Crawdad rebuild

Took advantage of the non-freezing temps and pressure washed the boat inside and out. I'm ready to start some work tomorrow. I'm thinking floating floor. Also, thinking about just using two coolers as seats. I would secure them with cooler tie-down kits. This way, I could break down the boat very easily by untying the coolers and removing them, then taking out the one-piece deck. Thoughts?

Do you still have all the original aluminum cross members that come in the crawdad? If so I would just reinstall them for the seating and flooring. No need to be taking seating and flooring in and out after every trip. The stock seating is super light and convenient. It can be moved back to give more room up front for the guy running the TM. 2 pieces of 3/8" plywood 2'x2' in the back and 2' x 3' up front. Done
I have had 3 different crawdads, with each new ( to me) one I get I have gone simpler and simpler.
Instead of those talons get this simple device and a good anchor. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M4HTNY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

makes dropping an anchor super easy and when you pull it up it will lock in place. No need to keep pulling it in and out of the boat.

Thanks Stratos. I have the aluminum poles for the floor, and for the rear seat. I don't have the seat or hardware for the front. I'm debating about whether or not to go with a transom mount hand-controlled TM on the front, or a bow-mounted foot control. Luckily I have both. If I go with the hand-controlled I've got to have the seat up pretty close to the bow. This doesn't leave much room for standing up, which is my preferred way to fish. But I like the precision of the hand-controlled, and prefer it for moving distances down the lake. The bow mount is a 40lb Minnkota Power Drive. I like these motors on bigger boats operating in open water, but not so much for beating the bank and operating in close quarters. I'm leaning toward trying the transom mount first, and if I don't like it, then putting on the bow mount.
The front deck is going to be open underneath. I intend on using this for tackle storage that I can pull out quickly when needed. The Scotty is a good idea. I like to anchor in deeper water. I'll probably have one on the bow. But I'm still going to try the Talon. I'm addicted. Can't live without it. Wear the remote around your neck - too easy.

If you are comfortable using a hand control they are the lighest and easiest to install and remove. I cannot use one for the life of me unless I am off shore fishing open water. I am much better with a foot control. I have a 24v Minn Kota maxxum on mine. I just have it mounted in a Minn Kota Edge bracket for easy install and remove. The "slow on"function of the Maxxum is a BIG bonus. Motors like the edge give a herky jerky start up because the boat is so light. Listen to Beaver fever as well. If you dont have a rudder you will be trolling in circles and have little to no control.

I tried on the transom-mounted TM on the bow, and figured out where I'd need to sit to comfortably steer. I will have to move up the seat by about 1/2 a foot, but I think I'm going to go with it. Question for you Stratos: You posted something about reversing the steering on a Minnkota hand-controlled motor. Can the same be done with a Motorguide? The motor has forward and reverse speeds, but with the handle pointed inward, the prop is directly in front instead of the nose.

idk I have never owned a motorguide but I am pretty sure I have seen others using motorguides in this way. Look at the head of the TM if it has a screw at the bottom of the head going into the tm shaft then remove that screw, turn head 180* reinsert screw and you are good to go.

I flipped my crawdad over this morning and took a couple pics . I also took a pic of the rudder I use. Hopefully it will help you decide what direction to go in.

Well I gave a good look over of my motor when I got from home from work. There is no screw on the back of the Motorguide. Don't know if dis-assembling the head unit will unveil anything else. I'm not going to mess around with it, because I'll just end up breaking it. I looked all over the Net and couldn't find any info on reversing the steering for Motorguides. Maybe it has something to do with most Motorguides having built-in reverse steering, while a lot of Minnkotas just have forward speed.

I like the way you just put a block of wood in one of the depressed spaces on the front deck to mount your electronics. Kind of makes re-consider replacing it, as the main reason was to mount the gps antenna and the sonar unit. But it looks like I'm going back to the foot pedal powerdrive (which means putting in a front deck), and just put the transom mount on the stern. Motorguide makes a transom mount foot pedal called the Bulldog, but I've got too many spare TM's as it is. I'm going to use what I've got. Did you drill directly into the boat gunnel to install you bow mount? I don't think I want to do that.

The rudder you've got is pretty substantial. Didn't think you'd need one that big. I plan on trying to mount one on the side of the Talon pole. I was just thinking of using a paddle.

Well I gave a good look over of my motor when I got from home from work. There is no screw on the back of the Motorguide. Don't know if dis-assembling the head unit will unveil anything else. I'm not going to mess around with it, because I'll just end up breaking it. I looked all over the Net and couldn't find any info on reversing the steering for Motorguides. Maybe it has something to do with most Motorguides having built-in reverse steering, while a lot of Minnkotas just have forward speed.

I like the way you just put a block of wood in one of the depressed spaces on the front deck to mount your electronics. Kind of makes re-consider replacing it, as the main reason was to mount the gps antenna and the sonar unit. But it looks like I'm going back to the foot pedal powerdrive (which means putting in a front deck), and just put the transom mount on the stern. Motorguide makes a transom mount foot pedal called the Bulldog, but I've got too many spare TM's as it is. I'm going to use what I've got. Did you drill directly into the boat gunnel to install you bow mount? I don't think I want to do that.

The rudder you've got is pretty substantial. Didn't think you'd need one that big. I plan on trying to mount one on the side of the Talon pole. I was just thinking of using a paddle.

I owned a motorguide that I reversed the head , it was an older one though . There was two screws in the head , if you take yours apart you'll be able to see if you can reverse it . Go's back together pretty easy you shouldn't have any trouble.

Found a site that says the newer motorguides have a bolt inside the head that you can loosen turn the head and tighten it back up. NC angler was the site .

Thanks Danny. My motor is at least ten years old. Here's what it looks like with the head removed. I guess its that brass screw? I'll give it a shot tonight.

Well I gave a good look over of my motor when I got from home from work. There is no screw on the back of the Motorguide. Don't know if dis-assembling the head unit will unveil anything else. I'm not going to mess around with it, because I'll just end up breaking it. I looked all over the Net and couldn't find any info on reversing the steering for Motorguides. Maybe it has something to do with most Motorguides having built-in reverse steering, while a lot of Minnkotas just have forward speed.

I like the way you just put a block of wood in one of the depressed spaces on the front deck to mount your electronics. Kind of makes re-consider replacing it, as the main reason was to mount the gps antenna and the sonar unit. But it looks like I'm going back to the foot pedal powerdrive (which means putting in a front deck), and just put the transom mount on the stern. Motorguide makes a transom mount foot pedal called the Bulldog, but I've got too many spare TM's as it is. I'm going to use what I've got. Did you drill directly into the boat gunnel to install you bow mount? I don't think I want to do that.

The rudder you've got is pretty substantial. Didn't think you'd need one that big. I plan on trying to mount one on the side of the Talon pole. I was just thinking of using a paddle.

Everyone I know that puts a foot control motor on a crawdad does it the way I did, yes through the metal on the gunnel. 3 nuts and bolts each to secure it bow and side
You could get away with a smaller piece of wood as a rudder. I made this one like 7 years ago when I got my 1st crawdad and I was just learning how to set them up. I have seen guys use oars and they work fine.
If you dont mind me asking..... why are you putting a gps and those talons on ? You are going to be fishing much smaller BOW then you would in a bass boat. IMO it's overkill . Make it as light and as simple as you can and just go out and fish. I know lots of guys that have gone "all out" with their 1st crawdad mod, only to strip it down after getting tired of loading and unloading a beast. You most likely will be fishing multiple (2-3) ponds in a day because of their size. It gets old dragging it in and out of the bed of a pick up when its heavy, especially when you are solo. Stop thinking like a tourney guy and think about just going out to have fun. 1/2 the time I dont even use a fish finder because the ponds are so small and shallow and I am targeting what I can see or I can cover the whole place in 1/2 a day

You're definitely right Stratos. But, with the fishfinder/GPS, they're going to rot away in my basement if I don't use them. When I bought my big rig, the the units were already on it. they were both Humminbird Matrix 17's - nothing to fancy, but very functional, with a lot of built-in features like GPS and networking. So I bought a GPS antenna and networked the two units. A couple of years later I upgraded to color 788's with down imaging. So, the Matrix's are just gathering dust. Around my way, there are plenty of lakes that are fairly large and deep that are difficult to launch a big rig from, that using a fishfinder and GPS for marking spots would be useful.

As for the Talons, kind of the same deal. I plan on replacing the two on my boat with one 12 footer. Even if I don't, I've learned that one is more than enough. I do know that it sucks getting blown around in a small boat, and I think the Talon would be a game-changer. If ifs too heavy or cumbersome, I'll probably end up selling it and buying a micro pole with the money. Thought I'd try it first. It only weighs 38lbs. The boat will be trailered, so I'm not real concerned about loading-unloading. It will still be much easier than handling the big rig. We shall see...I hear where you're coming from though.