# My Garage Modified Gheenoe...



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Not wanting to do a lot of cross-posting between here and the CG forum, I've mostly avoided posting about the Gheenoe Highsider I've been modifying. However, now that it is finished, I'd like to share it with this group as well.

Here she is. I named her the Tale-Spin, and if you've ever read one of my fishing reports, you'll know why...










When I bought her, she looked like this...










Now, she looks like this...





































I've only caught three fish from her so far, but they'll be plenty more in the near future!  ;D


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Nice looking highsider. I would like to see a picture of you driving the boat. Curious where you sit and if you use a tiller extension.

Also, think about shrinking your pictures down to 640x480 so the folks with older displays and laptops can see the whole image.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Nice looking highsider. I would like to see a picture of you driving the boat. Curious where you sit and if you use a tiller extension.
> 
> Also, think about shrinking your pictures down to 640x480 so the folks with older displays and laptops can see the whole image.


Thanks Tom. I reduced all the pictures except the first one. I don't happen to have any pictures of me driving the boat...but I do have video!  
IMGP0951.WMV
and...
IMGP0950.WMV


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## Ron_W. (Dec 14, 2006)

Very nice work.


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## Garry (Dec 14, 2006)

Awesome boat! Love the decks!


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

This may be hard to fathom for some of you, but in the year and a half since I bought my highsider, I’ve trailered her a total of three times…once to bring her home, once to test her after the build and one last time to drop her off at her private slip. Since then, my trailer has been disassembled and stored away.
However, some of my recent fishing excursions have given me a touch of wanderlust, so I decided it’s time to drag out the cart and make her roadworthy. I never felt confident the few times I did use the trailer, mostly because of the deplorable shape the suspension and wheels were in. I should have taken a couple of before shots, but I didn’t think about it until later. So, these will have to do…

Last year when testing…
















Old hubs and springs…









First thing was to replace the entire suspension system except the axle, which was in great shape. This included new bearings, seals, hubs, rims and tires. Despite being galvanized already, all exposed surfaces on the new parts were painted with rust-oleum.









































Also replaced any rusted bolts, new rollers, coupler, bearing buddies and added a spare tire with wheel locks for all three, then painted everything. Getting close to finished now…









Next I’ll be adding new, longer bunks, plus a wide, forward center bunk that I can walk on when needed. Fenders and lights after that…might be ready for next weekend.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Well, I’ve continued refurbishing my old trailer these couple of days, and now I’m finally ready to show her off. 

The new wide forward bunk. There was no bow support prior…









New rubber, rims, bearing buddies and wheel locks. Repainted fenders as well…









New rear bunks are 7 inches longer off the back, and 11 inches longer forward. These are for loading in shallower water and for more support when on the trailer. New lights too…









And here’s the finished product. 









The only items that truly gave me any trouble were the lights and finding the brackets for the forward bunk. On the lights, I couldn’t get the tail lamps to come on , everything else like turn and brake signals worked fine. Turned out to be a bad ground. : At any rate, she’s almost a new trailer now and is ready for the road, so if I get to fish on Sunday I may load up the Noe and put her in the garage until the next trip.


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## Tom_C (Dec 10, 2006)

Great Work [smiley=1-beer-german.gif]


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## St._Sophie_Girl (Dec 13, 2006)

That's awesome!! Trailer looks brand new! And love those decks!

You know, Tale-Spin was one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid... ;D


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Great Highsider ! 

I DO miss mine !

Great river Cruiser 

Dave


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Nice boat. I can't wait to win mine!


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Well, it’s mod time again!   That means a lot of late nights, skipped meals, unfinished chores, dirty looks from the wife, fatherless kids and endless trips to the store for supplies. :Yep, now that I’ve got the Gheenoe in the garage again, the obsession is kicking in full force. ;D

To start, I added guide posts to my “new” trailer, as I found it’s very difficult to see when backing down the ramp, if the boat’s not on it.









Have been working on a lot of little changes and fixes, including something I should have done the first time…enlarging and sealing the center bench opening.

No going back now…









Wax paper taped to hatch cover…









Caulk bead around the new opening…









Close the lid and let it set up…









Hope it works! I’ll find out in the morning. :-/

The plan is to run a second ring of caulk around the outside of the first, except attached to the bottom of the lid. If this turns out as planned, water would have to squeeze under the outside seal, and then squeeze over the inside seal before it could enter the compartment. We’ll see…


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I do love wax paper...


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## limelightsc (Mar 22, 2008)

I noticed your rod holders mounted FLUSH to the forward bulk head. 

The bulk heads are obviously too short to accommodate the 12-13" tubes. 

And if I cut the tubs down, the rod handles rest on the floor of the gheenoe, so they don't rest in the slot correctly.

Is this how yours is? Do the rods spin around and reels knock together? 

I am way too OCD.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> I noticed your rod holders mounted FLUSH to the forward bulk head.
> 
> The bulk heads are obviously too short to accommodate the 12-13" tubes.
> 
> ...


Here's your answer...









Now, as you can see, the rods sit in the holders just as you've described. However, is it a problem? Not for me. I added elastic straps to secure them if necessary. 









Typically, if I'm going to run the outboard for any distance, I take the rods down and put them in the tubes anyway. I'm ducking under too many low hanging branches and such to leave them up. 

One piece of advice...think about where you're going to walk when placing the rod holders. I put mine right on the center line and hate it.  When I step up onto my front deck, I have to move the rods or sort of crawl around them. That's one thing I'm fixing while in the garage. ;D


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## limelightsc (Mar 22, 2008)

the walking around them was another problem i was hoping you would mention. That would be pain.

Think I might rig one to the side gunnel instead.

Thanks for the time and additional photos-that is a fine looking skiff.

GP


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## Bowfin47 (Aug 4, 2008)

I really like your decks. 

How did you make them? 

You added some great shots of the trailer rebuild, do ya' have any of the deck additions? If so, could ya' please post 'em.

Thanks,

Bowfin47


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> I really like your decks.
> 
> How did you make them?
> 
> ...


Oh, there's probably way more about my build than you really wanted to know over on the Custom Gheenoe forum. 
Here's a link... http://www.customgheenoe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2970


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Haven't made quite as much progress as I would have liked, mostly due to a little side trip to the ER on Tuesday night, to get a shard of metal removed from my eye. :'( Yes...I was wearing safety glasses, but I failed to notice the piece in my hair and it fell into my eye a couple hours later.  

Anyway...here's an update. The eye is 100%, btw. 

Since I'm still waiting on my outboard parts order to arrive, I've been working on other things. I've got my first-attempt gasket in place around the enlarged center bench opening. Although it serves its purpose, it's not quite up to my normal build standard...looks kinda shoddy. We'll see if I replace it or not...









Also working on a section of false floor. Here's the fiberglass panel fitted in place, just not attached or covered with deck pad yet. You can also see I'm rearranging the rod holders I'm always whining about.  ;D


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Just a little update...

I am almost done with the changes and repairs I've been making to my highsider. I finished the lower unit and reinstalled it Wednesday. Then last night I rebuilt and cleaned the carburetor, which it clearly didn't need. However, seeing as it's a 22 year old motor that I bought used, I wasn't sure of the condition of the internal parts. :-?

Since getting the motor last year, I've kinda suspected that it had been in storage for the majority of those 2 decades, because it was in such pristine condition. No wear on the prop and even the skeg still had all the paint on it. The guy I bought it from said he used it once, but it was underpowered for his boat. Anyway, I found that the impeller had a date stamp of 05/86 on it, so it was probably the original. I'm also fairly certain the carb had never been serviced before, so I was really surprised to see how clean it was when I broke it open, especially since I leave it sit outside with fuel in it all the time.  :

Here's the carb just removed, before cleaning...









Fuel bowl was spotless...

























Ready for reinstallation...

















All finished. 









New fuel filter, plugs and lower unit oil went in last night as well. Gotta test the water pump and adjust the carb in a barrel tonight, and we should be ready to hit the water.  

I'll get some pics of the false floor and other stuff up soon.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

I think I'm about finished with this round of Gheenoe mods. I was thinking about also adding splash guards, but it's not that big of a problem so I may hold off until next time.

Here I added another cleat near the bow and downsized the trolling motor prop. The bigger prop moved the Noe just a little too fast.









The new false floor between the two front benches, and the extra rod holders farther out from center.

















For comparison purposes, here's a shot of the old floor and pads. The new layout should be much more comfortable to walk on, and I can keep the rods out of my path when moving on and off the front deck.









Also added a rod holder in the bilge area. I spend a lot of time on the back deck with the fly rod, and guest anglers will appreciate it too.









Here's the enlarged center bench hatch, with interlocking gaskets. It's not the prettiest thing I've ever built, but it seems to keep the moisture out.









And of course, the motor is back in one piece, with lots of new parts. Not that there was really anything wrong with it, but preventative maintenance is preferable to the alternative. Got a chance to run it in a barrel today, and it pisses like a firehose now! Messed with carb adjustments for awhile, but ended up with it set back almost exactly where I began. Runs really good.  









I am considering adding another plank to my trailer to use as a walkway. I'd cover it in matching carpet and place it about where I have it laying in the picture below. Anyone do something like this to keep from stepping in water? If so, how's it work for you and do you have any recommendations?









We'll have to see if tropical storm Fay interferes with my plans to wet test the changes this week.  :


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

No, I repeat, No carpeting!
If it gets wet you will slip and break a leg.
Either paint and apply non-skid or buy stick-on non-skid.
Or take a circular saw and create cross grooves 1/8" deep
every 1/2" Also if going through the trouble of adding a walk
board, go from the rear frame of the trailer all the way to the
leading edge of the trailer frame where you show it now.
5/16" galvanized carriage bolts from top down,
bolted through galvanized frame plates under trailer cross-members.

Every trailer I've ever had has had a walkboard.
Always a 2"x12" pressure treated pine, as long as I could make it.

By the way, "thumbs up" on the boat. (nicely done)  ;D


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

Good advice, Brett. Thanks!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

After all the work you've gone through to
restore the trailer, wax the bunks and using
the walk board will allow you to launch and
retrieve the boat without having to
launch the trailer. I'm way too lazy
to want to go through that much work every
few years.

What was that commercial?
"Hey Mikey, try it you'll like it!"


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

After listening to suggestions from other forum members _(thanks guys)_, then mounting a temporary walkboard to try out some different configuration options, I completed this latest round of trailer mods today. 

What I decided on was a three piece system, with two forward stepping “plates” and one long walkway that would extend off the rear of the trailer. Each piece is built from pressure treated 1”x10” pine, which was then cut, sanded, painted and topped with 3M Outdoor Safety Walk Non-skid strips.

Here is the forward-most step…









Here’s the middle step next to it…









And the long walkboard…









It was a little tough to get pictures of everything installed beneath the hull, but you get the idea…

























Also, something really simply I came up with while trying configurations out…









That ring is on top of my trailer guide post, and it’s so I can attach the winch cable to it before backing down the ramp when loading. This way I can easily reach the cable, hook up the Gheenoe, then step onto the walkboard and walk up the trailer to operate the winch.

As long as I don’t fall in, this should make trailering a bit less painful.


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## snooknreds2 (May 5, 2008)

Great job on all of the mods as well as the trailer re-build.

That walk way looks very clean and professional.
and great idea with the eye bolt on top of the light pole!!!

One thing that you might want to re consider though is to extend the wooden bunks out to the end of the transom.  there is another thread discussing this right now, but you want to have the bunks go at least to the end of the transom, and preferable 1-2 inches past just to be safe.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Great job on all of the mods as well as the trailer re-build.
> 
> That walk way looks very clean and professional.
> and great idea with the eye bolt on top of the light pole!!!
> ...


Thanks for the compliments.  

I am not concerned with the bunk length actually, which is why I didn't comment in the other thread. My old bunks were even shorter and my highsider lived on that trailer for almost ten years before I bought it. No damage, no stress cracks, nada. The only reason I extended the bunks at all was to allow for a bit shallower pickup. Appreciate you watching out for me though. [smiley=1-thumbsup2.gif]


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Great job, especially the walk board. I have the same motor and pulled my carb this weekend to clean it. Is the float supposed to have fuel in it? Mine does and thought I need to replace it.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Great job, especially the walk board. I have the same motor and pulled my carb this weekend to clean it. Is the float supposed to have fuel in it? Mine does and thought I need to replace it.


Thanks...I am far from an expert on outboards, so take my answer with that in mind. 

My float was about half full of fuel as well. The new one was empty and appeared to be sealed. My gut told me that a leaking float would not "float" as well as it was designed to, so I replaced it. For $5, why risk it?


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Thats what I thought but wanted to be sure. Did you buy it local or online?


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Thats what I thought but wanted to be sure. Did you buy it local or online?


http://www.ishopmarine.com/ishop/js...reqItemCode=MM-139591691&req4QuickSearch=true


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## Flyline (Mar 3, 2008)

Love your trailer mods! Thinking doing the same for my NMZ, I'm going to ass a 12' center bunk with carpet in the middle.

Good idea about the eye bolt on the trailer light, what a great idea!


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## deerfly (Mar 10, 2007)

very nice workmanship.


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## flatskinny (May 8, 2011)

Awesome job. I would like to put some kind of decking like you did but not sure how to go about it.any tips would be great and also how did you fasten them.
thanks


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