Looking good..........
Looking good..........
I have a mud boat in the shop for a new Engine Deck. The original was toast like most 1980's glass & plywood construction. Always something to fix.
Hoping to run this transducer this weekend. It's really cool to have forward looking "No Wait" real time sonar for the cost of scrap aluminum and a very old Humminbird 2D Trolling Motor transducer. My first tests were run with the transducer at Zero degrees, having a built in 15 degree down angle should let me see to the mudline in most Crappie fishing situations. I don't know why nobody has done this yet. Now I'm thinking a Ice Fishing setup would work even better. With Panoptix you still have to learn what your looking at. Having owned Panoptix transducers for years the image relationships are close enough to know exactly what I see, how far and in what direction the tree top is in, I trolled right to them. Livescope is a 22 degree beam I think compared to a 20 degree cone shape transmission. When the transducer is centered on the structure the return height is the highest. It was a walk in the park to dial in the center of the tree tops I used for the experiments.
You're quite the "Fabricator" !! Nice job !!!
Ranger Boats / Mercury Motors
G Loomis Rods / Shimano Reels
Raymarine / MinnKota Ultrex
Garmin / Live Scope Plus
Pepper Jigs / Robo Worms
Troll Bridge / V-T2 Vents
Thank you, I always push the envelope. Bass Anglers can benefit from these transducer sticks too. As far as looking in the direction of structure and knowing exactly the distance to cast. If anyone is running a Humminbird on the Bow with a trolling motor transducer it is just a matter of installing a Y-Cable to split the sonar between 2D & 3D. The 3D transducer (Down Image / Side Image) still works off the trolling motor while the 2D sonar is looking forward exactly where a Hump is, submerged structure, especially small channels where Bass stack to feed in flowing water. You just can't see the fish swimming. Super cheap compared to the Live Sonar investment and you can use the same display. This will not work with a Down Image dedicate unit, it must be a Side Scan or 2D unit.Originally Posted by wmitch2
Well I over thought the transducer angle, should have left it at zero degrees because it's picking up too much of the bottom now in 12ft of water. It worked at Zero. More fabricating tomorrow.
The Flounder run is on top of us and I need the little boat to run the lower deltas so I can fish for trophy Flatties. Also we can catch Bass, Crappie, Flounder, Redfish, Speckled Trout all in the same general area. A 5 minute boat ride in either direction will put you on different fish. I carry the long jig poles in the side holders / pipes, shorter jig poles in the Cockpit so additional Saltwater rods needed a place to ride without being in the way.
New Rod and Net Holder 1.jpg
Here I'm trying to picture in my mind what I need to fabricate because it is going behind the helm seat but in front of the engine. It also needs to be narrow enough the aft hatches can open and lean against it so I don't have to hold the hatches up or install struts.
New Rod and Net Holder 2.jpg
I had to extend the height so the spinning rods would sit within the holder well. Also using 1-1/4 Sch 40 Aluminum pipe with a full welded flange when thru-bolted I never need to worry about it coming off. Here I working out the spacing of everything too.
New Rod and Net Holder 3.jpgNew Rod and Net Holder 4.jpgNew Rod and Net Holder 5.jpg
After TIG welding the 2 coped pieces of 1-1/4 pipe together I had to square everything up to weld the seam in the riser together.
New Rod and Net Holder 6.jpgNew Rod and Net Holder 7.jpgNew Rod and Net Holder 8.jpg
Once the frame was complete I welded on a Tulip Rod holder with a kicker, this is to hold the landing net. So I don't loose the net in rough water I added a tab to bungee the net to securing it in the holder.
New Rod and Net Holder 9.jpgNew Rod and Net Holder 10.jpg
I was going to use butt end caps welding them on for a great finish but they weight a lot since they are billet so I'm ordering pipe plug/caps for the opening in the ends. The spinning rod holders are very close but need just a little tweaking before welding out completely.
Last edited by rojoguio; 11-29-2023 at 06:27 PM.
I'm going to get to the Arch / Bimini Top but so many other things keep getting in the way like the Crappie are on Fire. Hard to ignore them.
The Crappie Well.jpgSunday Catch on BGBS.jpg
Well I finished welding, sanded, and Painted the Rod holder today. It will be installed in the morning.
New Rod Holder Sanded After Welding.jpgNew Rod Holder Sanded After Welding2.jpgEpoxy Primed and 2K Painted.jpg
Just a quick post with the rod holder installed.
Rod Holder at Work.jpg
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