Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

[WcoastSaints]

I’m new to the forum and new to the Mariner 4. I just made my wood floor (3 piece due to room constraints, not sure what to finish it with yet.), my Minn Kota C2 30 just arrived but still waiting on the battery box.

I’m still trying to figure out seating. It seems most people are using pedestal seat, but I want something that sits on top but doesn’t attach. I have some elementary school chairs that might work, but they are untested.

I am also trying to find a good place to put registration stickers. I have to deflate the boat every trip, so sticking them to the hull sounds dodgy. What is everyone else doing?

 

[staporny]

Hey all,

Started working on my Mariner 4. I have already made half the floor with swivel seat (1/2" ply). Also put waterproof marine carpeting on top and treated the bottom of the ply so it is somewhat water resistant just in case it takes on water.

Just a few questions...

1. Do you use the plywood on top of the original floor? It seems sturdy enough without it to me and would be an ultra tight fit with the original.

2. Where do you mount your anchor? Dont want the rope putting pressure on the boat. Is it an option to tie it to the string around the boat?

Thanks for any advice in advance and will post up the finished product soon.

Matt

 

[DroneOn]

Hey guys,

First post here. This will be my second summer with my M4 and I'm now looking to add a floor. Here is the kicker - I'd like to be able to put the sections in my roof box. The roof box is 82.5cm in width. Most people seem to suggest an 86.36 (34in) floor with pipe insulation. Obviously this will not work. I need to shave 3/4 of an inch off each side. I'm wondering, will it be okay? Also some of you have built their ply floor to sit on top of the plastic floor... this would obviously reduce the width of the floor - can any of you tell me by how much?

Basically I need to find a way to get the floor width down to 82.5cm (32.5in). Any thoughts or advice would be most appreciated. I'm in quite a rush because my dad is in town and I'd like to take him fishing next week!

 

[Heathen970]

I just purchased a used mariner 4 and it did not come with the original floor(got it really cheap because of this) I want to do the wood floor, any suggestions of using it without the original floor as well like a lot of people do?

 

[staporny]

I just purchased a used mariner 4 and it did not come with the original floor(got it really cheap because of this) I want to do the wood floor, any suggestions of using it without the original floor as well like a lot of people do?

I used 1/2" plywood. Just the wooden floor, no original underneath. We are also newbies to the mariner 4 community but have had it out on the water 4 times already and no problems. Here is how ours looks after we also added the swivel seats and water proof carpeting... We tried glueing the carpet on but it wouldn't stick to the plywood so we ended up using a staple gun with air compressor and worked like a charm. People will say its risky but we haven't had any problems so far.

We fit everything into back of my 17' Sonata with rear seats folded. Love going places with a little sedan.

 

[FeatherChucker]

Love this thread. I'm looking at getting a Mariner 4 myself soon. I'm planning on doing the wooden floor. I was wondering if anyone has tried drilling holes all over the floor to make it lighter? I would think drilling several small or even medium sized holes would keep the rigidity of the board while killing a lot of the weight. I know it would affect modifying the floor later. I don't plan on ever installing seats.

 

[FeatherChucker]

I checked it, I don't see anything.

 

[jbcurt00]

Check your IM

Please keep discussions in the open forum

Check your PMs Stark

 

[trey22]

Here's my custom IM4, a year old. Two piece plywood floor w/ outdoor carpet. Two swivel seats on adjustable pedestals. Scotty pad and rod holder. 100ah battery. Minn Kota 45lb trolling motor. I can troll for 8hrs at 30% speed (1.8-2mph) and still have at least 50% battery left at the end of day. Love that it all fits in the back of my Escape and that it gets me to spots on the lake where other boats can't go.

It's been problem free and stable (other than two small patches, one hole from a fishing hook and another from hitting something sharp underwater). At some point I'd like to upgrade to a larger SIB that handles a 10-15hp gas motor (looking for 20mph instead of the current 3.5mph).

 

[Skyhog]

I’ve been reading this thread for quite a while now and finally pulled the trigger. Got the boat a few days ago and just built the floor.

Hoping to get out on the lake here very soon!

 

[hiredgoon]

Good morning all. After reading through about the first 50 pages of this topic I figured I would try posting what I am working on. I am building a rowing frame out of 1" emt, conduit. It consists of 2 rectangles with one about 10" narrower in length and width. The outer one has a saddle on both sides which curves up around the oar locks and both the inner and outer rectangle are kicked up about 3" in the front and rear to raise the seats up a little more. Taller oar locks will be added once the main frame is complete along with rod/cup holders and whatever else I think of. I am also planning on building a motor mount that would be removable that would attach to the frame for rigidity but would also push on the rear of the boat without being pulled down like the factory mount. Going out to do some welding so I will get some pics of the two main frames before I start.

 

[hiredgoon]

[No message]

 

[hiredgoon]

I picked up a like new 2000 Johnson 2 hp last night for $125. I have known the seller for about 20 years, who bought it at an estate about 5 years ago only to put it in a corner of his shop and leave it there until I picked it up. Fresh gas and about 8 pulls later it fired right up but the tell tale never pumped out any water. This particular impeller was only used in about 75 million small outboards so of course it is no longer available. I pulled it out of the low end and saw that one of the blades was actually bent back the opposite direction of the others so I installed it backwards and bent the blades to the new correct direction and low and behold it pumps just fine. Now I get to build a motor mount that will attach to my rowing frame.

 

[ArgieNomad]

[h=2]

Just unboxed my Mariner 3: first steps?[/h] Hey all, I'm in a hurry to get on the water on my M3. No motor yet, I will mostly use it in small (not more than 1.5 miles diameter) ponds for fishing. VERY laid-back fishing alone: a perfect fishing day is when not even fish interrupt your train of thoughts.

I inflated it indoors and tried a couple of things: when I inflated the keel, the slatted floor domed up over it. Then when I stood on the floor, the slats bent down under my 215 lbs. Also, the inflatable seats, even standing on their sides are too low.

Here's my plan with questions:
- I'll do the wood floor, but I have limited trunk space for everything, so I'll do it in sections: should I worry a lot about making it overly rigid or I can just have the sections placed on top of the factory floor without bolting them together? Can I make it around 6 ft long to cover only the middle section leaving the triangular ends uncovered (think the last two slats visible)?
- If I wanted to overdo it with thick wood and some connecting hardware (thinking about H shaped connectors between the boards), can I get rid of the factory floor so that I move less equipment in my puny car?
- It will take me some time to make the floor, so in the mean time can I replace the plastic slats with 5/8" or 3/4" plywood for a little higher rigidity while I test it? Well, of course I can, but would I be able to stand more/better on these better slats? Not to the point of doing jumping jacks, but just stand and cast my rods?
- In terms of seats I will just place two boards over the tubes dividing the space in thirds so I can row from any of them. Maybe I'll add some storage below, or a T support in the middle and stadium seats for *some* back support.

That's most of it. I have a 3lb anchor, PFD, lots of paracord and electric inflator. I could add some sort of shelf over the bow or stern for tackle boxes and a cooler somewhere, but my ambitions are somewhat low until I experience it in a couple of outings. I KNOW I'll buy a Minn Kota motor before New Year's Eve.

What do you think? Caveats? Thanks!

 

[Bonaventure]

QUOTE FROM HIREDGOON

I picked up a like new 2000 Johnson 2 hp last night for $125. I have known the seller for about 20 years, who bought it at an estate about 5 years ago only to put it in a corner of his shop and leave it there until I picked it up. Fresh gas and about 8 pulls later it fired right up but the tell tale never pumped out any water. This particular impeller was only used in about 75 million small outboards so of course it is no longer available. I pulled it out of the low end and saw that one of the blades was actually bent back the opposite direction of the others so I installed it backwards and bent the blades to the new correct direction and low and behold it pumps just fine. Now I get to build a motor mount that will attach to my rowing frame.


I have been using a 2 HP Johnson on my MARINER $ for the last 3 years. It does a creditable job of pushing the boat. Hope you have good luck with yours.

 

[ArgieNomad]

Well, when I posted my question, I was only in page 12-15 of this monster thread. Now I've reached page 74 and have a lot more information.

I just got the M3 on a small pond, now I can report back on my experiment.

I replaced the floor slats with pine boards from some pallets and it was great!

I can stand facing forward or sideways to cast around the boat. It's not walkable, but you can adjust your position without much fear of getting fully wet. I didn't weigh before and after, but I'd bet it's lighter than the extruded plastic.

It's somewhat difficult to row standing up, to adjust positions etc. but I totally see me fishing standing up with some clever anchoring.

The rest is pretty vanilla, I wanted to test it first prior to buying more stuff and embarking on further projects.

Some pictures follow.

 

[AbeSimpson]

Been awhile since posted.. looks like this thread is still chugging a long. Boating season almost done in N.America. wanted to share some videos of my M4 mods.

Here is my 2 motor setup. Have an electric motor up front and gas motor on the back.

https://youtu.be/QNtuFakrc2E

Going over my new mods

https://youtu.be/lfrdyqt0YeM

Comparison video between M4 and E5.

https://youtu.be/33Vn60z_BpI

Jiggyjay Not sure if you check in here any longer, but I have a few questions just in case you do.

I'm going to be getting a Mariner 4 next spring and am planning mods. I really like the idea of your frame and the way your seats and rod holders attach. Do you ever take yours apart and reinstall? If so how long does it take? About how long are the boards for the seats and the poles on the sides. I'd want to make sure they'd fit in my vehicle easily

I like the idea of the 2 motor setup. Have you found anywhere that sells the attachments for the motor mount that can be purchased without getting a whole other boat?

 

[AbeSimpson]

Well my Mariner 4 adventure is over before it even started. I found a good deal on a used Hydro-Force Sunsaille. It's a 12.5 ft Inflatable with aluminum floor and wooden transom. It was purchased new at Costco last year and was only used twice. I got it for about how much it would have cost me to purchase and modify a Mariner 4 and I don't have to do all the work of modifying. I'll still have to add some swivel seats on the benches if I choose, but there's no rush for that.

For anyone considering a Mariner 4 these Hydro-Force boats can be had at Costco for less than 2x the price of a Mariner 4 and will give you the peace of mind of Costco's return policy and will require no mods.

Now I have to wait a few months for fishing season.

 

[baseline]

Could somebody please point me in the right direction for how I can upgrade the mariner 4's oar locks to fit larger diameter oars?

I have this set
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00261JH78/...394800_TE_dp_1

but they are too thick to fit through the mariner 4's stock oar locks

thanks

 

[oldmansivo]

baseline,

This was my solution to the same problem. I used schedule 80 (outdoor) PVC and a screw in endcap that I drilled out a hole large enough for the oarlocks. Works like a charm. I do have one strap, that connects to an anchor on the inside to the "battery compartment" and I added another anchor to the other side from a salvaged tie down.. I've even used it on class II rivers and it holds up.