12' jon boat advice?

Howdy,

I'm looking for advice on a 12 footer for my wife and I. We live in Savannah, GA and are just looking for a boat to explore the surrounding esturay, tidal creeks/marshes and small rivers. No plans for fishing or hunting. We weigh 375, combined. I can't decide if we'd be better served by a flat jon with 5HP or a V (utility) with 9.9HP. I have a light pickup, Mazda B3000 (Ford Ranger), with a rack. I think we might be able to top a 12' flat jon boat on the rack, but a V with 9.9HP we'd likely have to trailer. I like the idea of the V being kinder in light chop or wake from larger vessels. But, I wonder if a lighter, flatter jon boat with 5HP motor would be more efficient in swift river currents than a V with 9.9HP motor?

I appreciate your guidance!

I think you would be happier in a 14' minimum with at least a 9.9 but a 15HP would be better. The V would be better in chop, but you could get away with either. You're both light enough for a 12 footer, but once you start adding gas, motor, gear - you will be close to max capacity. You will appreciate the extra space as well.

Welcome to the forum too!

Thank you for the input and welcome! I'd like to stick to 12' in order to fit in my small, single-car garage. If you think I'd be in danger of overloading, perhaps it would be best that I go with the V, for its greater capacity. Of course, it would also be outfitted with a heavier motor...

I forgot to mention, as well, that we would be rowing it from time to time. So, I'm not sure which hull shape would be better for that.

Thanks, again.

Good advice from Vermonster, above. But given your situation, a 12' will work just fine...you just won't have any room for dancing. And it will easily go on a PU rack whether a jon or a V. I've never rowed a jon, but a 12' v rows easily.

Vermonster said:

I think you would be happier in a 14' minimum with at least a 9.9 but a 15HP would be better.

Click to expand...

I measured my garage and it looks like I have 17 feet to work with. I'm not sure if that would be enough for a 14 on a trailer.

You could get the 14' and put a folding tongue on the trailer to get it into the garage. Similar to the below link...

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Coupler/Fulton/FHDPW340300.html

If you decide to go with a Jon boat, I'd recommend the modified V version over the flat front. It will give a noticeable ride improvement over the flat front, and be just as stable. I have had both, and prefer the mod-v for that reason.

Thanks for your help!

Does anyone know, off-hand, what the overall length is of their 14 on its trailer, from tip of the tongue to the transom?

For ease of rowing, planing performance and just better stability in chop or wake go for the V/semi V.

Here's mine:







It's a Springbok Ungava 12 footer. Mine's around an 1989 but they're still available new. However, Springbok was "absorbed" by Princecraft and now it's a Princecraft Ungava:



Same hull, just a little paint change and plastic seat tops instead of aluminum to help stave off the "cold bum syndrome" after a full day on the planks.



51" at the chine, 60" a the beam.

The extra width over most older 12's on the used market (IE: 1232, 1436, etc) makes it roomy (even if it is "only" a 12) and much more stable when you want to lean over the side and pic something up or just get a closer look at something. That's an important consideration if you're just looking to paddle around and explore a bit IMHO.

It rows just fine, I'd say because the V prow cuts a little better than a blunt front would. Little bit better directional stability. A Jon with the V-ish middle bit (kind of looks like a mini Boston Whaler) would probably be just as good to row on reasonably calm waters.

Planes nicely with a little 8 hp Johnson:



Two adults is cozy but by no means uncomfortable. It might not plane as well with two adults and gear in it though. Truthfully, I've never tried so it might or might not do just as well to plane.

I use it off shore and fresh. Here's a pic of my dad out on the ocean (but not too far out, it's still only a little tinny!)





Great little utility boat.

I trailer it since it's usually just me launching, using and retrieving it. Also, as you can see, I have a deck in it and I also don't want to deal with the install/remove outboard hassle every time I load or unload it. It tows behind my truck like it's not even there.

I suppose if you're looking for a little sidewater boat, a jon would work fine. A jon might be a little better/easier for jumping in and out of the bow at a river bank or such due to the nice broad front on them. They also seem to typically be a little lower in the prow. That could be a plus for jumping in and out also, especially if it's your missus jumping in and out as you pull up to a bank. A jon might also fit into a truck bed a little better (if you intend to move it that way) because of the squared off front as opposed to the pointed prow on a V.

But a V/semi V gives you a bit more flexibility with where you can go with regards to what kind of water you can deal with.

Anyways, that's just my .02 and keep in mind I'm probably a little bit preferential to a "V".....

Mine's a semi V 12'er also - nice and wide across the beam, light enough to row.

It's great for just me, but when I go out with someone else the added front deck is a lifesaver and really helps. Even then it's tighter than I'd prefer for two, so I'd recommend a 14'er also.

Figure for a 14' boat with motor on it, you'll be near 15.25' long to the bow holder, so if you have a standard 16' trailer, you'll need the swing hitch on it to really fold it up, or you'll have to trim the motor all the way down and angle the boat/trailer in the stall.

If I can put two vehicles, a 12' boat and trailer, in addtion to bikes/two snowblowers/lawnmower/kids crap/full toolbox/you name it in a 20x22' garage, you can get a 14' boat in a single car garage. 8)

Something to take into consideration: Where are you launching? If you're going to mostly launch from areas with ramp access, the ease of trailering is worth the coin.

Here's an even better tip for you. If you're going to take the wife, don't buy any boat that doesn't have a floor. Jon boats with with no floors are notorious for wet feet. She won't like having soggy feet all day.

Guys, thank you all for the great advice!

great white - It sounds like what you describe is exactly what I'm looking for! The words and pics are much appreciated. It seems like I'm finding a lot of older semi-V's on the used market. All the new utilities look to be deep V's.

In addition to being able to fit it in my garage, I'd like to top a 12' to avoid trailer tag nightmares, especially if I buy used. However, RiverBottomOutdoors has a great point about launching from ramps. With just my wife to help wrestle the thing, perhaps I need to rethink my decision not to trailer. I was, also, thinking about it as a Bug Out Boat. So, that made me want to have it up on the truck rack.

As the others have said, go 14' if you can. My 1448 has an overall length right at 17', but I could bring it forward some on the trailer if needed. Whatever length you decide, you'll want to go with a trailer. After two trips, scratched paint on your Mazda and a tired wife you'll understand. I was at backwoods landing (Huntsville, AL and worth the drive) a month ago and saw a 1248 flat bottom jon that was really nice. If you get a 12', get the widest bottom width you can find.

Hey blakestree, I lived in Savannah for a number of years. I'm not all that far from there now. You should really get a 14 foot V-hull or a very wide 12 foot V-hull for that area. High sides will also be a big help with wakes from other boaters. One thing you may want to consider is that alot of the 12 foot boat trailers will hold a 14 foot boat, just move up the wench. I have a 14 foot boat on a trailer that went with my old 12 foot boat.

Hey Tusker (Nothin' to do with Black Tusk, right?),

It is nice to hear from someone that knows my area. We plan to do most of our putting in and around the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The tidal currents in this part of the Savannah River can be quite swift. A local outboard repairman told me I'll probably want a least a 9.9. After that, we'll most likely head down Keller way and explore the environs around Fort McAllister and Demeries Creek.