Questions for setting up boat

Hello, first post here but have been lurking for quite some time. I am not a forum newbie and understand the use of search functions are highly encouraged and I never pass up using them before posting. That said here is the short story.

Just got back in to fishing after going threw a crazy spell since getting out of high school. That span includes getting married and the wife having two children. I will also be finishing up my college education in May of 2012. Needless to say money is a big issue for me.

I have also in a certain sense acquired a 14' what I believe to be considered a semi-v hull but I don't really know how they are classified. I have no brand or models because the tag is faded too bad. For an idea of width, the transom is 58" across. I kind of have the choice between 2 motors. One is a '68 merc 110 9.8 horse and the other a Johnson 9.9 somewhere in the 70's. I can not decide which one to take but I have to test out the Johnson because the merc is terribly slow. I can only get 10 mph out of it and certainly won't come close to planing.


Anyway, questions.

I want to set this up as a walleye and deep water trout trolling rig. I despise bass fishing, in fact hoping I never get on of those things on my line, so the platform is not something I am interested in. What I really need is a way to solidly mount four rod holders, two on each side, and hopefully down the road two downriggers.
Anyone have fancy ideas or pictures for ways to set this up?

I would prefer to have something where the there are side compartments running from the rear seat all the way to the front that also have the rod holders mounted. I am sort of afraid to add any weight though as it already only hits 10mph with that motor and the lake I fish is over 16 miles long. If I do end up liking the boat if I can find a way to set it up I will upgrade the motor but I have to make this thing fishable if that were to ever happen.

The real question is building the side compartments strong enough to handle the possibility of a downrigger and of course the two rod holders per side.

Essentially, any of you out there that target walleye and deep water species with a similar boat that have some ideas for me or pictures.

Thanks

The Johnson 9.9 can be upgraded to 15HP by bolting on a 15HP carb.

lckstckn2smknbrls said:

The Johnson 9.9 can be upgraded to 15HP by bolting on a 15HP carb.

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I would be very interested in this and would in fact make this swap if it is possible to do. What info would be needed to make sure this swap is possible and how would one find out if the parts are readily available to do the swap?

I don't know the going rate on the carb's but there are many around. On the earlier models it is a simple carb swap on the later ones to achieve the full 15HP you also need to replace part of the exhaust.

Am i correct that this is only on the 9.9s and not the 9.5s?

I just finalized the purchase on this boat from my uncle today. I also have the choice between the two motors so I can in fact run both next year to see which one runs better. The Johnson motor is a 1974 so it seems that this would be in the category that could be made in to a 15hp easily.

I have been reading quite a bit on motors and the consensus seems to be that a 9.9 hp motor should easily plane out a 14' fully loaded and with two average sized people. Mine won't plane out with that Merc 9.8 no matter what I do. If the Johnson planes out I may not even worry about the carb upgrade and just save my money for a 20 hp four stroke.

I guess the motor situation will just have to be investigated in spring when I can get the boat out and run it.

I really wish I could work on the boat this winter though. Unfortunately the boat is stored in a boat house hoisted up. And the location of the boat house makes this area the first place to freeze over and now there is too much ice to get it out and put it on a trailer. I guess this winter will be focused on getting the trailer up to snuff and will pull the boat out in March just before walleye season opens.


But man do I need to get a plan for how I can make this boat situation work. Just wish I had money to buy myself a walleye boat already set up the way I need it.
Has anyone used rod holders with the side mounts bolted on to the top of the gunwale? I will post a link to the rod holders at the bottom since I don't really know how to use this forums features yet. I do plan on running dipsey divers so that was the only drawback to running something like this. I believe what I would do though is cut a small piece of stainless to bolt on the outside as a washer to protect from pull through. Maybe even a stainless piece on both sides since I have nearly unlimited access to scrap stainless at no cost. I am really just talking to myself at this point. Thanks for the suggestions with the motor though!

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Boa..._l=SBC;cat104794380;cat104763780;cat104538780

Jdholmes said:

Am i correct that this is only on the 9.9s and not the 9.5s?

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This will not work on the 9.5's

Is the merc firing on both cylinders?

lckstckn2smknbrls said:

Is the merc firing on both cylinders?

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I have to be honest this is a moment. I really don't know for sure. I have to assume it is because it runs like a top and if I can recall correctly I actually did check that both were firing when I went through and rewired a few things in the spring.

The motor runs better than any outboard (except 4 strokes) I have ever seen. It hadn't started in over 6 years and fired on the second pull. It was my uncles favorite motor and also the motor my Grandpa used on this same boat. The thing simply will not even come close to planing. My uncle even bought an extension for the handle that allows you to sit in the middle seat to get another MPH or so out of it.

Truth be told, I don't think I will be able to handle a boat that does not plane out. Which is why I want to try the Johnson. I already have my eyes on a spankin' new Tohatsu 20hp electric start model though...10 years from not it might happen. Then again if I can afford that motor I might just buy another boat.

I had a friend that had a 1442 flat bottom jon with a 7.5 Mercury, and it planed with both of us (400+ lbs) plus our gear, so I am very surprised that your 9.8 will not. I also have a 16 foot semi-vee and a 5hp (five) and it manages to get on plane with me and my daughter (420+ lbs). Maybe the 9.8 does not have the right prop? It will be interesting to see what you finally come up with. If the 9.9 Johnson does a lot better than the Mercury, then there is definitely something wrong with the Mercury.

Best of luck,
Ringo

ps... here's my boat:

Thanks for the info ringo!

That really does make me feel as if there is something wrong with the motor. Of course I can't test it with ice on the lake but next spring I will get this all sorted out. I don't know too much about the prop selection and such but the Merc does have a twin blade prop with some nicks in it. Not significantly damaged but I am sure there is a small effect. But the Johnson has a 3 bladed prop. Why would there be a difference? I know for sure that the merc does not have a lower pitch prop that would be making it slower because even the low end is pretty bad.

As for the rest of the boat project, it appears that most people here have not done what I am looking to do so I may be on my own with that part of the project. Basically the requirements list is:
1. Livewell
2. Six STRONG rod holders for dipsey divers
3. 3 seats with one being removable
4. Permanent bow and stern lights with interior lighting

I already have a fish finder and some of the basic stuff. It would be nice to have a radio but I am not sure if one battery would last long enough running all those electronics. I plan on spending a lot of nights on the water where both navigation lights and the fish finder will be running for hours at a time. Not to mention the livewell if the fish are biting.

More than likely I won't have the money to fund all this next year anyway.

might consider driftmaster rod holders, a bit more $$ than the ones you linked but all metal and will last a long time, and have a rubber coating as well.

TNtroller said:

might consider driftmaster rod holders, a bit more $$ than the ones you linked but all metal and will last a long time, and have a rubber coating as well.

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Thanks for the suggestion!

I have used those rod holders before in a friends boat and really liked them. Unfortunately they will not work for this little boat. They do not have the adjust-ability that I will need for running planers, divers, and lead core... sometimes all at the same time if I have help on the boat. Trust me, I am a firm believer in the "you get what you pay for" mentality. I will even forgo some parts of this project as a means to fund others the right way if necessary. But I do trust reviews on the Cabela's site when there are that many who have responded. But I am still open to suggestions on rod holders if they have the nearly unlimited adjust-ability and others have had great experiences.

Right now I am trying to narrow down what is essential for this project in the coming year. Luckily me and the wife are poised to get $6,000 plus back from tax returns. If I am really lucky I can barter for a few hundred to fund some of this.

Rod holders are my number one priority.

What do you all think is the most important addition you have made to your boat for fishing? Keep in mind I already have a graph and the fishing gear. Specifically speaking of boat related modifications.

I would take a look at the compression on that merc, if it's been sitting for 6 years there's a chance the rings may be stuck and doing a decarb would be your ticket, here's how I do mine, I run the motor in a barrel and get it nice and warmed up, once warm I tilt the motor and try to get the cylinders completely vertical, pull the plug to one cylinder and bring that piston to top dead center, once top dead center I spray the decarb into the cylinder focusing on the rings, I use valvetec aerosol decarb, let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Put the motor back down and run it again at fast idle for 5 minutes, repeat the steps for the other cylinder, I do this 3 times per cylinder and that should free them up

Aldo with the decarb be careful with water in the barrel, change it often with this as the decarb gets into water while running the motor and WILL burn up the impeller, ask me how I know

magnum9 said:

I have used those rod holders before in a friends boat and really liked them. Unfortunately they will not work for this little boat. They do not have the adjust-ability that I will need for running planers, divers, and lead core...

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I run the Driftmaster Lil Pro which lets you run rods at either 0° or 30° so you can flatline or run boards, etc. You'll probably want to find a site with the left and right hand threaded versions. Here's the Driftmaster site for more info.
I like them because they are simple and solid...nothing to break.

As for downriggers, I mounted swivel bases to the triangle pieces that join the gunwale to the transom...not perfect but it works, and let's me swing the riggers up beside the boat for rigging, and back behind for trolling. If that doesn't work, you might fab up a board to run from side to side with mounts on it...you can buy those, but they cost a pretty penny. My downriggers have the rodholders on them, so I use those when downrigging, and the Driftmasters for boards, dipseys, etc.