New member, New boat Resto

[BassGuzzler]

Well, names Danny. And though i am not new to fishing, I am semi-new to bass fishing. But since i moved from NY to FL, it's ALL me and my girl have been doing and we are HOOKED!

But, i got tired of bank fishing, so I started shopping around, had a budget of around $2000 since i just sold my old Suzuki GSXR to take on this project. And since i had already fished on jon boats (dad has one with his camper with a small troller). I knew i didn't want to go that route as i wanted more room to take my dad, bro + girl, and also wanted stability, comfort and plenty of storage room.

So anyway, I found a 1978 16' tri-hull Venture bass boat with a 115 Evinrude outboard AND trailer for only 1,200! just purchased it and will be picking up 2morrow. Motor purrs, and most things work, but definitely needs TLC.

I've already purchased new seats, (pedestal seats are new already), carpet, live well pump, bilge pump. battery covers, 2-bank on board charger, And all neccessaries (PFD's, Extinguishers, etc.). small parts for trailer (winch, brackets, front wheel). Will post pics of how i recieve her tomorrow, and will be adding ALOT of pics to this thread as i will be semi-restoring her, little by little (though at first it'll be alot).

only major thing that doesn't work on the boat is the bow-mounted Minn-kota TM, but i have a guy at a local place that i will be taking it to, he is in the business of fixing TM's and outboards so i'll see what his expert advice is. I've seen some 55lb thrust bow mount ones at bass pro for ~300 so if he tries to charge me over 150 i will probably go new.

I'm new to this forum, and have already learned ALOT from all you guys, and can't wait to learn more. Most of you guys are very talented and have seen what some of you can do with these rigs. I hope to catch the little trickles of information that you guys put down.

Thanks for looking and i will be adding alot of progress pictures as i go along.

[fishfordollars]

Welcome. Get us some pics. 1,200.00 for a used, fishable boat is a heck of a deal. Congratulations.

Keep a running inventory of the money you spend for tackle and all other items. Let us know when you pass 2,500.00. Again, congratulations on the boat and enjoy the experience.  

[senile1]

Welcome, BassGuzzler!  I'm looking forward to your updates on the progress with your boat.

[Dave D]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new rig. Post up some pics we will help in any way we can with the renovations!  ;D

[BassGuzzler]

pics coming.

I have a question about live well setups.

This boat has 2 live wells, 1 in the armrest, and the other right in front of the console. the one in front of the console only has a drain hole towards the bottom that drains out to the side of the boat and a spicket up top. The armrest one has a drain on the bottom that goes to the lower transom and a peice of pvc pipe going all the way to the bottom (pvc pipe exits top of well and is not connected to anything)

So. How do these wells work, gravity? pump? There is no pumps in the boat now.

BTW. im only $1,550 deep into the project which includes boat, trailer, motor, all coast guard neccesities + new seats, carpet and glue.

[BassGuzzler]

[BassGuzzler]

8 pounder i caught off the bank ;D

and those d**n mudfish. but they do put up a good fight for sure.

can't wait to get this thing on the water, 2morrow pics for sure.

REALLY need help on this live well setup. the wells are there, but pretty sure the plumbing is not. will post pics of the boat plus the wells so you guys can see what im talking about.

any help is appreciated, preferably with links or pics of similar setups. TIA

im definitely a NOOB and first time boat owner. so expect alot of questions  :

[fishfordollars]

The baitmonkey will be arriving shortly. Then the spending will begin.

[XcoM274]

You're sure there aren't any pumps? If there aren't, you will probably need to buy and install a couple. Those pipes are most likely drains, and if the water in the livewell gets to the top of the pipe it will start to leak out through those pipes. This prevents you from pumping your boat completely full of water. Shoot me some pics of the setup as it is now. I had a pump go bad on my well last year and had to replace it. Not tough at all. The most important part of the whole process was just getting a good seal on the piping.

[tennwalkinghorse]

Welcome Aboard it's a great forum these guys are great. Looking forward to seeing your refit lots of luck  Nice Fish

[BassGuzzler]

when I picked her up, only thing i did at this point was remove the storage lids for recarpeting.

this is where it's at now. A little cleaned up, Recarpeted most panels, new pressure treated sub-floor, cleats added, messed with the trailer alot to get the boat to sit alot better on it, new front roller + bracket, new winch, new rear tailight bracket.

seats aren't bolted down yet.

unfinished sub-floor.

still got a list of things to do:

finish sub-floor and carpet, make a storage lid since the small rear one was missing, wire in 2nd battery and on-board charger, remove gas tank to clean it, fix live-wells. Then it's off to put this thing to good use. I'm gonna do other things to it as i go, but as far as paint i'm gonna try my best to bring this color back a little. But the finish seems rough (almost sandpaperish), any help is appreciated

[BassGuzzler]

ok, and i'm pretty sure i got everything i need to do down, EXCEPT the live-well situation, so i've posted some pics so you guys can tell me how i need to plumb this.

in this well you can see that it has a large opening on the bottom, and on the outside of the boat is another fitting like that, and it has some sort of spicket on the top.

the armest one has the same fitting on the bottom connected to a pipe that goes all the way at the bottom of the transom next to the plug. also has some pvc pipe going all the way to the bottom (shown in pic), but the pvc exits in the back by the gastank and isnt connected to anything just a loose pipe :-?

someone please enlighten me to how my setup works, and what i need to get to make it work without putting my boat at the bottom of the lake.....  ;D

[cart7t]

Just a couple things right off the bat. That Venture is nearly identical to a Charger Bass boat of that Vintage. Not surprising because Charger was formed by some guys who used to work at Venture.

As for the livewell plumbing, I think you need to gut the thing and start from scratch.

I also wonder about the need for 2 livewells. I'd probably take that spigot off the box in front of the console and turn that into storage. Make sure you seal off the old holes both inside the box and from the outside. The one between the seats is the one I'd use for a LW. A LW needs a few things to work right.

1. A drain at the bottom that feeds out the back of the boat through the transom. A one way check valve needs to be in line to prevent lake water from coming back into the system.

2. A livewell pump that's mounted through the transom. The pump intake in the livewell can either be a standard round fitting at the bottom or through a sprayer head.

3. An overflow. This is the biggie. Without one the LW will continue to fill up until it starts flowing over the top. I don't see one in either box you've got there. The old method was a thru hull fitting somewhere near the top of the LW at the max water level you wanted the LW water to reach which then ran straight out the side of the boat to another thru hull fitting either at the waterline or above (hopefully).

The other way, and much easier to make since access to the side of the boat is often not possible is with a 90 degree bend pipe that's attached through the livewell at the bottom, next to the drain with the top of the pipe at the desired max water level. As the water rises, it eventually starts pouring into the pipe when it reaches that level. You can exit that water by tying it into the drain line.

4. If you want to get fancy you can add a recirculation pump. The pump can either be fed via a Tee inserted into the drain line and the pump outlet feeding a sprayer head mounted towards the top of the LW or you can drill another hole into the bottom of the LW and mount the pump directly there.

In any case make sure that all holes and fittings are thoroughly sealed with 3M 5200 sealant.

[cart7t]

One other thing.  I would suggest loosening the bolts on the winch bracket post and sliding that thing back until the roller on it is in contact with the boat.  It's way too far forward.  

[BassGuzzler]

The old method was a thru hull fitting somewhere near the top of the LW at the max water level you wanted the LW water to reach which then ran straight out the side of the boat to another thru hull fitting either at the waterline or above (hopefully).

I'm pretty sure that this is the way mine is supposed to work. I would love to gut it and start from scratch(which i will do soon), but right now i would just like to get it working so it doesn't continuously take on water when i put the boat in the lake.

i think i want to keep both live-wells for now. So how do these older setups drain the water out when it gets toward the top.

Also those pics are when i first got it. I already completely re-adjusted the trailer to fit the boat ALOT better.

[Triton21]

Get a Motor-Toter to take the pressure off transom while towing.

[XcoM274]

If you just want it to work so you can take it out on the water, plug up the holes with some wine cork and have at it! If you want to keep fish you can just cup some water into the wells. No sense wasting time and resources, just do it right the first time!

[BassGuzzler]

i LOVE this thing.

well, it's been tested and approved and is a fishing machine. motor runs mint, put a new (used) trolling motor on it. since the minn-kota was beyond repair. i went with a 40lb motor-guide which was BARELY used for 120 so i went with it. was looking for a 55lb but couldnt pass up the deal and it moves the boat along nicely (maiden voyage was in the st.johns river on a windy day and it still moved it along smoothly).

onto the pics.

removed, cleaned, air dried and replaced tank.

rear fitting with strainer for new live-well pump

re-adjusted trailer to better fit the boat.

and a couple of pictures of new carpet, trolling motor, seats, pole holders. also installed new bilge pump w/float switch, 12v accessory outlet, two batteries and eagle fishfinder (not pictured)

picture of how i recieved her for reference

next on the list is paint for the trailer and boat. but thats not gonna happen until after the summer so i can at least enjoy her for a couple of months before ripping it apart again to paint.

Happy fishing. any comments welcome. ;D

[tand]

As far as the live wells go I think all you need is a piece of pvc pipe to place into the drain that will maintain the water level in the live well and when your done fishing you take the pvc out and it drains.  Just what it looks like to me, best of luck with it! and congrats on the new boat its looking great!

[Triton21]

I still don't see a Motor Toter.  It is possible to break transom towing without one.

Kelley

[BassGuzzler]

As far as the live wells go I think all you need is a piece of pvc pipe to place into the drain that will maintain the water level in the live well and when your done fishing you take the pvc out and it drains. Just what it looks like to me, best of luck with it! and congrats on the new boat its looking great!

thanks, i've been putting alot of hard work into it along with the help of family.

But as far as the live wells i fixed the armrest one, installed new pump + spray head and now it works like a champ. the front one i took a members advice and decided to use it as storage so i just plugged the inside and outside holes.

i'm using the armrest one for my catch, and since i sometimes fish with live minnows i just bought a small bubble box with a small minnow bucket, also works like a champ for a total of $14.95   ;D

[BRIAN77703]

this is a nice boat bro. enjoy it

[BassGuzzler]

I still don't see a Motor Toter. It is possible to break transom towing without one.

Kelley

i do have a motor-toter that i use while towing. just not on because i was working on it in the drive-way..