Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

[mznewman]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I saw this when I was buying my seat:

Minn Kota 18" Extension Handle, MKA-18: Fishing & Marine : Walmart.com

When using the M4 with pedestal seats installed, I didn't feel the need for an extension (in the seated position). However, I did spend about 30min standing in front of the rear seat and an extra 8" would have been nice. Seated, I actually retracted the stock telescoping handle to its minimum length and angled it downward because it was too long. So seat configuration may alter your needs.

I noticed some forum contributors mounted their battery near the bow to distribute weight more evenly. I plan to explore that idea further using 8g jumper cables next time I go out. My battery is the heaviest single piece of equipment, the motor being second, so it does seem to make sense.

@dancor --- My riptide 50 has 1-5 forward speeds. 1-4 seams to be more for trolling. When you transition from 4 to 5, the motor increases significantly. Its too early for me to judge the battery draw, but I will take note when I am out next. I also need to learn more about the trim/shaft angle. The motor mount does flex into the boat when I kick it into speed 5. this changes the angle of the shaft. Just an observation. I wonder what the sweet spot is for this.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

What are you guys using for extension cables for the battery to the motor, those of you that are running it from the front to the rear of the boat?

 

[mznewman]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

What are you guys using for extension cables for the battery to the motor, those of you that are running it from the front to the rear of the boat?

I will be using standard jumper cables. 8g wire for that distance should not introduce a significant voltage drop. The wire that comes with my motor looks like its only 14g anyway, so I will probably cut more of that away as well to reduce resistance even more. Crimp or solder connectors to splice the ends. The key is to reduce resistance as much as possible but there is the law of diminishing returns. At some point the loss becomes immeasurable in the application. I think if you keep your loss to 1/2 volt you are doing really well. Even 1 volt is probably ok.

Use this site to calculate your voltage drop:
Voltage Drop Calculator

Cables from Home Depot:
Pennzoil 12 ft. 8-Gauge Booster Cables-14830 at The Home Depot

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

What are you guys using for extension cables for the battery to the motor, those of you that are running it from the front to the rear of the boat?

I used outdoor cable from Home Depot. I spliced new connectors to the battery end and connected to the motor end with butt connectors. The new wire is the same gauge as the motors

 

[smashed]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I tried some buster cables from Wallmart, 10 bucks ones, but cant remember 10 or 12 gauge. They can't be 8 gauge as the wire got warm with my 55 lb riptide. I guess I was loosing quite some power this way.

Yesterday I bought nice cables from Harbor Freight, 8 gauge, 12 feet, same price (actually 9.99 with a coupon). The clamps seem better than the ones from Pennzoil as the metal on clamps is not exposed (irrelevant if you cut the clamps and just use the wire). I plan to cut the clamps and install ring terminals. I am still wondering how to connect the cables to the motor ones so I don't have to worry about shorting them.

Comfy68, I am afraid you got too thin cables. Check if they get warm or hot during use. Outdoor cable doesn't tell much, it could be 12, 14 or 16 AWG. All are thin for this application in my opinion. I may be wrong though.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Ah okay so you guys are just getting normal cables and splicing them to the current one then putting your own terminals on the end or so. I may go ahead and do this eventually. I went out myself for the first time in the boat this past weekend and the back definitely had a lot of weight in it. The front was tipping up a tad for sure. It would be nice to put the battery in the front in this instance.

I do have to figure out what I will be doing with the fish finder terminals though if i do this though, as right now they have some rings like the Minn Kota does, and I just tighten them onto the battery with the motor cables.

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I tried some buster cables from Wallmart, 10 bucks ones, but cant remember 10 or 12 gauge. They can't be 8 gauge as the wire got warm with my 55 lb riptide. I guess I was loosing quite some power this way.

Yesterday I bought nice cables from Harbor Freight, 8 gauge, 12 feet, same price (actually 9.99 with a coupon). The clamps seem better than the ones from Pennzoil as the metal on clamps is not exposed (irrelevant if you cut the clamps and just use the wire). I plan to cut the clamps and install ring terminals. I am still wondering how to connect the cables to the motor ones so I don't have to worry about shorting them.

Comfy68, I am afraid you got too thin cables. Check if they get warm or hot during use. Outdoor cable doesn't tell much, it could be 12, 14 or 16 AWG. All are thin for this application in my opinion. I may be wrong though.

I have used the motor all day and didn't notice any heat. The wire is 10 AWG landscaping wire used for outdoor lighting.
Now I'm wondering if I used 8 AWG wiring, would it draw less power from the battery?

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I'm only running a Minn Kota C2 30

 

[smashed]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I'm only running a Minn Kota C2 30

Comfy68, with 10 AWG and this motor, which I guess draws about twice as less power than my 55 lb you should be good. If you had terminals and good area contact at the connections, I doubt that 8 AWG would make any noticeable difference. I observed no (or very little) difference when I used the jumpers. The GPS was still showing 4 mph (no decimals available on GPS) with my Mariner 4. The battery seemed to drain at a comparable rate. So, in your case as you don't observe heating, I doubt that with 8 AWG you would notice any improvement.

As a side note I would add that I didn't put terminals on my jumpers, but used the clamps directly on the battery terminals and on the other end - I clamped the motor terminals. With a little adjustment, the fish finder contacts can also be clamped. Now I want to do it properly though, with an 8 AWG and terminals.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

[mznewman]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Comfy68, I too agree with Cadet. Your Minn Kota 30 is drawing much less current than the 55. If we estimated your Minn Kota to draw 40A, over the 12' of copper strand, you're looking at a 5% drop using 8g, or 7.5% drop using 10g (both under 1volt). I think it would be difficult to detect 2.5% (0.3volts) on water. Cadet is also correct in placing a focus on the way you join/terminate your cables. Bad contacts have the potential to cost you greater loss in power than your 12' run of 10g copper strand cables.

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Thanks for the input everyone. Perhaps I should use a volt meter to test it.

 

[Rakumi]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey all. I am new around. What is the minimum plywood thickness you would use for your floor? I see this thread is very active so i figured to ask here.

 

[astanton81]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I was setting my boat up this morning and after I inflated chamber 1, I went to inflate chamber 2 and my pump wasn't working. There was a guy who was launching his boat from a trailer and I asked him if I could try my pump out in his cigarette lighter. The pump didn't work there either

Sucked that I couldn't go out but I ended up fishing from the shore for a few hours.

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Hey all. I am new around. What is the minimum plywood thickness you would use for your floor? I see this thread is very active so i figured to ask here.

I wouldn't go aless than 15/32 and if you plan on removing the original floor and standing a lot maybe more

 

[mrdrh99]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I was setting my boat up this morning and after I inflated chamber 1, I went to inflate chamber 2 and my pump wasn't working. There was a guy who was launching his boat from a trailer and I asked him if I could try my pump out in his cigarette lighter. The pump didn't work there either

Sucked that I couldn't go out but I ended up fishing from the shore for a few hours.

Dude, always keep your manual pump with you!

 

[mznewman]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

@Rakumi - I went with a replacement (not overlay) 5/8" ply with a two 4' section configuration. It is totally solid. There was no detectible flexing of the floor other than where the two sections meet in the center (and it was hardly noticeable unless you were looking for it). I think 1/2" ply would have been fine, but I can not say this authoritatively because I never tried it. I can say 3/4" was not needed, unless you weigh well over 200lb, and plan to put all that point-load in one tiny area of the boat.

@astanton81 - I just got my cheapo Intex DC Electric air pump, but have not tried it yet. I plugged it in just to smoke test it, and I have to admit it does not move much air. I hope this thing does the job. I've been using the manual pump and I don't really mind it, but it is nice to have redundancy. The manual pump and even this cheapo Intex pump does not take up much space in the boat.

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

I agree with mznewman. I use a 3 piece 5/8 floor and it's rock solid on its own.
I have been using a Coleman marine pump for initial inflation and the Intex hand pump to top up.
No problems with my Minn Kota power centre for a power source on and off the water.

 

[comfy68]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Coleman Marine Pump | Canadian Tire

 

[mznewman]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Took M4 on the Delaware River today for the first time. My Riptide 50 was just fine near the bank and on the calmer sections of the river, but stood still trying to move through the wing-dam channel, and some flat rapids. I have come to the conclusion that the M4 with any 12volt electric motor is perfect for lake, ponds, reservoirs, and calm bays, but fast running water is the wrong application. The raft is perfectly fine. Its the electric motor that does not have the power. The floors were excellent, way better than the factory included slatted floor insert. I placed the battery at the front of the boat this time. And have to admit I did not feel a significant gain. I weigh about 155lb, so that could be the reason. Shifting the weight of the battery (65lb?) to the front might not have been a huge win. If I were over 200lb, or alone in the boat then I think it would help. I used my new Intex electric pump. It does inflate the chambers slightly faster than I could do it using the manual pump, but I had to top them off by hand afterwards. The pump did not have the power to put that last bit of pressure needed. I still like it though. It allows me to work on some other task while the chambers get 90% inflated.

Oh... We didn't catch anything either :-(

 

[Guest]

Re: Intex Mariner 4 modifications and Tips

Took M4 on the Delaware River today for the first time. My Riptide 50 was just fine near the bank and on the calmer sections of the river, but stood still trying to move through the wing-dam channel, and some flat rapids. I have come to the conclusion that the M4 with any 12volt electric motor is perfect for lake, ponds, reservoirs, and calm bays, but fast running water is the wrong application. The raft is perfectly fine. Its the electric motor that does not have the power. The floors were excellent, way better than the factory included slatted floor insert. I placed the battery at the front of the boat this time. And have to admit I did not feel a significant gain. I weigh about 155lb, so that could be the reason. Shifting the weight of the battery (65lb?) to the front might not have been a huge win. If I were over 200lb, or alone in the boat then I think it would help. I used my new Intex electric pump. It does inflate the chambers slightly faster than I could do it using the manual pump, but I had to top them off by hand afterwards. The pump did not have the power to put that last bit of pressure needed. I still like it though. It allows me to work on some other task while the chambers get 90% inflated.

Oh... We didn't catch anything either :-(


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I posted a bunch of times on here saying that the Kota won't do much on water with either a tide, chop or wind. For a lake you would not need anything more then that Kota. I went out with sinistre today. Used my zodiac and used his 15hp Johnson. The tide and chop was rough so we only stayed out about 2 hours. I managed to dunk my iPhone in salt water also. So bad day for us also we did not catch anything but did come back in soaking wet from the Jamaica bay. Sorry no pictures.