Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

[ScottishScript]

Thanks for the advice, I do tend to overthink things too much .

One last question on this subject. I ended up cutting the plywood (I believe 27" wide) so that it can be dropped in and removed when the boat is inflated. So after reading your suggestion (and I will go with either one or two center slats only), since the wood will not be under the main tubes/chambers will this be ok or should I re-cut the wood wider so it fits under but not all the way to the sides? In other words, even though the plywood does not slide under the main chambers/tubes will it be ok that way or should I redo or will the keel being inflated support it ok? I was also thinking of putting those pipe insulators on the edges, if so that would be partly under the tubes, that maybe the support I need to keep the plywood in place. Sorry I am over thinking again. I am in the waiting room at the VA Hospital so I have some time to over think

The keel will do a lot to firm up whatever floor design you put in.

As you know I made my floor to the dimensions I posted in photo form earlier in this thread, so I'm not sure how any other width or length of ply flooring is going to be have.

I know some people put that pipe cladding stuff along the edges, but to be honest unless you have a raggidy sheet of ply I do not see the point of it. I've been doing without for nearly three years and never had a problem. I quit using carpeting too because I'm in Scotland and all it does is soak up rain water almost every time I go out.

Off the top of my head, I don't think having a slightly narrower ply floor would have must of an impact as regards weight stress on the floor seams. I personally like having the ply floor all the way to the sides to prevent pieces of fishing tackle somehow working their way under said floor.

Try out what you already have and form your opinion based on what you observe. If you decide wider might be better, then do so on the basis the narrower floor doesn't work. But you have to try it out first.

Get on the water and tell us all about it.

 

[Starkonian]

IN Mariner4- I'd like to see a photo with your boards installed. It seems the boards would have to be cut down pretty much to squeeze between fully inflated side tubes.

If you do go with new boards, I suggest you pick up some pressure treated plywood. I think it has more thorough anti rot property impregnation than what you get from slapping some decking sealer on untreated plywood. I didn't install carpeting either and glad I didn't. My son and I track mud on to the floor regularly. At the end of the day, I drop each board into the water and quickly wash the mud off and then lean them against my car. In a few minutes they drip dry and I can put them in my car. I sanded the edges smooth and ran a couple layers if duct tape on them. I also filled in any cracks with a wood filler which really stiffens/strengthens the boards. Once dry, the filler has never dissolved or run out.

 

[IN Mariner4]

IN Mariner4- I'd like to see a photo with your boards installed. It seems the boards would have to be cut down pretty much to squeeze between fully inflated side tubes.

If you do go with new boards, I suggest you pick up some pressure treated plywood. I think it has more thorough anti rot property impregnation than what you get from slapping some decking sealer on untreated plywood. I didn't install carpeting either and glad I didn't. My son and I track mud on to the floor regularly. At the end of the day, I drop each board into the water and quickly wash the mud off and then lean them against my car. In a few minutes they drip dry and I can put them in my car. I sanded the edges smooth and ran a couple layers if duct tape on them. I also filled in any cracks with a wood filler which really stiffens/strengthens the boards. Once dry, the filler has never dissolved or run out.

Hi Starkonian,

I wont get back home until Thursday but when I do and get them put in I will take photos. I believe they are cut at 27" wide now and they just about drop straight in (have to tilt them just a hair to go in). I did not use treated wood (which I should've) but I did put a few coats of Thompson's water sealer/treatment on it. I havehad good luck using Thompsons when I made a dog box for the back of the pickup and it made it through a blizzard and two cross country road trips with a lot of rain with little damage. I am using carpet for personal reasons though. So no need for the pipe insulators.
Got to run. Nurses are calling lol!

 

[JC2133]

Currently out on the lake and no bites yet

https://youtu.be/GcerntdF5IA

 

[mrdrh99]

Hi Starkonian,

I wont get back home until Thursday but when I do and get them put in I will take photos. I believe they are cut at 27" wide now and they just about drop straight in (have to tilt them just a hair to go in). I did not use treated wood (which I should've) but I did put a few coats of Thompson's water sealer/treatment on it. I havehad good luck using Thompsons when I made a dog box for the back of the pickup and it made it through a blizzard and two cross country road trips with a lot of rain with little damage. I am using carpet for personal reasons though. So no need for the pipe insulators.
Got to run. Nurses are calling lol!

So.... I cut boards narrow enough to drop into a fully inflated m4, but I had left my factory floor in, and removed every other slat. I don't think I had it quite that narrow, I had to gently push it past the tubes... Never really had an issue with them moving side to side so I think you'll be fine

 

[IN Mariner4]

So.... I cut boards narrow enough to drop into a fully inflated m4, but I had left my factory floor in, and removed every other slat. I don't think I had it quite that narrow, I had to gently push it past the tubes... Never really had an issue with them moving side to side so I think you'll be fine

I cut mine at 27" and ended up putting 1/2" pipe insulating around all the edges and then put the carpet over all of it. It fits in when inflated but it takes a little wiggling but not forcing. I used the insulation because the wife was shopping at Walmart and found that they had 1/2" pipe insulating on clearance for $1.00 (4 pieces at 40 inch long) so she got a few packs.

We took it out yesterday for it's maiden voyage lol. I went ahead and left the full floor (oem) in and put the plywood (carpeted) on top of it. Next time just the plywood and one slat. then after that no slats and just plywood. With the full floor and plywood she handled great. It was me and the wife, plus Minn Kota Endura Max 55; Walmart Everstart Max 29DC battery; fishing gear; metal detecting gear; one scuba tank & related gear; and misc stuff (probably about 600lbs total + or -). We were on the Tippicanoe river in decent weather (a little chop, medium current and about 10 mph wind). I ran it constantly on 50 percent power and a few good runs on 100%. total run time was about 6 hours constant running. We were against current about 75% of the time. I think if I continue using the boat on the river I will get a second battery for longer distances and time. I am guessing here, but will have to research it but I think we traveled 10 plus miles maybe more (I told a guy at the ramp where we went and he said it was a good miles each way if not more).

The boat handled a lot better than I expected. It was stable and standing up fishing was no problem. It tracked pretty well in the wind and current. We had a couple of 20 mph winds for a minute or two and it did ok but needed more power and corrections. The worse part but not bad was when hitting another boats wake and trying to keep a straight track, but compensated by full power into it. I did inflate the keel when we launched and prior to loading everything in.

With two of us off loading the boat out of the pickup(I loaded myself fully inflated and floors in, was heavy lol prior to her getting out of bed lol) and putting in the water was easy. Took about 15 minutes to mount trolling motor to the mount and battery and loading all the gear. Over all not bad at all. The taking out of the water and loading up into the truck was about 20 minutes total (that includes retrieving the truck from the parking area). With the two of us, and the battery, and gear removed, we just lifted it up and loaded it. If I was solo I think removing everything first is required (at least with both floors in, with just the plywood floor it should be good).

I am very happy with the Mariner 4, the motor setup, the handling etc... and even with two floors. Like I said the next test is with one slat and plywood floor.

We mainly ran the river to just test the boat out and enjoy the weather. We also did some fishing and I did a 15 minute dive. We caught 10 fish (one good sized Large Mouth!!!) and enjoyed the boat. It was funny, at the boat ramp people were snickering at us (they had these big bass boats) but when they saw us out there on the water they liked it. They were also mad because all but one of them were skunked on fishing lol. I jokingly told them that they spent 30 grand or so on their bass boats and didn't catch a thing and I spent around $800 on mine and we caught 10 and released probably another 10 lol. They laughed but you could see the wheels turning in their heads.

Best part is the wife really enjoyed it and is happy about me getting it.

My question for the day is: has anyone used solar power for charging the batteries? I know that I can not run the motor off of one but how about charging while running? Or is that just a waste because the solar would not make up the difference? I am thinking when I go to carrying a secondary battery I can charge the used one after I swap out the new one and maybe get enough of a charge for emergency on the secondary if needed.

I have tons of photos but I have to figure out how to resize them because they are too big. When I do I will post them.

 

[IN Mariner4]

Currently out on the lake and no bites yet

https://youtu.be/GcerntdF5IA

Nice video.

We went out yesterday and nailed 10 keepers. This made our maiden voyage even better lol. I also caught my personal best Large Mouth Bass off of the Tippicanoe river!

 

[IN Mariner4]

I did forget to ask in my long post lol I was running my prop about 12 inches below the waterline, is this the best for the Minn Kota Endura Max 55 (36" shaft) or should I go shallower? I played around with it and it seems I get the most "power" at about 12 inches but it was hard to get a real feel in the changing current.

 

[Starkonian]

You might want to connect two batteries in parallel. You won't run one down too low which is very bad for a deep cycle battery and you don't have to mess with switching connections.
You'd never generate enough solar power to make a difference per the size of panel you'd have room to carry.
12" is in the ball park. Too shallow and you're vortexing air form the surface. Too deep and you're over torquing the transom which may make the rear tube start to fold under the boat.

 

[Starkonian]

My son with a 7 1/4 large mouth...

 

[Starkonian]

I've tested these two mods. The battery kill switch works nicely. When the key is turned 45 degrees it pops out the plug. I hold a small rope when I'm doing a long cruise and If I go overboard I know the boat won't be heading off without me.

The Nite Ize JamCam XT is awesome. The anchor rope runs through the hole. When I anchor, I clip it onto the side tube grab rope. I drop the anchor down and feed out line to my liking. I then pull open the spring loaded cam cleat and insert the anchor line and it hold the boat nicely. Easy to remove and no more knots.

 

[IN Mariner4]

My son with a 7 1/4 large mouth...

Nice fish! mine was 9 1/2 caught on a rattletrap.

 

[IN Mariner4]

You might want to connect two batteries in parallel. You won't run one down too low which is very bad for a deep cycle battery and you don't have to mess with switching connections.
You'd never generate enough solar power to make a difference per the size of panel you'd have room to carry.
12" is in the ball park. Too shallow and you're vortexing air form the surface. Too deep and you're over torquing the transom which may make the rear tube start to fold under the boat.

That is what I was thinking of running them parallel. I measured the battery before I threw it on the charger and it was 9.5 volts!!! I did not want to run it that low. I figured the solar panel wasn't a great idea except for maybe if we are camping for a few days and it could sit that long to get a little charge going.

I do need to find a good fuse/circuit breaker for it. I believe a 60 amp. We plan on hitting an area on Sunday that is only accessible through some creeks and a lot of weeds so....

 

[IN Mariner4]

I've tested these two mods. The battery kill switch works nicely. When the key is turned 45 degrees it pops out the plug. I hold a small rope when I'm doing a long cruise and If I go overboard I know the boat won't be heading off without me.

The Nite Ize JamCam XT is awesome. The anchor rope runs through the hole. When I anchor, I clip it onto the side tube grab rope. I drop the anchor down and feed out line to my liking. I then pull open the spring loaded cam cleat and insert the anchor line and it hold the boat nicely. Easy to remove and no more knots.

I like those ideas. I hooked a carabiner on to the oar and ran the anchor rope through it. I like yours better.

 

[JC2133]

My son with a 7 1/4 large mouth...

where's this at? We went to shadow cliffs trolling for trout. Had a late start and no bites. We might try Lafayette this weekend. Its been to windy in Tracy to try Bathany.

 

[IN Mariner4]

oops

 

[IN Mariner4]

No Title

Here are three photos so far. Figuring out how to re-size them for uploading.

 

[Starkonian]

I measured the battery before I threw it on the charger and it was 9.5 volts!!! I did not want to run it that low

I agree, that is way too low. Your battery will be toast if you keep doing that. I keep a similar chart to this with my battery.

 

[IN Mariner4]

I agree, that is way too low. Your battery will be toast if you keep doing that. I keep a similar chart to this with my battery.

I used to have those charts memorized when I was a wrench turner. I was in shock (bad pun) when I took the voltage check prior to charging. I hooked a voltmeter up to my battery box so that will not happen again. I knew it was low when the last light on the controller was not even showing and knew I should've shut her down but I did not want to row the last distance upstream especially with all the dive gear and etc... in the way.

The battery, after charging over night and doing a load test and hydro test seems fine now. But never again, if it gets this low again the wife will be rowing .

Thanks for the chart review.

 

[mrdrh99]

In mariner... Your floor looks great! Regarding battery... I def think 2 batteries in parallel will be the way to go. I now have a sea eagle foldcat, I have a TM on front and back with separate batteries, however, sometimes I leave the front TM and only use the 50#... Those times I run the 2 batteries in parallel. And yeah, don't waste your time on the solar..... I researched it before and you would need a panel the size of your boat to even start to make a difference... Just get that second battery and you'll be fine. I have a 3rd 18ah battery that I use for my ff, lights, aux outlet, etc