Okay so today while im away i got a call from my stepdad. I start talking to him and he says he finally found me a boat as i have been looking for one for a while. I have no idea what type of boat it is but the seller told my stepdad that he just had it sitting in the yard for a while and told my stepdad to make an offer. He just saw it sitting on a tree and didnt know anything about it. I know that it is some sort of aluminum boat. Probably around a 10' jon boat. Im planning on converting it into a bass boat by adding a deck and a couple compartments to store rods, reels, tackle, and possibly a livewell. It is around a mile from my house and my stepdad plans on loading it in one of the trailers we have and bringing it back home. I will be away for at least another week which was originally awesome but now i cant wait to get home. The seller told my stepdad that he will throw in a small electric motor as well. I now have two trolling motors. Ill have to decide which one i will use on the boat. I know this seems like nothing to you guys but im so excited for this because most of my local fishing spots dont allow gas motors so im very limited in size and type of motor. I plan on decking the front. After i find out the size i will determine what i am doing with it and i will start planning everything out. I also plan on repainting it and possibly doing a coat of that new flex seal stuff. Im looking to get it to an od green or even a black. My stepdad just needs to touch up the welding. And then i should be good to head out on the water. This will take me a while so i plan on documenting it all on this thread as i progress and hopefully finding out the dos and donts of this build. Any advice for converting a jon boat i would love to hear. I have been waiting for this for a while and in that time i have researched all about this process. Ill see what i can find out and ill keep everyone updated with pictures as soon as i get them
Got a new boat!
- Thread starter Andrew1002
- Start date
Trying to get my stepdad to send me some pictures of the boat so I can post them here. Im not even sure if he got it yet. I think im going to deck the front with about 40% of the front decked. And then the back with about 10% of the boat decked with a compartment for my batteries on my motor or even a gas tank maybe later on. Then I want to do two big compartments across the sides going from the back to the front deck. And in the front I want to do a livewell in the deck with tackle storage. I plan on adding a mounted seat in the front on a pedestal and a smaller pedestal mounted seat in the back. Then maybe two little chairs in the middle deck. I will be drawing out a sketch on my computer when I get a chance
I plan on using any type of materials I can find around my house like the 2x4s I already have to support the deck and the plywood I could probably get. I plan on getting marine grade plywood but If I cant I will use deck wood and use a stain on the wood. Then cover it with outdoor or maybe marine grade carpet. With marine adhesive to bond the carpet to the wood. I plan on building my own little built in wooden tackle box into the boat. This boat is definetly going to be a test of my woodworking skills. Also plan on adding some sort of clearcoat finish over the olive drab paint on the boat. Does anyone know if I should add additional insulation to the boat? I plan on removing one row of seating at least and then decking the bottom floor with carpet. I worked up a sketch in a couple minutes to show this. Ill hopefully post it as soon as I wake up. Also what should I use to extend the wiring for the trolling motor to the front? I plan on installing my 29c everstart maxx marine battery in front of the boat or possibly two of them. I need to get a solar charger or something to charge them. How can I transfer the wire from the back to the front of the boat? The wire on the trolling motor is ended by two jumper cable things that connect to the battery.
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my biggest advice for a jon boat would be don't mess with it too much, many a bass have been landed from a simple jon. if it doesn't have seats make or buy you a seat, make some rod holders out of a plastic crate and PVC and have at it
Ya I wanted to keep it basic because I didnt want it to weigh too much as they have their limitations but im planning on using light wood and making a simple deck with drawers. And I will install installation on the bottom for buoyancy. I think I might just add a deck for now with a little seat in the back. And then later on advance into the other advancements. Because I know you can catch fish out of them its just that it makes the boat better feeling and allows me to store my bait and tackle while still having durable rugging to grip with. But ill try and keep it light and still basic.
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I dont like the fact of climbing over the seats. After some thinking today im just going to deck it and put flooring with maybe a few compartments and a live well. I still need to see the boat and its size. If its 12 feet im going to fully pimp it out and anything under ill try and keep it as basic as possible
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Okay being that its a small jon boat im assuming its silver or a messy paint. Regardless I plan on repainting it. I plan on buying a black and decker drill I saw today that is 20 volts and it has a bunch of different attachments like oscilating tool a jigsaw attachment trimmer and just about everything else. Im going to buy it and a sander. What grit should I use on this aluminum? I was thinking 100 or 120 grit. Will this work?
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I agree with the guy above saying don't do much. I'd save my money for another boat later on. Boats have a way of being very expensive to work on even for minor tweaks. With a Jon boat you could spend more "upgrading" it than the boat is actually worth.