Manhattan boat project (foldcat) 2024

nycgrip reply :

so after doing research since last season and slowly getting it together whenever funds allowed, i finally got a decent boat that can go from a manhattan apartment into a car then on the water.

loaded on cart

its a sea eagle foldcat 325 (single seater), with mk 55# trolling motor, a cabelas size 24 agm 12v battery, and a humminbird 797 ff with 2 mini 12v batteries, with 2 transducers one side imaging, one quadrabeam.

it takes 20 minutes to build and breakdown (which should drop a little with the new pump ive ordered) with all the accessories.

i have gotten over 12 hours use with the agm 12v battery and tm combination with moderate use. 10+ hrs out of the mini 12v battery and the ff combo on all day.

Max speed is 3.4 mph monitored by gps, with the boat having to be driven a little sideways to counteract the drag created by the side mounted transducer bracket. i have now put the quadrabeam transducer on the tm and need to figure out how to get the si transducer and bracket to be more centered on boat to keep the drag from the bracket from twisting the boat.

it a great boat and couldnt be more satisfied, need to get a 4'x8' sheet of plywood (birch?) and cut it to make decking to fit between the aluminum slats perfectly instead of with the gaps i have now, and two more on either side of the front bar to extend decking to the front bar and to create storage in front of the bar. this will allow me to have a larger platform to fish from, and will allow me to kneel to get heavier fish out of the water.

i usually drive it normal to move from spot to spot, but once there ill spin the handle around and have the tm pull me, considering adding another seat quick release to the front slat so i can move the seat out of the way and operate the tm while standing on a 4'x4' deck.

hope this helps anyone on a similar quest.

Grey Wolf reply :

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MattStrykul reply :

Never seen anything like that!!! Awesome and unique. Have fun.

MA_Bass reply :

Thats sweet. I have a soft spot for collapsable catamarans. One of these days I am going to post pics of the cat I built with 2 friends. Its based on 2 17' Coleman canoes. It has 3 swivel chairs, 2 motors and a table that covers over the gap btwn the hulls. The whole thing takes ~20 minutes to fully set up or take apart. We have about as much fishing area as a bass boat.

Bassn Blvd reply :

I hate to admit it but that's a cool looking "Yankee Mobile."

firefightn15 reply :

That thing is the BOMB !!!!!!!!!! ;D

mayassa reply :

Very nice set up, I have a toon also, I use it in the shallow waters of the river I live next to.

smokepole reply :

I watch a guy put one together last week at the river it did a great job.

Daniel My Brother reply :

That's amazing! I've seen ads for those boats in magazines, but it's nice to get a first hand report. Very cool cool solution for a big city apartment dweller.

ba7ss3in reply :

Never seen anything like that, pretty cool.

BassNub reply :

o man real nice, thats what i want right there! how much did u spend?

farmpond1 reply :

Didn't I see something like this being used by the Navy Seals?

Nice boat!

nycgrip reply :

found the boat on ebay for $600 it was refurbished by the manufacturer, they no longer make the single seater, but if you goto seaeagle website they have a 2 and 4 person model.

fishizzle reply :

Aside from that being a great rig, I love that you bring it on a bellhop cart up the elevator. Never realized you could have a bass boat in a high rise

R@ngerman195vs reply :

That is one sweet setup. I love it! Enjoy my friend!

cart7t reply :

That is a cool setup. 8-)

nycgrip reply :

after a long winter and a nagging monkey on my back i got the boat to where i wanted it to be.

set the motor up to pull instead of push.

added more aluminum planks to have a full floor attached with velcro.

put the seat on a 13" riser instead of 7".

put the depth finder (portable setup built on a cooler with batteries inside, and weathersense, and smartcast attached to the outside) up on a pedestal attached with release-a-seats for break down.

installed a proper anchor setup.

used a tote-em-pole to store the rods vertically and out the way.

added a release-a-seat towards the rear to get the seat out of the way when i want to stand and fish.

BassnMan Mike reply :

Very nice! I've been considering one of those as a secondary boat for smaller waters.

Did you have to modify the frame to include the new flooring?

Dave D reply :

I saw an add for those in BASS. You have an awesome setup on that thing. Post some more pictures if you get a chance!

BassnMan Mike reply :

Quote
I saw an add for those in BASS. You have an awesome setup on that thing. Post some more pictures if you get a chance!

^^^

Yeah, what he said!

nycgrip reply :

ill be going out again mon or tuesday, ill take more pictures, and answer your question with pics after im back.

nycgrip reply :

this is the beginning part of the setup, you can see the velcro i used for the additional floor planks

the 3 planks you see above are solidly attached to the pontoons using a pipe and groove method, and are the only points that can carry the seat, oar locks, or anchor, and once fully inflated the stabilizer bars (bars under the planks) push up into the planks locking everything in.

once fully inflated i add the rest of the alu planks

then pedestals and rod holder (need to figure out a better way to store the rods, wind blowing through the lines can get annoying and once in a while on my back cast i hit the rods) and oars in stored position, the rod holder is attached to one of the oar locks and the other is in my tackle bag in case i ever need to use them but outta the way till then.

attach motor, depthfinder (with batteries and storage in cooler) and the seat. depthfinder and seat attach quickly and securely using release-a-seats.

and good to go, most of the places i fish i can get the car within 10 feet to the water and build and breakdown is about 20 min each. hopefully that answers any questions and sorry it took all season to post.

NewAngler reply :

that thing is awesome.

ArcticCat500 reply :

that is a great little craft, Im impressed

you mentioned you've hit the rods on a cast or two. What if you were to make a rod holder that possibly leans down in a 45* angle so your not popping them and they may quiet a little...Im looking into a boat this year, but I'll say I've given great thought to fishing yaks and now these,,

Sfritr reply :

That thing is AWESOME!!!

There are soo many lakes and ponds that I would like to fish but are too small to put in a full sized bass rig.

That would be great for rivers also.

Heck you could build some grass walls and duck hunt.. Truly cool.

LMBRadar reply :

That thing is great! I have been eyeing seaeagles 1 man framless boats and if i could find something like this i would jump on it!

Great job with the deck.. looks like you also have more room to expand!

ArcticCat500 reply :

nycgrip, you added the extra aluminium flooring, are these floor boards products purchased from Sea Eagle, I know they sell the quick release seat bases and other options.

nycgrip reply :

seaeagle sells the alu planks, for $75.

nycgrip reply :

Quote
What if you were to make a rod holder that possibly leans down in a 45* angle so your not popping them and they may quiet a little

i was already thinking of doing something like this, need to find the right pieces that i can rig together to make it work, or hopefully find something that does already work.

ArcticCat500 reply :

Quote
seaeagle sells the alu planks, for $75.

couldnt find them, are a special order or are they on the website?

nycgrip reply :

just call them, pretty sure they will sell lots of stuff individually, but you'll pay.

ArcticCat500 reply :

thanks, Im giving that craft some thought. I also like how the ors mount to the side of the pontoon, was this too an option?

thnx

nycgrip reply :

i bought the oar hooks from somewhere else and tied them around the flooring connection.

Walleyefisher reply :

Great setup, I just bought the 440 FC and doing a similar customization. One this that interest me is your oar hooks, where did you get them. Thanks

nycgrip reply :

i used 2 sets of these, http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0023226317473a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=oar+keepers&Ntk=Product_liberal&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1,

and figured out a way to make them work, but i am sure you can find a better, cheaper solution.

you could even just use hanger wire and twine and come up with a solution.

Bigfoot15d reply :

I just got the FoldCat 375 (2-seater) and have taken it out twice. I enjoy it so far but will warn anyone interested that the wind sure plays havoc with it.

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Manhattan boat project (foldcat) 2024

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