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Flounder Boat Setup

12K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  DGAustin 
#1 ·
I have a Weld-craft 1870 and am wanting to rig it out for floundering. I figured 2cool would help give me some ideas and suggestions. The aluminum work will begin here in the next few weeks. I just need to figure out the aluminum setup and purchase motor, fan and lights in the meantime.

I plan to have 10 LED overhead lights mounted on the front rack.
Honda 13 hp motor (21 hp will be too fast from what I've been told?), please correct me if this is not correct.
Composite propeller with adjustable pitch
Alternator; what size is needed for this setup or is it needed for the LED's? I want to keep it simple.

Where is the best place to order engines and propellers with the flange kit?

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
I run Plash Lights 50W 6" and 12" Flounder Bars, Total of 8, have 2 Deka intimidator's,
Have Underwater LED's, 13hp Fan 4 blade composite blade, Run a Delco Low Cut 130Amp Alternator. We pole at times for about half hour and still have enough to fire 90 Yamaha. I have ran the batteries completely dead, pull started the fan motor and within 30seconds can start outboard. Ive built a few from fabrication to finish. Make sure not to over think it, it's easy to do!
 
#4 ·
We use the Honda GX390 here. HP doesn't determine speed but does determine what size prop you can turn which influences speed. The V-twin 21HP weighs about 25# more than the 13HP and while it may seem like that isn't a big deal, when rigging a flounder boat, it can be. There's no reason to go bigger than 13HP on that boat. As far as where to find them, they're readily available all over the internet but it might be smarter to buy local from a dealer. If you need warranty work, the few dollars extra you spend over a place like Northern Tool will be well worth it.

We also use the Ultra-prop from Competition Aircraft in California. You can find them online too. I believe a 4 blade adjustable pitch composite with hub/pulley kit goes for around $475.

As far as lighting, if you burn 10 30W lights at 12V, you're drawing around 25 amps. 50W lights jump to 40 amps. The largest available built-in charging system on a GX390 is 18 amps I believe so you can see there could be a need for an alternator even running LEDs. Make sure the motor you get has a recoil back-up so you can pull start it if necessary.

Hope this is helpful,
Damon
 
#5 ·
I have an 18 foot flounder boat with the 13hp Honda fan motor turning a 100 amp alternator. When that alternator is pulling full amperage, it is requiring 5 to 7 horsepower from your fan motor (according to the guys at Corpus Christi Alternator). And at idle speed, you can really hear that Honda working hard. If you are going to mount an alternator on your fan motor, I would put the largest fan motor horse power you can budget, in my opinion. However, if running on battery alone and no fan motor mounted alternator, the GX390 is a great motor.
 
#6 ·
It sounds like I definitely need to get an alternator as I will be running a stereo as well. I'd rather know that I can charge a dead battery than be stranded in the bay overnight.

What is the difference in the 3 blade vs 4 blade props? I plan to speak with the company I'm ordering from to make sure I have the correct setup.
 
#10 ·
When building motor stand, make sure you can jack up motor and tilt it up out of water and not hit blades (going straight, sometimes you forget to turn motor one side of other). Go big on motor if running alternator, when wind is blowing or hit a spot with no fish you can kick it up and cover more ground.
 
#11 ·
For the motor, I'm debating between the Honda GX390 and the GX630. I know there's a difference in price, but I want it done right the first time. Cost is not the issue.

The GX390 would require a alternator as I'd be running lights and stereo while floundering. It has a max charging of 18 amps, which would be hard to keep up with what I'm running requiring me to put an alternator on the boat.

The GX630 is offered with a max charging of 26 amps. This would be enough to keep the battery charged up without the need of installing an alternator. My concerns with this is the idle speed.

I want to keep this setup simple and am trying to stay away from buying an alternator. As everyone knows, saltwater is a killer on everything in an marine environment. Thoughts?
 
#12 ·
On the 1870 I built the 9.5 hp works perfectly on the 1860 the guy just had to have a Honda 13 hp i told him it would be to fast but he had to have it so thats what he got. Both boats have the same prop and guess what it was to fast and could not slow enough. Most of the time you are trying to go as slow as possible. Both boats have altnator setup on them and no issues out of the altnator. I agree as simple as possible I have seen alot guys go overboard with flounder boats and spend a ton of extra money on bells and whistles that are not needed.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#13 ·
I’m no expert, but aren’t most of the carbon blade set ups about the same diameter? And you can change out the pitch, I have 11 and 13 pitch grommets that came with mine, never used the 13 pitch. If the props are the same, and most motors idle about the same RPM’s, then would the speed at idle be the same no matter the Horse Power?

I agree, speed can be an issue, I used to have to drag weights at times. That was until I installed the front submerged LED Light bar. Now at Idle and a tail wind it is manageable. I know that I wouldn’t want any less than my 13 hp Honda, it does a great job, but if and when it dies, I’m going bigger.

On another note, I would add that if there was one thing I would change that would be the rake on the boat. Most of the factory aluminum boats come with about a 6 or 8 foot rake, I would love to have about a 4 foot rake if I was building a custom boat.

Also, the OP keeps mentioning a stereo. Have you spent much time on a flounder boat? I just can’t see blasting a stereo loud enough to cover the fan motor at anything over idle speed.
 
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