The ones a have are 3/4”,
Item # 221900399 at Tractor Supply.

Off to rural king! 

Really excited to give this thing a go. Probably have get out again Monday. Bringing weight to put upfront this time. 

1 hour ago, jitterbug127 said:

Really excited to give this thing a go. Probably have get out again Monday. Bringing weight to put upfront this time. 

 

An outboard tiller extension will let you steer from the middle seat, which will greatly balance your boat.

You may also be able to adjust your trim one hole to get the nose down too.  It’s going to be weight distribution dependent but the sandbag fixed mine as good as anything.

Stall Mats installed really nice. I've got the boat at the welding shop to get plate for the trolling motor and a few feet of tongue added to it. 

8 minutes ago, jitterbug127 said:

Stall Mats installed really nice. I've got the boat at the welding shop to get plate for the trolling motor and a few feet of tongue added to it. 

 

Please send me that chocolate cake. Thanks!

I would also like some chocolate cake.

 

and pics.

Got the boat out for the first time to actually fish it the other day. I love it! very impressed with how stable the boat is. I installed stall mats so far, and they have been great. I had a trolling motor made from the welder, but he made it out of steel instead of aluminum (don't ask me why. I am still lost on that one). My dad gave me a square street sign I plan to double up and use as a trolling motor plate. I will rivet it into the gunwale of the boat and cover that with EVA foam. It should turn out great. I will mount my power drive after this.

 

I have a garmin 73sv i need to install as well. I am divided on gluing EVA down to the benches or buying and installing seats. I can see a good argument to have each. Boat is exactly what i need. Basic fishing boat, light weight, versatile, plenty of room. I am very pleased. 

 

I had a 35 hp outboard on my Jon boat, and moved it to this boat. Its VERY fast. Like so fast I'd say overpowered. I have a 9.9/15 evinrude I have been fixing up I'm going to throw on the back of the boat. I am curious to see how well that pushes my fishing boat. It may be all a guy needs. 

I like the foam padding option, less weight and more “squirm” room. However a backrest is nice. I used some 3M #77 spray adhesive on the foam in my canoe and it’s held up well.

 

I don’t know what the boat is power rated for but a 35 I would think is a tad too much! 🫣

 

Good to see you out enjoying it!

 Here is the boat. Still doing updates. Previous owner had indoor/outdoor carpet glued down to middle 2 seats. I’m beginning the process of removing glue residue. I will be installing Eva on all seats.  I’m happy with how my trolling motor plate turned out. Stall mats are great (need sprayed down). Fish finder installed this week. Really loving this boat. I’m tempted to get some oars eventually but all in good time. Bimini is the only 100% purchase I still need to make. 

I’m digging the direction it’s going 👍🏼

Done or really close to done. I’m just realized looking at pictures I need to replace where those old speakers were. I’ll probably wire night lights in at some point this season too. 

It looks great. Fish with well-earned pride!

I bought a 14' Valco five years ago as a way to get me back out on the water on my own after a long hiatus. My previous boat was a pro-staff level 19' Ranger with a 200 hp Merc, so the Vlaco was a totally different craft. It got me back in the game, but for me, now in my 60's, that type of boat has one major safety related concern that I had to come to grips with. That concern was crawling back and forth over the bench seats since my agility is not exactly circus acrobat level these days.

 

Having a foot controlled bow mount trolling motor was key to it fishing well for me even though I had to sit on an ice chest to use it comfortably. My nephew helped me attach a good sized, well supported plate to mount it on. Having the ability to control it that way (pulling from the bow) was key in that regard.

 

It fished just fine and I caught plenty of fish in it

6 hours ago, Big Hands said:

It fished just fine and I caught plenty of fish in it

 

When I fished the Mississippi and Lakes Superior and Michigan, I always got a kick out of catching the most fish from the smallest, oldest boat with my old Johnson 6 HP. You don't need a big, expensive boat to succeed. 

Excellent work @jitterbug127!!!

 

Picked up this 1960 Rich Line with 1970's 20HP Mercury 2 stroke in early 2000's. It went through several iterations before getting sold.

 

Great old boat...kind of leaky...but served me well! And I never worried about banging in to docks, trees, stumps or rocks.

 

Enjoy your boat!!!

We tried to fish the river yesterday. Current was strong and water way up. It turned into a river cruise more than fishing for sure. Trolling motor was pretty over powered trying to fight current. If this current was the normal I’d need a way bigger one (powerdrive 50 works pretty good for what I do now). Seats with the foam are really comfortable. New unexpected problem to figure out…. Boat is now a pain in the shorts to get in and out of while on the trailer with the bow mount trolling motor in the way. I might make a bigger plate to step on or try to doctor something else up.

Yeah the t-motor can hog up quite a bit of room. You fish White River? Where bouts?

19 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Yeah the t-motor can hog up quite a bit of room. You fish White River? Where bouts?

Yup. White river. Waverly ramp Sunday. Probably try it again this weekend. 

11 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Yup. White river. Waverly ramp Sunday. Probably try it again this weekend. 

Sweet. I’m down by Henderson Ford and yes, the river has been flowing pretty fast with all the flooding rain we’ve had. Maybe by this weekend it may be a bit better.

 There’s a GRBY tournament on the WR in May and I need to get out and practice!

9 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Sweet. I’m down by Henderson Ford and yes, the river has been flowing pretty fast with all the flooding rain we’ve had. Maybe by this weekend it may be a bit better.

 There’s a GRBY tournament on the WR in May and I need to get out and practice!

I’ve not put in down at Henderson ford in several years now. Last time I tried it was too shallow to kayak which was like December of 2022 I think.

 

is it normally deep enough to run a propeller down there? Waverly is pretty deep for a good stretch but it get shallow quick around a few points and I haven’t tried to go farther.  

So I didn’t read everything, but the chocolate cake comment grabbed my attention. I know I’m late to the party, but is there any more cake?

8 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

I’ve not put in down at Henderson ford in several years now. Last time I tried it was too shallow to kayak which was like December of 2022 I think.

 

is it normally deep enough to run a propeller down there? Waverly is pretty deep for a good stretch but it get shallow quick around a few points and I haven’t tried to go farther.  

Typically as you have observed, shallow. At times the channel is deep enough but late summer very shallow. I’m gonna hit Waverly sometime next week or so trying to find some decent water for the tournament.

Yeah yeah yeah…

 

Cake?