BOAT RIGGING

[KEVIN S]

Plan on ordering a new boat, wondering how much money a person can save by rigging the boat yourself.

[sdive]

Hard to give you a price not knowing what equip you are using. But you will save plenty that you maybe can upgrade to better equip for the same money. I guess what I would look at ..Are you somewhat mechanically inclined? Have the basic tools needed or can get them? Have a nice garage or shop to work in so you can tear things all apart and leave them for days? Do you have some imagination to be able to see how things fit logically into your style of fishing operation? If you feel confident with those issues I say go for it. I do all my own rigging, the dealer hangs the motors on the back and I take it home. I constantly make mental images of things and ideas I see and like on other peoples boats and how I can incorperate that into my next rig if it looks like a good idea.

[Box]

Ditto - You just have to be willing to cut and drill holes in your transome/deck/gunwale/console, and have the right equipment - basically, good sharp drill bits, proper fasteners and gromets, and the biggie --- dexterity to get your hands and fingers into places really really small and with funky angles :)

A second set of hands is often necessary, and remember to think about how you would take things off if you ever plan to upgrade.

And lots and lots of tie wraps! We use an old fisberglass flimsy pole with no eyelets to help us thread wires. A big hint it, once you get a rope/string threaded, make sure you always leave one behind so you only have to "pull" a cable through, and never have to thread it once you have it threaded the first time. Of course, you may want to keep xducer cable away from other wiring, but you do that the same way. I gaurantee it won;t be the last cable you thread, so may as well leave the string in there for the next time. Big time saver.

Honestly, it is pretty fun to do. I have no idea how much it costs to have someone else do it, cause we always did it ourselves.
-Box

[KEVIN S]

Sidive, plan on a triton 205, 225 optimax,possibly a kicker lowrance electronics either minn kota or motorguide bowmount. for the other questions have welding and machine shop,could possibly even hang the motors. thanks.

[sdive]

Sounds Like you have all the bases covered. I am trying to think I did a Ranger Merc Motor with a 9.9 kicker. I added am/fm speakers antenna, marine vhf with antenna, onboard 3 bank charger, 3 stowaway batt. Minkota Auto pilot with quick attach plate, 3 fish-on rod holders on each side with flush mounts, 2 Cannon Mag 10's w/swivel bases and 12lb weights, several neat little perko no glare interior lites for nite fishing, Lowrance GPS and depth finder, I used stand alone units cause I don't like the split screen. I put together a package deal thru Reeds for all the above equip and saved enough to pay for the two downriggers I figured.. I know one day I walked out of the local Ace Hardware with over 50 dollars in stainless steel bolts screws and washers.

With a machine shop you have the same resource I had. Some things to note: Make templates, do a mock up to see if things fit and make sense and are functional for your style of fishing. When drilling fiberglass I always use tape on the surface and use "bullet" brand bits..they seem to be the best I have found to keep the glass from chipping. Always use washers under Screw heads, they make a real neat gromet type to use with the countersunk type heads. Any hole I drill in fiberglass I like a slight counter sink to cut down the stress cracks and make sure you coat all fiberglass holes with silicone to seal them. If you have to make radio brackets or the like make them from Aluminum, no rust or paint and looks better. If you have to mount something where it will be a blind hole and if a Triton is like a Ranger access is terrible, they make a nifty blind hole fastener called the toggler..works like a dream and will hold anything a nut and washer will hold... Most of all make sure your battery is unhooked in case you drill into a wire that isn't where you thought it was...I actually went to the Ranger factory to watch them build some boats and take pictures so I would know what and where things were located in the gunnels where I wanted to mount my flush mount rod holders...Sorry to be so long winded...and good luck!

[FJH1]

You nailed it Box! I usually end up bruised and cut up after rigging a boat, but man it is rewarding. Sometimes I feel like I could try out for Cirque d Soleil as a contortionist :-). I never let anyone rig one of my boats, much more fun to do it yourself. Measure twice, drill once.

Best Regards,

FJH

[zinger_79]

Kevin,

If you haven't purchased your boat already you might try to simply ask the dealer to rig for free. I was fortunate that when I was negotiating my deal, I had two dealers fairly close in price and the one I finally bought from agreed to rig for free to clinch the deal. (2 depthfinders, bow mount trolling motor, vhf w/antenna, wave wackers etc.)