Mariner 4 - The start of a new hobby!

[ant7797]

Fantastic day everyone! I'm Anthony, new to the world of boating, but I've been intrigued with the sport for decades. As an 8-year old kid, I was instantly addicted to fishing after my Dad took me on trip to a local Ga lake, although there was no boat involved. Only fishing from the bank. All he had to do is hint that we would be going on a Saturday morning adventure; this would kick off my Friday night prep. I would gather all the rods, reels, tackle box, etc. and spread it all across the basement floor. I tested each reel, rewound each spool, counted each hook, bobber, and weight. Then I would get in bed dressed in my fishing clothes, with my shoes on!! Would rise at 5am and stand beside my Dad's bed insisting that he get up so we could be at the lake before the sun came up (I had the idea that fish were extra hungry just when the sun came up, because they couldn't see anything in the water at night). We would stop by the bait shop and pick up red wigglers and crickets, and sometimes even night crawlers. Then I'd get on the bank and catch lots of sunfish; bluegill and crappie, never larger than hand-sized. When we didn't go fishing, I would watch Bill Dance and Roland Martin on TBS, amazed by the fish they caught from their cool boats with fake lure. (That's what planted the boat goal; I figured that people with boats caught bigger fish than I was catching from the bank).

As a kid, fishing was a big deal to me, but as an adult, I haven't really gotten out except for taking my grandkid to the lake in my subdivision a few times, and of course we always fish from the bank.

Few months ago, I stumbled across a youtube vid of a guy in an inflatable boat and my interest peaked again! I didn't want to deal with a large boat and trailer, so I began researching RIBs and SIBs. The most economical and mod-friendly boats I found were the Seahawk, Mariner, and Fish Hunter. I decided to go with the Mariner 4 because of the abundance of ideas I'd seen online.

I can now cross this one off my list............to have a boat. Some say it's not a "real" boat, but it's a good starting point for me. Plus I enjoy design and engineering, so this will be extra fun. I've been modifying the vessel over the past month. (Lol....saying vessel sounds like it's a massive yacht.....this is more like a blow-up pool raft........but a yacht to me!!!!).

The other thing I've never ever done is catch a fish with a fake lure, nor a fish larger than hand-sized. Also never caught a bass. I tried a few times as a kid, and then as an adult, but never ever got a bite with those things. My tried and true are live worms or crickets. I've seen toooo many youtube vids of guys using fake lure, pulling in all kinds of massive fish, so I know it can be done. This winter I'll be studying senco, crank baits, swim bait, lizards, frogs, jigs, etc. I will figure it out!!

Glad I found this forum. I'll post my progress.

 

[ant7797]

We had ok weather this weekend, so I got the boat on the water for its first run. Will get the video up soon.....

 

[Sea Rider]

Watch out for large fish spines when retrieving them from the water specially when jumping around, those type of watercraft are made with thin unsupported shower curtain pvc fabrics. Better place some type of thick fabric on top along side tubes to avoid fish punctures and ruin your nice fishing day...

Happy Boating​

 

[ant7797]

Watch out for large fish spines when retrieving them from the water specially when jumping around, those type of watercraft are made with thin unsupported shower curtain pvc fabrics. Better place some type of thick fabric on top along side tubes to avoid fish punctures and ruin your nice fishing day...

Happy Boating​

Thanks Sea Rider. I haven't pulled in a fish yet, but when I do, will be sure to be careful of anything sharp; fins, hooks, rocks, tools, etc.. I've watched lots of vids online of other guys that have these types of PVC boats with good success.....they seem to do ok as long as you're careful. Once I get the hang of this one, I plan to upgrade in a few years to a rigid styled boat.

 

[matt167]

I have a seahawk 3, bought just to get on the water late in the season.. Kind of leary of going out in a 20'-40' deep lake near my house, but I had a lightweight outboard and good PFD's onboard, I was comfortable... I have drug bottom twice launching and retrieving and it has no issue. It's a pool toy but really, it will serve it's purpose. They are more durable than many give them credit although you do need to be careful.. I'm a hard boat type of guy but they work

 

[ant7797]

I have a seahawk 3, bought just to get on the water late in the season.. Kind of leary of going out in a 20'-40' deep lake near my house, but I had a lightweight outboard and good PFD's onboard, I was comfortable... I have drug bottom twice launching and retrieving and it has no issue. It's a pool toy but really, it will serve it's purpose. They are more durable than many give them credit although you do need to be careful.. I'm a hard boat type of guy but they work

Matt,
I have a 55lb trolling motor. It does just what I need it to. The local lakes I plan to visit are not super huge, so getting around won't be an issue. It was an adventure my first trip out; setting the boat up was not too bad, but launching was new to me. I practiced the whole routine at home and still had some miscues. I launched from a sandy area; avoided using the actual boat ramp because I didn't know what I was doing and didn't want to hold anyone else up..... I wanted extra time to slowly go through the launch progression.

 

[Sea Rider]

Used to own moons back a french Sevylor K 86 inflatable, had a pressure gauge built on side tube where stated the max air pressure allowed. Does the Mainer have a pressure indicator of some sort so to not over inflate and risk Kaboooon....

Happy Boating​

 

[ant7797]

Used to own moons back a french Sevylor K 86 inflatable, had a pressure gauge built on side tube where stated the max air pressure allowed. Does the Mainer have a pressure indicator of some sort so to not over inflate and risk Kaboooon....

Happy Boating​

No pressure gauges on this one. I inflate the Mariner using an electric air pump, "The Shark II". It has a built-in gauge. I tell it to inflate to 1.00 PSI and it does the rest. Not sure about pressure changes while on the lake though.

 

[Sea Rider]

No pressure gauges on this one. I inflate the Mariner using an electric air pump, "The Shark II". It has a built-in gauge. I tell it to inflate to 1.00 PSI and it does the rest. Not sure about pressure changes while on the lake though.

As long the boat keeps floating on water at said working temp not an issue, probably will experience a bit more pressure on very sunny hot days, only a pressure gauge will tell. The Mariner it's of a much better design, has a rub strake all arounf the boat compared to other models in which the outter seams are spliced and welded. Usually bursts under or over the seams if too much pressure exceeds the manufacturer's recomended working pressure.

Happy Boating​

 

[matt167]

Yes, the Intex boats have an inflation gauge of sorts. It's a printed line that grows to a specific length on the boat. They give you a little peice of plastic that is cut to the measurement.. I never used it. You can tell when it's right

 

[ant7797]

Yes, the Intex boats have an inflation gauge of sorts. It's a printed line that grows to a specific length on the boat. They give you a little peice of plastic that is cut to the measurement.. I never used it. You can tell when it's right

Ahhhh..yes....the printed line........another thing I forgot about. But I figure the digital gauge on the Shark inflator gets me close.

 

[ant7797]

Here's the boat when I was setting up the custom woodwork. Also testing placement of the seats and battery. Didn't know if I would be putting it towards the rear, or in the middle.

Intex Mariner 4 - Getting custom wood parts set up

 

[ant7797]

Built a dolly to move the boat from the parking lot, to the water, and back.

Intex Mariner 4 - Building a PVC Boat Dolly

 

[ant7797]

My first day testing the water.

Mariner 4 - Sweetwater Creek, Lithia Springs, Ga - 1st Outing - 11-28-2020

 

[Sea Rider]

My first day testing the water.

Mariner 4 - Sweetwater Creek, Lithia Springs, Ga - 1st Outing - 11-28-2020

Congrats nice video with added cool smooth low level music. Some issues :

Cut both large plastic side tubes seen to be even with side upper tube, don't need them to be that long.

Is it possible to install all the accesories, drop fishing gear inside the inflated boat prior taking it to the ramp and when returning to the parking lot. Probably will need a thougher trailer to handle all that extra load.

When the trailer enters the water, need to push it further away till the boat floats, with attached yellow rope tied to you, pull the trailer to terra firme and that's it. Need a boating buddy to lend you a hand, too much work for a single boater...

Did the motor mount flexed when adding full power ?

Happy Boating​

 

[ant7797]

Congrats nice video with added cool smooth low level music. Some issues :

Cut both large plastic side tubes seen to be even with side upper tube, don't need them to be that long.

Is it possible to install all the accesories, drop fishing gear inside the inflated boat prior taking it to the ramp and when returning to the parking lot. Probably will need a thougher trailer to handle all that extra load.

When the trailer enters the water, need to push it further away till the boat floats, with attached yellow rope tied to you, pull the trailer to terra firme and that's it. Need a boating buddy to lend you a hand, too much work for a single boater...

Did the motor mount flexed when adding full power ?

Happy Boating​

I did lots of things wrong on this initial launch. My initial thinking was to load everything into the boat, then load the boat onto dolly. But something I noticed at home while test-loading in my basement; the middle area of the boat underneath, where wood flooring intersects, kind of flexes downward and presses on the hull. Now that I think about it, I probably had too much stacked in the middle of the boat. Should have loaded most of it in the rear, where the hull sits on the dolly. May give this a try next time. But I think I'd rather leave the boat as empty as possible, then load everything into it while on waters edge. I think the water allows the floor to take on the load evenly.

Trailer is extra tough; I used 1-1/2" Sch 40 PVC.

Regarding the launch, I avoided the boat ramp, but now that I think about it, I should have used the ramp. I pushed the boat to a sandy area about 20 yards to the left of the ramp. I wasn't sure how launching would go, so I wanted plenty of space to take my time and not hold up anyone else, as I'm learning as I go. The problem with the sandy area: the sand was sooo wet and thick that dolly wheels kept getting stuck as I pushed it out. Will utilize the ramp next time because I'm guessing concrete goes far enough into the water to allow good wheel contact until boat is launched.

My plan next time is to load the semi-empty boat onto the dolly, then launch into water. Then place all the accessories into my folding pull cart, pull them to waters edge, then place into the boat. All of this seems like a lot of extra work, but I enjoy critical thinking and problem solving. When I get a boat with solid bottom, this won't be a concern.

The mount did flex downwards and towards the boat when I went full power.

 

[Sea Rider]

Assume the boat has a 2 piece floor on top of the inflatable floor ? If so, how about making a one piece floor, that way shouldn't flex middle hull when sitting on the dolly fully loaded. Boating it's a learning curve, in some more outings will surely be a champ in the launching and retrieving process. LOL!!

The motor mount flexing is quite normal on thin unsupported pvc fabrics along soft PSI tube inflation, there's not much to do about it. Just throttle enough for he motor mount to flex the least while the motor runs fully vertical to achieve top prop thrust.

Happy Boating​

 

[ant7797]

Assume the boat has a 2 piece floor on top of the inflatable floor ? If so, how about making a one piece floor, that way shouldn't flex middle hull when sitting on the dolly fully loaded. Boating it's a learning curve, in some more outings will surely be a champ in the launching and retrieving process. LOL!!

The motor mount flexing is quite normal on thin unsupported pvc fabrics along soft PSI tube inflation, there's not much to do about it. Just throttle enough for he motor mount to flex the least while the motor runs fully vertical to achieve top prop thrust.

Happy Boating​

2-piece floor is a must for me, so I can easily transport in my vehicles. I've seen other Mariner and Excursion owners add a wooden or plastic brace onto the rear of the vessel between the motor mount. Allows the mount to press into the wood, then wood into brace, the brace into boat. Will make one of these.

 

[ant7797]

Another thing I forgot to do on my first outing.......to apply my registration to the boat. I submitted the online request in mid October. DNR provided the temp #; still waiting on the real # to arrive.

 

[Sea Rider]

How are both wooden floors being secured once joined in middle of the Mariner ?

Happy Boating​