Bamaskeet

You can see the rod holders in the bottom of this picture.

As I recall that bulkhead is 3” thick, so there is no give. I bought the rod holders on eBay. On one boat I was able to buy two rod holder groups. On the other, I bought a four rod holder group and cut it in half.

I mounted 4 rod holders, two sets of two, on the forward bulkhead. They work great most of the time but you can’t keep rods in those holders while you are casting on the front deck.

A 1/2” aluminum plate would be plenty strong for your application

If the pump is original, it will have a Deutsch connector. You should be able to unplug the connector and detach the cartridge. You can cut the wires and solder the new pump wires to the old Deutsch connector or replace the Deutsch connector. i always carry a spare cartridge because, some last forever, and others fail just when you have a large supply of fresh bait!

While I have nothing against the etec, I suggest going with a SHO. You will be much happier if you ever decide to sell.

I suggest you carry an anchor in the large front main hatch. While the anchor locker looks like a great idea, it doesn’t work well and is a pain in the *** to use.

I’ve had the best luck with 3 group 31 batteries. 2 for the trolling motor, 1 for cranking and one of the trolling motor batteries as the backup for the cranking battery.

A 60” trolling motor will work fine. 24V or 36V choice is based on how much tide and current do you fish in. I’m happy with my 24V.

I suggest you call Powerpole, the have great customer service.

In the older boats we usually used a 15° rod holder because there wasn’t much room between the hull and liner.

I’ve had similar experiences and carry a big pair of wire cutters in my go everywhere bag with my rain gear, Inreach, handheld radio and fish cleaning knives.

Typically, the float switch/bilge pump is wired direct to the battery with a separate fuse. While the console bilge switch is wired thru the main fuse panel . Check the separate fuse before you replace the pump.

I’ve been using a Lowrance HDS 12 for awhile. The bottom scan becomes very useful when the fish are right on the bottom. When I’m striped bass fishing, the bottom scan shows the difference between brush on the bottom and fish. When I’m fishing wrecks, it does the same thing. I can tell what is wreck and what is fish. The side scan is useful looking under and between docks. It also works for weed lines and tells me which side of the boat is the main body of fish. I like to use the side scan when I’m looking for tarpon in between bridge abutments. I can run down the bridge and the side scan shows me which slot has tarpon. It takes a long time to really know what the machine is telling you.

I carry a EPIRB and a Garmin Inreach. If I have a serious problem, I’m using the EPIRB. If I breakdown I’m using the Inreach.