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nuideas

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey guys, Looking at my first build and most likely going with a new Weldbilt unless I can find something better in my budget. Looking at 1648, 1748 or 1652, 1752s. I have found in looking at boats the second number can either describe the floor/bottom width or the beam. In the Weldbilts it is the floor so the actual beam is about 12" wider.
Suggestions on 16' or 17' and or width for bowfishing in a variety of waters? My buddy has a 19' and he said he would rather have something smaller for all around use. Any suggestions on if a 16" or 20" transom is better for shallow water. I am aware of the differing motor requirements.
#2 It seems the most practical way to mount the lights is under a raised deck so they are out of the way. Looking through pics of custom decks I see many super nice builds with high end lights mounted on the top edge of the deck seeming to be in the way when your are landing fish. If nothing else it seems that the lens is more at risk of being damaged. Is there a particular reason or advantage for mounting on top rather than under the deck?
Lastly for now is the batteries. On my most recent trip my buddy had his 24 volt batterie set up charging VERY HEAVILY just bubbling away with the caps off. They were running directly of a "converter"? tied to the generator. This seemed kinda weird and dangerous not to mention destroying the battery life. Is this normal?
I do know from an engineering and safety standpoint it is BAD NEWS. When a battery is being charged that heavily it is letting off serious amounts of flammable hydrogen gas especially with not having the caps on the batteries.
It seems to me a possible and much safer alternative would be to charge them at a lower rate and have a spare set of batteries if you know you will be out for long periods of time. This was my first experiance using a 24 volt trolling motor and the whole idea is that it is supposed to lengthen the run time right? How many hours of hunting in the shallows (constant use) should one expect from a 24V trolling motor? I am aware this also depends on the battery size and amperage but genearlly speaking. FYI his is 80lb thrust motorguide. Enough for now . Any and all comments suggestions are welcome..
Oh yeah....whats up with decks being built 3-5 ' above the boat? It looks like it would be incredibly unstable and tippy.
 
#2 ·
the advantages of having the lights underneath the deck is that the water somewhat stays away from the lights and wiring. the lights being mounted on the top of the deck is nice but ive had bow limbs hit my lights and the lights get in your way trying to make close to the boat shots. we have a custom made hull thats 16' and our shooting deck is 77" wide this will shoot 4 guys very easily and its small enough to still fish our smaller lakes big enough to handle the river also... The battery situation i would just run 2 batteries linked and no charger due to the fact you already have enough going on in the boat you dont need anything else (my opinion) just put a slow charger on the batteries when you get home at night. and the decks that are sky high are very ridiculous... haha they put em that high up so seeing the fish during the day is easier.. but night fishing is 100x better than day fishing. Hope this helps
 
Discussion starter · #3 · (Edited)
Ts, thanks for the comments....I am looking for any input I can get. So just to clarify you have no issues getting a full night of hunting out of a set of charged batteris. Totally agree
night fishing is the only way to go!
 
#4 ·
if you have decent batteries and a good charge you will have no problem fishing all night with them linked.. if you were shooting 24 hour tournaments i would look into a charger but 12 hour shoots are not a problem with linked batteries
 
#9 ·
IMO converters are the only way to go with a trollin motor you may be able to fish all night but your power goes down throughout the night and if youre in shallow water it drains it even faster. And if i was runnin my troller at only half speed i dont think i would get 12 hours on my batteries
 
#11 ·
I have never been in a troller boat that would last all night on a set of batteries unless it had some help.

a 70 pound 24v troller mounted on a 1648 with no inverters or spare batteries would get us 6 hours into the night before they were dead.
In my opinion, if your running a troller, a converter is a must, espicially if your planning on shooting tournaments.

as far as your hull goes, the wider the bottom, the more stable it will be and the shallower it will draft.

My personal preferences are:

16' boat --- 52'' wide bottom or wider
17' boat --- 56'' wide bottom or wider
18' boat --- 60'' wide bottom or wider

get at least 24'' sides just incase you encounter some less than favorable water conditions, and as far as transom height, well, the higher it is, the better off you will be in my opinion... The transom ht, really dont play a factor in the boat's performance while fishing, you just want to make sure you and your passengers are safe between the boat ramp and your fishing spots.

Your fixing to load the boat down with a deck, troller, generator, lights, bows and equipment, etc, so I highly suggest for you to go somewhat bigger than what your thinking you need for extra safety and room, you will be very suprised how fast you can run out of room in a bowfishing boat!
 
#12 ·
I have the 16x48 Weldbilt. It's a great boat. However, if I had it to do over I would get a foot longer and a wider floor. With a console, fish tub, coolers, etc., etc. adequate floor space is critical. Re the lights, I like them below the raised platform and inboard enough that trees/limbs etc don't tear them up. With the lights out of harms way you of course have to align them so they shine over edges of the boat. The vast majority of bugs stay below my feet around the lights. Concerning deck height, everyone has their own opinion. Mine is 30 inches above the bow deck and I love it. And, my 16x48 is not at all tippy with 2 corn-feed shooters topside. It wasn't even tippy before I added floatation pods. Like an earlier response pointed out though, most high deck dudes do most of their bowfishing during the day. The high deck works great at night too. I have a75# Motorguide and an on-board charger. When the 24V batteries get weak, I plug the charger into my generator for a while. You are definitely asking the right questions and BFC members know the best answers. Do it once and do it right.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
So what other brands of converters and chargers do you guys use and where is the best place to get them? 45 amps seems reasonable and not overdoing it if you are pulling heavy amps at the same time. I think my friend must have been using much higher amps.
 
#14 ·
No onboard charger, you will burn your troller up if you run the charger and the troller at the same time, the converter is your only safe bet...

I will let some of the inverter guys chime in on the details...
 
#15 ·
the thing with converters is it will only put out what your using. So figure out your amp draw on your troller and match it up to the correct converter size. I am unsure of many other brands of converters but i know a lot of people run the Iota's and love them. And the problem with chargers is they put out more volts than a converter and CAN risk burning up the troller (some people run them and have not had issues, some have had problems). I think my DLS-45 was like 120.00
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
The only reason I said charger is that when I did a search for Iota what I came up with was called a converter/charger. I am assuming you are saying NOT to use a straight battery charger.
 
#18 ·
nuideas said:
The only reason I said charger is that when I did a search for Iota what I came up with was called a converter/charger. I am assuming you are saying NOT to use a straight battery charger.
Click to expand...
Correct, you should get a "converter" to be sure you dont fry your troller, the 12 volt ones will put out around 13.4 or so volts and that is perfect to keep your batteries powered and not hurt your troller.
 
#19 ·
First off coming from someone that just built a boat from weldbiLt from hull and front deck up. I'd spend another 1000 somewhere else. I seen one of their boatS and thought the same price range good and boat looked good but when I started building I ran into a lot of things not even close to straight/or squared maybe iM being picky but I expected more.

So I would research it heavily and I would also take a tape to make sure it's how you think it should be. Pm if ou have questions on what I'm talking about

as far as troller I'd get a 75lb 24 volt wireless from sportsmansguide.com they have a lifetime warranty as long as your a club member and have your reciePt
 
#20 ·
Get a converter or two if youre going with a troller, if you get a 24 volt 70 pound thrust you could get away with 2 45 dls iotas but you should just go ahead and get the 55s itll save you money if you ever upgrade trollers. Honestly you could look into a kicker rig too. It may not fit your fishing style but trolling motors are a major pain in the arse IMO they are nice for some places but when youre draggin bottom and havin to push the boat off of a log or something it gets old quick.
 
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nuideas
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