My fishing partner and I were thinking of getting a nice bass boat, then swapping out the gas motor for one or even two Torqeedo's (in tandem). We thought we might be able to do it in a way that we could then swap the gas engine on or off (with a hoist) whenever we decided to go to Deep Creek Lake or something (a rare occurence, since we'll mainly be fishing the reservoirs anyway).
Torqeedo seems to be the best electric motors, and they appear to have a nice gamut of options for the batteries, but I don't know enough about all that, or even where to put the batteries in the boat, or how many batteries to get.
What options are there to buy a nice reservoir rig ready to fish? I haven't really found many on the Internet.
Regards,
DickRichards78
Building vs buying complete reservoir rig,where do I begin. I will start with a simple Pro, Con for each.
Building Pro's
1) Set up boat to meet your needs.
Battery placement,storage,livewell type.
2)Initial cost is less, you can add
As budget allows.
3)You will know every inch of that boat,
wiring,cables etc. quicker problem solving.
4) Satisfaction in doing it yourself.
When someone says "Nice Rig"
It feels great!
Building Cons.
1)Time consuming.
2) Requires decent Handyman skills,
Electrical, carpet, metal,and or woodworking.
3) Band-aids. Don't ask me why I know this one.
4) Friends. They will be fishing when you need help.
Buying Pro's
1) You can see the basic finished product before you buy!
2) Warranty! Or someone to fix it if there is a problem.
3) Boat is matched to trailer, easy on easy off!!!
4) Who doesn't like a brand new boat!!
Buying Con's
1) Finding someone who does it all.
2) Initial cost, hard to hide from the wife!
3) Limited battery placement. Due to the layout of decking
4) Seeing another boat just like yours. Could be a problem
During off limits time for tournaments.
Bstandiford: Thanks, this was VERY informative and funny too (especially Buying Con #2!)!
I can add more later but some quick points.
-Due to the zebra mussel concern, you still need to "commit your boat" to the city owned reservoirs (Prettyboy, Liberty, Loch Raven). There is an affidavit you sign stating you will not place you boat in any other waters but these. That addresses the flawed thinking of a multi-purpose/multi-lake boat.
-Batteries: Unless you have deep pockets for lithium batteries, the typical reservoir boat setup is to string 6 volt golf cart (e.g. Exide GC 145) batteries in a series to add up to the desired voltage (e.g. 10 6-volt batteries = 60 volts). Based on that battery cost and the weight alone, believe me, you wouldn't want to back-breakingly swap this configuration out on a regular basis.
-craiglist, no pun intended of my name, or even our web site often has some great reservoir boats being sold as members are upgrading or as some have just decided to move on from reservoir fishing.
-There is a mention on our web site of Reservoir Boat Works who is very willing to help with reservoir boat building and guidance. Several of our members have leveraged their services.
all for now.
Go Fish Yourself! <'')))>< ...Respectfully.
Excellent point Craig, I hadn't thought of the issue with zebra mussels. We'll be happy with sticking to the reservoirs anyway, so that does make our path ahead a lot clearer. Thanks!
Ray, Reservoir Runner, Parsun, Torqueedo to name a few. Buy what you can afford without blowing your budget. Talk to as many people you can. They should be able to help you with the decision making process. I personally have owned 2 Ray motors. The first one I had for 13 years and sold with my boat. My current one is going on its 14th season without any major issues. I would not put down another product without using it myself! When it comes time to get another boat I will explore all of my options. Talk to people at the lake after a day of fishing when they most likely will have more time to answer any questions you may have! Good Luck
Thanks again, good to know about Ray!
Whether you buy or build, choosing the right hull for your needs is a critical decision. Choose a hull that is light, has a high load capacity and is the right size to meet your needs. Hull material is an easy choice when building or buying a reservoir rig. Aluminum is the lightest material that is readily available. Fiberglass hulls are heavier than aluminum hulls and excess weight in an electric boat is the enemy.
You will need a hull that is large enough to carry you, your fishing companion(s) your motor, bow mount, fishing gear and your batteries. Depending on your choice of motors, 24, 36, 48, 60 volt or more, you will need up to 10 6-volt batteries (each weighing approximately 70 Lbs.) just to power you main motor. Not to mention the batteries for your bow mount motor and electronics. If you choose lithium batteries, the weight will be far less, but the price will be much higher. Also, whether you build or buy, you will save weight by having an aluminum deck. Wood decking is very heavy and gets much heavier when you are fishing in the rain. Hull length is a critical choice. Larger hulls typically provide higher load capacity. They also provide potentially higher speeds. The theoretical hull speed of a boat, in knots, is
1.34 x Square root of waterline length. Multiply by 1.151 to convert to miles per hour.
This means a 14 foot boat has lower hull speed than an 18 foot boat. Narrower hulls tend to be more energy efficient than wide hulls of the same length, but they provide less load capacity and less comfort.
Hopefully I haven't complicated the issue for you. There are a lot of considerations. If you start with a pre-built reservoir rig, this becomes easier. If you are good with tools and like to tackle tough projects, building your own boat can be very rewarding.
Thanks, wmarchant! this is very on-point to what we are looking for and need to know. I've been visiting BassPro to consider their trackers and (sorta) the lower end Nitros. Thinking now about a Tracker 190 with the smallest motor, then replace the motor with a nice electric. Issue then would be what batteries and where to put them (I've no idea how hard it would be to remove the gas tank). Thank you for the food for thought!
Dick, the Tracker 190 looks like a really nice aluminum bass boat. I have ogled it many times at Bass Pro. Bob Staniford has the Tracker 175 and he can speak to its fish-ability. It seems to be a really nice fishing platform. The 175 is very similar to the 190.
Consider a couple of things carefully before choosing a boat. Determine the exact layout and placement of the batteries you intend to use, whether you choose lithium or 6 volt golf cart batteries. You will need to determine exactly where they will fit in the hull (with adequate clearance to avoid shorting them out on the deck). Also, placement of the batteries is critical to the balance of the hull. When we drive our reservoir boats, we are not getting them on plane. We are driving them in displacement mode. We are pushing the water, not planing on top of it. The way the hull is balanced is critical to the efficiency of the hull moving through the water. You will want to balance your hull in a way that allows the hull to ride down the bow wave that it creates, as opposed to climbing the bow wave. This is basically a little weight-forward attitude. One thing that I did not mention is the most efficient, and fastest aluminum hulls tend to be flat jon boat hulls with square bows, not semi-V or V shaped hulls. Just a few more things to think about.
wmarchant, wow, the idea of a flat, square bowed jon boat hull being more efficient than the semi-V on the 190 was a newsflash! Kinda counter-intuitive!
It is counter-intuitive, which is why I purchased a modified V Jon boat hull to use for the reservoirs. This was before I learned a couple of these things from seasoned electric boaters. I believe the Tracker 190 will be an excellent boat for you. I can only say that the people who put lots of money into building reservoir rigs (which also happen to be very fast and efficient) are using flat Jon boat hulls. Maybe someone else can explain the physics of it.
Walt:
Lots of new info and products coming out that I've been researching. I think we'll be seeing electric boats planing this year. I'm curious, are there any speed restrictinos on the reservoirs? I couldn't find any.
Planing electric boats have been around for a while. There are no current speed limitations on the reservoirs, to my knowledge. But I wouldn't want to spend $50,000 on a high speed rig and not be able to use it due to new safety rules that may come along. Take a look at the following link 180HP electric outboard. It's all about battery capacity. The motor is the easy part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg1aH55cxow
Pages