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Lapwing #5 build


John Turpin

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Well, she's ready to launch.  I've been working on trailer tasks all week. There's just not much that's interesting enough to photograph.  I made a pair of mast crutches, made some trailer guideposts, added a cross-member and added an additional roller.  I'm also working on a motor mount for the trailer.

And, I've stocked up on dock lines, fenders, bungee cords and other bits and pieces.  I've got a tentative test launch scheduled for Monday morning.

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  • 3 weeks later...

l added a depth sounder in the form of a Humminbird 170 fish finder.  A thru-hull transducer went into the stern locker. The unit is powered by a small jump-start battery that lives in the starboard locker.  The unit isn't bolted down and can be moved around in the console as needed.

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Looks nice, John. I've always been glad I installed one on our boat... saves us from losing bottom paint in places that are unexpectedly shallow or littered with submerged rocks/stumps.

You probably already thought of it, but on our setup, since we were installing the battery anyway for the sonar/gps, I also wired in a small cigarette lighter (12VDC) receptacle to the battery... makes a handy place to charge a cellphone or VHF radio, plug in a spotlight, or run a small electric bilge pump in an emergency.

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Hi Wes.

That little battery only has one accessory plug so, as it stands, I could only power one device at a time.  And, since it only comes with 7 amp hours per charge, I'd suck it dry pretty quickly if I use it for too much.  But, it will be easily reached so I could plug other accessories in for some juice as needed.  If my power demands grow, I can always add a second battery or even add one of those "splitters" from Radio Shack that would let me plug multiple devices into one port.

As for battery recharges when a 110 outlet isn't around, I have a roll-up solar panel that I can use for battery charging.  I can lay the flexible panel on one of the benches and let power trickle into the battery.  On a sunny day, it does a pretty good job.  But, that little fishfinder won't require much power.  I only turn it on every now and then and it only draws a single amp.

Here's my sonar in action.  This photo was taken at the lake yesterday.

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