Back on the water!

I’ve had the boat dry for 3 weeks or so. Mid-80s 15ft tri-hull. This is my 4th season and the repair list was starting to drive me mad. I started some minor projects and before I knew it I had removed the back-to-back lounge seats, torn out all the carpet, and disconnected the entire electrical system. That all happened in one afternoon; of course it took considerably longer to put it all back together.

I’m still waiting on my new seats to arrive from Sportsman’s Guide, but I went out on Pool 2 last night and sat on a 5 gallon bucket with a throwable for a cushion. I’m loving the aft deck space. 2 people can fish very comfortably now, definitely manageable for 3.

– Fresh carpet throughout
– New kicker panels to separate the bow storage from cockpit
– New bilge pump and switch
– 12v power plug
– All new terminal rings at battery and new battery box;
– all new heat-shrunk butt connectors; all wiring in split loom

got any pics?

I’m completely with ya man!! Rig hasn’t been out since last fall, and life is keeping it hard for me to work on it.

Glad you got yours on the water, got to feel reeeaaaaal good after all that. Congrats and good luck fishing

Sounds like you are enjoying the extra space.

I had a 16′ 82 runabout with a 90hp, with the back-to-back seats. One of the best things I did was replace them with a couple pedestals. Like you said, it opened up so much floor space for fishing.
And I had no problems selling it with two pedestals.

My dad did the same thing with an 18′ tri-hull. Replaced the back-to-back seats with a couple pedestals. His boat had a rear bench that he kept for extra seating.

Ive had the rear pedestal seat out of my navigator for years now. Just sit on the back deck while driving. Much better driving this way than with one arm behind my back. Opens up a ton of space in the back of the boat.

I was still getting the new bilge pump wired up at 6pm yesterday so I didn’t stop to take any photos. Will snap a few tonight. It’s an old, simple boat — not much to look at, but it’s been fun making it work better for my needs.

For the pedestal seats I went with wide four-legged portable style bases as opposed to bolting pedestals into my deck. When I go out solo I can go with just one seat and place it anywhere on the deck.

Projects remaining for this summer:

– Figure out where and how to install rod holders. Flush mount on the gunnels seems easiest, but the gunnels are full of foam and I’d have to clear some of that out to run through-bolts. Think I’d have the same issue securing track or rail to the gunnels.

– Remove walk-thru windshield and re-secure with new hardware

– Hopefully install bow-mount TM

About a million years ago a buddy of mine had a tri hull. Great ride and really stable. However, that thing about killed us getting it loaded on the trailer. We were young and dumb and usually full of beer and would crank that old tub on the trailer. I guess power loading hadn’t been invented yet. Enjoy the projects. Nothing better than having a paid for boat that fishes well.

V hulls cut water, Jon Boats are stable-Always thought the tri captured the best of both-congrats-send pics

Still no pics but the seats came in today, so I’ll get some up soon.

I don’t typically read a lot of positive things about tri-hulls on the web, but it’s been a good first boat. Stability is awesome. It’s rated for 70hp max but the 50 pops me up on plane just fine. I run 25mph against the current. The real weak spot is the lack of responsiveness in steering, especially at lower speeds. Not the most agile boat.

@Dutchboy — I have cranked mine up onto the trailer a few times in lower water situations. Yeah, it gets the job done but there are certainly better ways. Water is way up on the Mississippi now so I have the opposite problem where the steep part of the ramp is under water. The other night I didn’t feel like getting my feet cold and wet after loading up so I climbed on the roof and entered via the moon roof

Right now when the water is high and cold I use Watergate….too many times getting wet and cold trying to use the other launches. I do miss some of the hilarity that ensues at Hidden Falls though.

Matt Moen wrote:

Right now when the water is high and cold I use Watergate….too many times getting wet and cold trying to use the other launches. I do miss some of the hilarity that ensues at Hidden Falls though.

Watergate is my backyard but I’m just a ridiculous cheap-skate when it comes to things I *could* be getting for free. I can’t handle Hidden Falls, I’ll only launch there if it’s February open water (like this year) and it’s the only option.

At Ft Snelling at least there’s minimal current or eddy. At launch I can stay dry even in low water because I have gravity on my side. I just use my oar to push against the trailer winch and roll myself down. But when I load up I need more trailer in the water, which requires some creative acrobatics — either the above-mentioned moon roof trick, or I can stand on the corner of my truck’s bumper and grab the rear bar of my roof rack for leverage to kind of spring myself over the water and onto the ramp.

I keep extra shoes/socks and a dry towel in the boat and truck at all times, just in case.

New seats going in tonight! I’ll post pics.

Well, I know it’s not much to look at compared to modern boats — but it’s such a major improvement over the rickety old boat I’d gotten used to living with and I’m extremely happy with the outcome. It definitely makes me want to take better care of the boat moving forward and it’s great piece of mind to know that, at least of today, everything on the boat is functioning properly and safely.

I should note that my wonderful mother refurbed the bench seats in the front and the trim pieces that run the length of the boat last year for my father’s day gift. Moms rule

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Dude that thing is seriously kick a$$. Should be proud of er, that’s a nice looking rig!

Only if ya could get classic plates for it, then it would really be a smooth rider

nhamm wrote:

Dude that thing is seriously kick a$$. Should be proud of er, that’s a nice looking rig!

Only if ya could get classic plates for it, then it would really be a smooth rider

Thank you sir! I’m quite proud of her. I have my twinges of jealousy when I see the new Lunds and Alumacrafts but I am truly grateful to have something that floats and gets me on the water, period.

Nice looking boat. I like how wide open it is. Very practical.

great job !! no need to be jealous of the new stuff,a fish does not care what you spent on a boat!
one of the first boats I got to fish out of was a tri-hull around forty years ago with a fifty horse merc on it.
very stable on the water and the merc pushed it very well.

Thanks fellas!

Nice work. What is the PVC pipe contraption?

Watergate is my backyard but I’m just a ridiculous cheap-skate when it comes to things I *could* be getting for free. I can’t handle Hidden Falls, I’ll only launch there if it’s February open water (like this year) and it’s the only option.

At Ft Snelling at least there’s minimal current or eddy. At launch I can stay dry even in low water because I have gravity on my side. I just use my oar to push against the trailer winch and roll myself down. But when I load up I need more trailer in the water, which requires some creative acrobatics — either the above-mentioned moon roof trick, or I can stand on the corner of my truck’s bumper and grab the rear bar of my roof rack for leverage to kind of spring myself over the water and onto the ramp.

I keep extra shoes/socks and a dry towel in the boat and truck at all times, just in case.

New seats going in tonight! I’ll post pics.
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I haven’t tried Ft Snelling yet – need to give that a try. My buddy negotiated a deal with Watergate for April and May. Ended up netting the cost down to about $5 a launch so that worked pretty well. They don’t get much traffic through there early in the year so they were open to a discount.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Nice work. What is the PVC pipe contraption?

LIGHTS!

After replacing 3 sets in 3 seasons I got completely fed up with “submersible” / “waterproof” trailer lights. I’m convinced such a thing doesn’t exist. The contraption tethers tightly onto the cleats and I just run a long length of flat 4 down the middle of the boat when I’m trailering. It folds up and sits in the truck while I’m on the water.

It’s pretty ghetto, I admit — but it’s officially lasted longer than any lights I’ve had mounted to the trailer. They’re far bright as well. I’m trying to come up with a good way to pigtail some side markers up because I don’t think I’m legal without ’em.

Matt Moen wrote:

I haven’t tried Ft Snelling yet – need to give that a try. My buddy negotiated a deal with Watergate for April and May. Ended up netting the cost down to about $5 a launch so that worked pretty well. They don’t get much traffic through there early in the year so they were open to a discount.

Good to know they’re open to a little negotiation.

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Lights, nice! I wouldn’t have guessed.

pool2fool wrote:

I’m convinced such a thing doesn’t exist.

Sure seems like when you know your trailer lights are working, you find out they’re not!

I wiggled a wire on my trailer two weeks ago before my league partner showed and the wire broke so what did I do, a 5 minute quick splice that’ll leave me without lights again another day

I suppose one if these days I’ll rewire and solder as frequently mentioned by those without light problems! I blame the winter months for my problems… And me!

Hope your boat sees much slime in 2017!

I like the tail lights! I would think it will be safer driving in rush hour with all the tailgaters.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Hope your boat sees much slime in 2017!

I caught my first channel cat of the year (tiny, but slimy) on Friday, so I’ve got a start at least.

Matt Moen wrote:

Watergate is my backyard but I’m just a ridiculous cheap-skate when it comes to things I *could* be getting for free. I can’t handle Hidden Falls, I’ll only launch there if it’s February open water (like this year) and it’s the only option.

At Ft Snelling at least there’s minimal current or eddy. At launch I can stay dry even in low water because I have gravity on my side. I just use my oar to push against the trailer winch and roll myself down. But when I load up I need more trailer in the water, which requires some creative acrobatics — either the above-mentioned moon roof trick, or I can stand on the corner of my truck’s bumper and grab the rear bar of my roof rack for leverage to kind of spring myself over the water and onto the ramp.

I keep extra shoes/socks and a dry towel in the boat and truck at all times, just in case.

New seats going in tonight! I’ll post pics.

I haven’t tried Ft Snelling yet – need to give that a try. My buddy negotiated a deal with Watergate for April and May. Ended up netting the cost down to about $5 a launch so that worked pretty well. They don’t get much traffic through there early in the year so they were open to a discount.
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What’s wrong with Hidden Falls?

DaveB wrote:

What’s wrong with Hidden Falls?

The few times I’ve used it, it had a strong current and a tight eddy running upstream across the end of the launch. If you’re not aggressive enough, you can get spun pretty good.

Ft. Snelling is nice except for the MN River scumline on the boat.

______________ wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>DaveB wrote:</div>
What’s wrong with Hidden Falls?

The few times I’ve used it, it had a strong current and a tight eddy running upstream across the end of the launch. If you’re not aggressive enough, you can get spun pretty good.

Ft. Snelling is nice except for the MN River scumline on the boat.

X2. That Eddie is a doozy when I try to load up solo. Also seems like the drunk and impatient quotient is higher there.

Meh, you just need to use a little pace when approaching. ✌️