Went and had a chat with my marine supply buddy today to get a trailer order started, and picked his brain a bit on using a lithium starter battery. The short version is he had no concerns, as long as the battery is designed for it - and thought I could use pretty much any motor brand. While none of the mfrs are recommending them, yet (and most have some warning hidden somewhere about them), more and more of his customers are moving to lithium (pretty much all of them in the bass fishing world). He shared that a few years ago when the mfrs were putting out their warnings, he did see a few come in for service that had issues - but in the last year or two he really hasn't seen any issues at all and chalks it up to the batteries getting better management systems and designed to function as starters (ie., protections against voltage spikes, better management of incoming charging voltage, etc.). Given that, I'm going to take my chances. Now just need to decide between Tohatsu and Suzuki.
2025 Devlin Snow Goose Thread
- Thread starter HenryHawthorne
- Start date
RM Anderson
Well-known member
That is excellent news. Lithium batteries are a bit of a learning curve. Last winter when winterizing our new camper I plugged in shore power to keep the batteries charged. Little did I know that is discouraged by lithium battery manufacturers. Apparently it is better to let them discharge to perhaps 60% before storing. Live and learn.
RM
RM
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William Reinicke
Well-known member
I wouldnt hesitate. The lithium battery world has come a long ways. As most battery mfers are making a "starter" lithium battery now. Its a funny thing, my gf works at an RV dealership and they are a tracker dealer. They have all these warnings about how it voids warranty to have a lithium battery in their boats and blah blah blah. For the last 2 years, they have come with lithium batteries from tracker.
I will say, lithiums were kinda sketch when they first came out. My buddy who is on the MLF, he was one of the first to go to lithium. Always looking for that edge. He lost a boat in a fire while it was on the charger. At a tournament, and the neighbor of the AirBNB they were staying in ran over at 1 am and said one of the boats was on fire in the driveway. it was his unfortunately. He is as calm as calm could ever be in the craziest situations (we have been in a few together). He got in the truck, pulled the boat (on fire) to the middle of the street away from any trees in the neighborhood, unhooked the boat and drove the truck away. Fire dept showed up and put it out, no other damages to any surrounding properties.
Lithiums have been around in the race car world forever now. Lots believe that when you see a racecar catch fire, it started at the lithium battery. Kinda scary, and honestly not sure how true that is, but ive heard that more than once. With all that said, I can promise you, every pro angler and lots of local bass club guys in the southwest are running lithiums in their boats. You dont hear of any issues anymore either. I think they have got it all figured out. Im running them in mine, no issues and if it does, im ready for a new bass boat anyways.
Heres some pics of his fire that he had with his boat many many years ago.
Side note here....
Zack Birge is leading AOY by 12 points. MLF is some of the more fun bass fishing to watch, especially this tournament. Dudes are just HAMMERING fish every cast on Lake Erie. Tomorrow if he makes it into championship round, he wins AOY and puts another 100k in his pocket. That would go a long ways for duck camp he has in Oklahoma lol. Im hoping him the absolute best of luck. Been trying to keep his nerves down for this tournament. One more good day of fishing and its all his.
Yikes!I wouldnt hesitate. The lithium battery world has come a long ways. As most battery mfers are making a "starter" lithium battery now. Its a funny thing, my gf works at an RV dealership and they are a tracker dealer. They have all these warnings about how it voids warranty to have a lithium battery in their boats and blah blah blah. For the last 2 years, they have come with lithium batteries from tracker.
I will say, lithiums were kinda sketch when they first came out. My buddy who is on the MLF, he was one of the first to go to lithium. Always looking for that edge. He lost a boat in a fire while it was on the charger. At a tournament, and the neighbor of the AirBNB they were staying in ran over at 1 am and said one of the boats was on fire in the driveway. it was his unfortunately. He is as calm as calm could ever be in the craziest situations (we have been in a few together). He got in the truck, pulled the boat (on fire) to the middle of the street away from any trees in the neighborhood, unhooked the boat and drove the truck away. Fire dept showed up and put it out, no other damages to any surrounding properties.
Lithiums have been around in the race car world forever now. Lots believe that when you see a racecar catch fire, it started at the lithium battery. Kinda scary, and honestly not sure how true that is, but ive heard that more than once. With all that said, I can promise you, every pro angler and lots of local bass club guys in the southwest are running lithiums in their boats. You dont hear of any issues anymore either. I think they have got it all figured out. Im running them in mine, no issues and if it does, im ready for a new bass boat anyways.
Heres some pics of his fire that he had with his boat many many years ago.
Side note here....
Zack Birge is leading AOY by 12 points. MLF is some of the more fun bass fishing to watch, especially this tournament. Dudes are just HAMMERING fish every cast on Lake Erie. Tomorrow if he makes it into championship round, he wins AOY and puts another 100k in his pocket. That would go a long ways for duck camp he has in Oklahoma lol. Im hoping him the absolute best of luck. Been trying to keep his nerves down for this tournament. One more good day of fishing and its all his.
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Good luck to him in the tourney!
William Reinicke
Well-known member
hell be fine. Hes either gonna catch em or hes not. Could have worse careers in life.
Funny - saw this in the Economist this morning. If they're talking about it in Britain, it musy be big!
William Reinicke
Well-known member
lol we call that a BOB.... BIG OL BASS!
Now back to the topic at hand. The boat build. Lets not try and blow past 45 pages so easily!
RM Anderson
Well-known member
Be sure to declare to your insurance company that you have lithium batteries aboard before the fire. Insurance companies have many loopholes to enable them to deny payment. Charging your battery bank at night unattended or having the wrong fire extinguisher aboard are two examples. Some insurance require professional installation.I wouldnt hesitate. The lithium battery world has come a long ways. As most battery mfers are making a "starter" lithium battery now. Its a funny thing, my gf works at an RV dealership and they are a tracker dealer. They have all these warnings about how it voids warranty to have a lithium battery in their boats and blah blah blah. For the last 2 years, they have come with lithium batteries from tracker.
I will say, lithiums were kinda sketch when they first came out. My buddy who is on the MLF, he was one of the first to go to lithium. Always looking for that edge. He lost a boat in a fire while it was on the charger. At a tournament, and the neighbor of the AirBNB they were staying in ran over at 1 am and said one of the boats was on fire in the driveway. it was his unfortunately. He is as calm as calm could ever be in the craziest situations (we have been in a few together). He got in the truck, pulled the boat (on fire) to the middle of the street away from any trees in the neighborhood, unhooked the boat and drove the truck away. Fire dept showed up and put it out, no other damages to any surrounding properties.
Lithiums have been around in the race car world forever now. Lots believe that when you see a racecar catch fire, it started at the lithium battery. Kinda scary, and honestly not sure how true that is, but ive heard that more than once. With all that said, I can promise you, every pro angler and lots of local bass club guys in the southwest are running lithiums in their boats. You dont hear of any issues anymore either. I think they have got it all figured out. Im running them in mine, no issues and if it does, im ready for a new bass boat anyways.
Heres some pics of his fire that he had with his boat many many years ago.
Side note here....
Zack Birge is leading AOY by 12 points. MLF is some of the more fun bass fishing to watch, especially this tournament. Dudes are just HAMMERING fish every cast on Lake Erie. Tomorrow if he makes it into championship round, he wins AOY and puts another 100k in his pocket. That would go a long ways for duck camp he has in Oklahoma lol. Im hoping him the absolute best of luck. Been trying to keep his nerves down for this tournament. One more good day of fishing and its all his.
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RM
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Got a dry spell to get the edges trimmed and deck sanded. The easiest way to trim the deck edges would certainly be with a router and trim bit, and though I have a good bit for the purpose I realized when setting it up that since the angle of the sheer clamps to the deck is <90°, so I'd really need a bigger bearing to use the router and didn't have one. I ended up pulling out my planer and just planing the deck edge down until it was close to the sheer clamps, then sanded it. I plan to run glass over the edge and down the sheer clamp so need to round over the edges, but the heat and humidity were getting the better of me so quit for the day. I need to see if I can find a larger bearing locally for my roundover bit, or I'll be doing that job with my sander, too.
Overall, things look pretty symmetrical and fair - a few small areas to address - so pleased with how it has come together. I ultimately plan to glass over the coaming as well, but it looks like life might be easiest to glass the deck before adding the coaming, then just run tape up and over. Any advice from the experts?
Overall, things look pretty symmetrical and fair - a few small areas to address - so pleased with how it has come together. I ultimately plan to glass over the coaming as well, but it looks like life might be easiest to glass the deck before adding the coaming, then just run tape up and over. Any advice from the experts?
RM Anderson
Well-known member
Not an expert but I think maybe the type of wood you used will determine what is best. I used white oak for my coaming so to seal it i used several coats of penetrating epoxy. I think it was something that I read advising against glassing over white oak. To my way of thinking, a high wear area such as this may benefit from a tough protective coating that won't delaminate should it suffer abuse and be easier to touch up as well.
RM
Mine will be made from phillipine mahogany, as with sheer clamps, keel, and keelsons, so shouldn't be any issue.
Got my deck edges rounded over today - realized last night I was overthinking it. While the acute angle was an issue with my big edge trimming bit, it really wasn't with a smaller roundover bit - so ran that around then a quick sand cleaned it up nicely. I'll spend tomorrow with thickened epoxy finishing up exterior fillets under the nose and the deck overhang at the back of the cockpit and motorwell, and make some fairing epoxy for the screw heads and any other little fill-in tasks in prep for epoxy and glass.
Neal Haarberg
Active member
As to glass or not to glass the gunnels. I don't have a snow goose but it is very similar and I used CVG doug fir and glassed mine. They are a high ware area and had a couple spot where I wore through the glass that jerk string would rub. It took a over a decade for it to be a problem and I finally reglassed the tops with tape this summer.
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Henry~
I hesitate to jump in here for several reasons. First - because your workmanship is spectacular and I am thoroughly enjoying your tale. Second - I have yet to build a Devlin design - or any stitch-n-glue vessel. Finally, it is too late to change course - so my thoughts are best relegated to the "FWIW" (with apologies to Stephen Stills) files.....
As many have detected over the years, I am unapologetically/irretrievably Old School - in both practice and aesthetic biases. With respect to both rubrails and coamings I have thus far used the traditional approaches. Back when many decks were canvased and hulls were simply painted, both "appurtenances" were added for practical purposes. Rub rails protect the vessel from docks and other vessels; coamings keep nuisance water from finding its way into the cockpit, and both may serve to protect the edges of the deck covering i.e., painted canvas.
My rub rails have always gone on out beyond the "skin" of the boat. They are sacrificial - understanding that docks may punish them to a greater or lesser extent - and may need replacing over the life of the boat. On the other hand, I have built gunning boats without rubrails - trusting that the gunwales were sufficiently protected by the Salt Hay thatched to the decks. I have made them from White Oak, White Pine, Philippine Mahogany, treated SYP, and PVC "lumber" (but not the standard heavy PVC rubrail found on so many factory boats - too rich for my pocketbook).
Sweet Gherkin ('glass hull, plywood decks) got only half-round molding (probably Western White Pine) because of its dock-free habitats. Note the traditional coamings - open aft so I can sit on the stern deck whilst paddling.
Canvasback ('glass hull) got Mahogany - because they also served as the outwale/sheer clamp to stiffen the gunwales. The bottom edge is cut square as there is little likelihood that this vessel will ever be storm-tossed onto dock edges.
The Battenkill Bateau (plywood hull with treated framing) got treated SYP rails after the plywood hull was sheathed in 'glass.
The JAMES CAIRD ('glass hull and plywood decks) got rails rounded both top and bottom - as it could come down on a dock edge when in tidal waters.
The coamings on RED-LEG ('glass hull with plywood decks) are made of Cypress. I put no rubrails on - presuming the Salt Hay will protect the gunwales.
WHITE-WING ('glass hull and plywood decks) got no rubrails and fairly low traditional coamings. Crew on the Mother Ship will protect her with boat hooks, fenders or both.
My first rubrails on this un-named 2-man grassboat ('glass hull and plywood decks) were bedded in Dolphinite. As this venerable product is intended as a seam compound and not for bedding, I learned the Hard Way to use BoatLife or 3M 5200 instead - upon cleaning up the mess after the first season...
So, here are some sketches to illustrate my thoughts:
This shows the skin (red ink) beneath/behind both the rubrails and the coamings.
Rubrail shapes vary - for varying purposes/design considerations. My old boatyard (Kirkup's Lumber in Bayshore, LI) used to stock half-round White Oak for rubrails. The back was slightly hollowed to accommodate the deck canvas whose edge was stapled and set in white lead. The square lower edge is desirable if you want dew and spray to drip off the boat before it runs down the hull (most important for yacht finishes). The beveled lower edge allows rain to shed when the vessel is stored upside down (as my canoes often are). In any event, fasteners should be countersunk and seated just below flush. I prefer a softer filler (linseed oil putty is best) so fastener heads can be unearthed when it comes time to replace the rail.
Thus far, all my coamings fit inside the cockpit (Style A below). The deck edge is rounded over before 'glassing - and the 'glass extends to the bottom of the cockpit purlin. I do not bed the coamings except where they meet the deck. I use 3M 5200 to create a continuous fillet around the coamings. As with the rubrails, I want to be able to remove any piece of coaming without a destructive technique - so no full bedding 'twixt coaming and purlin or frame.
On my current build, I may try coamings that sit atop the deck - more like a traditional toe-rail - see Style B below. Such an approach would not need the fillet as described above.
Hope this helps - and does not distract from The Voyage (Flight?) of the Snow Goose!
All the best,
SJS
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@Steve Sanford - your thoughts and input are always welcome!
In this design, the sheer clamps are external and somewhat double as rub rails. I'll glass over them, for sure, but have had thoughts about adding a small rub rail around the outside for dock protection that is easily replaceable. I have decided to use polypropylene strapping for grass rails rather than wood, and I've also been playing with the idea of running the strapping around the sides as rub rails and a place to stick a bit of vertical brush/grass when that would be helpful.
As for the coaming, my plan is similar to A (and open aft, like your Gherkin), and greatly appreciate your input. The idea of making them more easily replaceable makes sense to me - as does glassing them over to increase durability. I guess ultimately it is a trade-off between buying a few extra years before a tougher repair and a simpler repair that may need to be done more often.
I think I'm going to proceed epoxying and glassing now, as if I weren't going to glass over the coaming. I can always filet them in place and glass over them when I get to that stage if I decide to do so. There has been an idea germinating in the back of my mind that may ultimately influence this decision, but I've been holding off until I get to cutting and dry-fitting the coaming to play with the idea to see if form and function are both acceptable variances to tradition. More to come when I get there, hopefully soon!
In this design, the sheer clamps are external and somewhat double as rub rails. I'll glass over them, for sure, but have had thoughts about adding a small rub rail around the outside for dock protection that is easily replaceable. I have decided to use polypropylene strapping for grass rails rather than wood, and I've also been playing with the idea of running the strapping around the sides as rub rails and a place to stick a bit of vertical brush/grass when that would be helpful.
As for the coaming, my plan is similar to A (and open aft, like your Gherkin), and greatly appreciate your input. The idea of making them more easily replaceable makes sense to me - as does glassing them over to increase durability. I guess ultimately it is a trade-off between buying a few extra years before a tougher repair and a simpler repair that may need to be done more often.
I think I'm going to proceed epoxying and glassing now, as if I weren't going to glass over the coaming. I can always filet them in place and glass over them when I get to that stage if I decide to do so. There has been an idea germinating in the back of my mind that may ultimately influence this decision, but I've been holding off until I get to cutting and dry-fitting the coaming to play with the idea to see if form and function are both acceptable variances to tradition. More to come when I get there, hopefully soon!