Final Modifications for 2004

(Please click any thumb nail image to view full size)

Well I have finally got round to finishing all the other little things I have been working on. 

I have bought & fitted a fishfinder (Raymarine L365) & the swivel seats I wanted. Below are some pictures showing the details of the various parts & how they fit on the boat. The case for carrying the fishfinder & its power supply, which is an old mini sander tool case. I have added foam padding & a wooden plate under the lid to screw the mount to. I have trapped a piece of webbing under the mount to act as the securing strap, this is the same method I have used to secure the seat bases.

fishfinder-3.JPG (70638 bytes) fishfinder-case-1.JPG (81215 bytes) fishfinder-case-2.JPG (79807 bytes)  

The seat bases are 12mm exterior ply, heavily varnished. I have used a piece of 25mm alloy strip to secure the webbing to the base & coated the underside with 4mm neoprene single lined foam, this provides a non slip base ! All web straps are fitted with fastex buckles, so click on & pull the loose end to tighten. The bases are the same width as the PB seat (9"ish) & they are just slightly narrower than the width of the folding seat.

The transducer is attached to a bracket that is connected to the engine pad on the transom, I have drilled a couple of holes to match those on the alloy bracket & put 2 sets of holes on the alloy bracket, so I can raise or lower the transducer once I test it ! These pictures are the first dry run with all the parts in place. The bracket is just a piece of alloy angle, with a couple of pine blocks glued & screwed to it. The transducer mount is then screwed to the wood, as you would do on a solid transom boat. The bracket seems OK, but only an in water test will prove it one way or the other ! The bracket is attached with wing nuts & the black & blue objects are a couple of epoxy tube caps, drilled out & screwed on backwards to stop the wing nuts working loose !  

transducer-bracket-5.JPG (70437 bytes) transducer-bracket-6.JPG (62161 bytes) transducer-bracket-7.JPG (65543 bytes) transducer-bracket-1.JPG (45847 bytes) 

The pine oars live in the boat during transport & stop the boat flexing on my roof rack ! Now with all these extra items, I have bought a half width roof box, that takes most of the gear for the PB, thus leaving me room in the car (Honda CR-V) for other luggage when I go on holiday. The roof box takes the transom, front seat, 1 swivel seat, boat box & anchor bag, life jackets, assembly stick & fishfinder/transducer, plus a host of smaller/soft items. The engine goes in the boot, the fuel tank goes under the floor in the wet well, along with the anchor. The middle & rear seat go on top of the load cover, thus leaving me only the bow piece to find a home for in the car & 1 swivel seat. 

The "Walker-Dolly"

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