Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

very good job---impressive. One question---do you have a dedicated battery for the trolling motor? Seen a few dead boats in the water when starting battery throws craps....especially when running the sound systems, lighting, etc... I had to use my TM once to get back home----ran down a deep cycle battery--TM's burn a lot of juice...

I fish with my boat so I need a TM anyways but the added wt does affect performance---w/o the TM and battery up front I am 1-2 mph faster. I have a 20 ft with a 90 Merc.. GPS runs at 27 during summer---28-29 in winter. Hit 30 the first yr I had it...but modified prop to stay below redline of 5800(added 1 " pitch)--lost 400 rpm at WOT and 2 mph.

My starting battery is in the back and the motor is the only thing hooked to it. There is a deep cycle under the seat in front of the console mounted next to my basslink. This runs my lights (most are led) depth finder ,and radio. The 2 batteries can be hooked should I need to jump one ,just push a 40 amp fuse in place. The trolling motor has never been in the water ,its just my little insurance policy should I have a break down with no other boaters around.

great ideas------One more question---some insurance companies frown on over powering a boat above hp ratings. How does adding the 3rd log affect the ins coverage. And how would you determine the new hp rating with the modifications? Can you get a new sticker?

The manitou transom we welded in was rated at 115 h.p. so that's the biggest motor I've had on it. As for insurance State Farm simply asked me what the h.p. rating was and I said 115 no questions asked. I showed them a bunch of build pics and my agent loved the project. At the time I first built the boat it had a 50 on it . They have been informed of my motor changes and there has again no issues. The premium went up like 5 dollars a year due to the value of the newer motor. My boat doesn't not have a capacity plate and it did not have one when in got it. Multi hull vessels 20' and up do not require a plate per coast guard regs. There are places online that will make a vessel tag and it can read whist ever you want it to. Kind of makes it pointless l.o.l.

Ok so it has been a while since I made a major improvement to the boat. I consider this a never ending project, until I build another lol. My fabricator friend needed some floor work Done in his new house so I horse traded for this. [img][/img]
The original tank I used was ordered new from tracker marine. It's fit their smaller fishing pontoon at the time, but more importantly it fit the manitou transom I used. It's 9 gallons and the new one is 18 to the top.[img][/img]
My normal day at the lake I never had a issue with fuel until I started towing a tube lol.[img][/img]
Next project is a ski tow bar so stay tuned. My friend builds the copo cameros if anyone is up on race cars. Also if you need a tracker transom tank I have one available lol!