I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[BWR1953]

Boo-yah!!


After 8 months of my ill health keeping us off the water... we're BACK, baby! :rockon:

Yeah... we're coming in loaded... :fish2:

 

[Watermann]

Heck yeah, nice video! Nothing better than boating and some big gills.

 

[oldhaven]

That empty worm bucket tells a good story

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks guys! It was really great getting that little boat back out on the water. The old Johnson 8hp motor fired up on the second pull after sitting for 8 months! Awesome.

I missed a couple bass earlier in the day. I'm out of practice with the ol' hookset. :lol:

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Looks like you will need a bigger cooler for them slabs! beer battered fish fry coming up! My favorite way for the bluegills on the table. Nice trip out, I cant wait for my next trip. I havnt even seen my boat in 3 weeks where it is at in storage. That should change soon though!!!

 

[Decker83]

Great Vid.. Looks like you all had a good time.. Very nice catch on top of all the fun..
Glad to see you made it back on the water..:thumb:

 

[BWR1953]

I'm back on the job! Now that I have a decent place to work, I can stop making excuses and actually get some things done. :lol:

The plan is do a few small things on the KF prior to our next fishing trip, then later I'll bring the donor boat into the building and start dismounting the 50HP Mercury motor in preparation for transferring it to the KF. Then I'll sell the trailer and finally scrap that nasty old glasser donor!

This evening I removed the side rod holder from the boat. Nobody used it when we were fishing and quite frankly, it was dangerous sitting there as it was. Now it's gone.



Gone!



Next was to reposition the trolling motor. As can be seen in the pic, the thing really gets in the way of the front seat when stored.



The PO just drilled through the trolling motor mount, the front rail and the bow to secure the mount. The "plastic washers" are actually flattened silicone that the PO used to waterproof the holes.





Got the motor off okay but then my wife came home from work and brought a pizza with her, so that ended work for the day! :laugh:

 

[jbcurt00]

No Title

A little boat work, great

When there pizza around our joint, ALL work stops, and tonguea start a waggin'

 

[Watermann]

A little boat work, great

When there pizza around our joint, ALL work stops, and tonguea start a waggin'

Oh man! Priceless! :lol: :rofl: :laugh:

 

[BWR1953]

There! That's better. The trolling motor is now out of the way at all times. And I added a rubber pad made from an old rubber floor mat underneath the TM mount to help dampen vibrations. Don't want to scare the fishies! :lol:

It's a good thing the boy is here to help. Couldn't do it without him!

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Good adjustment!

 

[BWR1953]

Took the KF fishing today. Got skunked other than one nice bluegill my wife caught, so we gave it to some other folks fishing nearby. The river was very high after all the rains we've had recently and the temps were down too. Nobody else caught anything at all as far as we could tell.

While sitting there in the KF, gnawing on a sandwich, I noticed motion on the trolling motor. A big ol' nasty wasp! After dispatching same, I noticed a pin on the trolling motor hanging nearly all the way out. Will have to investigate wassup wit dat and make corrections. The TM relocation proved excellent. It was much easier to use and also easier for me to climb in and out of the boat as well.

Nice day here today. Was 47 degrees when we got up and only 50 when we left home a couple hours later. Not sure if it actually made it up to 70 on the water. Beautiful being out there again!




They couldn't even wait for me to get back from parking the truck before they started fishing! :lol:

 

[jbcurt00]

Looks like a nice day on the water, awesome.

 

[Watermann]

Oh man I love seeing fishing weather that's warm, makes me anxious to get my new boat done before spring breaks here in 5 months.

TM looks nice there, that's the same position I have mine on my SN. I have a suggestion on your TM, spin it around so that the prop is hanging over the side of the boat that way if you accidentally hit the on button the prop will just spin rather than bang into the bow deck.

 

[BWR1953]

Okay, we had a family meeting and decided that we will keep the Kingfisher! Surprised? :lol:

After our last fishing trip it became very apparent to me that I just didn't have enough room up front while sitting there fishing. And the boat is very "tippy" when any of us move around (especially my big carcass) and we had to discuss options.

First thought was to get a boat with a flatter hull shape and higher deck, especially forward. That would give me maneuvering room and a more stable platform. Something like a bass boat, etc. But my wife said that she wouldn't feel comfortable with such a boat. She said being "in" the boat instead of "on" the boat makes her feel much more secure. She absolutely loves the secure feeling when in the Chieftain. And the boy said he didn't want to have to rebuild yet another boat! ound:

Next option would be to build a high forward deck in the KF, but that would increase the tippiness, not reduce it at all. So that was out.

Now my thoughts are to move the console and front fishing seat more aft once I install the 50HP Mercury. Can't move the console too far to the rear or I'll end up with a stern heavy boat. My original thought for the 50 was to use the steering cable that came with it on the donor boat and just move the console to match the cable length. But if the console is farther aft then I'll have to spend money on a new cable.

Thoughts?

​

Oh man I love seeing fishing weather that's warm, makes me anxious to get my new boat done before spring breaks here in 5 months.

TM looks nice there, that's the same position I have mine on my SN. I have a suggestion on your TM, spin it around so that the prop is hanging over the side of the boat that way if you accidentally hit the on button the prop will just spin rather than bang into the bow deck.

Good tip on the TM orientation! During the reconfiguration it was disconnected from the battery but I'll be sure to keep the prop overboard when stowed from now on.

 

[Watermann]

The issue with the KF is what I have with my SN, it's the length and beam makes it tip some but... the weight of the 50 with battery and fuel will allow the boat to sink into the water some. If like my SN you can show the admiral that the boat will not tip over by moving to the side of the boat and stand there with your toes overboard. The boat just moves as will any light tin boat but it won't tip over. A light AL fishing boat that doesn't move in the water hasn't been made that I know of.

I have a buddy I fish with that you don't even notice is in the boat with you as he knows how to move about in a fishing boat and that's slow and deliberate. Then there's another guy I fish with who wasn't raised around boats or fished much. I nearly fall overboard 3 or 4 times each trip with him as he's like a bull in a china shop the way he moves about lurching quickly without warning, dropping tackle boxes and I have to constantly tell him not to stand in the splash well when he's not kicking the stern mounted motor tilt button.

 

[BWR1953]

The issue with the KF is what I have with my SN, it's the length and beam makes it tip some but... the weight of the 50 with battery and fuel will allow the boat to sink into the water some. If like my SN you can show the admiral that the boat will not tip over by moving to the side of the boat and stand there with your toes overboard. The boat just moves as will any light tin boat but it won't tip over. A light AL fishing boat that doesn't move in the water hasn't been made that I know of.

I have a buddy I fish with that you don't even notice is in the boat with you as he knows how to move about in a fishing boat and that's slow and deliberate. Then there's another guy I fish with who wasn't raised around boats or fished much. I nearly fall overboard 3 or 4 times each trip with him as he's like a bull in a china shop the way he moves about lurching quickly without warning, dropping tackle boxes and I have to constantly tell him not to stand in the splash well when he's not kicking the stern mounted motor tilt button.

All good points!

And I can relate to the bull in the china shop stuff. :lol: I just had a chat with my wife and the boy about the moving topic and they understand better now.
As for me standing on the gunwales with my toes overboard... ain't agonna happen! There'd be a BIG ol' splash! :laugh:

My wife pointed out that when I'm up front and lean over the side to wash my hands that the boat gets to within 3 or 4 inches of the water's surface. And then when she leans over the same side at the same time that there is indeed a danger of capsizing and swamping. We'll all practice better movement discipline from here on out.

Part of my issue is that due to my health issues over the last year, I'm not as steady on my feet as I was. So I definitely need to have a bit of stability in the boat. Heck, I accidentally went overboard one time in my Bass Tracker and that was no fun, even though I came up laughing after the dunk. Scared the snot out of my fishing buddy too! ound:

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Only time i went over is because as a kid i used a fish hook to test the fuel line and shot gas in my eye ball lol. Jumped straight over to flush my eyes out. We used to swim in that canal though in fl. Gators were there but not like some places. You made me think of that. I think in my dads old grumn v hull i can still stand on the side at 210 + lbs and not flip it... they may rock but but not capsize unless intentional or absolute craziness!

 

[BWR1953]

The donor is in da house! Or something like that! :lol:

Hooked up the donor boat and got it into the garage/shop this afternoon. I'm going to need help rearranging it in there in order to make room for the KF though. That sand floor is too tough for me even with the boy helping.

The plan is to disconnect the 50HP Mercury and controls from the boat, then pull the donor back outside under the big tree and use a hoist to remove the motor. Then we'll lower the engine into the garden trailer and pull it into the garage for later installation on the KF.

Then we'll scrap that nasty glasser and sell the trailer and be done with that phase of the KF project. At last!


Hooked up.



Oops... need to dig out the skeg!

 

[BWR1953]

Only time i went over is because as a kid i used a fish hook to test the fuel line and shot gas in my eye ball lol. Jumped straight over to flush my eyes out. We used to swim in that canal though in fl. Gators were there but not like some places. You made me think of that. I think in my dads old grumn v hull i can still stand on the side at 210 + lbs and not flip it... they may rock but but not capsize unless intentional or absolute craziness!

Skinny! :lol: :facepalm: