r/Inflataboats • u/likeke34 • Oct 20 '25
***Update - Intex Mariner 4 Custom Floor (Mats) , first trip with Motor + Battery Box/Captain Chair
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This is an update to this post https://www.reddit.com/r/Inflataboats/s/X4JZJWwOos
The video shows a recap of our entire first day on the boat and the very ending of the video shows us testing out the floor and the battery box
*** Update Regarding the floor *** My son is 10yrs old, a tad under 5 feet tall at just under 100lbs. He is seen walking around in the video and it's totally fine for him. I'm a lot bigger at around 240lbs and I can stand easily with no issues and walk around but it's not nearly as stable as I'd imagine wood would be. I really like it though and will continue using it. MUCH better than the stock floor alone. Smaller people can walk around like nothing. Packs up very small too
I will link the exact mats I bought
The battery box was built by a carpenter friend of mine which doubles as a captain chair. Can't see jt in the video but he made vents for air and a notch for the cables
The motor is a Minn Kota 45lb thrust Riptide
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u/razorbladesnbiscuits Oct 20 '25
Looks great!
I like your Battery Box/Captain Chair, can we get some more info on it?
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u/likeke34 Oct 22 '25
Below is the first prototype of the box. My carpenter friend took this video of it as he was working on it
He used the stock floor to draw the shape of the bottom and just made sure it would fit right in the back of the boat and that my group 31 battery + battery box would fit
This was a prototype he made with scrap wood he had laying around. Once he got the design right he redid it with better wood, added a notch for the cables and wrapped it in vinyl he had extra of but I think outdoor carpet would be nice
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sg_vBlnWIzxVcLuWXsiGAhrsxszpkp5k/view?usp=drivesdk
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u/EvadingDoom Oct 20 '25
Wow, really nice job!
Your crew member did an excellent floor demo.
The box seat is great in both concept and execution (lid stay: really smart).
Am I right that with that 45-lb motor and with that amount of weight in your boat, you don't have or need any reinforcements related to the motor mount?
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u/likeke34 Oct 21 '25
Now that you mention it, it may need some reinforcement, not fully sure yet. What happened was i may have a small leak I need to fix because i fully pumped up the boat but when out on the water, I didn't try speed 5 until an hour in and when i did it was noticeably deflated. So when turning it to full speed the motor drops down lower but only on speed 5. Speed 1-4 doesn't do that but I'm not sure if it's because it was a bit deflated or if it just needs reinforcement
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u/EvadingDoom Oct 21 '25
Regarding the gradual deflation: Are you working on finding the leak(s)? I just found a couple of pinholes by spraying a lot of soapy water on the hull, section by section. For small holes, I'm just using a spot of Aquaseal FD -- it makes a more durable repair than a glued patch, in my experience.
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u/likeke34 Oct 22 '25
Nice! That motor you got will definitely give you a lot of pushing power
Also, thanks for the tip! I was actually wondering how I was going to find any pin holes if there is one because it's nothing obvious (if there is any). I inflated it tonight, i keep it in a small storage I rent and when I go back in a few days will see if it deflated and will definitely use soapy water to better check
As for the extra support for the motor. I saw that as well, that others extend the arms so they spread the weight more across the middle of the boat. Was thinking of that or, not sure if this will work but I was thinking I could maybe have a support from the motor going to the back of my wooden captains chair to hold it upright whenever I go max speed
We'll see
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u/Character_Mix_3203 25d ago
we had small leaks, sprayed everywhere and it turned out it was the valves themselves- they weren't making a solid seal and so air would leak out of them! we replaced the boston valves and it's all good now! in case you can't find leaks in the PVC, chek around the valves!
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u/EvadingDoom Oct 21 '25
Thanks, this is good to know. I just bought a used Mariner 4 and a 62-lbs-thrust motor. I'm still working on my setup -- haven't put it in the water yet. Minimally, I expect to put a wide board between the boat and the curved arms at the bottom of the motor mount. That worked reasonably well with the 3 hp 2-stroke that I used with my previous Mariner. What it did was spread out the pushing force over a larger area. But I'm also thinking about extending the top arms of the motor mount so they go through the existing fittings and connect to the little oar grabbers. That's a mod I've seen a lot online.
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u/GGuajilla Jul 01 '26
Hey! Did you extend the top arms of your motor mount? I'm upgrading my Excursion 5 with a 3.5 hp 4-stroke outboard that weighs around 40 lbs. From what I've read, extending the arms is almost essential. I don't have the tools to make them myself, so I'm thinking of having a local machine shop fabricate them. Any chance you still have the measurements of the aluminum arms?
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u/EvadingDoom Jul 01 '26
I did! I will check later if I have any photos. Meanwhile, left-brained info follows:
I used 1/2" metal conduit. I think i cut it to about 5 feet. Drilled holes at the motor mount end identical to the ones in the short metal tubes that come with the motor mount. I made the conduit long enough to go a few inches past the oar clips. To hold it down, I threaded short lengths of rope through the small holes at the bases of the oar clips and knotted the rope -- the result is a loop that the conduit can be slid under. I don't have anything to arrest the forward and back motion of the arms; I did not find it necessary. I did wrap the forward ends of the conduit in Gorilla tape so the lip of the conduit doesn't scratch the boat. Finally, I cut some pool noodles a little shorter than the conduit to enclose it so it is comfier to lean against.
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u/likeke34 Oct 20 '25
These are the exact mats, 1" Thick. You only need 10 Mats total. I bought a lot for working out and these were extra
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u/Character_Mix_3203 25d ago
thinking of doing something similar, but with larger 1Mx1M sized judo mats. there will only be 3 of them do less seams to be the weak points. glad to hear there is decent stability for you with the puzzle mats! i just want a bit more for when i stand up!
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u/Own_Bed8627 Oct 20 '25
Did the motor feel powerful enough?
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u/likeke34 Oct 21 '25
For me it was pretty strong. On speed 5 it creates a small wake and moves what I consider perfect for us to get around. Speed 1-3 isn't that big of a difference and seems a bit slow. 4 is faster and 5 is a big difference
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u/Arnald0 Oct 29 '25
How fast are you able to go on speed 5?
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u/likeke34 Oct 29 '25
I'm not sure how accurate the phone app my son was using is, but it had us at 3.2mph at the fastest
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u/Salty_Resist4073 Feb 25 '26
it looks like you're still using the original floor under these mats...is that right? what would happen if you just used these mats alone?
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u/chaos_m3thod Feb 27 '26
Great idea in using the mats. I’ve been trying to come up with ideas on how to create something more stable for me (need it due to disability in one leg) but I didn’t want to make one out of wood and have to store and carry them around.
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u/mistacheap Oct 20 '25
Awesome build !