1974 Chieftan 21' 165 Mercruiser I/O

[smevil]

Thanks WnW. What kind of baits are you pulling with the Otters? The Otters have been talked about on the local fishing forums and I'll have to go back and read about them. Here's what I intend to build:


(borrowed from a tidalfish.com member)

These seem to work real good, but I have no first hand experience since I'm a newbie troller.





Thanks LastDollar! I just looked at your Old Owner, old Boat thread. You write very well!! I'm heading over to read through it.

That funny I found a pair in them in my Chieftain, thought they were shelves but I could find where they went. that made me laugh!

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Cj, these are the wood ones I used to use prior to the otters. The big orange ones I built and they pull like a mule and would put a pretty good strain on the mast. You could pull almost anything you want with them. Their downfall was rough water as they would jump waves or could dive into a wave. They were a real pain to retrieve and usually resulted in stopping the boat or steering toward each board to bring them in.


The otters on the other hand are a breeze to retrieve. They will turn and scoot right to the boat and much more mast friendly. The otters still pull everything that I put out on them which included any diving body baits, spoons with 3 oz inline weight, and have pulled jet divers off them and up to 10 color lead core lines with no problem. I usually run 3 to 4 lines per side and run them out around 100 ft. There are a lot of guys that run super long coppers off them and have opted to install the second half keel to them to have them pull even better. The otters seem to pull a lot more parallel with the boat and don't lag back behind the boat like the wood boards did. My fishing buddy used to run the dual riviera boards but after going on my boat with the otters he like them so much that he too went and bought a pair and is very happy with them.



This pic is the double wood boards (circled in red) note how far they lag behind the boat. (One of my favorite trolling tactics - get alongside the freighters and when they pass get right in their prop line. Their prop stirs so much water it dazes the baitfish and the large fish gobble them down. Troll through the wash usually results in fish in the box.)



This is the otter boat (circled in red) you will note it runs much more even to the boat.

 

[cj8mule]

Thanks WnW. I'll look into getting a pair. They have some mixed reviews in the thread I was reading on a local fishing forum. I think the bad reviews came from guys putting too many baits on them. I really only need to pull 2 to 3 baits on each board.

I wish I had a better ideal of the bait size and weight you're pulling on the otter boards. I'll be pulling a 12" umbrella with a 8" parachute lead head. These lures pull really hard with alot of drag.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Well Cj, we don't run the umbrella rigs here so I can't attest to how those rigs would run compared to what we run on the Great Lakes. We do run large dodgers or paddles(11" ) with flies off either lead core lines or coppers. Yes they do pull fairly hard too. The guys over on Lk Ontario run a lot of heavy gear off their planers so maybe Check out Lake Ontario United and do a forum search on otter boats. You will get a lot of good info there.

 

[Grandad]

Hi cj. Coming along nicely. Just watching from the sidelines.
Weep'n Willy, I see you were alongside the Canadian Enterprise. In a previous life, I did some electrical work on the Enterprise in Hamilton, Ontario, circa 1980 while working for an electrical contracting business that was owned by Upper Lakes Shipping. - Grandad
http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/canadianenterprise.htm

 

[cj8mule]

Well Cj, we don't run the umbrella rigs here so I can't attest to how those rigs would run compared to what we run on the Great Lakes. We do run large dodgers or paddles(11" ) with flies off either lead core lines or coppers. Yes they do pull fairly hard too. The guys over on Lk Ontario run a lot of heavy gear off their planers so maybe Check out Lake Ontario United and do a forum search on otter boats. You will get a lot of good info there.

I've just about read all that's available on the fishing forums. Most people say that it's a no go for the otter boards. One guy said he had 3 umbrellas on it and the board flipped. Another guy talked about the fish pulling the board way back before the clip let go. And, there is one guy who is very vocal on most of threads saying that they'll work. These Spring fish are anywhere from 20 to 50 pounds.

Alot of people tried the boards your friend had and they said those were a definite no go. I'll probably just build some. Thanks though!!!

 

[cj8mule]

Hi cj. Coming along nicely. Just watching from the sidelines.
Weep'n Willy, I see you were alongside the Canadian Enterprise. In a previous life, I did some electrical work on the Enterprise in Hamilton, Ontario, circa 1980 while working for an electrical contracting business that was owned by Upper Lakes Shipping. - Grandad
http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/canadianenterprise.htm

Thanks for tagging along Grandad! I figured you were an electrician after seeing that fine conduit bending you did. I was an electrician in the 80's also.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Hey Grandad...we see plenty of the freighters where I fish. The shipping lanes go through some of my best trolling areas. Although not a problem on clear days it is those days when the fog keeps rolling in and out that get touchy. I got a marine radio that has a built in AIS receiver and hooked to my chartplotter. So all freighters will show on my plotter screen and indicate their direction of travel.



This pic shows the freighter in the black triangle with the directional pointer. The long black line is the shipping lane and you can see my position in the silver arrow pointer with the dotted line showing my direction of travel.

When I cursor over the freighter a pop up screen will display info on the ship including its name, speed, course of travel, closest point of approach, and time to approach so it gives me ample time to give berth to the ship before it gets to me.



Those loaded down freighters can push a lot of water and 2 sets of good sized waves, one set from the bow and another set from the stern. We have had some good 4' surf come from some of them.

 

[cj8mule]

I finished up the tackle cabinet for the cabin



I built the shelves pretty tight for the removable trays. There's a lip on the shelf to keep the trays in if the door is open and the boat is rock'in.



I also got the new helm seats all cleaned up and built the new gas tank covers. The little toe kick up in the front is for the gas fill hose.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Seat boxes look solid! Very nice on the tackle cabinet. That should hold a lot of gear.

 

[Watermann]

That's that ticket right there, you'll enjoy the added comfort having those molded seats on pedestals.

What's the plan for covering on the seat boxes? I sprayed mine with 3 coats of tractor paint in the HVLP and hardener after a couple coats of oil base primer and then where my feet ride I covered it with some of my left over vinyl flooring. .

 

[dozerII]

Looking real CJ, just goes to show we are really never finished are we!!

 

[cj8mule]

Seat boxes look solid! Very nice on the tackle cabinet. That should hold a lot of gear.

Thanks WnW. The seat boxes are made out of 3/8" ply with some 1 by material under the top to support the new seats.

That's that ticket right there, you'll enjoy the added comfort having those molded seats on pedestals.

What's the plan for covering on the seat boxes? I sprayed mine with 3 coats of tractor paint in the HVLP and hardener after a couple coats of oil base primer and then where my feet ride I covered it with some of my left over vinyl flooring. .

Those pedestal seats work so much better in a fishing boat with the ability to turn around. I don't have any of my Nautolex left and was considering buying some more, but decided to paint them.

Looking real CJ, just goes to show we are really never finished are we!!

Thanks Glen. You are so right... we never really finish.

 

[cj8mule]

Finished painting up the seat / gas tank boxes. I used the Restore concrete paint and some anti skid flakes.



While waiting for the paint to dry, I decided to start working on the new seat cushion. The guy I bought the used seats from put a horrible fitting cushion in the captains chair. It's not really that big of deal to make a new pattern. I just wished I knew what seat the old cushion fits because it's in such good shape.



It took around 3 hours to make the new cushion and it turned out pretty good.



Hopefully, we'll get some decent weather next week for the install.



Next up on the list will be the new console!

 

[Watermann]

Your a fine seamstress CJ! Even if you weren't I don't think you would notice when using them. :lol:

That rusto restore is some pretty tough stuff. I used the deck restore in my Sea Nymph and it' been bullet proof for 2 full seasons so far.

 

[dozerII]

Real nice job on the boxes and seat cj

 

[classiccat]

That helm seat is just sick there cj! really nice work!

I've been considering the deck (or concrete?) paint for my SS deck (after sealing). Those anti-skid flakes take it over-the-top! :thumb: This is the stuff for garage floors? I think that's an epoxy-based product as well...right?

 

[cj8mule]

Your a fine seamstress CJ! Even if you weren't I don't think you would notice when using them. :lol:

That rusto restore is some pretty tough stuff. I used the deck restore in my Sea Nymph and it' been bullet proof for 2 full seasons so far.

I'm glad to hear that the restore has lasted 2 seasons. I've used it on a couple of decks and they turned out great.

Real nice job on the boxes and seat cj

Thanks Glen. It's much better working on this stuff than the trailer stuff you were working on last week. That Invader trailer came out top notch!

That helm seat is just sick there cj! really nice work!

I've been considering the deck (or concrete?) paint for my SS deck (after sealing). Those anti-skid flakes take it over-the-top! :thumb: This is the stuff for garage floors? I think that's an epoxy-based product as well...right?

Thanks BF! That garage floor paint is epoxy... this stuff is water based (even though I think it has a type of oil base in it). Home Depot sells this Restore stuff at around $30 / gallon and it's for decks and concrete. The paint goes on very thick and has some texture to it already. I would consider it for the SS deck and tint it to whatever color you want.

 

[Watermann]

The concrete garage floor stuff may not be a good idea to use on decks because of flexing. I can't see them formulating the stuff for flex when it's for applying to a concrete slab so it might crack. Take a look at my SN thread if you want to see what the restore for wood decks looks like.

The sprinkles not only give traction but add some pizzaz!

 

[cj8mule]

The weather has been nasty around here, but looks like its turned for the better. Nothing like sunshine and 50 degrees to motivate a fellow for some boat building.

The new seat boxes and seats are installed.




The new glovebox (on left) and helm is built ready for paint.