New 14'TDB Classic owner

Shawn

I really like your boat and have always thought that was one cool set up.

One suggestion to strengthen the motor bracket is so cut pieces of plywood that would act as triangular braces between the bracket and the curved deck. I would use thickened epoxy to create fillet joints and then glass tape over them. Do this on both the bracket and the top curved deck. This will spread the stress over a large area and be very ridgid against the motor's tendency to torque the bracket and stress where is it bolted to the transom.

Eric
 
Another vote for the 25. I purchased a used 14' classic over 10 years ago from a gentlement in CT and it had a 20hp Mercury on it. I can remember him saying a 20 should be the minimum. Since then I have changed motors to a 25 hp Mercury 2 stroke. I was thinking the other day while motoring across a small bay with a dog, 2 adults, and way too many decoys than necessary:) that I certainly wouldn't want to be dogging along with a 15. The 20 hp had dolphin fins on it, I'm wondering if this would be a good addition so I could stay on plane at slower speeds as mentioned above. Anyone running them? Pros or cons? Enjoy your boat, they are a lot of fun!!
 
I have the knock off of the 14 classic. As some will remember I completely refurbished it and had to make my own motor mount. I can not imagine a 15 pushing this boat.... not only would it be slow, I think in would be less safe (i.e underpowered with a load)

My motor mount has 5/8" plywood on the inside for support, 11- 3/8 SS bolts, then it was glassed to the hull with 17 oz biax if recall correctly...

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Nice boat shawn. As most others said I would also recommend going with a 25hp. Are you going to keep the after market blind or just use the standard TDB blind?

Another thing I have been trying out on my 14 classic is moving the fuel tank to the very front of the boat. This helps to plane the boat out.
 
Gents,

I have finally found a bit of time to get to the boat. I spent the day fabricating a transom braces for the motor mount. I just couldn't accept a 15 Hp motor for my TDB. I ended up with a Suzuki 20 Hp four stroke. It weighs in at 97lbs and it should be a good compromise between weight and power.
I was really surprised to see that the top half of my TDB was built with a 1/4" of fiberglass! I had always read that these boats were built very well, but I am now starting to appreciate how well they were made. I was able to find a solid anchor point for the two braces that I made, and I discovered that the aft top deck flotation did not extend all the way to the transom. So I did not have to disturb the flotation foam. Here is a shot of the braces before I coated them in flat black Dura Bake,

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Here they are coated, and mounted to the rear deck and motor mount.

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Here are a few shots of the motor placed into position. I still need to get a couple of stainless bolts to bolt it through the mount.

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Sorry about the cell phone photos. My wife had our camera so I had to make do. Tomorrow I'm installing LED Nav lights, wiring, switch panel, and a battery. I should be hunting by the weekend. Thanks again everyone for your posts and suggestions. I do appreciate you all taking the time to send me post and PM. I'll get another post up after I have her all done. I almost forgot, the boat came with a motor cover along with the blind. It fits the four stroke perfectly.
 
Sean great job, the only thing IS that you used either aluminum plate or fender washers to prevent the bolts from pulling through the deck. Other than that your spot on with your modification. Now find ya some 15hp stickers for that Suzuki. :)
 
Gents,
I have been meaning to get these photos posted of my electrical install, and I have finally found the time to get it done. I decided to run LED Nav and Stern Lights and since these lights are such a low draw, I was able to get away with using a very light weight battery from my local ACE hardware. It is a sealed 12v 18AH battery that is extremely light and works perfectly for my application. I intend to get LED cockpit lighting installed along with a depth finder. But for now here are a few photos.
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I need to get some sort of rubber boots to protect the battery posts. If anyone happens to have a source for to protect the posts, I'd appreciate a link or name of a source.

By the way. My 20 HP Suzuki four stroke worked perfectly and seemed to get the boat right up and onto plane without any issues. I took some very good advice and added a Hydrofoil to the outboard. Needless to say, I am very happy with the boat / motor combo. Thanks again for all of your suggestions and advice.
 
Nice job with the wiring. Curious, why did you move battery to the front as opposed to rear next to the fuel tank?


I placed the battery up in the bow to help distribute the weight across the entire length of the boat. One of the benefits of the Suzuki outboard is that it doesn't require a battery. It is a manual start, fuel injected four stroke that generates its own electrical needs to run the fuel injectors. The LED lights are so low draw, and the use of the lights are generally such a short duration, that I have yet to have to charge the battery for more than a couple of minutes. I suspect that will change when I install a depth finder. But I would most likely only need the depth finder when I hunt sea ducks, and then only to get depth info to place my lines out. The best part was the cost of the battery.....$39.00 and a five year warranty!
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Sean, Great job. I have gone through all of the steps with my original TDB and found the following...

Until I put a 1/4" aluminum plate inside the transom through-bolted with heavy stainless nuts, bolts and washers, the transom flexed enough that I was worried about damage.

I dumped the 15 2-stroke. Didn't get up on plane with 2 guys. Then bought a new 4-stroke 20hp Merc. OK with 2 guys and nothing else. Add cork decoys and a dog and you were plowing at 8 knots maxxed! Change prop to stainless, a bit better but not much.

Finally got a Merc 25 2-stroke and it flew out of the hole. Weighs the same as the 20 4-stroke and is GREAT. Problem is now you worry about overpowering and legal stuff. Certainly an individual decision and worrisome. A second heads-up is BE CAREFUL TURNING. These flat bottom boats are great for hammering the puddlers at low tide. You can move the boat in the mud without a problem and get into anywhere, The downside of this flat bottom is on plane it will SKID, not turn. It is easy to fly sideways into a bank. You need to slow down to turn at all sharply.

Good luck and safe hunting.
 
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