Philosophy 102:
The Tao of Rigging - Part II
In Part I of this article, we covered what went into rigging Toy Boat 2 prior to launch. Now we'll fast-forward four years, and discuss where we are now and how we got there...
Here are some things that we did that worked OK, but could be improved...
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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The Igloo® cooler lids are not as stiff as we'd like. They support an adult standing on them, but they do bend. | We are considering getting some custom cushions made with 1/2 inch plywood bases. These would be attached to the cooler lids, and stiffen them, as well as being more comfortable to sit on. |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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See above comment. | Not 100% sure what we will do yet. A cushion would look OK, but would not be that functional, as this area is more intended as a step-on area, rather than a sitting area. Might put a piece of 1/2 inch plywood with white non-skid paint on it instead. |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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We put hinges and latches on our horizontal rod racks to
allow them to fold flat agains the hull
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It turns out we hardly ever use the folding feature, but we have managed to break two of the hinges. We also originally installed just two racks per side. In order to get good support for doubled up rods (i.e. one facing forward, one facing back in the same row), we needed more support. |
We added a third row of rod racks, non-folding. Need to find some time to remove the hinges and latches on the old racks. Not a priority |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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The dual Lowrance transducers (20 degree and 8 degree 192 kHz) worked OK, but in order to get a clean reading at speed from the 8 degree transducer (the big one on the left), we had to submerge it so much that it threw a rooster tail when running the boat. | We never came up with a good solution for this problem. However, the Airmar P66 and P58 transducers used by the Furuno and Raymarine sonar units do not have this problem. |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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Shurflo Bait Sentry® bait tank pump |
The Shurflo Bait Sentry® rapidly developed a very loud buzzing noise. Loud enough so that it could be heard over the engine while trolling. | We replaced the pump a couple of times (see the TB2 Scorecard). The current pump (Shurflo Piranha) has been working well. |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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Z-Wings® |
The Z-Wings® do not generate enough downforce when trolled 1-2 mph. | Added a 12 lb lead cannonball weight to the downrigger toolkit. Above 3 MPH, the Z-wings work better than the lead weight. |
| This Works, | But Could Be Better | If We Did This... |
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Offshore Products bait tank |
The bait tank splashes out a lot of water when full. This is partially due to the amount of rocking in our small boat while running, but we have seen the same problem in our friend's 26' hull (he has the same tank). |
Offshore Products suggested that instead of cutting the pipe, we could have
just lifted the standpipe sleeve (which controls the water level) a small
amount, and this would allow the water level to drop a bit. The cutting board / bait well lid that we built also helps control splashing, but is not perfect, since it is not water-tight. |
We originally cut an extra, lower hole in the bait tank standpipe. Lowering the water level a few inches took care of the
splashing problem, but the water inside the livewell sloshes around more,
tiring out the bait.
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