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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    Topeka, Kansas
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    20

    1995 Nitro Sport 185 F&S Upgrade

    So I have had this boat for a little over a year. I really wanted an actual bass boat but had to compromise with the wife... you know, happy wife happy life! So now I am making it my own, restoring it, and outfitting it for actual fishing use (no rod storage, small front deck). The carpet was in bad shape and starting to peel up in some areas. There is some heavy oxidation on the hull, the seats were all ripping and the fabric is worn, and the trailer is starting to rust in places.

    Overall, the actual body of the boat is in pretty good condition. The stringers are fine and the transom is in good condition. After I pulled the carpet up, there seemed to be some sort of putty that was spread across the port side to repair some of the original decking, which now has a crack in it (only about 6" so not too concerning but will need to be addressed). Other than that, everything else is in great shape.



    So far I have removed most of the carpet and have finished carpeting the front deck. I used the DeckMate glue from BassBoatSeats (where I got my carpet) and totally didn't even read the writing in red! It seems to have adhered ok to the front deck, although I used contact adhesive to glue down the vertical areas. I will be going out to get the Weldwood Contact Cement as I have reada good things on here about it. I also added some trim to the deck and love the way it turned out! Gives it a nice clean look. I will be adding a sonar mount, recessed trolling motor foot tray (from C.A.S.T Designs) and some rod storage up front.



    The seats I got from BassBoatSeats definitely do not fit my current setup. I could not find seats that were the same dimensions as the originals so I got crafty. I had to make a deck out of plywood and attached the seats to that, which I then screwed in over where the original seats mounted. Seems to have worked out fine so far! I also added some 3-rod holders on either side of the seats to solve my rod storage problem (found the idea surfing the web).



    I have lots more to do but haven't had a day of decent weather in almost a week! I picked up my (sort of) new sonar units yesterday from a guy I found on the Facebook marketplace. I will have a Garmin Stryker 7DV up front on a Dek-It Fish Finder mount and then the Garmin Echomap 93SV at the console (which I will have to get crafty to install).

    Any suggestions, comments, or concerns are definitely appreciated!! This is my first restore/mod job. More photos to follow as I continue to progress.

    -Bobby H
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  2. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Spotsylvania, Va. 22553. Near Frederi mm lcksburg, Va
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    4,755
    #2
    Good looking upgrades.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Coral, FL
    Posts
    15,319
    #3
    Be careful installing your recessed TM tray - I had a 288 sport and didn't install one because I heard there's stringers under the deck in that area.

    One thing I did with mine that I absolutely loved - was I fit and carpeted a board to go in the space up front, made a deck extension. That thing was awesome. Plus I could stick a tackle bag under it for additional storage. I didn't perm mount it either - it just pressure fit and I never once had a problem with it wanting to shake loose and fly out. Pretty sure there's a thread over on the fish/ski boats where I posted a pic awhile ago. I'll see if I can find it.
    THIS SPACE FOR RENT

  4. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Coral, FL
    Posts
    15,319
    #4
    THIS SPACE FOR RENT

  5. Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Topeka, Kansas
    Posts
    20
    #5
    Nice! Thanks for the info. I actually installed the tray yesterday. Didn't see any stringers where I cut. Essentially the front compartment goes all the way to the front of the bow. There is only about 4.5" of clearance where the front of the tray is installed. I will post a picture tonight.

    As far as the deck extension, I will DEFINITELY be making one of those. I am actually going to mount my seat back there instead of where it's at. Right now it is too far forward, so moving it back will give me more space to move around on the front. I will probably have to add some leg support since my butt seat will be there, but I am thinking it'll be big enough to fit a small cooler.

  6. Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Topeka, Kansas
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    20
    #6
    Ok so here is some of the progress lately. If only I could get some damn warmer weather I could be a lot farther along (boat does not fit in garage )!

    The recessed foot tray was super simple to install. Bought it from C.A.S.T Designs.



    If you're like me, when I start a project I usually end up down a rabbit hole on a bunch of other stuff. And that's how I ended up deciding to redo all the wiring. It had the original wiring harness that Mercury thought would be a good idea to use in the mid-90s and I hate it. Makes it difficult to upgrade certain things (at least for me). So I spent the last 2 weeks teaching myself electrical and ended up with this. I have changed the diagram some since I last drew it up. I've decided I really only need the aft livewell and can convert to bow one to extra storage.



    Most of the switches needed to be upgrade and I also needed a place to install my 9" Garmin. There wasn't really a good place to mount. This lead me to make a custom dashboard out of plywood and fiberglass. I was originally going to flush mount the Garmin but there wasn't much clearance from the steering wheel. RAM has a vertical 6" swing arm mount that will work great for what I need, which will be installed on the left side of the dash. I got rid of some of the original gauges that I don't need and now have a timer switch as well that I will use for an aerator for the livewell.



    Will be looking to prime/paint tonight and let it dry over night. When it is done I will be installing all the gauges and switches and then wiring them up to be ready for install!
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  7. Member CastingCall's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    5,056
    #7
    Nice!
    Wiring suggestion: As long as you'll be starting fresh, take a look at some of the previous posts BBCrs have posted with pics of their battery set-ups. Run minimal wires from battery to cut-off switch, then distribution blocks in the bilge (fuse and ground).
    For the dash, run from distribution to console, with a fuse/distribution panel like a Blue Sea unit. Wire the locators (pos and neg) direct from battery distribution - this will help eliminate any interference running through the console block.
    http://shop.pkys.com/Blue-Sea-5026-S...yABEgIEHPD_BwE

  8. Member
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    May 2017
    Location
    Topeka, Kansas
    Posts
    20
    #8
    Awesome thanks for the suggestion! I plan on having a negative busbar in the back for all the negatives in the rear to run but you're suggesting a positive block as well? And the main run will go to the master power switch. Are you saying run the Garmin units straight to the battery? I was going to run them to a fuse block and then to a switch. You think this will cause interference with the unit? Thanks again!!

  9. Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Topeka, Kansas
    Posts
    20
    #9
    See my switches are wired together and then have a fuse for each of them, so they are already fused. I thought about using the Blue Sea fuse block but there is a fuse already for each set of switches. I was planning on running the finders and my radio through a separate fuse block before going to a switch

  10. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Pensacola FL
    Posts
    1
    #10
    Nice build.. how did everything turn out and any lessons learned?.. I'm in the middle of redoing a 2004 185 Sport
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