My new 2021 bird

[Meleagris1]

Thanks Brett - I've got my prop in a prop bag right now but they chew through those in a season and you definitely don't want that those bouncing around. I'll probably do something similar. Been thinking hard on the gatorback bunks too.

[haus9393]

Thanks Brett - I've got my prop in a prop bag right now but they chew through those in a season and you definitely don't want that those bouncing around. I'll probably do something similar. Been thinking hard on the gatorback bunks too.

The gator backs have been great I’m very happy with them so far. No rubbing on my hull and power loading is much smoother with them. I find the boat slides up the trailer under much less rpm than with carpet. I did have carpet on these bunks for about a month before I put the gator backs on. Prop holder is made by Steve Estes. Bassfishinelectronics. I used to have the prop bag by RMP and I did the same ripping holes in 3 spots where each blade touches. I’ve heard guys use milk crates and have great success.

[Meleagris1]

Good idea on the crates I'll try that!

[haus9393]

[haus9393]

Above is my bow graph setup. Alittle measuring and some custom work from BBT and it came out great. Originally I thought just the small mount for my Solix would work but it ended up not lining up so I set it up just to get me by with offsetting the graph on the bracket. It was also a lot further forward up the bow than I would have liked. So I had van do a 7” x 7” plate for me to shift the graph towards the hds16. I measured prior and figured I had about 8.5” to the top of the Lowrance so I went with 7” to make sure I had a small gap. It actually worked out perfectly. The whole reason for this setup is to completely avoid mounting any graphs on the bow shroud. I do not want to deal with that thing ripping through the screws like my friends have in the past. Only issue with the bracket for the bird is that it was extremely hard to line up as there are large cross beams under the bow and happen to line up about exactly with the pre drilled holes for the mount but it worked. Originally I made all my measurements on a boat with a ultrex installed on it. Turns out the Lowrance ghost is like 1-2” wider of a mount than the ultrex so it threw my measurements off alittle.

[Meleagris1]

Brett - did you say you have two lithium cranking batteries in parallel with a single charging bank hooked to them that charged both ok? Debating keeping my 4 bank or buying a new 5 bank charger.

[haus9393]

Brett - did you say you have two lithium cranking batteries in parallel with a single charging bank hooked to them that charged both ok? Debating keeping my 4 bank or buying a new 5 bank charger.

yea but its the power pole charge, it puts out like 30 amps total so 15amps into each battery in parallel

[Meleagris1]

Ok that makes sense - I'll probably stick with just replacing with a 5 bank then as soon as they are available.

[haus9393]

Ok that makes sense - I'll probably stick with just replacing with a 5 bank then as soon as they are available.

Are you getting a full charge on the cranking batteries overnight between practice day to tournament morning right now with just 1 bank on the 2 lithium's in parallel? you have 2 Ionics right?

[Meleagris1]

I have 1 125ah ionic now for cranking/electronics - going to add a second. I have never had the cranking battery below 34% and it charges really fast. I don’t need the second battery but I can go 2-3 days on my trollers without charging and it would be nice to do the same with my cranking batteries. I’d just throw my sleeping bag and jetboil in the boat and go for a couple days.

[haus9393]

I have 1 125ah ionic now for cranking/electronics - going to add a second. I have never had the cranking battery below 34% and it charges really fast. I don’t need the second battery but I can go 2-3 days on my trollers without charging and it would be nice to do the same with my cranking batteries. I’d just throw my sleeping bag and jetboil in the boat and go for a couple days.

Ok I thought you had 2. Currently I’m getting down to about 60% by the end of each day that’s with a lot of motor time though so that would be 20% on 1 battery. Motor time doesn’t get talked about hardly at all with these lithium threads. Days I make long runs are wayyyy better on my cranking some days I’m at 90% when I get off the water. But I’m prepared for days where I don’t run. Same as what you are thinking. Worst case scenarios. Lowest I think I’ve had my ionic down to was 30% but that’s dual battery so like 180ah usage and running about 2 gallons of gas out of the motor. The power pole charge does take my trolling motor down to charge my cranking and keep it even with the trolling. Almost every time I get off the water my cranking and trolling are within 1-5% of each other. If you add one more graph or in 2 years upgrade to something new with graphs that will consume more power as we keep drawing more and more than you will be in trouble with just 1 lithium.

i used to stack the dual 15amps before the charge and get 15amps per battery and be full in 6 hours or less. Basically with your dual cranking setup you are looking at either 5amps or 7.5amps per battery with just 1 bank depending on what charger you run. Probably not ideal for a tournament guy so I would for sure get that 5 bank.