Stick Steer for 12" vhull

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

32251

New member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Newbie here. Tried to post this earlier, but did not make it.

I have a 1964 12' Alumacraft vhull. I bought this boat to use when I go fishing by myself. It is small and light and easy to get in and out of the water. Problem is that with the outboard, gas tank, trolling motor, battery and my 220lbs in the back of the boat the bow is up out of the water. I don't like the way it handles or rides so I want to redistribute the weight. I thought about moving to the center seat and getting a stick steer set up. I would be using no more than a 10HP motor and speed would not be an issue. The stick steer would be much better room wise than a console in this small a boat.

Any opinions as to this set up in a 12' low powered boat.
 
If you did get that stick steer would you have to get longer cables for your remote controls? because that stick steer would only serve as a steering wheel correct?
 
I like the Stick design. Its pretty expensive to buy though. Google it!

I just posted about an idea of making your own Stick steer out of some old outboard parts or twin Hydraulic Cylinders. Put the steering lever on one push rod, make it push/pull the other Cylinder, and the other plunger connected to the outboard.

Now you only have to deal with the Shift and Throttle Cables.
 
in stead of spending hundreds on the stick steer, how about $15 for one of those outboard tiller extension handles? If you can move yourself up to the midle seat and maybe move the TM battery up it should make all the difference.
 
I agree with shizzy. Moving yourself forward in the boat is much more expensive than moving other stuff around. Adding a tiller extension is a good option (especially on a 12 footer) allowing you to sit in the midseat. The drawbacks are it is hard to move fore and aft to shift gears, especially when docking. I just removed mine when docking or loading and they do have tiller extensions with an integral shift lever. I built mine using an Alum bat that was cut down and clamped to the tiller handle.

The better way would be to use the ballast you already have to move the center of gravity forward. I would move the battery and the fuel can to in front of the midseat. This is all I had to do on my 12 footer to get trim right. When I started using two batteries I put both of them in front of the midseat and then I could move the fuel aft again.
 
All good points.
Especially the long tiller handle.
I have a Mariner 25 on my 15' Jon. It has the Throttle and shift in the handle. Perfect for one of those handle extensions.

When I use a motor on my little 12' V- I put the battery and the Gas tank way up front for CG.
When I row it, leaving all the motors at home, I put the battery in the back. I need the battery for lights, FF and GPS.
 
I have 16 semi v alumacraft, and I am debating on the stick steering also. I have a 70 hp nissan. I am also thinking of going w/ less hp. Stick steer and cables will cost about 400. I have started on the floor so I need to make a decision soon.I will post pics in progress. For a 12 footer I think I would go w/ the handle.
 

Latest posts

Top