OK, I settled on a boat :-)

[JBplusThuy]

OK, I settled on a boat, which means my questions will now switch from "What should I get?" to "What should I do with this thing?" :-)

It's a 12' Livingston, 15 HP Mariner pre-mix 2-stroke, 2 gas tanks, galvanized Shoreline trailer.  Needs a bit of cleanup on the inside, in very good shape on the outside. Has a pedestal seat in the front, a low seat in the back, and a spare pedestal seat.  Put my deposit on it, now I just need Honda to get the parts in for my Honda tow package so I can get it installed and go back to pick up the boat, hopeful to do it this weekend.

In a cruel twist of fate, it's been warm enough to fish this week, but is supposed to be cold on the weekend, or I could try it out. OTOH, not sure if I want to step into that cold water at this time of year to launch a boat :-)

My first plans are to augment the gas motor with an electric, since there are no oars and I do want some kind of backup, in addition to the quiet maneuvering of an electric.

Thinking to go with a MinnKota Endura 30. The cost is hard to beat and the quality seems better than other low cost motors. 30 pounds should work well in this boat.

Now I'm in the "hole in the water into which you pour money" club :p

[Leo Nguyen]

You betcha. That 55 put my pontoon from a 3mph rowing to a 5 to 7mph easy. The weight for motor and battery was way too much for me to handle on a one-wheel push system. Now, I have 2-wheels, I may be using it more often.

 

The C2 30 would be a great choice doing light trolling. If you're planning on using that thing all day, get the largest capacity marine battery you can get your hand on. I noticed that by joining the batteries in parallel, the motor last close to 3 times longer than their rated capacity alone. But, it's a freaking pontoon that I load in and out of the car. No trailer for it like your boat. Go nuts with the battery bank!

 

As for the Wii nunchuck, yeah! That's one project to keep you busy during days of boredom!

[JBplusThuy]

For now, I'll likely just go with a single group 27 battery and probably put a MinnKota power center on it. If I go the full decking route in the future on this boat, I can stick multiple batteries below deck.

I know circuit breakers are recommended and something like the MinnKota Power Center looks very cool. OTOH, every rental boat I've had with an electric motor just had the motor connected directly to the battery. What do you think?

[Leo Nguyen]

YES!!! Get a circuit breaker. This will give you the peace of mind for motor's longivity. Would you not fill your engine with unleaded gas only, or your two stroke with proper mixture of fuel and oil, before usage? Same with the trolling motor. Get a cheap 30A circuit breaker from Walmart for $10. Manual indicated to use a 50A circuit breaker for the 55, so, I did. Didn't want to argue since the warning is pretty clear. Do it, or your motor will burn out faster..don't want to shell out more money than needed.

[dick tabbert]

JB the thirty pound thrust motor should be fine.  There is always a time when you wished that you had more and you will find that out for yourself for sure especially when the wind gets up a little. Sounds like a nice outfit and I'm glad for you. I think that will be the best of all worlds with the needs you have and should cover them all. Good luck and GOOD FISHIN..

Send a picture when you get a chance.

[Tony Livingston]

Sooo, when's the christening? I realize it's a used boat, but it's new to you, and by extension, all of us here at BBG. A boat's gotta' have a name, should we offer up suggestions?

[Leo Nguyen]

Excellent suggestion Tony. How about, "Silver Mist" since you're along the northern bay areas, with tons of fogs..and smogs. "Silver Mystic", "Livingston's Dream Catcher", "Monster Hunter", "JB's Baby", or just for luck, "BBG Magic" ... LOL

[JBplusThuy]

Air quality is actually pretty good up here, not really much in the way of smog. Besides, anybody from Riverside can't talk about anybody else's smog, except maybe San Bernardino ;-)

We moved to San Jose specifically to get away from all that fog up the coast, it's awful.
I hadn't really planned on naming it, will probably just go with "the boat." Unless of course it makes me come up with some bad names for it the first time I take it out on the water :-)

I'll pick it up on Sunday afternoon, will try to remember to take a photo of it.

[Leo Nguyen]

LOL..okay..okay..you got me there Jonathan. Smog in the inland empire can get pretty bad during summer. Luckily, I'm in a zone where the wind constantly blowing via the Santa Ana River and the Cajon Pass. So, Moreno Valley and the low deserts will inherit all the smogs.

[dick tabbert]

I'm thinking JB's  BG  catcher

[dick tabbert]

In Ohio it's mandatory to have a paddle in you boat I'm not sure about Michigan but I think the same.

[Bing]

At least get a paddle.  They make small telescoping ones that go from about 2 feet to 4 feet.  They take up very little room in the boat and are often handy even if you are not in trouble, such as getting closer to the bank when the trolling motor has to be raised.  BPS sells them.  Don't know why but all i have seen are yellow in color.

[Leo Nguyen]

I got a pair of those as a precaution as well, on top of my oars and motor. Perfect if you want to defend yourself at close range as well, such as snakes. Got plenty of those around here near the water's edges during summer time. They love to swim up to your boat/float for a bit of shade.