9' Pond Prowler Modifications

MacHammer · November 26, 2019, 12:20:48 PM

I want to start documenting the mods I'm making to my 9' Bass Pro Pond Prowler. In these images, I've added 4 recessed rod holders.

It was a bit nerve-racking to drill that first hole in the deck, but I got over it while making three more. I used a 2" hole saw to cut through the deck. I learned how to use a riv-nut gun to embed the hard-points for attaching the rod holders to the deck.

You'll notice that the holders in the back aren't oriented in the same directions. I chose to position one that faces forward to put a rod in a good position for tying lures and tackle. For now, I'm fishing from the back of the boat while my son or other guests fish from the front seat.

Next up? Rod storage and a Garmin 4 Plus CV and transducer arm!

FlatsNBay · November 29, 2019, 04:13:06 PM

Looking good! What depthfinder are you going to go with? I'm probably going to go with a Garmin because of the quick draw feature on it. It will help me to map out the contours of a couple of bodies of water that I fish.

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Donald Garner · November 30, 2019, 09:10:19 AM

Great job with the install there. Tks for sharing the pictures with us.

MacHammer · December 02, 2019, 08:44:14 AM

Quote from: FlatsNBay on November 29, 2019, 04:13:06 PM
Looking good! What depthfinder are you going to go with? I'm probably going to go with a Garmin because of the quick draw feature on it. It will help me to map out the contours of a couple of bodies of water that I fish.

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It was my birthday last week and my wonderful wife took me to Bass Pro and we picked up the Garmin Striker 4 Plus CV. I spent last night attaching the transducer to a Scotty transducer arm. I'll mount it on Friday, weather permitting. I might get to test it this weekend. I may try the charting feature in some of the coves. My boat is truly tiny and not fast enough to chart the lakes I can access. I'd simply be able to paint a small stripe across a huge expanse of water.

So far, if there are fish in the lake, I haven't found them. I'm hoping the Garmin will be able to prove me wrong that there aren't any fish in there.

MacHammer · December 02, 2019, 09:06:58 AM

My next planned upgrade isn't directly to the boat.

Being honest, I've never been too comfortable with the ideas of 12V batteries and their proximity to water. As my trolling motor is the only means of propulsion for getting me back to the launch, I like the idea of keeping the battery dry.

Because I'm adding another 12V battery into the system to support the Garmin Striker 4-Plus, I want to make a battery dry box, a la

The YouTube video was kind enough to provide Amazon links to all of the parts he used and Amazon has been busy shipping me all of the bits needed. I think I'll be able to start making this dry box on Friday, as well.

The box will include a Volt-meter, banana clips, and I'm going to modify his design to include a charging port that matches the two-prong connector on my charger. I'll be able to charge the box directly by plugging in one cord to one port. I'm going to connect that one directly to the battery, bypassing all of the other terminals. I'm going to use a second of those ports to connect my Garmin to the box, but that one will go through the fuses and switches to protect the Amp load on the Garmin.

My plan is to use this dry box to power any of the accessories and to charge my phone if needed. I'm planning on leaving the trolling battery alone to power that all-important electric canoe paddle so I don't have to break out the old-fashioned canoe paddle.

I don't think I've mentioned my first "real boater" trade that I enacted...The former owner included a 30# Pond Prowler Trolling Motor with the boat sale. I posted it online and sold it for $50. I then purchased a two-year-old Minn Kota Endura C2 55 for $75. The unit I had sold for $99 when new and was 4-years old. The "new" unit sells for $250 and is 2-years old! #winning!

In true tiny-boater fashion, I bought $250 for $25!!

I'm going to add a voltmeter to the motor because I liked that feature on the old Pond Prowler. Besides, once you get comfortable cutting holes in plastic, why not cut a hole in the top of your trolling motor, right?

More pics this weekend.

Mac Hammer

FlatsNBay · December 03, 2019, 03:51:08 PM

Great ideas. Post up some pics when you are done including how you mounted the depth finder and transducer.

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MacHammer · December 05, 2019, 08:58:21 AM

Good morning.

Well, this has been a lot of fun. I'm learning that building a battery box can be challenging and that the Plano box might not be the best option for creating one of these.

If you watch the video I referenced, which is one of THE BEST DIY vids I've ever seen. The guy is simply amazing at giving you the confidence it takes to create this project...but I digress... If you watched, you saw the configuration he made. I've chosen to modify his design to tailor it for my use.

For instance, I don't have a lot of equipment that uses an APU Cigarette Outlet. Most of my stuff is USB powered, so I'm going to add a second USB power port instead. Also, I've added two SAE sockets in the sidewalls of the box, one on each side. These will serve two purposes. First, I'm adding an SAE connector to my Garmin power cable. I'll simply connect my Garmin to the SAE socket on the left side of the box. This should create a solid connection to the power source and I won't have to mess with the banana clips on top to connect the wires.

The SAE socket on the right side of the box will be connected directly to the battery. My charger/maintainer has an SAE connector option. I'll simply jack this into the side of the box and charging will begin. I've learned from the videos that sealed batteries don't need to be vented while charging, so I don't even have to open the box to charge it. This port may see future use. I might pick up a solar-powered trickle charger. There is a second part of his video series that shows how to add a solar system to his box. He adds a lot of stuff I find unnecessary as I can purchase a panel that doesn't create a drain on the battery and will not overcharge the battery. If I let the panel handle that, I don't have to mount a solar kit inside the box as he did. And, the area where that would need to go is in use by my SAE sockets, anyway.

I've nearly completed a useable box. To make it more photogenic, I've put a second Voltmeter in the left socket until I get the second USB unit from Amazon. Here it is:

MacHammer · December 09, 2019, 01:41:49 PM

On Friday, I finished the wiring of the Battery Drybox. After the near flame-out the night before, I had to re-do a bit of wiring as there was no longer any insulation on some patches! Once that was done, I had to do a lot of futzing to get the thing to work. I later figured out that various manufacturers can't be counted upon to adhere to the same wiring conventions. For instance, the rocker switches I bought have two silver leads and one gold lead. The gold is for negative. So, I connected all of the switched load leads to the silver terminal assuming it was the positive. Nothing worked. It wasn't until I was getting ready to cut my connectors off to try for a better contact that I noticed that one of the gold leads had a (+) next to it.

Seriously?

Once I figured that out, I started seeing more happy lights where I expected to find them. I'll include a couple of finished kit images below.

Next, I added the Scotty mount for the transducer. That went well. No issues. Fished it on Saturday and it did its job well.

Now that I have a working battery box, I needed to mount the Garmin unit.

My Tiny Boat has a couple of round, call them drink holders on each side. I thought this would be a perfect spot to mount the display unit. They are in the center of the boat and since the Garmin mount is supposed to swivel, it could work from the back or the front seat.

Thinking myself clever, I decided to use my shiny new rubber rivets from Scotty. I drilled the three holes and then popped in three rivets to affix the mount to the boat. Worked like a charm! Three beautiful attachments. Then, I slid the plastic mount into the base and discovered that the back rivet blocks the mount from fully seating in the mount, leaving the unit somewhat less than fully-secured. OOPS!!

So, looking for advice on how to remove rivets from a plastic boat! We fished on Saturday and I decided that having the mount where I lay my rods was making me nervous. I was afraid I was going to grab a rod and knock my Garmin into the drink. In other words, me no likey.

Back to Amazon where I made a discovery about the Garmin mount. The Striker 4 series uses the same mounting system as my Garmin Nuvi GPS for my truck. I ordered a Nuvi mount that has a socket for a 14mm ball mount. And, I ordered a 14mm ball post. They arrive today so I can test my theory. If it works, I'll mount the device inward from the right pontoon and secure it into the sidewall (still in the pontoon, not in anything wet).

Well, that's the story. Here are the pics:

Mac Hammer (12/9/19)