Mods to my Achilles

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lemondrop9344

Seaman
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
51
IMG_20130609_163416_689.jpgIMG_20130611_110010_282.jpg

Assuming I correctly uploaded the pictures you should see my 12'2" Achilles I have set up for fishing. We carry it in the basement of our motor home, with the motor & fuel in the little pickup we tow behind the motor home. I have the detachable Beachmaster wheels from New Zeland so I can pull it around the campgrounds & to the launch site. I bought some high density marine plastic and attached it to the bow with Scotty glue on mounts. To this I fabricated a mount for the Minn Kota 55# thrust trolling motor (reverse the head so it pulls instead of pushes) and a Scotty anchor holder. Rod holders are off the shelf items from Academy Sports and are mounted to a hinged piece of the marine plastic to the seat. I have portable navigation lights in the event I'm out after dark. Humming Bird fish finder with a trolling motor mounted transducer. '76 Johnson 15hp 2 stroke will push the wife & I with our gear around 18 mph (as clocked with Garmin GPS).

The wheels, while a little bit on the expensive side, are better made than anything I've seen on the internet. For us, they were worth it.

The wife & I can have it ready to launch in about 30 - 45 minutes. This accounts for unloading everything and loading our gear.

We fish the lakes throughout the southeast (haven't gone anywhere else since acquiring the Achilles) as well as the coastal creeks, ICW and marshes along the coast.

Biggest hassle is packing it up to go back in to the basement of the motor home, especially if we have fished in salt water.
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Mods to my Achilles

lemondrop9344 said:
View attachment 231031View attachment 231032

Assuming I correctly uploaded the pictures you should see my 12'2" Achilles I have set up for fishing. We carry it in the basement of our motor home, with the motor & fuel in the little pickup we tow behind the motor home. I have the detachable Beachmaster wheels from New Zeland so I can pull it around the campgrounds & to the launch site. I bought some high density marine plastic and attached it to the bow with Scotty glue on mounts. To this I fabricated a mount for the Minn Kota 55# thrust trolling motor (reverse the head so it pulls instead of pushes) and a Scotty anchor holder. Rod holders are off the shelf items from Academy Sports and are mounted to a hinged piece of the marine plastic to the seat. I have portable navigation lights in the event I'm out after dark. Humming Bird fish finder with a trolling motor mounted transducer. '76 Johnson 15hp 2 stroke will push the wife & I with our gear around 18 mph (as clocked with Garmin GPS).

The wheels, while a little bit on the expensive side, are better made than anything I've seen on the internet. For us, they were worth it.

The wife & I can have it ready to launch in about 30 - 45 minutes. This accounts for unloading everything and loading our gear.

We fish the lakes throughout the southeast (haven't gone anywhere else since acquiring the Achilles) as well as the coastal creeks, ICW and marshes along the coast.

Biggest hassle is packing it up to go back in to the basement of the motor home, especially if we have fished in salt water.
Click to expand...

AHHH looks amazing i want to see all the close up photos! is your boat mounted to your truck??? i am also interested in seeing how you mount your lights and very interested to see how your anchor mount is setup. I was always under the impression that the anchor mount is not farther then the tubes and would still rub against the tubes when pulling anchor up?
 
Sinistre1

Sinistre1

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
298
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Very nice!! I have only fished/ boated the southeast once (in my old inflatable). Drove down to visit my Mom in Florida and was bale to launch my boat at Sebastian inlet and motor out to a sand bar and fish indiatlantic river. Was very nice. I'd LOVE to do the keys... I have to get my boat down to Largo or Islamorada... that would be epic!
 
C

cablebandit

Seaman
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
54
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Awesome! I also have a 12'2" Achilles (lsi-122) and enjoy it a lot. Sounds like you guys are really enjoying your inflatable.
 
L

lemondrop9344

Seaman
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
51
Re: Mods to my Achilles

front mount.jpgIMG_20130611_110010_282.jpgbeach wheels.jpg


Thanks for the favorable comments and feedback.

Have attached some more pictures, one of the Beachmaster wheels, one of the layout for the base of the front mount & (hopefully) a shot with a little better resolution of the bow & anchor setup. We are at home right now (just N of Charlotte, NC). The motor home is being serviced (has all the boat stuff in the basement) and will take some close up pictures of the assembly along with some detailed pictures and post them next time we set it up.

Navigation Lights for Inflatable Boats

The URL above shows the navigation lights. They are led's and have magnets on the light and the mount (affixed to the front bow board) so they line up correctly.

Scotty

The URL above will get you to the Scotty web site (mounting pads & anchor) and may trigger some ideas for your modification.

This was a engineer it as you go type effort and I really had no idea how powerful a 55 # thrust trolling motor was. The front mount needs support to run along the tubes as there is considerably more torque than I expected when mounted on the front pulling the boat. I'm undecided on how I'm going to fix that. Suspect I will create another bow mount which incorporates supports running down the tubes (sort of a u-shaped deal). Did not need that much motor, however, some of the lakes we fish have a 10 hp limit or electric motor's only policy. I can take off the 15hp 2 stroke and put the trolling motor on the transom in that case. I would sell my soul to have another shot at the 2007 15hp 2 stroke Yamaha I passed on a couple of years ago. I want one so bad I'm considering going to Canada to buy one.

The boat hooks up to the pickup with ropes attached to the three towing rings and tied to the ladder rails (red neck bike rack). Most campgrounds limit your speed to 10mph so it's no big deal to tow it to the launch site. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a camp site on the water so it's in one time and pulled out when you are ready to leave.

We get more attention than we really want at the campgrounds, but, it's sort of flattering that people are so curious and interested in the little rig.

Hope to have a bimini top added this year as well some rod holders.
 
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ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Where did you get the bow board or did you design that yourself ?
 
L

lemondrop9344

Seaman
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
51
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Designed it myself. As noted in previous post..... 55 #'s of thrust creates a lot of torque. Trolling motor is off to the starboard side which is not the best, but, it works for now. Laying out & drilling the holes & placing the Scotty mounts so everything fit was the most time consuming. If you attach it with the boat partially inflated, it's a lot easier than when fully inflated. Sort of like putting in the floor. Same goes for the wheels, attach them (in the locked up position) to the transom prior to starting the inflation. I can use this bow board as a template when I do the next one.
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Mods to my Achilles

"Thanks for the favorable comments and feedback."

looked at the youtube video. Feels a little steep 100 bucks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTxR8oLoSf8
 
L

lemondrop9344

Seaman
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
51
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Hmmm, Thought that was a link to Inflatable Boat Parts. At any rate the intent was to show what the lights looked like and how they were mounted. I bought 2 of the lights, as well as an adjustable pole to mount on the transom or some other location for the stern light. Nowhere near a $100.00 for all of it. I will say they were a little more expensive than some of the other portable navigation light offerings. However, with a little internet shopping I was able to find them for what I considered a reasonable price.
 
L

lemondrop9344

Seaman
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
51
Re: Mods to my Achilles

IMG_20140506_143633_596.jpgIMG_20140506_143829_782.jpg

A few more pictures of the bow board showing the set up for mounting the trolling motor (an aluminum track bar from rockler & the brackets from rockler mounting same to bow board all done with t-bolts). This shot also show the Scotty mount for the anchor and the magnet for the bow stern light. Have also included picture with bow lights on.

My primary concerns when putting this setup together was cost containment & ease of assembly & dis-assembly as we travel around in the motor home. Aside from the Achilles itself, the most expensive item were the launch wheels from New Zeland. Yes they were expensive, but, nothing I saw on the internet even cam close to them. I have about $200.00 invested in the 15hp motor. I sold a 6hp (free from father in law) for same amount I was able to purchase the 15hp). The $200.00 went for new fuel pump, gas tank, points, condensors, water pump stuff and what have you. I did the work myself. 2 strokes are normally much lighter than 4 strokes of the same hp and weight is a real concern. I'm almost 70 years old, have a bad back & two reverse shoulder replacements. These issues have kind of slowed me down a tad.

I'm finishing up a motor stand now so I can position the motor upright in the back of the little pickup. I need to put the motor, 2 bicycles, 1 bicycle trailer, coolers, gas tank, the bow board and seat with rod holders in the back of the pickup. Motor stand has big wheels as well as a space under the engine so I can move all around at one time.

Anything to make it easier and quicker for the wife and I to enjoy what we do is evaluated against the $'s expended vs. the time and effort to do it in some other way.

What works for me may not be the best for you. The layout for the bow board did not function as well as I thought it would. I have less than $80.00 (including hardware) tied up in it, but, hundreds of dollars of knowledge was gained for my next one. A few of my friends want me to make one for them (they have offered to pay me). Once I get it right, I would rather share how I did it as opposed to doing it again for money. That's what is so great about these forums, you get to share and receive the ideas of others. Now if I can only convince the admiral of the fleet we need a bimini top.
 
R

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Mods to my Achilles

Lemon drop
I have to tell you that the Bimini top was the best mod I have made so far
I will eventually get a cloth top cut to replace the stock one, but I can tell you that the top keeps the boat cooler and dryer
It works much better than the umbrella I had mounted to the bench seat or transom.

I wanted the launch wheels that you have but I couldn't find out how they worked in soft sand.
Since you have them and are living with them , I hope you can answer some questions

Can you roll the boat up with the wheels attached or do you have to disassemble them?
Have you used them in soft sand?
Do they support your boat with your 15hp motor attached?
 
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Guest

Guest
Re: Mods to my Achilles

That bow board looks amazing and once i finish my command center I will look into building something like that
 
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