Raising transom height on 12' Tinny. Worth it?

[Hurtin Albertan]

I recently bought myself a 12' aluminum boat to get out and do some fishing in my golden years. Sitting around in the mancave for almost 4 years since retirement isn't doing it for me and fishing lakes from the shore isn't as much fun as bobbing around in the water.

I'm in northern Alberta so it's mainly pike and walleye around here but there's a little trout lake 20 min down the road so wanted something small as I also needed a boat to get out on my dugout to take care of my water intake and aerator. The boat came with a 1981 - 9.9 Johnson, fuel tank, set of oars and two seats. I also picked up a lightly used 50lb Minn Kota Maxxum and a new deep cycle battery and smart charger. Basically everything you see here minus the seats. The boat slides right into my little quad trailer upright but I brought it home strapped in like it is here.



I've used boats like this since I was about 10 and spent a lot of time with dad in his 16' cedar clinker cabin cruiser with a 70hp Chrysler on it out in the salt chuck but don't know a lot about the technical issues like transom height in relation to motor size. After reading a bit I've found that my cavitation plate is 2" lower than the bottom of my boat and wondering about replacing the plywood with a taller piece to take up the slack.

This is what's in there now and I suspect it's also covering up the ID plate which is no where to be found. There is a serial# plate on the outside, upper right of the transom tho.

I propose to cut a piece of 3/4" plywood just 35" across and 11" deep with a 1- 3/4" raised section as wide as that aluminum flange in the centre to get the height I want. Hopefully that will expose the ID plate but I'm not sure that is a legal requirement or not. I need extra depth to match up to a similar piece of plywood on the outside of the transom so I can mount some wheels seen in the next pic.



Bad angle for the picture but the depth of the transom is 15" rather than the 14" seen. 17" from the top of the motor clamp to the base of the cavitation plate. Once the inside plywood is in place I plan to cut a strip of it to act as a spacer then put that flange back on to hold it together. The wheels will need a 3/4" spacer under the mounting plates to clear the lip around the whole boat so they can be locked in the upright position. Rather than cut 7x5" pieces of plywood to put under them I figured it would be stronger to have a piece of plywood across the back the same size as the inside one minus the raised part for the motor. Basically just replacing and expanding the plywood piece that's already there. The thickness will be the same so the flange should fit the same.



The boat is ready to go as is and I've had it out in my dugout with the electric motor and not a leak to be found! When I use the extension handle and sit in the middle seat my little Garmin GPS unit says I get 3.8mph. Sitting in the back I only get 3.2. Rowing with the motor up I can get 2.2mph but not for long until I get a lot more practise at it.



So do my plans to raise the transom seem worth the effort as far as performance goes with the 9.9? I'm not much of a troller and prefer to get to where I want to fish, anchor, then cast for my fish. If the modifications will get me to the fish faster then it seems worth it.

Any tips or warnings would be greatly appreciated in case I'm doing something dangerous here.

Tight lines everyone!

 

[racerone]

It should run fine the way it is now.

 

[Moserkr]

What about a manual jack plate? Easy to install, fine tune as you want. No customizing of the boat needed, removable too.

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

It should run fine the way it is now.

I figured it would but I'm going to be adding the plywood anyway to have a better base for mounting those wheels so it's no extra work to raise the transom while I'm at it.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything mechanically unsound.

Thanks

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

What about a manual jack plate? Easy to install, fine tune as you want. No customizing of the boat needed, removable too.

I thought about that but but on a small boat like that it seems a bit much. All it will cost me to replace the plywood is time and I have a lot more of that than money. Most of the time it's just going to be me out in the boat so those wheels will make it easy to get that sucker in the water on my own. With my back it's a chore picking that motor up and getting it mounted.

Those little wheels already on the boat will be coming off.

 

[jimmbo]

Where in Northern Alberta?

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

Where in Northern Alberta?

Up near Peace River. Smoggy out there again today but got a good dump of rain.

 

[jimmbo]

That'll hatch the Skeeters and Horseflies the size of Sparrows

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

That'll hatch the Skeeters and Horseflies the size of Sparrows

It's been so dry this year those blood suckers are in short supply. No runoff flooded my yard so it dried out as soon as the snow was gone and that has helped keep the numbers down. I've had the door to the carport open for a couple hours now and haven't had to swat a single mosquito yet. Got the temp down to 80f in the mancave now so should shut it before bed.

 

[jimmbo]

It's been so dry this year those blood suckers are in short supply. No runoff flooded my yard so it dried out as soon as the snow was gone and that has helped keep the numbers down. I've had the door to the carport open for a couple hours now and haven't had to swat a single mosquito yet. Got the temp down to 80f in the mancave now so should shut it before bed.

My Mental Midget Brother, likes to open all the damn windows to let all the 100% humid air in at Night, then Closes them during the Day, and now he wonders why he has Mold on the walls.

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

My Mental Midget Brother, likes to open all the damn windows to let all the 100% humid air in at Night, then Closes them during the Day, and now he wonders why he has Mold on the walls.

We do the same thing here but it's dry as a popcorn fart so no mold problems here. We have 6" walls so once it's cooled down it it stays not bad on hot days if the windows are closed before it heats up outside.

Tempted to get a portable A/C unit or even a mini-split I could install myself.

A lot more hot days now than we used to get. Those heat domes in '21 were something else.

 

[jimmbo]

The past 6 yrs the Humidity in Edmonton is between 95 and 100% every Night from late April till early Nov. All the new Storm Ponds are part of the Problem, as they create vast amounts of Evaporation, during the Hot Days, then when the Temp drops around Sunset the Dew Point hits and 100% Humidity.
I run the AC as soon as the Snow is melting, and try to keep the Humidity below 35% in the House Year Round. Nice thing about Central Air is that by over cooling the Air, the Moisture is removed, then running through the Furnace(some people wonder why my furnace is running even during the Summer), to warm it back up, it is really much drier. It gets a bit Pricey, but an extra 5 or 6 bucks a day is cheap for a Comfortable Sleep when the temps are 25+ at night and 100% Humidity outside

 

[jimmbo]

Tempted to get a portable A/C unit or even a mini-split I could install myself.

If you get a Portable AC, make sure to get one of the 2 Hose units, that way it is using Outside Air to cool the Condenser, then returning it outside. The single hose units are using Inside Air to cool the Condenser, then sending it outside, and it has to be replaced by Hot Humid Outside Air.

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

The past 6 yrs the Humidity in Edmonton is between 95 and 100% every Night from late April till early Nov. All the new Storm Ponds are part of the Problem, as they create vast amounts of Evaporation, during the Hot Days, then when the Temp drops around Sunset the Dew Point hits and 100% Humidity.
I run the AC as soon as the Snow is melting, and try to keep the Humidity below 35% in the House Year Round. Nice thing about Central Air is that by over cooling the Air, the Moisture is removed, then running through the Furnace(some people wonder why my furnace is running even during the Summer), to warm it back up, it is really much drier. It gets a bit Pricey, but an extra 5 or 6 bucks a day is cheap for a Comfortable Sleep when the temps are 30+ at night and 100% Humidity outside

I'm sitting at 38% rh and 80F right now. Our power bills are a lot higher than in Edmonton so I wouldn't want to be running all that stuff. Sitting at 33¢/kwh now and supposed to be going up more. Thanks King Ralph!

It never gets over 64F down in the basement which is really just a tall crawl space where the water comes in from the dugout so can always go down there for a bit to cool off. Wife used to hang my dad's old navy hammock up down there and lay in there reading for ages.

 

[jimmbo]

Genghis Klein really Effed things up in this Province. 20 yrs ago I met Ray Cardinal, a Minister in the Klein Government at my Cousin Cottage. I certainly had Words with him about how they messed up the Electrical System. He admitted they hadn't thought that the City owned Edmonton Power would become one of the major players. They had Dreams/Delusions that the Privately owned Power Companies would be the Victors, and that the Power Rates would have become even higher. You are certainly paying more than Me, and I think 12cents/kwh is too high but Ditsy Dani really forced my hand a few weeks ago when she revealed that her minor Price Cap was really just a Deferral, and those not signed to a Plan, would end up paying the Deferred Difference back. The thing is the Fewer people not on a Plan, the More each will have to pay. so if only 1 person is still on the Regulated price, he/she will by themselves be responsible for the many Millions deferred. I certainly didn't support Ditsy 2 weeks ago.

 

[Hurtin Albertan]

May 29 didn't work out the way I had hoped either.

I was driving cab in Calgary back in the late 70s and had Klein in my cab 3 times. Once as a reporter, once as mayor and once as premier. Drunk off his ass each time. I went back to BC in '82 then moved up here in '01. I'd move but couldn't afford BC anymore as I won't get enough from the sale of this place to buy a shack in BC.

Would like to end my days in Campbell River. Got a cousin over there as nuts for fishing as I am.

 

[jimmbo]

I wonder if the Province will survive another wacko Right Winger? I doubt ditsy will be around much longer. A *ell bent Separatist is in control of the Unstable Clown Posse, and will force Smith out, and place himself as another Unelected Leader

I remember the Drunk staggered into a Homeless Shelter, and made an A** of himself.
I have that Photo of him Flipping the Bird at the TV Cameras