Bozz

I did exactly what @jaaron01 said/did concerning the rudder thing. Can't remember if I posted images of what I did back in all these pages. I found an old Minn Kota mount locally for $15. Had an old screwed up Black & Decker electric weed eater...never throw anything away! The shaft fit the Minn Kota mount perfectly. The weed eater was/is adjustable length by twisting the black threaded center section. The shaft had a 1/4" slot running up the one side view-able in the image. I ordered a 12" x 12" x 1/4" square section of ABS plastic from McMaster.com. One could use an ABS truck mudflap I guess. Slid the ABS in the slot, cut a few slots for stainless clamps to hold in place. This piece of ABS was a perfect place to mount a small Humminbird transducer also and the shaft of the old weed eater is hollow so I could run the cable right on up and out the top. You can see 2 little stainless nuts on the one image where the transducer is mounted. Just one more way to do it.

What wnspain said...I have a rudder too but being able to center the weight is a big plus.

Yup, I honestly can. Small corrections on the steering wheel rather than over steering will keep you from looking like a serpent's tracking down the ramp. But...full disclosure...I have about 5 million miles on my tired backside wheeling stuff around that bends in the middle like this... Lil practice & you'll get the hang of it. Short trailers are tougher than long...1 more reason I'd like to extend the front of my lil Raider wagon.

Yup...got Academy's new weekly mail ad today and the 10E Raider is on sale for 499.99 thru June 13th. Makes me want a fleet of em but one'll do me, i reckon.

I was thinking it was just shy of $20 for a 4 foot section. That's about right if you're buying 8 foot.

It's out there, Point. I looked at mine to see if there was a company identification but nothing but run numbers. It's apparently only used for specific applications where one needs to monitor the flow and it is supposed to be more expensive than regular white schedule 40 so maybe that's why it's not everywhere. Just Google and you'll come up with it. I cannot recall where mine came from...I found it in my shop and the light (literally) clicked in my head as to making my own submersible light.

The "hard" pvc...it's just like the familiar white schedule 40 but it's clear. I had a couple 4 footers laying around. But you should be able to source it about anywhere that does PVC. Maybe Lowes or Home Depot? I haven't looked there but I would assume they could have it. Amazon, ebay? The clear is more expensive if I remember correctly than regular white. But you're gonna come in a whole lot less $$$ than finding & buying a comparable light online somewhere. I want to support the folks that help our favorite past time but at the same time...I'm not completely helpless and it's something I enjoy doing...tinkering, that is.

And a fun note about these LEDs...I hooked a small 9 volt battery....I'm talking about one of the little batteries you put in your smoke alarms at home...the little square shaped one...I touched the leads to the posts on the 9 volt and lit the thing up. Of course it was not at it's brightest but it goes to show the low draw on these LEDs, which is another great benefit when you use it all night.

Point, I used clear 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe. Inside that I had I think 3/4" white PVC wrapped in a spiral with a string of SMD 5050 green LEDs from SuperNight on Amazon. Watch who you are buying from or you'll have to wait for them from China or ??? Mine came in 2 days from here in Lexington, KY...I think the Amazon distribution center had them on hand here in the area is why I got mine so quick. I used some "submersible cable grips" from McMaster.com and I had about 20 feet of waterproof cable to use. Other than that...white schedule 40 end caps and I added about a 12" section on the bottom of the tube to fill with sand for ballast. I was guessing about how much weight it would take to make it almost neutral buoyancy and I nailed it first time. It will sink to as far as I want it to go (up to 20') and it's lightweight like that to handle. I had guys wanting to buy some at the ramp one night when I hooked up the battery clips. They had those you get from Walmart or ???...about a foor or so and about 1/2" diameter. This is a hefty piece of illumination I made. I have had it down to 20 feet and it never leaked a drop. At first there was a small drop or two of condensation but no problems. The LED's are waterproof by spec but they are not meant to be kept in water.

I've used white lights for years but the green LEDs...wow. At one point, I thought there was TOO MANY baitfish under my boat.

I have several times, BO. But my trips were in familiar waters and I tied up to some snags and dropped a homemade "green" LED light for crappie. As for the legal lighting, I picked up the LED clamp-ons at Academy (Atwood brand, I think). They worked well. I modified the white light on the stern to get a little height. Remember the stern/white light is required to remain on at all times in most jurisdictions. As for the bow red/green light, I opted to mount mine to the top of the bow-mounted trolling motor head cover. Here's a link to the Atwood lights on the Atwood site...they are sold by several places...I think Wally World sells them too but I watched for a sale at Academy and got mine a little more reasonable. http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/product/portable-led-navigation-light-kit Here's a shot of my drop light I made. I got some clips from McMaster and mounted to the outside of the boat. Just unsnap and drop so not a lot of moving around in the boat at night.

Pond Fisher, you can find this info in the FAQ's of the site. But here is the cut-n-paste of it: What does "0 Warning Points" mean? Warning points here are a bad thing to have. If you have them, It means you have done something against the forums rules to warrant getting either a warning or a suspension. 0 is the best number to have! (Note that only YOU can see your own warning points. Nobody else can see them, and you cannot view other member's warning points.)

I made a cooler rack out of grown man's Lego's (PVC) that fit in the seat rail grooves. I made it just tall enough so that the Minn Kota battery power case I use would just clear underneath it. I wanted to save as much space as possible & decided to go this route rather than just sit it on the floor. It gets occasional use for those times I'm going to be on the water for extended time. After making it, I realized it was also the perfect place for several vertical PVC rod holders to be included as well as a "shelf" for my Stan Sloan black light. (I do some night fishing in my lil boat too). With a little ingenuity, lots of things can be mounted on this rack. I made a PVC mount for my video camera that simply drops into one of the PVC rod holders and is a snug fit that keeps it secure. Like I said, I don't always take the rack but have it as an option when I want it. One thing to consider here is the height of the rack. I have a rudder on the back of my boat that needs to be tilted when I put in or take out and access to that rudder is more difficult with the cooler rack there. My rudder is made with a Minn Kota trolling motor mount and the trigger is harder to access if you go too high with the cooler rack...and obviously cooler size figures in as well. You can kinda see my PVC cooler rack in the background of this photo below. It's not in the boat in the pic...sitting on a table with the blue cooler in it (it's got a net standing vertical in one of the rod holders). I'll have to look see if I have a pic of the rack & if not I'll snap one when I get by the boat. But you get the idea. If you are using it on the bow of the boat and your battery is mounted up front, trolling motor on the back...I don't see a conflict. Just keep it low as possible to clear that battery and keep weight lower. PVC rack weighs nothing but your cooler might get a little weighty according to how good you are at coercing the fish into taking a chance on your bait/lures...or how many cold drinks you bring along. I guess I need to get busy painting some of my add-ons...I got a pink milk crate, a blue cooler and white PVC cooler rack.

This starts with PAD (Pelican Acquisition Disorder) and quickly develops into PMS (Pelican Modification Syndrome). This particular long on-going thread contributes to the disease. Read at your own risk.