Help Me Accessorize!

Hey Guys! I have a build going over in conversions and it's time to start buying the little things. I need recommendations from you all who have bought these items in the past. For each of these things I want to buy something that will last and be practical, but I also don't need the newest most expensive.

1. Fish Finder

2. Trolling motor... foot controlled

3. Seat mounts and seats... I want pedestals

Thanks in advance for your help!

As far as fish finders go I can't help you there I'm in search of one myself

Trolling motors I have a Minnkota Edge it is very good on my boat and I got mine at Walmart for $330

Seats I would have to go with any type of tempess seat and academy sports has a sliding seat base that is pretty good.

1. Fish finder, I went with a Lowrance Mark 5X Its a simple black & white fish finder with a 5 in. screen. I liked it because of the easiness to go in & out of menus to change settings. There are several different fish finders like this made by several different manufactures to choose from.

2. Trolling motor; several different options here, new or used, 12 or 24 volt ( what thrust you want will determine this ), & brand. With new trolling motors I recommend something with dual cable steering such as MinnKota's edge series or MotorGuide's X3 series. With a used motor make sure it works, Inspect it very well ( don't buy anything that is beat up or has redneck wiring done to it ).

3. Seat mounts & seats. I use a quick disconnect bracket along with a swivel attached to the seat.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1T16GPS3AWJ72S9HEJCA & I went with a set of Wise high back seats like these https://www.wiseseats.com/FishingChairs5.html ( the first set you see ) Its a very comfortable setup & I can remove the seats easily if I want them out of my way.

https://www.sliderg5.com/

Fish finder will largely depend on where you fish. I fish a small, narrow and shallow river so down/side imaging and fancy fish finders would be nice, but for me not really necessary. I have a Lowrance X4 and it works perfect for what I need if for which is depth, water temperature and bottom structure/composition.

I have an old hand me down bow mount trolling motor. So, no advice there.

For seats and mounts I went with 3 Cabelas high back angler seat. They work great and have held up fine. I'm 6'8" and 270#'s, so I put a lot of stress/torque on my seats. Only complaint I have is the buttons for the seat back hold down straps broke pretty easily. My buddy has a "button repair kit" and after about 30 seconds they were fixed. I think you can get these kits at any craft/fabric store for a few bucks.


For seat mounts I highly reccommend Springfields scratch and dent site. I bought 2 pin mount bases, 2 - 13" pedestals and an adjustable pedestal for my captains seat. I saved a significant amount of $ by getting all of that stuff scratch and dent. And the scratch and dent was at worse barely noticeable and some looked completely brand new.
https://www.springfieldmarinescratchanddent.com/

This is from my build thread. The pedestal I got retails for $200. I got it scratch and dent for $75!!!

Here is the manual adjustable (11-1/4" - 15-1/2") pedestal I'll be using for the captains seat.


Here is what made it "scratch and dent". I probably would have done just as much damage installing a new one.


Only other damage I could find on it.


Here is the pin mount bases. They look in perfect condition to me. Can't find anything on them that makes them "scratch and dent". They'll be getting painted to match the boat regardless. I'm using the standard base for the rear bench/deck and the offset base for the bow deck. Figuring the offset base will alow more leg room when fishing from the front deck.

Wow guys, I'm stupid. I said no pedestals thinking that meant those tiny seats with no back you see at the front of bass boats. I definitely do want pedestals... but with seats that have backs. haha

Terp: You are the man. That site is awesome. I will probably get my stuff from there. Love your rig by the way.

For FW use I've had best results w/ high def Humminbird units, even if only B/W ones. I found I could tweak them better than other brands, like even the Lowrance Elite-5 color unit I have. Some adjustment the H units had, are just not available on the Ls.

But for SW use, I run nothing but dual frequency Furuno units.

I am using plywood for the casting deck on my build. Should I just bolt the seat mount to the plywood, or should I do some sort of framing?

BlakeRauch said:

Terp: You are the man. That site is awesome. I will probably get my stuff from there. Love your rig by the way.


I am using plywood for the casting deck on my build. Should I just bolt the seat mount to the plywood, or should I do some sort of framing?

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Thanks!! And yeah, Springfields scratch and dent is the way to go!! No complaints from me.

My build is all aluminum and I just bolted my seat mounts to my rear bench and bow deck. I did add 2 lengths of 1x1 square tube to help support my bow seat mount. But with plywood I would think it would be plenty sturdy if you just bolted to the plywood.

BlakeRauch said:

Hey Guys! I have a build going over in conversions and it's time to start buying the little things. I need recommendations from you all who have bought these items in the past. For each of these things I want to buy something that will last and be practical, but I also don't need the newest most expensive.

1. Fish Finder

2. Trolling motor... foot controlled

3. Seat mounts and seats... I want pedestals

Thanks in advance for your help!

Click to expand...

In regards to the fish finder, DI and SI are nice, but not necessary, same with Color. GPS - Do you need it? My suggestion is to buy the unit with the largest screen you can afford that meets your needs. Old Age and bifocals don't like 4" screens.

Something like a Humminbird 597Ci. It is color with GPS and a 5" screen for around $250. Garmin and Lowrance make good units as well.