By Terry Wilkison
Aloha,
Had another great weekend on the S4! Tuna season is in full swing and they have been biting! Caught another this past weekend and a fat bonita. I also had two small Mahi chasing a homemade fly but couldn’t entice a bite from either of them. I gave the bonita away to a friend who likes them (in Florida we considered them a trash fish but here they are eaten) and split the yellowfin with my neighbor. I made a plate of sashimi that night and froze the rest to pan sear later. I’ll be going again soon and have dug out some bigger gear as the 100lb ahi are around and you never know! The bent butt shotgun fits right in the molded holes and will be used as a holder while my live bait swims about. If others are looking for a fish bag the ‘midi chiller’ from chillco in Australia fits perfectly, It has a triangle shape that is much more convenient than the flat bags. I’m also glassing a taller transom to try with the Nissan outboard. I believe the engine is sitting about 2.5″ too low and its costing me 2-3 knots, right now I’m not getting the rpm I should out of the 9″ prop. I’m raising it where the cavitation plate will be .5″ under the bottom of the hull as to not affect turning. I’ll post the results after giving it a go. The next project is a loading ramp idea to save some time at the boat ramp, I’d like to go straight from the truck bed to the water without getting my axle/brakes wet in the salt.
Hi Terry,
Thank you for the exciting report and great pictures!
Regarding the bent butt shotgun rod holder, I’d be careful if I were you, since I’m not sure how well the vertical molded-in plastic columns in the saddle would resist a strong, 100 lbs fish pulling on them with a twisting force, especially with the fishing rod serving the fish as leverage…
These structural elements are designed to support the weight of passengers sitting or standing on the saddle, namely withstand strong vertical pressure, but not necessarily strong torque.
SOT kayaks have similar structures in them (wrongly labeled ‘scupper holes’), and the manufacturers of these kayaks warn their owners not to use these holes for heavy duty applications, typically to attach a wheel cart.
You may be right about the transom mounting plate for your outboard motor, especially if you drive from the stern, seated close to the motor, without a tiller extension. In this position, the stern of the S4 is considerably lower than its bow, and the propeller rotates several inches below waterline, and probably a little too deep for max efficiency.
The speed difference between driving with a tiller extension and without one is noticeable, since the boat is more level and the hull more efficient when the driver sits in the middle of the cockpit.
Yoav