thanks for the offer and advice dave. much appreciated! i may end up going that route, but for now i've got everything ordered. for mounting/support, i'm going to try some 1-hole stainless conduit straps. i'd prefer 2-hole mounts, but the upper hole would require me to drill through the side of the roof, which isn't a hug deal, but i would have to remove the headliner to be able to secure the bolt with a nut/washer from the inside. and to remove the headliner, i'd have to remove my electronics box with all the electronics/wiring etc. it's just a huge can o' worms i'd rather not open if i can avoid it. i'm going to try the straps first and see how they do. if they don't provide enough support, i'll have to come up with a plan B, but i think they'll do. as long as i don't do chin ups on the thing it should hold it just fine.
i pulled the boat out today and brought it home. i'm doing this top extenstion as well as installing an ez-steer setup on my kicker motor. right now, the kicker is steered by it's own dedicated steering cable, and i've always had trouble getting enough left turn out of it. it's been adjusted 3 times and it still won't turn left as much as it should. 2 marinas tinkered with it and so did i, but i think it's as good as it can get. it just isn't enough. i can't turn left into any kind of wind while trolling, and that just doesn't work.
|