Crawdad rebuild

I finally got rid of my waterlogged Pelican, and have decided to reclaim my Crawdad that sat by the side of my house for several years. Many years ago I inserted a full floor, and went totally overboard on it. I used heavy pressure treated wood, and needless to say the boat was very heavy. It got to the point when I was on a lake with a good chop, the waves would go over bow and a lot of water was getting in. I retired it to the side of my house tipped so that it wasn't exposed. however, a bad wind blew knocked it over. Before I knew it, it was filled with water and immovable. So, I took a bucket out and emptied it. Took out all the wood and foam, and I'm starting from scratch. I will post photos as work goes on. Any pointers will be appreciated! The boat will be trailered.

First question: I have an extra 8ft Talon that I'd like to put on it. Can the transom handle it?

I finally got rid of my waterlogged Pelican, and have decided to reclaim my Crawdad that sat by the side of my house for several years. Many years ago I inserted a full floor, and went totally overboard on it. I used heavy pressure treated wood, and needless to say the boat was very heavy. It got to the point when I was on a lake with a good chop, the waves would go over bow and a lot of water was getting in. I retired it to the side of my house tipped so that it wasn't exposed. however, a bad wind blew knocked it over. Before I knew it, it was filled with water and immovable. So, I took a bucket out and emptied it. Took out all the wood and foam, and I'm starting from scratch. I will post photos as work goes on. Any pointers will be appreciated! The boat will be trailered.

First question: I have an extra 8ft Talon that I'd like to put on it. Can the transom handle it?

. A talon would be way to heavy and would look pretty silly on a crawdad , you need a power pole micro anchor for it . Also use 1/2 pressure treated plywood for your deck and 1 5/8 galvanized metal studs for your framing for the deck . Metal studs are more than 75 percent lighter than that pile of 2x4's you have on the ground. Also I would go with a 12 foot aluminum john boat if your gonna put some work into it , and trash that flat bottom plastic boat .

I have a Crawdad and love it since it fits in the bed of my truck, but be careful of adding any extra weight. Consider a detachable deck instead of a permanent install.

I am aware of the micro pole. I think it prices out around six hundred bucks. I'd like to try the Talon because I have it, rather than trying to sell it later. I don't care if it looks weird if it works. The transom is rated for a 6hp motor. I think that size motor is heavier than a single talon. I would say it probably weighs about 20lbs. I noticed the transom that Beaver Fever used from its photos. It looks like some sort of marine grade composite. Looks pretty stout.I think that might support it. I know that I've had an 82lb thrust trolling motor on that transom that was much heavier than that Talon.

As far as weight is concerned, when I brought the remnants of the old deck to the dump, it weighed exactly 220lbs. I'm figuring whatever wood I use for my new build will be less than 50lbs. So I don't think the additional weight of the Talon will make it too heavy.

We used PVC trim for the transom in the crawdad. The most important thing you need to do is keep the center of gravity low. If you are going to run the talon and 24v TM you are going to need 3 batteries, which weigh a good amount. Don't overlook the need for a rudder too, the boat won't track well underway without one. Basically, balance the boat including your weight and you will be good to go.

Thanks. I will only be running a 12 volt trolling motor. The choices are a 40lb thrust Minnkota Power Drive, or a 52lb thrust Motorguide hand-controlled. I have also thought about using both, with the tiller on the stern, and the Power Drive on the bow. I don't like going from point A to B on a foot-controlled motor. I prefer a tiller. Having the hand-controlled motor on the stern I could probably rig some kind of rudder to it. Of course there's the extra weight. The other thought is to just go with the hand-controlled up front. No need for deck mount. One motor simplicity. I do have the Big Foot pedal kit, and the Big Foot extension for foot steering. I have two mint series 31 Platinum Diehards. One battery would be devoted to the TM, and the other would run the Talon, fishfinder, and bilge pump/livewell, lights.

Hats off to you guys. Inspirational work!

I am aware of the micro pole. I think it prices out around six hundred bucks. I'd like to try the Talon because I have it, rather than trying to sell it later. I don't care if it looks weird if it works. The transom is rated for a 6hp motor. I think that size motor is heavier than a single talon. I would say it probably weighs about 20lbs. I noticed the transom that Beaver Fever used from its photos. It looks like some sort of marine grade composite. Looks pretty stout.I think that might support it. I know that I've had an 82lb thrust trolling motor on that transom that was much heavier than that Talon.

As far as weight is concerned, when I brought the remnants of the old deck to the dump, it weighed exactly 220lbs. I'm figuring whatever wood I use for my new build will be less than 50lbs. So I don't think the additional weight of the Talon will make it too heavy.

wont matter what type of composite you use for the transom the boats only as strong as that green plastic it's made out of . As for putting an 8ft talon on the back of the crawdad I think your adding too much weight and an obstruction especially for a boat your suppose to use to get in hard to access areas . Also the weight capacity for a crawdad is much less than a 12 ft john boat and you'll be pushing the limits on weight capacity again , do what you feel is best but remember that crawdad can't be half the boat of a 12 ft aluminum that weighs virtually the same , I've owned both and to me the crawdad is'nt worth the time and effort .

Well, I've got the Crawdad, and I've got all of the accessories. I'm going to give it a shot, and try to put a good boat back into use. The bottom line is that I got a lot of years of use out of that boat with a tremendous amount of unnecessary weight in it. With the Talon, its still going to be much lighter than it was before. I'm not going to buy a new micro pole and a new boat without trying to use what I've got first. I'm going to do some research on how much the Talon actually weighs, and compare it to the weight of a 6 horse motor that the transom is rated for. The transom will be reinforced with the strongest material I can find. Be it PVC or whatever.

According to Minnkota's website an 8ft Talon weighs 38lbs.

According to Mercury's website, a 6 horse four-stroke weighs 57lbs.

IF the Talon is as powerful as a the powerpole blade or pro series which Im sure it is, when the spike hits the ground you are gonna flip right over and/or the transom area on the crawdad will not hold the power. I know you can adjust the sensitivity but still to powerful. In my opinion this sounds like a terrible idea but I may be wrong.
That Talon was designed for a 2500+ pound boat.

Interesting point. I've got Talons on my big rig, and I'm kind of used to how the deploy. They're different then power poles. They go straight down, not like the sort-of hook motion of the power poles. I could understand if you were going very fast and tried to suddenly cold stop the boat, there might be a problem. The torque is pretty much equal to what happens when an anchor takes hold. I'll certainly proceed with caution when testing everything out, and have my life jacket on!

I actually came up with an idea about a rudder. I'm going to try to attach a paddle parallel to the Talon with some hose clamps.

Also, we already know that the micro pole is widely used on small craft. No issues that I know of. The Talon deploys the same way the micro pole deploys, straight down. I will definitely be sitting down when I deploy them.

Good luck on the build and keep us posted with pics of the progress if you can!

Thanks. I will.