Any Pelican Bass Raider Owners Out There?

[Murphy S. Law]

The rudder fin is made from 3 pieces of 8”x10”x1/8” lexan plexiglass sandwiched together with ss bolts, nuts, and washers, and the whole shaft and fin was painted with 3 coats of krylon fusion spray paint. These little things add up. I have around $60 in the rudder assembly total!

My anchor control.

The trolling motor bracket screws kept trying to slip a little, so I have added skateboard grip tape on the front transom plate. Going to test tomorrow.

[Murphy S. Law]

Garmin Striker 4cv. Wiring tbd, and still learning how to read.

Battery for my Garmin, Velcro’d to the tray... perfect fit.

[Murphy S. Law]

Quick connect Anderson plugs soldered to all battery/tm wiring so I can easily swap the tm to the back if I want.

Also, my front tm plug is so tight getting in and out, this helps.

My emergency paddle.

My extendable gaff.

And finger?

[Murphy S. Law]

Note, if I was to start over on the paddle and gaff mounts, I would use something different than the yak gear plastic ones here. They are too tight, they are not durable enough to properly tighten to the boat without cracking the mount itself, and were the biggest pita! I give them a 1 star for poor material/design. But once you drill the holes in your raider, it’s kind of too late to change mounts without doing something with the open holes. I ended up using rubber well nuts, but had to drill out the mount’s holes to fit larger bolts through. Again, BIG pita! They are really made for through hull where you can reach inside to apply nuts.

[Hi-Powered Red Neck]

4 hours ago, Murphy S. Law said:

The trolling motor bracket screws kept trying to slip a little, so I have added skateboard grip tape on the front transom plate. Going to test tomorrow.

I had the same problem. My solution was a scrap piece of 3/8" ply wood. I cut it the same size as the forward transom plate. I removed the screws and used them to secure the plywood. The Trolling motor clamp opens just wide enough to go over it. And it really bites into the wood. No more trolling motor slippage. When I have to replace the plywood, I'm thinking about a 1/4" on each side. My TM shaft rubs on the rub rail in the fully down position. Its not that bad but sometimes I have to push the locking dogs into place after I've had the motor raised. I normally leave the boat in the water unless I'm pond hopping. I can only fish my little 5 acre pond so much. I work 14 on and 14 off. So when I'm home the raider lives in my truck during the week. I fish while the wife's at work and the boy is in school. When I get home I'll post pics of my build. I just got it for an early Christmas present. My 17' Glasstream already hates it. So much easier to load up and go. I've fished 6 ponds that I've been looking at for years now. Of course out of the six I'd as one was worth a return trip. I'm Chomping at the bit I get home the 23rd. This time home I'm finalizing the floor. I'm thinking of the harbor freight anti fatigue mat over plywood with some gray carpet covering the lot.

[choppertime]

I used 2 spring locks on the right side attached them where the boat 1/2`s come together and made a pole out of 3/4 pvc sharpened 1 end filled it with sand made a handle for it like a flats boat push pole...oh I filled the sharp end with in with jb weld....I tie it to the bracket right rear and have had no issues...it kinda works like a power pole Sept way cheaper....if you can't push it in the bottom ot the lake it will at least float..it's 8 foot long....shoulda made it 10 ....if I go deeper I just drift....my g/f occupies the front so not to bad in the wind....hope this helps

[Murphy S. Law]

Just food for thought, the academy sports that I purchased my bass raider from has not received any new bass raiders in store. They have, however placed one of the what looks like a pelican predator boat in the display space instead. Also, it looks like online, academy is still selling the bass raider, but have increased the price from $599.99 to $639.99. 

[Murphy S. Law]

I have come to the humbling conclusion that I am too old to load and unload my raider into my Chevy Silverado bed. Actually, it is doable, but I don't want to have to keep unloading and reloading everything out of the raider just to be able to manage the task. I want to keep everything loaded to fish so I can pull up, put in water, fish, dock, get boat, and leave. 

So I have located an old harbor freight 4x8 trailer that I actually got for free. I am in the middle of updating everything on it to use for my raider. So far I have replaced the existing wheels/tires with new ones that I also got for free due to a recall hf has on them, and I have dismantled the frame from the axle, and removed the old plywood. I am now about 60% finished with grinding the old chipping paint and rust off so I can paint it black. I am also installing new led lights and wiring, and replacing plywood and carpeting. The local tag office will inspect it when finished, and tag/register it as a "homemade trailer". 

I can't wait to have it all come together, because I love this little boat, but I hate the loading/unloading process. Then again... maybe I'm just lazy.?

[choppertime]

Your not being lazy your being smart, loading on a trailer is much easier,I have the same hf trailer with plywood and carpet,just remember once on the trailer if battery and or trolling motor is in the back tie the front of the boat down or it will pull a wheelie when you pull it out of the water,I've had mine since 2013 and love it,have taken on some major waves from the pretend to be bass pros in their high dollar boats, kinda scary but have never had a issue.....enjoy the little boat, no gas or oil to worry about, gets you in skinny water, and myself and gf have caught plenty of fish out of it

[Murphy S. Law]

Thanks for the wheelie advice. I would have probably found  that out the hard way! 

[Dr. Big Dog]

Curious what size bodies of water you guys use your boats on. 

[LonnieP]

4 hours ago, Dr. Big Dog said:

Curious what size bodies of water you guys use your boats on. 

10 to 3100 acres

[Dr. Big Dog]

Bass Hunter Boats are made about an hour from where I live. I drove down today to check them out. The first boat I looked at was the Bass Hunter 120. It had a small dent in the top of one of the rails. It was purely cosmetic and not even that bad. The boat was brand new, never in the water. They gave me a $450 discount! I got the millennium chairs with the aluminum adjustable bases. I’m stoked! This is a great boat! My dad and I fished for years out of an 8’ sun dolphin. This is an upgrade for sure. That extra 2’ makes a huge difference. Now it’s time to customize it. Proud to join the ranks of the mini bass boat anglers! 

[tstone870]

8 hours ago, Dr. Big Dog said:

Bass Hunter Boats are made about an hour from where I live. I drove down today to check them out. The first boat I looked at was the Bass Hunter 120. It had a small dent in the top of one of the rails. It was purely cosmetic and not even that bad. The boat was brand new, never in the water. They gave me a $450 discount! I got the millennium chairs with the aluminum adjustable bases. I’m stoked! This is a great boat! My dad and I fished for years out of an 8’ sun dolphin. This is an upgrade for sure. That extra 2’ makes a huge difference. Now it’s time to customize it. Proud to join the ranks of the mini bass boat anglers! 

Dr Big Dog, I bought the exact same boat as you last summer. They had advertised a "scratch and dent sale" on Craigslist and I drove up (from Clarke Co.) and bought one. I love mine. One suggestion I'd highly recommend is a dolly of some sort to move/ launch the boat. This sucker is heavy! I made one from a scrap 2 X 8 and some pneumatic casters from Harbour Freight. Kinda wish I would have sprung for the Millenium seats too.

[Dr. Big Dog]

5 hours ago, tstone870 said:

Dr Big Dog, I bought the exact same boat as you last summer. They had advertised a "scratch and dent sale" on Craigslist and I drove up (from Clarke Co.) and bought one. I love mine. One suggestion I'd highly recommend is a dolly of some sort to move/ launch the boat. This sucker is heavy! I made one from a scrap 2 X 8 and some pneumatic casters from Harbour Freight. Kinda wish I would have sprung for the Millenium seats too.

I bought the dolly they make to go with it. 

[tstone870]

2 hours ago, Dr. Big Dog said:

I bought the dolly they make to go with it. 

Good deal. I've often wondered why they didn't put the wheels on the 120 (and handles on the side) like the Bass Baby has. 

[Bearsfan67205]

Any ideas on seat bracket mods for the pelican bass raider ? I use the standard aluminum brackets that come with the boat .  I am a big guy and I don’t know how much I trust the aluminum brackets .

[GLK]

4 minutes ago, Bearsfan67205 said:

Any ideas on seat bracket mods for the pelican bass raider ? I use the standard aluminum brackets that come with the boat .  I am a big guy and I don’t know how much I trust the aluminum brackets .

I attached a 2 x 6 the width of the bracket to sturdy it up. I also like the extra height. 

[Bearsfan67205]

You got a photo of it ?

[GLK]

51 minutes ago, Bearsfan67205 said:

You got a photo of it ?

Not a Raider but same kind of bracket

[Murphy S. Law]

On 1/25/2019 at 2:13 PM, Dr. Big Dog said:

Curious what size bodies of water you guys use your boats on. 

So far, 10-50 acres, and calmer fingers of the Savannah River down here. Congrats on the new toy.

[Hi-Powered Red Neck]

I used a Scotty mount bracket to mount the transducer. I used the existing bolt holding the transom plate. You can also see the scupper hole I added. I used a 3/4” thru hull fitting and 5200 to seal it. This allows me to leave the boat in the water. For the floor I used 3/8” ply wood, I glued down anti-fatigue mat from Harbor freight, trimmed the edges with a razor blade, then covered it with outdoor carpet from Lowe’s. I mounted the Garmin bracket to the floor, and added a Bigfoot Switch to control the 32ld trolling motor mounted up front. 

 

[Murphy S. Law]

13 hours ago, Hi-Powered Red Neck said:

and added a Bigfoot Switch to control the 32ld trolling motor mounted up front.

I haven't installed my bigfoot switch yet. Have you had a chance to really try it out?

[Poney]

On 1/28/2019 at 5:04 PM, Bearsfan67205 said:

Any ideas on seat bracket mods for the pelican bass raider ? I use the standard aluminum brackets that come with the boat .  I am a big guy and I don’t know how much I trust the aluminum brackets .

I added a 5" riser to the original bracket on mine, and it was starting to sag. I have talked to this guy multiple times about making a seat frame that was 5in taller, since he offers "engineering services",but he wont do it. 

 

Being just a few inches higher makes so much difference, that Im going to have a welder just make me some. Ill post pics when I get them. 

[LonnieP]

16 hours ago, Murphy S. Law said:

I haven't installed my bigfoot switch yet. Have you had a chance to really try it out?

I’ve had a Bigfoot switch on my Pond Prowler the past 3 years and I can easily say it’s the best thing I’ve added to it, I can’t imagine fishing without it. The bad thing is they only last about a year if that long. I just bought my third replacement one last week.