/4" -1/2" plywood) and then securing 2 pedestal seats the wood floor? I think this might allow for a lot more room down the sides of the boat without the seat rails getting in the way. I've seen people build casting decks, but I don't want to be that high above the water. I like the original seat height level, I just wish it were more open to my left and right without the seat rails.

Would this work, or am I missing something?

 

Look at page 79 of this thread.  jaaron01 did just that.  There are countless other examples in the thread of similar projects.

6 hours ago, atomicchicken said:

 

Look at page 79 of this thread.  jaaron01 did just that.  There are countless other examples in the thread of similar projects.

I did see that atomicchicken, but that was a different boat and was built up 3-4". I was just curious if anyone had done it for the bass raider, and with a flat bottom. I wondering if the seats would be stable enough and if there were any complications from it. 

2 hours ago, mnsmith25 said:

I did see that atomicchicken, but that was a different boat and was built up 3-4". I was just curious if anyone had done it for the bass raider, and with a flat bottom. I wondering if the seats would be stable enough and if there were any complications from it. 

ah sorry about that.  Yeah there's a few here and there in this thread showing off pictures of the bass raider with carpet over plywood floors and pedestal seating.  Makes for a nice upgrade.

Can you mount a normal TM to the front of these? I believe they have a mount but i dont know much about TMs and i am not sure if it has to be ine of those foot control jobs or not.

 

thx

What do mean by "normal" TM? Is a normal TM tiller controlled, or foot controlled, and is it a bow mount or transom mount? I have both foot and tiller controlled but both are transom mount.

BTW - Both work beautifully but the foot control is up front and the tiller is in the back. Do not always mount both depending on planned trip

I guess i am old enough to recall a time prior to foot control so i was talking about tiller controlled but i could not think of the correct term. Can a tier moint TM be mounted up front? It is less exspensive than trying to get a foot control unit as mu first one and i think from whatni have read it will be easier to control these little plastic pond boats.

 

thoughts?

You can mount a tiller controlled TM with a transom mount up front, no problem. You just have to unbolt the control unit and reposition it 180 from where it was before (assuming that your TM is designed to mount with tiller facing fwd). 

Still need advice on how mount rear rod holders 

2 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Still need advice on how mount rear rod holders 

I'm using geartrac by Yakattack to mount my fish finder and rod holders. The model that bought was  GTTL175-12 I plan on installing these with rivits. They are made for kayaks but I think it they should translate well to The PBR