new boat

[jeffstevens763@g]

well it was inevitable some changes might happen, a mate of mine wanted to come on a wild camping trip but 3 days before skye he had a stroke all's well now and we hope to do some in 2019.
whilst i was happy with my set up it was limiting for gear especially with a second crew member & kit, the dash was great but took up too much space forward. i always fancied something a bit more compact for the electronics and somewhere close at hand to put the camera and bits and bobs plus rest a cuppa and in front of my seat which works well and aids support my back on the long trips.
so i came up with this its made of HDPE sheet fairly inexpensive and welded together with a loop head soldering iron no skill needed just a steady hand i got all the pieces cut for free when i bought the sheet, i did it in 5mm thick but did find it warped abit even if i spot welded and jigged it up but its good enough for my needs. a few pics below.
its bolted at the base into the cargo clips & rail on the floor x 2 and then through the hogging strip, the bit thats bolted to the floor is single 5 mm sheet bent in toward the tube which acts the same as a shock absorber because the floor moves independently from the tube.
its got the battery and fuse box in the box behind the power isolator 4 screws to get at them its snug in there but all the lot comes out for maintenance.
thought i would share because it opens up to decent electronics on a small boat not taking too much room up.
the other thing i did is fit 2 wheels to the transom pad we had to retrieve in very shallow water and winching the boat back on the trailer proved a bit of a pain so i had the wheels spare so thought i'd try them out.
sorry about the pics for some reason my phone spins them

[Highland Haggis]

Wow Jeff that some big modification there what a difference in space now the from canopy has gone is that a new mini cooper in the back as well

[jeffstevens763@g]

hi HH
the mini is the missus motor or shopping trolley as i like to call it.
yep with dave coming got to do something ive still got the dash so its a 4 bolt change back if needed but i like the look of this will see this season how it pans out

[Highland Haggis]

Yeah it looks good you'll be like me this year little camping gear lol

[Kurt]

Real nice! You appear to be quite handy Jeff.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Highland Haggis

Yeah it looks good you'll be like me this year little camping gear lol

yea might not even carry tent pegs Ali

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Kurt

Real nice! You appear to be quite handy Jeff.

not as good as some Kurt but i do like to play in the winter months thats the beauty of our hobby ive not long found wild camping and now have the bug so the boat has to change
not be long before you start to post a few bits with the new boat

[Pikey Dave]

Nice work Jeff[emoji106]

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Nice work Jeff[emoji106]

Thanks Dave 5 MM a bugger to work with should have gone 10 MM still learning

[69cmw]

Looks good [emoji108]

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by 69cmw

Looks good [emoji108]

Cheers Craig

[jeffstevens763@g]

report with some info for those who haven't been there

well put the engine through its paces at loch feochan last week & all's well now i'm glad to say.
a short vid and a couple of pics the vid is a bit naff some good footage of the bow but i was paying more attention to the channel markers and the engine than the camera.
i launched out of ardoran marine with big tides starting, the slip is good and goes onto hard sand so no problems there but it's advisable to be out or in no later than 2 hours before or after low water tide times are 2 hours after Oban due to the loch filling through a narrow channel. the channel is marked but not easy to see the markers especially if the tide is running ebb and flood if you haven't a chartplotter they do a small map showing the markers, at low water there's about 1m under the keel and a sharp turn towards the bank going out not far off a large rock so look out for that.
in the pics show the slip and the cottages they have 3 in all the web site has all the info.
launch fee was £15 with ample parking for cars and trailers small chandlery on site as well as toilets, showers and of course marine maintenance.
in the summer months there's a pontoon also so great for all craft not far from Oban for petrol too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJc5tYRyyV0

[Kurt]

Jeff,
By the looks of the video, you carry a lot of gear! Lucky are those that travel with you and need a tool!

She seems to perform well with your load.

Kurt

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Kurt

Jeff,
By the looks of the video, you carry a lot of gear! Lucky are those that travel with you and need a tool!

She seems to perform well with your load.

Kurt

hi kurt

i know it looks a lot but all up it's probably 15 kg /33 lbs i have anchors x 2 50 m of rope, 30 m spare in a bag, plus the bucket, the grey bin is tools and spares, the yellow safety kit first aid, hand warmers survival bags & blankets that type of stuff, the other bag is spare prop and fishing reel. behind that a 43lt fuel tank with spare fuel lead. other than that i have knives in the small console with spare handheld gps, phone, electronic compass with anemometer fire extinguisher. the biggest lump is me but the Suzuki handles all that with ease.
its funny when i took the boat out one of the guys remarked on my kit asking what i did for a living because i have my bags labeled up which he thought was a good idea in an emergency but it seemed a lot of kit i explained in almost 50 years of boating i ve never needed it but i will still carry on doing the same better looking at it than looking for it to coin a phrase from pikey dave on here.

jeff