First Jon Boat - Budget Conversion

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weaselbob74

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Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
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Location
Lake in the Hills, IL
Hi. I'm a new member, just bought my first Jon Boat (Well me and my buddy went in on it, for a fun project). I have had jet ski's, but never a boat.

I have been following this site for a little while and picking up some ideas for our mod.

We bought a beat up Sears Gamefisher 1436, with a 36 Lb Trolling, and a 9.9hp Johnson. It came with a trailer, I believe it is a tilt trailer.

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Welcome to the site!
That boat looks like it will be a fun project for you and your buddy. Make sure to post lots of pics.
 
We just started working on it this past weekend. We spent some time planning it out. And we started sanding and Priming and Painting. I will post some pictures.

We decided to build a deck on the front, with a seat. And three storage compartments. 1 for our tackle boxes and such, one for 2 batteries, and a Livewell. In the back we are going to build a small deck to cover up the area between the transom and the rear seat. That is going to house our Gas tank, paddles, and Life Jackets. And in the center we are going to build a floor right on the ribs with most likely 5/8 plywood. I bought a welder since we have a few minor repair to do, but I think we are still going to stick with wood, over aluminum.

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Possibly turn your livewell and battery compartments 90*. Otherwise when your running with an empty livewell you will be heavy on one side.
 
danmyersmn said:
Possibly turn your livewell and battery compartments 90*. Otherwise when your running with an empty livewell you will be heavy on one side.

I completely agree. We had planned them to go the other way, but we didn't have enough room. But I think your right, we have to figure out a better place for that.
 
No I don't think I'm going to have it done by then. I wish I did. right now I'm at a stand still because I'm waiting for my welder to come in for eBay. There are three cracks on the top part. And a couple holes to fill before I can paint the top section.
 
you did a jam up carpet job...

One thing you might want to consider after fishing in it though is changing that front seat to a pin pedestal type... It's going to get aggravating getting into that front compartment in front of your seat.. but it might work out for you - it nearly drove me crazy in my first boat until I changed over
 

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