ALL GUSSIED UP

I love my ol’ tin boat.

It’s a 1994 Alweld, a 15 footer with thick walls built to take a beating, wide draft for stability and a true flat bottom that will float in some really skinny water.

There’s a 40-horse Yamaha that’s just as old strapped to the transom. It’s a tiller drive with a rope crank that typically takes no more than a few yanks to bust those ponies loose. Not bad for a 30-year-old engine that has never demanded much other than routine maintenance on the water pump and lower unit grease. It’s risky business to say it, but the boat has never left me stranded.

The motor bolts to a fourinch aluminum jack plate and is equipped with a stainless prop. Fully loaded, the boat will scoot along at 30 m.p.h. It runs best with a little chop on the surface.

The boat was new to me when I bought it from a good friend, Shane Hale, way back in 1995. Hale built the boat right, complete with a lightweight subfloor fashioned from aluminum square tubing and carpeted decks made from 3/4 inch marine grade plywood.

I’ve taken good care of the boat, and it shows. About 20 years ago I roughed up the factory green paint, gave it a custom camouflage scheme using rattle cans and sealed it using automotive clear coat. Minus a few bumps, the $250 paint job has held up amazingly well.

There is no denying that bigger, heavier fiberglass boats are much better suited for big water than a little tin boat, but the economics associated with owning a new one are well beyond the financial reach of many. I know guys who have dropped $100,000 on brand new bass boats that are equipped with all the latest and greatest goodies.

There are plenty of advantages to mini boat ownership. For starters, a tiny boat is way more affordable and easier to maintain than a big one. Tiny boats also are fun to tinker with and a pleasure fish out of, especially on small lakes and rivers where the wind is rarely a problem.

Use your imagination and invest a little time and it’s possible to turn a plain Jane jon boat into a really nice fishing rig that won’t break the bank. Just know their limitations and respect them. Wind and big waves can spell disaster in a small rig.

I’ve made several improvements to my ol’ tin boat over the years, but none to compare with a major overhaul launched last fall. It’s not the nicest tiny boat on the water, but you may not find one that’s more functional thanks to numerous key upgrades in the electrical, electronic and power departments.

My good friend Todd Driscoll was good enough help out with the electrical and electronic installations in exchange for two cases of Modelo Oro. Here’s a summary of the upgrades and how we went about it:

12 to 24

Building a foundation for many of the upgrades called for swapping out the original 12-volt electrical system for a 24-volt set up.

The idea was to support a more powerful trolling motor, and to handle the constant draw of bigger and better electronic units and transducers.

The conversion meant tearing out the original wiring and replacing it with much heavier 6-gauge marine grade wire. The big wire is routed along the grooves of the inner sidewalls and wrapped with 3/4 inch convoluted wire loom.

The sidewall routing keeps the wire off the floor and away from water, while the loom protects it from chafing and provides a tidy appearance.

Garmin Force Trolling Motor Too much trolling motor power is always better than too little.

The jump from a 12-volt, 50-pound thrust trolling motor to a much more powerful 24-volt, 80-pound thrust unit marked a significant improvement.

There are several good trolling motor choices out there. I went with a Garmin Force, and it’s a beast.

The motor delivers remarkable efficiency with a brushless motor that is ultra- quiet, offers 20 steps of variable speed and has dual gas springs for easy deployment and stowing seem effortless. It also be operated by remote control.

The motor supports multiple sonar frequencies and is equipped with all sorts of auto pilot features like anchor lock, built-in GPS, heading hold and cruise control.

The wireless foot control can be hard wired or powered using two AA batteries. It fits nicely into the recessed foot control tray by Panther Marine. The recessed tray gets the pedal out of the way and makes operation more comfortable.

Electronics

Top notch electronics aren’t essential for catching fish, but they certainly don’t hurt. I went with a pair of Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 106sv units — one on the bow and one at the driver’s seat.

The 10 inch units are paired with the company’s latest LiveScope Plus system and a GT56UHD transducer at the transom. The units are linked using a NEMA cable for sharing GPS waypoints and other data.

Space is limited on tiny boats, so it’s important to make use of it wisely while making sure water sensitive gadgets are mounted in a dry place. I mounted the Live-Scope sonar module to the bottom side of the plywood casting deck. It’s out of sight and away from water.

Electronic Mounts

The rear unit mounts to the inner wall using a short arm Ram Mount with a D-Ball base. The set-up is plenty solid and offers a range of adjustability for easy viewing from the driver’s seat.

The front unit bolts to an 8 inch bottom riser from Tiny Boat Nation. It’s the perfect height for viewing LiveScope, but not so tall that it gets in the way.

TBN offers a wide range of other products for small boat conversions and restorations like deck kits, livewells, storage boxes, recessed trolling motor trays, battery chargers, lithium batteries and more. Check them out at tbnation. com.

Batteries, Charger and Breakers I’ve run wet cell batteries for years, but not anymore. Ionic lithiums got the nod on this rebuild. Manufacturers advertise several benefits to going lithium over lead acid or AGM: * Provides consistent voltage throughout discharge cycles.

* Paired with the proper charger, lithium batteries will recharge significantly faster than other batteries. Nor do lithiums require recharging after every use.

* Longer lasting. The 12 volt, 50 amp hour batteries in my rig are advertised to last 3000-5000 cycles.

* Weight and Size: This is a biggie. The lithium batteries in my boat weigh only 16 pounds each, together about 48 pounds. The typical Group 31 flooded or AGM battery weighs more than 60 pounds. The decrease in weight adds up to better hole shots, improved top end speed and overall better performance.

The batteries also are significantly smaller than wet cells. I was able to fit three batteries in the same space where only two traditional batteries would have fit.

Two of the batteries are wired direct to the trolling motor. The third is dedicated to electronics.

Charging Them Up

There are a variety of onboard chargers available for lithium batteries. Iconic lists Noco as a good companion, so that’s the brand I chose.

The Gen 5X3 three-bank model delivers 15 amps (5 amps per battery) and weighs only six pounds. The charger is advertised as 100 percent waterproof and will work with other battery types by switching modes.

Cutting Power

Driscoll installed separate 60 amp circuit breakers for the trolling motor and the electronics. A breaker is an cheap safety feature intended to protect expensive equipment from amperage overloads and other electrical gremlins. It also stops all battery current flow when the boat is not in use, eliminating the worry of parasitic amperage draws that could drain batteries between uses. “It’s cheap insurance and good peace of mind,” Driscoll said.

RAILBLAZA Hex Live Pole 60 Forward-facing sonar like Garmin LiveScope is all the rage these days. The technology operates using a special transducer that allows anglers to scan the water column and see how fish react to their baits in real time.

Trolling motor shaft mounts are heavily preferred in bass fishing arenas, whereas armies of crappie fishermen favor mounting the transducer to an independent pole.

A pole mount allows for scanning 360 degrees around the boat while the trolling motor moves the boat in a straight line. It also helps keep the transducer zeroed in on a target while the trolling motor is operating on Anchor Lock — a huge advantage when targeting crappie bunched up around brush piles, stumps and other isolated cover.

Several companies are making independent poles designed to mount to the gunnel or deck. I went with a RAILBLAZA Hex Live Pole 60 with an optional riser plate that mounts to the deck. The riser provides additional clearance over the gunnel.

The aluminum pole rotates inside an innovative mount that allows for deployment, stowing or total removal in a matter of seconds. I added one of the company’s adjustable trolling motor support brackets to secure the pole and prevent bouncing while the boat is underway.

The Hex Live Pole 60 isn’t the most rigid independent pole on the market, but it’s not the most expensive, either. The pole also is available in 30-inch model suitable for kayaks. Both come with a handy storage case for protection when not in use. Check them out at railblaza.com.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com .