Skunked again

How’d y’all fair with the storms? We had 2.5” of rain in 30 minutes. Mothball sized hail. Hella strong winds. I haven’t been out, to inspect the roof yet. Looking out the windows, I don’t see much laying around, I’m taking that as a positive sign! Luckily, the skanu and all our vehicles are inside. Note the order !!

@Rockhopper The scenery alone would have been worth the trip ! ! The catch an added bonus !

That is fabulous sir!! I truly applaud you!! That boat is setup perfectly.

A few more pics and details about the pontoon please! What have you done to it?

You’re welcome sir! I’ve often been curious of this, for the reasons you stated. Hole punch dorsal fin?

Tag them.

Love the lines of those boats, and the sound of that class engine!

Correct, the first trip out, had issues with the transom drive unit, I turned around and addressed the issue, turned back around, then realized what I'd done! At NO point did I feel like I was going over the side. Do you know of a different prop to use?

Thank You. I figured it was slow, however, its the same width for most of it's length and a flat bottom.

Beautiful Pic !

I like it! is that a hammered finish?

Motoboss - thank you for that advice about the POR 15, I'll look into that. I'm liking it more each time I take it out! The only con I've found is the weight, given what it does for the vessel though, I can live with it. I just noticed your signature line, I agree!

The paddle in the pic, that's a 94" long paddle. It's to short, for my liking. Water drips on my legs. Which is great in the summer. Come colder weather, that will not be so nice! It does help to show the length of the boat, in front of the seat. Wheels on, drive cable inside two 90* 3/4" PVC elbows. My first try, I used two 1/2" PEX radius supports, it helped, I was on the right track. At home, the drive cable was fine. On the water, with pressure on it, the cable wanted to wrap itself up. This helped. The cable inside the 90*'s, that was the ticket. I've since added two more 90*'s (see next pic), glued all but one of the 90*'s together. Why leave one unglued? To be able to rotate, from trailer mode to water mode. Where the drive unit is, that's the approximate location for trailering. It sits down in the groove, bungeed in, ratchet strap over it. Next, time to raise the seat. Both to help with pedaling, and the ability to swivel more. I had some strut (B22) laying around, used that. Attached it to the boat with rivnuts, 4 each. IIRC each piece is 16" long. Had some 1" square tube (}steel) laying around also, used that for the seat cross-pieces. Yes, they're rusty. When I get some time, I'll dis-assemble, sand and paint them. As you see, some plano boxes under the seat. Added an anchor trolley, scupper covers, drain plug. The anchor trolley is fantastic! Used it the other day. I'm going to mount a retractable clothesline, for the anchor rope. The scupper covers - they are NOT rated for "under the waterline". With that said, they do cut down on the amount of water that comes in, which is nothing scary. I do, however, like to fish when it's cold. This way, I can work out some "bugs", while the water is warmer. Drain plug - Added one. No clue why it didn't come with one, should be a standard. Weight - this thing is HEAVY! 160#'s according to manufacturer. Bow heavy at that. Which is good and bad. One of the most useful things on this boat? The bow mount access hatch, the PO had added, when the trolling motor plate was added. Why? I constantly find myself removing the hatch, sticking my hand in there, for somewhere to grab, when launching/loading/moving it around, when not on the trailer. The wheels on the back - they're good and bad. They work as advertised. Easy/quick to put on/take off, raise up and down. Once in the water, you have to submerse arm, just about to elbow, to raise/lower. I bought a pair of bicep length gloves, for colder weather. Remember when I said this boat is heavy? Bow heavy at that? Having the wheels on the stern amplifies this. Figuring out how to mount them mid ship would be better. Or a kayak/canoe cart? This is how I'm going to use it for now though. If you had a drive cable, from a shorter nucanoe, or maybe a tandem cable, all the 90's would not be needed. However, this is money I do not wish to spend...at the moment! Or shorten the cable. Which I do not want to do. If this doesn't work out, the cable will come out of the 90's, the drive unit be sold, or put on the proper vessel. Your thoughts please!

Thanks all! Had it out a few times since last post. 2-3mph average. Is that fast, slow, normal? Stability is top notch. The first trip, I had issues with the drive cable wanting to wrap itself up. I turned around, without thinking, addressed the issue. Then it hit me, what id just done. Not once was I worried about capsizing. 7’ rods fit inside the hull. That makes me happy! I put some pieces of 2” foam in the hull. If that thing took on water, titanic it would be! I added another brace for the pedal drive. I put more pressure on the drive unit, than I imagined possible. Much better now. I’ll get some pictures posted later. added an anchor trolley. Gonna add a retractable clothes line for the anchor. wheels came in, they’re on.

Got a used Skanu. 12'4" long x 39" wide. 160#'s. And a trailer. The plan is to mount a Nucanoe Pivot Drive on it. No gas engine or electric motor going on it. This also saves from needing to register it. No plans of mounting electronics either. The drive is used, from a frontier 12. Above pic is with pivot drive floor/baseplate. For the seat, my thought is to mount strut on the black HDPE, square tube on a swivel attached to the seat. Bar knobs (2 each side) to secure the tube to the strut. This way you can get infinite seat adjustment. Similar to the nucanoes. Above pic without baseplate, and bent aluminum flat stock, that I plan on securing to the floor. I like this option better, not as much wasted space, and the pedals are farther forward. I found pics online for H2ProPed, this appears to be the pivot drive predecessor. In these pics, similar to this was done. I'm undecided on using rivnuts (2 on each side of the aluminum, two center - front of the drive), or cutting an access hole under the front lid, and putting fender washers on the backside. The rivnuts would make it easy to remove. Pros and cons to both. The plastic is 1/4" thick. Your thoughts? Two rivnuts here. With pivot drive on, not secured yet. Previous owner had transom reinforced, with an aluminum plate on the inside, it runs from top to a couple inches from bottom, and a couple inches outside of the transom eyes. It was done right. I have these wheels ordered, planning on mounting them. Will need to do something with the transom eyes though. Maybe move them inward? Your thoughts please!! Any input is welcome. Unless it's to say "just get a jon boat" !! Sorry this is so long, I'm kinda excited about this project! Mods - move if needed.

The unlimited is on the top of my list! Please post more of what you do with it/your experiences. My dream for it is - 2cnd 360 seat, pivot drive (with both standard and short cables, for when in tandem mode).

Thank you. That was what I needed to hear.

I’m not interested in one with a trolling motor. Thank you though.

Could a pedal drive be mounted on this vessel? Anyone done it? If so, What about steering?

Thank You Sir!

Looks like a great canvas to work on! How do you like the decked drawers?

Very nice truck! I tried to deal on one, couldn't make the numbers work. Went with a Nissan Titan instead.

I’m not against a road trip, especially that direction, this time of year!!!! My problem now is, have to sell the boat, for money to buy the kayak.

Great write up! I’m eyeing this one up.

It did in highland Il, for silver lake. Lake actually ran over for a bit. Which makes things look deceiving. Ground still has cracks, the grass has greened back up. All our rain has come in big downpours. pH in the lake is 9+. Weather man calling for 95 the next couple of days.