Creating your "ultimate fishing boat"

[ancashion]

Okay.. I'm having some problems and I turn to iboats for help.

Last year I bought a 1987 Starcraft Islander 19' boat from a guy who said it was perfect, just needed the batteries charged and a carb kit. Well, now that the floors been ripped out because the foam was soaked, the floor was rotted, the boat listed bad to port and the steering cable needs changed, I figure now is a good time to "upgrade."

So far on my list is a raw water wash down setup. Since I have unprecedented access to the hull of the boat, it would be stupid to NOT add something. Cost is always a concern but as long as I got the boat back together at some point before Salmon season begins I'm okay with it.

Things that are on my maybe list are:

Bait tank / livewell (although not a ton of room to install one of those in the floor, would be rather shallow

Raw Water wash down (already spoke about that)

Mount for a crab pot davit

A fishing rod lock box would be cool in the floor.

I'm undecided about putting flotation back in the boat. If anything, probably pool noodles. I didn't remove any of the foam from the bow of the boat under the seating, and I'm a little afraid it won't sit right in the water. Any ideas about this?

This is a fishing boat first, **** off boat second. Function, for me, always comes before form but if it looks like hell I probably wouldn't do it unless it was absolutely imperative.

So far I'm putting access panels in over the fuel tank sending unit and probably one off each side of the boat somewhere so I can get in there if I need to.

Any ideas, things to look out for, anything at all would be very much appreciated.

Thanks is advance!
Anthony

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0VSXUKIC3FnRP_V9VnKqUw?feat=directlink

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Creating your "ultimate fishing boat"

I've always thought Starcraft Islanders are the closest thing to a perfect boat anywhere. Fishing, cruising, camping, good all around and cheaper to drive than a 'glass cabin cruiser to say the least. I'd like to pick one up but my garage isn't large enough currently so I'm eying a few 15'-16' Holidays from the late 70s.

What kind of power are you working with I/O or OB?

Adding livewells is always a good idea since they can aways be used as a cooler or normal storage as well(at least I don't mind too much if beer shares quarters with salmon once in a while). Did she come with one from the factory?

Love the rig and good luck with the rebuild.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Re: Creating your "ultimate fishing boat"

A shallow livewell isn't worth it because all the water will drain out the overflow every time the boat rocks even slightly.

If you're going to do a livewell, put it along the side or in the back corner and build it up. The livewells I really like on Walkarounds are the ones on Sea Fox models that have the livewell and baitwell side by side on the back against the transom.

And if you add a livewell, insulate it. That way it can double as a cooler and it's more effective at keeping the fish alive because it keeps the water cooler.

I agree with the raw water washdown, very handy. BTW, I don't think anyone ever regretted buying the biggest washdown pump they could find. I think the washdown is one of those things where once you have it, you find all kinds of uses you never dreamed of for it.

As long as you're there, I'd seriously consider replacing the bilge pump unless you know for a fact that it's been replaced recently. I'd also add a float switch and a backup bilge pump. Maybe it's just me, but for big water rigs I don't think you can ever have too much pumping power and redundancy is always a good thing if you're any distance offshore that can best be expressed in miles instead of feet.

Finally, I'd seriously consider adding a fuel filter / water separator if you don't already have one. With the issues with ethanol in today's gasoline, I think these are a great idea, again especially for big water guys. It's one thing for guys who just drive in circles around the local lake, but as I said, once you get over mile offshore reliability becomes more than just a buzzword.

The other thing I'd look at doing is relocating anything that you don't want in the floor. I have a Lund Alaskan and a couple of years ago the electrical system went funny. I found out that I was leaking current into the hull, when I tested it the hull had 4.2 volts!

So now the problem. The damn wire loom runs from the battery in the stern all the way under the floor. Which is riveted down and would be hellish to remove.

So I abandoned the whole wire loom and replaced it with a wires that run through new plastic (non conductive!) conduits in the top of the rod locker that runs along one side of the boat. Now if I ever need to get at wires, I can do so easily and I can replace or add entire runs of wire in minutes.

Grouse