Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

View attachment 217295View attachment 217297
So I am not super excited because I have completed my final floor which can be seen in the photos. I have to inflate the floor maybe 50% for the hard floor to fit best but it still is pretty cool. I have a cooler as my bench seat (with cushion), Minn Kota 30lb motor, and Minn Kota power center. The floor is very heavy though. Keep in mind the Excursion is the biggest Intex boat so the floor measures as a whole, 96 x 37 inches. I can't wait for the warm weather.

Warm weather! Yeah me too, where about do you live?

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I am in the NY area so i pretty much go off the cost. The edge of the continent to explore new territory!!! Haha, j/k. But yeah, all salt water. Now setup is going to be a bit annoying for me with that motor mount each time and with the weight of the new floor, i may not be able to toss the boat off the dock anymore. May have to carry straight into the water. That will suck for me because i do not have a trailer and may get my feet a bit wet in the process. Still cant wait. Where are you at mrdrh99?

 

[cablebandit]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

pics look good! I have a dual purpose deep cycle marine battery as well.

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I am in the NY area so i pretty much go off the cost. The edge of the continent to explore new territory!!! Haha, j/k. But yeah, all salt water. Now setup is going to be a bit annoying for me with that motor mount each time and with the weight of the new floor, i may not be able to toss the boat off the dock anymore. May have to carry straight into the water. That will suck for me because i do not have a trailer and may get my feet a bit wet in the process. Still cant wait. Where are you at mrdrh99?

Mountains of Virginia, so I know all about cold weather and cold water! Just had our first round of snow

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Thanks cable. I dont know why my pics did not show on other thread but here you are able to see them. What is the reserve minutes on your battery? If it is listed.

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey mrdrh99, what did you end up doing with your excursion?

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

For now its sitting in the garage rolled up.....not sure what I can do with it, may sell it next spring. With my mariner I really don't have a use for it.

 

[cablebandit]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Thanks cable. I dont know why my pics did not show on other thread but here you are able to see them. What is the reserve minutes on your battery? If it is listed.

Battery Type: Lead Acid
BCI Group Size: 31
Cold Cranking Amps: 675 amps
Cranking Amps: 840 amps
Deep Cycle/Starting: Deep Cycle
Height: 9 7/16 in
Length: 13 in
Maintenance Free: Yes
Reserve Capacity: 210 min
Terminal Type: Combination Auto / Stud Terminal
Voltage: 12 v
Weight: 59 lbs
Width: 6 13/16 in

I bought it mainly because I had a 20% off coupon for Advance Auto parts.....which means money for more boat mods!

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Boy..... Gets cold and goes very quiet in here!

After Christmas I'll be back in the garage re-modding my M4..... have a good Thanksgiving everybody!

 

[CopperFox]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Oh wait! Wrong holiday. Never mind!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Last Saturday's Total: 1 x 14-15 inch Rainbow for each of my friends (2) and me. And later in the salt: 2, 1, 0 crab in our pots (5 total).)
The trout fishing is slowing due to temperatures - surface water's in the 40s. Crabbing was slow because I'm sure we'd all been poached. One friend removed his 2 pots, and when I went out with the other friend the next day, there was 1 crab in our remaining 3 pots, plus the fresh bait was completely gone, backbones and all! Now THAT is sleazy! We moved the pots a distance away and will check them on Thursday morning.

OK so this is a fishing report, not even using my M4, but I would have taken it for the trout, if my friend had not offered his larger boat!

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Lol! Good hearing from you copper! 40? slowing down trout? Nah..... at least not on this side of the Mississippi! Of course I'm talking high mountain creeks and small rivers!

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey guys! Been a couple weeks....too quiet in here! Anyone planning any off-season mods to your m4? I'm thinking myself and will be in the garage tinkering around after Christmas, still thinking about a new motor but more and more I'm thinking about holding off until my next boat

 

[bun]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

desode,
very nice! I have a sevylor 360 myself and have done a lot of modifications on it, but it is good to see the level of work you have done on yours as well.

I'm curious as to how your floor boards fit together. I just have my 2 held in by the tubes with nothing attaching them to each other.

I really like what you have done with some of your aluminum tubing. Some of the boards associated with the motor mount seem like they might be a bit rough on the edges though, particularly in the 2nd photo. I did round all my boards to limit abrasion.

Very nice job. I agree, making a solid floor makes a world of difference

enjoy!

wow i like the transom tubing have you gotany spec,sdrawing ect this is what i need for my seahawk 4 chears sorry not shouting

 

[bun]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

hi Kenny I have a Seahawk 4 that's never been the water yet as I am doing mods to it, I tried that what you are saying it did not work for me but hayho try a 12'by 9' heavy duty canvas waterproof from evil bay cheapest has mould growing in the canvas and black spots is the best I can do fir you anyway I am in the process of cutting up an auld Avon inflatable that I bought for ten quid ,sorry pounds I and going to use evo stick contact adhesive tried to use the old avon rubber dingy as a skin folding and pulling it over and using cord to tie it in place take it from me it don't work , and causes a lot of argument ,s so I have opted to cut up the avon use a template and do a bit at a time doing the floor first then the inner tubes then the outer tubes will have enough rubber
to complete the project should last a long time just a bit apprehensive about using the glue on a new boat cheers bun

 

[bun]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

if you cant get it fixed use a glue that I use when diving its called black witch stick anything neoprene and rubber . hope this helps ps try dive shops for it hop this helps bun

 

[FishHunter4]

Intex Mariner 4 modifications for my new boat

Intex Mariner 4 modifications for my new boat

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this forum but I have been leveraging your knowledge for a few weeks now. Started with a Sevylor 280 but realized as soon as it came out of the box that it would be too small for more than 1 person. So I did more research and finally went with the Mariner 4. Wow, what a boat for the money.

Here are the mods I am working on over the winter..

Wood floor - Went with 15/32" plywood sheathing One piece design, not sure if this will present any problems other than not being able to transport the floor in a car. I used the floor that came with the boat as a pattern and took off about 3/8" on each side to allow for the foam wrapping around the outside of the floorboard. Did not use fancy sealers, used Krylon indoor/outdoor primer followed by a good quality exterior latex paint. Once the paint cures for a few days, I will wrap the floorboard using outdoor carpeting from Home Depot.
Seats - purchased 2 inexpensive seats, seat swivels and pedestals from Academy. Like $60 total. Painted front of seats red with PlastiDip spray. Will paint the back of the seats gray to match the gray\red\black colors of the boat(pedestals are black). Seats will mount to a 3/4" piece of plywood also wrapped in outdoor carpet. The 2'x2' plywood provides enough stability so that the seats can be moved at will throughout the boat. They are not bolted to the floor.
Battery - Move to front of boat. Not started yet.
Bimini Top - Constructed out of 1" PVC. The frame is complete but I expected the fabric to get here today and it did not. Constructed totally from PVC joints found at Home Depot or Lowes. I will post a video of the final product hopefully by next week. This design uses the oar locks to mount the bimini. Some joints are not glued which allows you to break the frame down for easy storage and carrying. Also came up with a great idea for how to mount the frame to the oar lock using standard 1" PVC fittings and some O rings.
Motor - Still researching this one. I purchased a Marine Battery from Advance Auto Parts. Found a great promo code online and picked up the battery locally the same day. Originally planned to purchase the Minn Kota 30# trolling motor, but after reading some comments here, I am looking at possibly going with a 45 or 55# motor instead.

I am really excited about my little boat. I welcome any comments and/or feedback.

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey fishunter. Welcome. Nice mods. I am in the same boat. Bought many new things for my boat in between seasons so i am just waiting to use them. If you know you will not be going far, minnkota 30 is fine. Saltwater or freshwater is your target?

 

[FishHunter4]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey fishunter. Welcome. Nice mods. I am in the same boat. Bought many new things for my boat in between seasons so i am just waiting to use them. If you know you will not be going far, minnkota 30 is fine. Saltwater or freshwater is your target?

Have not made the decision whether or not I will use this in saltwater. I am only an hour from Galveston, so I may go ahead and spring for a saltwater trolling motor.

Update on the bimini mod... frame is ready but still looking for a local shop to sew pockets into each end of the canvas. I also plan to paint the PVC frame with glossy white Krylon Fusion paint. I hope that will help reflect some our our hot Texas sun and minimize the bowing that I expect to see from the PVC heating up.

FH4

 

[FishHunter4]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Have not made the decision whether or not I will use this in saltwater. I am only an hour from Galveston, so I may go ahead and spring for a saltwater trolling motor.

Update on the bimini mod... frame is ready but still looking for a local shop to sew pockets into each end of the canvas. I also plan to paint the PVC frame with glossy white Krylon Fusion paint. I hope that will help reflect some our our hot Texas sun and minimize the bowing that I expect to see from the PVC heating up.

FH4

Finally made the decision on the trolling motor... went with the Minn Kota Endura MAX 50. Walmart had it for $219 and MK has a $25 rebate, so that was the best value I found. Figured 50# should be enough in most cases... Considered going for a Riptide 45, but didn't want to spend the extra bucks...

Now all I need is some warm weather so I can put it all together and post some pics.

 

[garyvtec]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hi guys I'm new to the forum. I'm from Northern Ireland and recently bought a mariner for some pike fishing with my dad. We've been out a few times and it's a great boat for the price. however we want swivel seats installed so I went to my local hardware store and bought some 11mm osb3 to do a hard wood floor.

I cut the wood last night to the exact same shape as the slats floor that came with the boat but I am not sure if I am meant to just lay the wood floor over the top of the slat floor or if the wood floor just goes in on its own?? Also is it ok to do the exact size of the slats floor or do I need to take about 1/2 inch off.

Thanks