|
|
Posts: 157
| I just bought my first boat, and am looking for ways to customize it. What are some things you have done to make it "yours?'
Thanks |
|
| |
|
Posts: 34
| What kind of boat? How is it equipped?
A first is to make sure you have ample interior lights- preferably LEDs on a single switch.
Rod holders.
And additional space for casting platforms are helpful.
Electronics.
These are all basics but best places to start. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 131
| The first scratch or ding you put in it is a nice touch along with the blood stain on the carpet , lastly a good stereo for the slow days. Good luck with the new boat. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i sold a boat to a guy named jeff breidenbach (esoxfly) ... what you describe is something that jeff did in spades. find him and take a look at the pictures of what he did to make a boat "his". i think it's a great example of what you describe. it was a nice boat when i owned it, but what he's made it into is very cool and very, very jeff. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 574
Location: Germantown, WI | I put some graphics on the side to make it stand out. can't tell you how many people stop and stare or tell me how nice it looks.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 40
| I have a 1650 fish hawk and added another 3 feet to the front casting platform. I pulled a seat out and made a platform that folds in half so it works as a small bench when traveling. It is sure nice to have that extra space. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | What do you all use for interior lights, I was thinking of rope lights and how about search lights for the bow I was thinking of going with A Gobee |
|
| |
|
Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | Let a bowfin drop a deuce on the front deck... |
|
| |
|
Location: Des Moines IA | Check out Bluwater LED light kits. That's the next step for my Tuffy. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | jonnysled - 3/6/2012 10:15 AM
i sold a boat to a guy named jeff breidenbach (esoxfly) ... what you describe is something that jeff did in spades. find him and take a look at the pictures of what he did to make a boat "his". i think it's a great example of what you describe. it was a nice boat when i owned it, but what he's made it into is very cool and very, very jeff.
Thanks Jon.
Alot of my mods have been relative to fly fishing; making a stripping basket, cleaning up clutter, making special harnesses for drift socks to control angle of drift and such...prob not much interest to most guys here.
But for general upgrades, and admittedly most of these are just modifications for safety in big water-
Bluewaters on decks, outboard intake and in all storage compartments, rewired entire boat to buss bars and individual circuits for ease in troubleshooting (should the need arise) and maintenance, dual Power Poles, second manual bilge on aligator clips (not a switch), in-dash flush mount compass, additional rod holders on RAM mounts because I don't like running with vertical rods on the console holders, mounted and hand held VHF radios, alot of non-skid, anti-chafe patches for rod tips in factory rod holders to keep from scratching the side of the boat, quick release leash for dog, Just Encase boxes front and rear, camera mount, both HDS on larger RAM mounts for to allow for viewing anywhere in the boat, retro tape on several places on the boat for vis at night from 360*, and a few others.
Also, alot of what I've done is for safety, visibility and recoverability from the air and the water. I've got three fire extinguishers, two strobes, GPS wired to VHF, and just a bunch of other stupid things that make my time on the water easier, but either aren't worth mentioning or are common practice.
Oh, and a new 225 four stroke and removed the petrified can of Beer Nuts from under the center console to make room for larger batteries....
Edited by esoxfly 3/6/2012 9:53 PM
(!cid_AB3C4085-7140-44C1-B354-989421AC5697.jpg)
(box under the lights.jpg)
Attachments
----------------
 !cid_AB3C4085-7140-44C1-B354-989421AC5697.jpg (133KB - 105 downloads)
box under the lights.jpg (146KB - 113 downloads)
buss bars.jpg (182KB - 126 downloads)
P1010002.JPG (125KB - 98 downloads)
P5280209.JPG (134KB - 114 downloads)
P8020004.JPG (123KB - 107 downloads)
retro lit.jpg (115KB - 102 downloads)
P5120461.JPG (143KB - 123 downloads)
esoxfly cowl.jpg (156KB - 111 downloads)
yamaha cowl.jpg (178KB - 99 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 25
| Wow!! Nice job.
Are all of those Pos. wiring terminal strips and battery terminals supposed to be covered by a non-conductive shield or isn't that a requirement? I've heard some guys so yes and some say it's not really needed. Is there a law that requires it and would you get fined if they are not protected? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 134
Location: Central Wi | Sweet job man!!!! Thats a kick butt set up! Another great job on the wiring... thats always the stuff that gets over looked and can cause problems later...
Great job!
Edited by mattgski 3/7/2012 7:08 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 383
| Agreed! That is one sweet set-up. Thanks, Jeff, for a ton of ideas! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | last year i invested the time and money to gut my 690 and rewire everything using the same concept shown above. smartest thing i've ever done. clean/organized/logical/isolated/protected power delivery in a boat is a novel concept. it's a wonder the factory doesn't get that part right. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | I just completed putting in a bluewater LED system, it is the best upgrade you can do.
Attachments
----------------
frontdeck1.jpg (68KB - 110 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | what's been your experience on the power-needs/use of the bluewater LED's?
edit:
just went and ordered from the website: and found the specs on power-use:
"Super low amperage draw between .026 and .041 amps per strip depending on size. Average strip is around .47 watts. 12V DC"
Edited by jonnysled 3/8/2012 8:42 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | The power requirements are pretty low as they are LED, I have a Cabelas AGM in the back so I am not too worried about it. I did the same thing as above with the bus bar
My HDS-7 has 0.8A at 13VDC....so I am below that.
Edited by Muskiemetal 3/8/2012 8:46 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 280
Location: McFarland | Those are sweet lights...I just ordered some. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | jonnysled - 3/8/2012 9:26 AM
what's been your experience on the power-needs/use of the bluewater LED's?
edit:
just went and ordered from the website: and found the specs on power-use:
"Super low amperage draw between .026 and .041 amps per strip depending on size. Average strip is around .47 watts. 12V DC"
They'll run on anything. As I'm rigging them and checking for brightness and where the light will fall, not get in my eyes, etc, I ops check them on a 9v battery before I wire them to the switch. I just powered them off my trolling motor batts because they draw so little, so as to be negligible and the run was shorter. I run my LED's in my outboard intake off one of the rear batteries.
Sorry they're grainy...iPhone pics....
Attachments
----------------
intake leds.jpg (131KB - 103 downloads)
lit up.jpg (70KB - 105 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | muskiemetal I love the blue color but does it realy give enough light and which package did you buy |
|
| |
|
Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | The pics don't do it justice (iphone sucks in the dark), but it does light up the deck very well. I have two lights up in the front. As you can see I also put one white light on the lower floor so I can have white light down there when needed, but I didn't want to throw off the night vision. The blue lights didn't say, but I think they are black lights which works out because they glow up line and such. I purchased the standard boat package, I was going back and forth about which color - Amber was also on my list since I had two amber lights already. Red looks great too. The white LED's are very bright so I might stay away from those for deck lighting. All in all, very happy with the product....now for some on the water tests hopefully next week. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 676
Location: Wisconsin | Rod locker and livewells were upgraded to white.
Attachments
----------------
rodlocker1.jpg (69KB - 105 downloads)
livewell1.jpg (71KB - 119 downloads)
frontdeck3.jpg (44KB - 106 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | based on my black-ops and mw3 experience i went with red on deck and white in compartments ... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1462
Location: Davenport, IA | I have had way too much fun customizing my boats. I think I will have to do the LED's this year. The camera mount would be great too. Some great things I've done in order of importance:
1. Trolling motor pedal recess: If you have cable steering this is a must. You will feel so much better after a day of fishing. Before I would have pain in my legs or back if I used a buttseat. Now I never use a buttseat and have no leg pain because weight is evenly distributed to my legs.
2. Deck extension: My boat came with no storage other than 2 small compartments on the rear deck and one in front. I can store a few 3730's in my extension or almost all my bass boxes.
3. Trolling motor setup. My boat came with 8 gauge wiring and a 40 amp breaker. I have 2 gauge and a 60 amp breaker now. I use automotive terminals on the batteries to assure I never have to tighten a nut.
3. LED tail lights. No more replacing bulbs and they are very bright for safety reasons.
4. Livewell upgrades. I mostly use my livewells for suckers/minnows but my boat came with no recirculating pumps. Also the original hose was breaking down and had something in it. The water was turning back and fish were dying within minutes. I used clear tubing for replacement. I added 2 pumps and a timer. If I did more tournament fishing or fishing for food I would definitely add pump-out.
Edited by Schuler 3/9/2012 6:27 PM
Attachments
----------------
recess-small.jpg (63KB - 111 downloads)
front decksmall.jpg (135KB - 103 downloads)
tbattssmall.jpg (159KB - 97 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | esoxfly how do you like that camera I am looking to buy one for the boat |
|
| |
