Short shaft on a driftboat?

[1 nut in the water]

Got a new (to me) Slide Rite drifter and the only motor I have is a short shaft 5.5 hp Johnson that needs work. Before I spend another dime on the thing I want to make sure it will be ok for the boat. From searching the internet it seems like many people say they will work while others say no. Anyone here have any personal experience with a short shaft on a drift boat without the cutout transom? I know it is not ideal as it will not reach the bottom of the transom but i just checked my piggybank and am a few thousand short on buying a new long shaft.

 

[eugene1]

Not sure about slide right db's but the rule is long shafts on drifters without a cut out. Not sure where you are in Lane Co. either, but you should just go try it out on a lake, D st. in Springtucky, or someplace safe and test it out. It could be that it'll be fine for your boat in calm waters without many wakes and waves? Be sure that the motor is "peeing" water even with your buddies up front though, otherwise it will overheat and die.

good luck,

 

[Casting Call]

Hey 1NIW! "IF" you need a long shaft motor u don't need to buy a new motor. search the web (salem/portland area) for used boat motor salvage shops and just get an extention housing and shift rod adaptor. It's like changing the water pump. a couple of bolts,new gasket,and reassemble with the extention unit. It's that easy. Tony

 

[OnTheDrop]

We run a short shaft 6 on ours and it's never really a problem. Like Eugene said, try it out before hand as there are all types of DB's.

 

[fishtales]

I have a short shaft also. Been thinking about upgrading the boat the last year (to something bigger/safer), but am not sure how to tell if the shortshaft will fit.

 

[Casting Call]

Hi All! To find the right shaft length, do this mount the motor on the transom. /The cavatation plate should be a least 1-2 inches into the water when in still waters. Depending how your boat reacts underway and what type waters you will be running with a load, the cavation plate should never come out of the water for any long periods of time. Good luck. Tony

 

[Casting Call]

1 NITW and fishtales! What did you guys decide or come-up with all the fourm info? Tony

 

[DrTheopolis]

The drifter I spend my time on is an Alumaweld Pro Guide 17. Never even tried putting a SS on it (can probably borrow one to try), since we're quite confident it won't work. But that particular model has a higher transom than most. Works great with the Minn Kota, since the shafts are adjustable (and it's adjusted out a long way, seems to ride better with the prop deeper, and it's been spending its time in deeper water lately).

On that note, the 80# thrust electric can't quite make it up medium-to-fast rapids, which I've seen doen with gas motors. Works fantastic in slower water, though. Should be great for backtrolling in winter and spring.

 

[1 nut in the water]

Well duh I guess the best way to see if it would work will be to put it on and see where it is while sitting in the water. I have a 50# Minn kota for fishing but would sure like a gas for going long distances........ Just trying to avoid getting it fixed if it will not be compatible.
Does anyone know of anyone in the Eugene area that works on motors out of their home? I would much rather help the little guy than take it to a boat shop.
Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Casting Call]

:redface: :redface:

 

[DrTheopolis]

I have a 50# Minn kota for fishing but would sure like a gas for going long distances

The 4 huge battery setup gets its first test tomorrow. The first pair of deep cycles did 6.5 hours at 75% power, so adding a pair of huge AGM carzy things should healp... ridiculously heavy setup, but should work in the upper bays/tidewater. It's gotta go for drifting. Gotta be 300 pounds of battery/motor, which maxes the boat capacity.

 

[eugene1]

That sounds like a sweet but very heavy system Dr!

I love my 80# bow mount minnkota on the sled, but I would never give up my 8 hp yamaha kicker! Lots more power with a gas motor, and with a 4 stroke not much noise or fumes either. If I were gonna equip a db with power, I'd go for a gas motor myself- way more power and less weight.

Best,

The 4 huge battery setup gets its first test tomorrow. The first pair of deep cycles did 6.5 hours at 75% power, so adding a pair of huge AGM carzy things should healp... ridiculously heavy setup, but should work in the upper bays/tidewater. It's gotta go for drifting. Gotta be 300 pounds of battery/motor, which maxes the boat capacity.

 

[DrTheopolis]

It's my oldest, bestest fishing buddy's (25 years fishing together) boat, and he got an outrageous deal on the electric setup. The second set of high-end batteries was a freebie, but weighs too much for small stream use. As mentioned, tomorrow is the first test (Nehalem Bay), so we'll see how much freeboard it eats up. Bug ol' bathtub boat, so should be fine in anything but heavy chop. Had a really huge dude with the 2 battery setup, so only taking on an extra 100# over the last try. Again, it's out of the question for drift trips -- back is going to get a workput going back and forth on setups, but should be great for tidewater stuff, and doubling the size of the "gas tank" will make it over a day's worth of battery.

Buddy says he's already drooling over getting a 4 stroke 6-8 horse next year, after saving up. But the electric performed better than we expected by quite a margin.

 

[eugene1]

Sounds great, Dr.! I love the Nehalem, we boated some sweet chrome in that pretty tidewater and the other boaters are generally "nice" and slow down for a boat trolling. I can see how a big electric would do well on a db in that situation. I also saw lots of dbs with gas kickers down at the Umpy tidewater which is lots rougher due to big boats screaming upriver, so that's just where I'm coming from. Also on the Willy for summer runs and springers I think the gasser is a good idea to move upriver at a decent clip.

Good luck there tomorrow!

 

[DrTheopolis]

Good luck there tomorrow!

Thank you.

Still undecided between lower bay and upper bay, but with the maiden voyage of extra weight, upper might win out. Not quite ready to hit the lower river yet, as the "fact-finding" mission of a week-and-a-half ago of the entire tidewater said... early. Rain might have changed that, but launching at Roy Creek is an "all-in" move.

From what I understand, in still water, a driftbaot is good for 7 MPH max, regardless of motor. We're getting mayyyyyybe 4.5-5 in calm water . But I believe in heavier currents, the 6-8 gas makes a difference, but I'd love some wise input. My understanding is top speed doesn't change much until you go against heavy current.

And to reiterate, the electric exceeded expectations by a good chunk. Way nicer ride than my gas powered DB experiences.

 

[eugene1]

When we fished the Nehalem, we launched out of the put-in right downstream of the 101 bridge, but I don't remember the name of it. We trolled upstream and got into some fish. It was a blast being on that small river catching big nooks. I think that river has a bit of an early run though, so the bulk of the fish may have already pushed up??

I'd fish the ghost hole in tbay if I were still up there now though. Nice reports on the web and txt'd to me recently! Maybe go to the sloughs in your buddy's boat though, nice and calm using bobber and eggs. Ahh so many possibilities.

I guess if your friend is thinking about gas, I'd look at a 2 cylinder engine since they run smoother with less vibration. Probably means an 8 hp in the 4 stroke ones.

Best,

 

[rogerdodger]

Thank you.

Still undecided between lower bay and upper bay, but with the maiden voyage of extra weight, upper might win out. Not quite ready to hit the lower river yet, as the "fact-finding" mission of a week-and-a-half ago of the entire tidewater said... early. Rain might have changed that, but launching at Roy Creek is an "all-in" move.

From what I understand, in still water, a driftbaot is good for 7 MPH max, regardless of motor. We're getting mayyyyyybe 4.5-5 in calm water . But I believe in heavier currents, the 6-8 gas makes a difference, but I'd love some wise input. My understanding is top speed doesn't change much until you go against heavy current.

And to reiterate, the electric exceeded expectations by a good chunk. Way nicer ride than my gas powered DB experiences.

I agree, electric is a great way to go, we troll our 16' Alumacraft using a 45# minnkota with digital maximizer, 50% is about 1.5mph, easy to adjust slightly up or down for wind/tide/current, and with 2 Cabela's AGM batteries (~60# each), I can go 5 or 6 hours and still show 12.2V...cheers, roger

 

[DrTheopolis]

The 4 battery setup definitely had the boat sitting low in the water. It also trolled for at least 9 hours, and still showed 75% charge. Could probably run it 2 straight days without charging. And there was obviously a huge difference in speed/power a few hours in.

And we didn't catch anything. Well, a couple sculpin, and about a 2" Piling (?) Perch that impaled itself on a bare hook while someone was sorting out their gear. My friend and I are not horribly experienced at bay trolling. We tend to learn new fisheries fairly quickly, but you've got to walk before you run, right? We stayed between Wheeler and The Forks. Saw a couple caught in Wheeler in the morning, but fishing was far from red-hot. Seems like there were more fish there a couple of weeks ago when I was last there, which means there must be a couple up in the rivers. I'm guessing the coming rain is going to bring a whole new shot of them in.

My next coast trip will probably be to the sloughs of Tillamook. And the boat will be absolutely perfect for it. Not having to worry about batteries dying is cool. There's a price to be paid with the extra weight, but for bay stuff, it's worth it.

 

[1 nut in the water]

test run on Hills creek today trolling for 6 hours with a deep cycle rv battery and the new 50# Minn Kota. Put it on the charger when I got home and it was at 60%.
Its time to take her on the slaw.................