Wiring the Whaler

    The little Whaler is awesome in its simplest form but I needed some updates to make it suite my needs. One of the main things was the anchor light. I had purchased a battery-operated clamp-on style light to get me through my Bear Island trip in October. all-in-all it was way too short and I had to rig it to clamp it on. The previous owner gave me a standard anchor light with the boat so I purchased a receptacle to accept it and fabricated it onto the boat. I would have loved the original style light and may swap it out one day, but they are way more than I want to spend on a light right now.

    Of course, I had to get my Helix sorted out as well. I went ahead and put that on a switch as well. I bought a transom block and mounted that as well as a new transducer. (I am using the original transducer on my G3 with a splitter into the Helix 9). I took the boat out with my bubby (previous owner) and got ok readings but I feel they could be better. I think part of the problem is the transom is curved and that cocks the transducer a bit. I suspect it will only really affect readings while moving along.

 

    Of course, I needed a way to charge my phone and run 12-volt accessories so I installed a lighter plug. I may change this out later for a USB lighter combo.

    On the trip in October, we got a bunch of rain overnight and I had to hand bail water from the boat so I installed a small bilge pump. I just ran flex hose to the back and zip tied that on. My goal has always been to have a few holes as possible.

    Lastly, I put in green LEDs for night fishing and white lights for seeing in the dark.

    All of this is tied into a 6 gang switch box and a ground lug. The only thing I do not really like is the red light that glows constantly while connected to the battery. I will either put a switch on the battery to turn off power to it or go in and disable the light.

    I put this over on my Facebook Group page but not here so I will include it now.....

   I added some rod holders and I also moved the fire extinguisher under the front hatch. I wanted the hatch to have more weight so I would have to worry less about it blowing off going down the road.

I went with two since three would have been tight.

I added the YETI opener as well.

    FYI, YETI clip-on accessories for the coolers fit the side clamps like a glove. You can hang the cup holders or the cooler rod holders right on. They fit nice and tight. You could screw them down if you were concerned with theft.

    I think the last thing I want to do is get a battery box for the battery and I will be done.... for now....

Got Wood?

    I got the new wood interior installed in Lil' Salty today. Overall it is not a hard job. Once you get the holes spaced out and drilled, the rest goes pretty smooth.
    Normally everything would sit about a foot forward from where I put it but since this is a tiller steer boat I moved it all back.

Here is the before picture. There were two thick, warped boards just laying in the boat. I would have to put them in the truck when towing to prevent them from flying out. I'm not sure they would but better safe than sorry!

Here is everything all mocked up before I started drilling any holes.

Here is the completed project. I have not mounted the fish finder yet. I just have the cover for effect.

Close up of the console...

    The console would normally hold the steering wheel. I wanted the console so I could mount my fish finder and maybe a phone holder. The wood looks so good I am going to hate to drill into it!



Now I have an urge to take it to the lake!

Voodoo Tactical Mini Mojo Load-Out Bag Review

    Review of the VooDoo Tactical mini Mojo Load-Out Bag 

    I had been using a small suitcase or a backpack for trips. For the most part this worked out OK. For longer trips I found my large backpack to work but I would have to dig for my belongings. I decided I wanted a duffle style bag. I found this bag on Amazon for about 100 dollars and I think it is well worth it.

    I have taken it on a few trips to date and it has held up without any issues. If I had to have a con, it would be the weight of the bag fully loaded. This can be expected with any large bag you fill full of your stuff. Not much you can do about that. Another thing is the extra bulk the side packs add to the bag. This is a necessary evil if you want to keep your stuff organized and have easy access while traveling. I did not use the backpack style straps sewn on the bottom. I just kept them tucked away in their pouch and pretty much forgot they were there. If you never used them you could cut them off to save weight. I doubt you would notice the difference either way.

    I added on two pouches I purchased separately and had more than enough room for everything for my two week trip up North. The additions were a VooDoo Tactical Molle Utility Pouch and the VooDoo Tactical Molle Utility Pouch for Vest. The bags pouches are sewn on and I wanted removable options for toiletries and assorted items. I also purchased a Medical pouch for minor travel emergencies that can also strap onto the pack. Overall I could have just opted for one extra pouch and that would have been plenty.

    I will not be using this for every trip but it definitely has its place for longer trips.

    Everything, plus some, that I took in the bag for my trip.

Everything except my boots fit and I had some extra room if needed.

VooDoo makes a larger bag. I could not imagine needing it for one person!

It also has a neat pouch for your ID or a patch fits nicely in there.

   Here are the details quoted from Amazon

Product Description:

    A smaller version of the popular Mojo load out bag, it has the same great features but 3/4 the size. With 11 assorted size exterior pouches, lots of webbing to attach more pouches, double-zip access to the main compartment, double compression straps on each end, metal "D" ring attachment points abound, top clear ID window, wrap-around carry handle, adjustable removable shoulder strap with movable pad and when the load gets too heavy, we've provided a padded, adjustable shoulder strap harness that conceals in the bottom of the bag when not needed.

Measures 31" L x 15 1/2" W x 14" L ( I assume they meant H)?  Weight is 6.6 pounds.

PRODUCT LINK

Bear Island 2019

    It was another great year at Bear Island!

    I got the boat and truck all loaded up for the trip. The worst part of this is packing or a few days at the lake, a few days on the island and clothes for a day or two back at the Lake.

    I started out a few days at my buddy Steve's house on Kerr Lake to fit the boat with a new motor and do some test runs!

   The Whaler did great on the lake and was pretty fast with two guys. The only issue we had was getting the boat on the trailer without any guideposts. I cured this problem right away by going to Overby's Marina and getting some guidepost to add on. While I was there I also picked up a cheap tiller extension and some new bearing caps for the trailer. The Bearing Buddies that I put on before leaving GA fell off somewhere on the trip up to NC. Thanks for all the help Rufus!

    We took the boat out once more with three good-sized guys to do a little fishing and more tet runs. I could tell it got slower but still did ok.

    A little dock fishing to kill some more time before heading to Bear Island.

    We got up early Sunday morning and headed out. We had a convoy of three. Steve and I with the Whaler, David with his kayak and Steve H. with his kayak. The rest of the guys, Tim, Dan, and Jim, met us at the boat ramp. Once we got all of the gear loaded into the boats we headed out on the 3 mile trip to the Island. Although we had to balance out a few loads, we all made it across without incident.

      The Whaler handled the weight like a champ but it did lose a ton of speed.


     Once on the island we had a blast fishing and enjoying the island. The first night brought on a storm with some wind, lightning, and thunder. The next morning most of had a ton of sand blown up on our tents as well as inside! I took everything out and removed as much sand as possible so I would not have to sleep in it another night.

Tore my zipper flap trying to get into my tent :( I already sent it off for repair!

The next morning...

Here are all of the pictures during our stay.

Even steamed some fresh-caught crabs!

     Tuesday's weather was great and we had thought the rain would pass us up. Not the case... Tuesday night we got more rain and a huge storm was due in. We decided to pack up and leave rather than ride it out since a couple of the guys had to leave Wednesday anyway. We decided the best way was to make a few trips since the wind was gathering speed as the morning got later. We made 3 trips and everyone got across safely. We got some hard rain during the trips but nothing to worry about. Most of us had rain gear so it was just a nuisance. The little Whaler handled the rougher water like a champ. Again it was slow-go with the extra weight. The trips back to the island empty were a blast.

Looking forward to doing it again next year!!