Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Numbers ate looking fantastic! For the sticker i actually used a clear boat patch to hold it on and it works great

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Getting close with the mods!
I have two folding boat seats from Cabelas ordered (almost half price right now). The three piece 5/8 floor is cut (two tries to get the tapers just right). Outdoor carpet is ready to cover it up. Still looking for a deal on pedestals for the seats (not sure what size pedestal to get. Any suggestions?). Living in Canada makes it a little tougher to find bargains (shipping is insanely expensive!). It's a good thing I live half hour from the USA border with free shipping to a warehouse. I'm heading out on the boat this weekend without the floor to test it out and relax. I'll post some pics when I get home.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

So I just got back from my first journey out on my Mariner 4. It was definitely a pleasant experience. My buddy with a pickup came with me so I had it all ready to go and we put it in the back of his truck and didn't have to worry about blowing it up there. Once we launched we were out for like 5 and a half hours fishing. I reeled in 4 bass and he didn't get any, not even a bite lol. But it was still fun for him and cool to be out there. I have the 30lb Minn Kota motor and that thing was pretty cool and worked nicely. I got the 30" one and now I kind of wish I got the 36" one just in case I build some chairs with a plywood floor.

I actually fished standing up for most of the time once I tried it and got used to how it feels. We were both standing for the most part when fishing. But having an actual plywood floor would be nice for sure. I may look into making a floor and have 2 hinges so I can fold it up, because my car has a tiny trunk. But for now I'm liking it a lot!

When I do this myself though it's going to be a hike moving all of my gear back/forth to my car heh.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Getting close with the mods!
I have two folding boat seats from Cabelas ordered (almost half price right now). The three piece 5/8 floor is cut (two tries to get the tapers just right). Outdoor carpet is ready to cover it up. Still looking for a deal on pedestals for the seats (not sure what size pedestal to get. Any suggestions?). Living in Canada makes it a little tougher to find bargains (shipping is insanely expensive!). It's a good thing I live half hour from the USA border with free shipping to a warehouse. I'm heading out on the boat this weekend without the floor to test it out and relax. I'll post some pics when I get home.

Would you mind posting the links to the seats you got?

Also do you have the plans for the 3-piece flooring you cut? I saw your post after I just made one, and I'm interested in a possibly 3-piece floor as well. How heavy are the 3 pieces together? Heavier than the floor that it comes with?

 

[Guest]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Would you mind posting the links to the seats you got?

Also do you have the plans for the 3-piece flooring you cut? I saw your post after I just made one, and I'm interested in a possibly 3-piece floor as well. How heavy are the 3 pieces together? Heavier than the floor that it comes with?

congrat! good luck of your journey. I ordered a 55lb kota for the bay hope it work also

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

These are the seats I ordered.

Cabela?s Molded Fold-Down Seat : Cabela's
I did a 3 piece floor 4' 4' 1'
I have hinges as well but not sure if I need them.
The back piece is tapered to fit and the centre piece is pretty much square, with a short 1' bow piece.

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

My floor is like Copperfox, but 5/8" sanded plywood. I will be painting and carpeting the floor next week.
I have a work table to go across the centre of the boat that I will carpet as well. It's made out of leftover plywood. I think it's 1' in width with molding around the edges to keep things from sliding off.
I'm still in the post as to how to fasten the pedestals to the floor.

 

[ChristianMariner]

SS Pool Toy vers. 1

SS Pool Toy vers. 1

2 part post:

1. I had to work on my motor, and I am hoping I have it rewired correctly. on my picture of my prop, looking at it as is, that would spin COUNTER CLOCKWISE when turned on to move me forward. Is this correct? Thanks!

2.Ok, as some of you, I am on a tight budget. That means that I cannot go and buy everything I want right away. I get to start out slow and upgrade as I go. Money and Time, man. So here is what I am calling version one of my boat:
2013 Mariner 4
Stock floor
Folding Camping chairs ( red to match )
Walmart 29DC Deep Cycle Marine Battery
Walmart Battery box
17# Minn Kota 35D Trolling motor ( painted red to match )
Ice chest used for dry storage as well as an inner soft chest for ice/soda/etc ( red to match )
Custom sound system ( see post haha )
I also have a very nice black and red umbrella that is about 5' opened to keep the sun off. It matches the boat also.
Small red box to hold anchor ( which is just rope and 2 x 5# weights from big 5 ) and air horn.

First, I knew I was doing this all very cheap, so I thought that I may as well color cordinate it so it looked like it all fit together. The chairs were on sale for $8, the ice chest was $18, the boombox was $3 ( goodwill ) and the tape adapter to plug in my mp3 player/cell phone/etc was $5 at walmart. The battery was $109 , and the motor was free from a friend. Now, the switch recently burned out for the motor, so I had to put a new switch in, and I bypassed the reverse as it literally wouldn't move my boat, it would just spin the prop, but I would sit still. The new switch was only a few dollars, and I painted the motor cover to match everything else.
Here she is boys, the SS Pool Toy!

,

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

...17# Minn Kota 35D Trolling motor ( painted red to match )...

I will make a video tour of the new boat for my youtube channel, and I will link it here, for those of you that are kind enough to watch my videos ( its really my second hobby, making videos ).


Verson 2 of the boat will be decided after I see what I like / dislike about verson 1.

One HUGE benifit of my current setup is that I can dock the boat, and put the chairs and cooler on the beach or wherever if I plan on hanging out there. I keep at least one inflatable bench with me in case I have to do any rowing, in case I dropped off a passenger who kept a chair on the beach. I dont fish, I just cruise around so for now this is very good on my tight budget.

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Numbers ate looking fantastic! For the sticker i actually used a clear boat patch to hold it on and it works great

Oh, then no doubt I will do the same, thanks.

 

[Guest]

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

View attachment 204163

I will make a video tour of the new boat for my youtube channel, and I will link it here, for those of you that are kind enough to watch my videos ( its really my second hobby, making videos ).


Verson 2 of the boat will be decided after I see what I like / dislike about verson 1.

One HUGE benifit of my current setup is that I can dock the boat, and put the chairs and cooler on the beach or wherever if I plan on hanging out there. I keep at least one inflatable bench with me in case I have to do any rowing, in case I dropped off a passenger who kept a chair on the beach. dont fish, I just cruise around so for now this is very good on my tight budget.

looks awesome!!!! have fun. I wish I had a fresh water lake by me I could goof around on. I'm forced to eat chop from the speed boats and cruiser boats blowing by. Oh and let me know how u made that stencil or what ever you guys used to write the reg on your boat. I was thinking of just printing huge letters with my printer and cut out the letters then sharpie that in (cheap way out)

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

... I was thinking of just printing huge letters with my printer and cut out the letters then sharpie that in (cheap way out)

I haven't done mine yet. I like your idea though!

 

[ssobol]

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

Re: SS Pool Toy vers. 1

I haven't done mine yet. I like your idea though!

I did my Zodiac with the permanent marker thing. Got some stencils from Walmart or someplace. Outlined the letters using the stencil and filled them in using the marker. You will need to periodically touch up the letters using the marker. How often depends on how much sun the boat gets during the year. Mine lasted two years before I started considering re-coloring them.

Make sure you make the registration letters the right size. Most states have minimum size requirements for the registration numbers.

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I did my Zodiac with the permanent marker thing. Got some stencils from Walmart or someplace. Outlined the letters using the stencil and filled them in using the marker. You will need to periodically touch up the letters using the marker. How often depends on how much sun the boat gets during the year. Mine lasted two years before I started considering re-coloring them.

Make sure you make the registration letters the right size. Most states have minimum size requirements for the registration numbers.

3 inches here in CA. 2 years sounds good. Walmart, pencil first, sweet! Thanks.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Any of you guys have fish finders on your Mariner 4? If so, where/how do you mount it?

Also I picked up an anchor, but I really am not sure how I would go about actually anchoring the rope to something on my boat if I were to use it. How do you all hook your anchors to your boat once you drop it?

 

[CopperFox]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

ChristianMariner and AStanton: Apparently my response about how to position the stock floor was 100% wrong. When I got my boat I automatically placed the stock floor smooth side up, figuring this just made sense. I never got that info from anywhere. Thinking about it now though, your way makes more sense because when the boat is in the water, the bottom of the boat is pressured to conform to whatever solid flooring is there. My way, the bottom of the boat would not be smooth and thus cause more drag, than your way. Good catch!

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

ChristianMariner and AStanton: Apparently my response about how to position the stock floor was 100% wrong. When I got my boat I automatically placed the stock floor smooth side up, figuring this just made sense. I never got that info from anywhere. Thinking about it now though, your way makes more sense because when the boat is in the water, the bottom of the boat is pressured to conform to whatever solid flooring is there. My way, the bottom of the boat would not be smooth and thus cause more drag, than your way. Good catch!

It was the product of wanting one so bad, I looked at a lot of pictures before I bought it!

 

[ChristianMariner]

Another good day

Another good day

Ok, so with the new chairs, and the cooler, and a passenger I was out for about 4 hours yesterday.

I am still rockin the 17# motor. I weigh 180 my passenger weighs 200 and we pushed along just fine.
My battery started to die a bit ( motor was going a little bit slower ) near the end of the day, I assume that is because of my passenger. I am good for 5+ hours by myself, but with a passenger I am good for about 4 hours it would seem. My battery is a 29dc marine everstart ( not the maxx ).
The only thing I would have changed is my floor situation. The camping chairs were wonderful, but they didn't play nice with the slatted floor. Gonna figure that out, fix it and film the walk thru. This boat is awesome, if you are reading this thread and on the fence, buy it!

 

[ChristianMariner]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Works flawlessly look at the dolly I bought from Home Depot

I am buying one tonight. I will give a report on how it works for me. I got a "date" for the lake this weekend, honestly I don't want to look like too much of a doofus with my home made dolly falling apart halfway down the ramp, lol!

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Couple more questions for some of you guys.

1. Someone said they had a "clear boat sticker patch" they used to put their sticker on the side of their boat for registration. I have been searching and searching for something like this, but have had no luck. Can someone point me to where they actually got this from?

2. Those of you who have made a hardwood floor for your boat out of plywood, could you mention how much it weighs and the type of plywood you used? I'm kind of thinking about using a 1/2" plywood and cutting into 4 sections with hinges, if I go this route.

I think I'm going to actually order a fish finder shortly too. I was looking at the Garmin Echo 100 and it looks like a solid fish finder for an inflatable and is cheap with good reviews.

Thanks!