Lowe 1436 Lake Jon

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FORE567

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Been a member for a while but finally got my first boat. Its a Lowe 1436 Lake Jon & trailer that i picked up for $150 from a family friend. It needs a transom and some work on the trailer but is in pretty good shape considering it is over 30 years old. The boat has not been used in about 20 years but the previous owner said it didn't leak when he used it last. I Plan to Steelflex the bottom in the spring and do a few other mods but mostly want to keep things simple. Also the trailer is not really setup for a flat bottom boat so I will probably change the way that is setup as well. So any advice on that would be much appreciated.

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My plan for the boat is to put a low floor between the bench seats and a short low floor in front of the forward bench seat. I would also like to add a storage compartment in the bow that could be used to mount a trolling motor in the future. I was able to get a cardboard mock up of how i want my floor to look.

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1436 is a nice size for freshwater for a couple of guys. I've got a 1232 that's fine for me and my 12 year old son.

I'm not sure you'll want a floor though. First, it's not big enough to walk around in and second, these bench seats are already pretty close to the floor. After a couple of hours sitting down, my legs get a little cramped. I'd add a seat to each bench to get a few more inches of leg room.
 
maintenanceguy said:
1436 is a nice size for freshwater for a couple of guys. I've got a 1232 that's fine for me and my 12 year old son.

I'm not sure you'll want a floor though. First, it's not big enough to walk around in and second, these bench seats are already pretty close to the floor. After a couple of hours sitting down, my legs get a little cramped. I'd add a seat to each bench to get a few more inches of leg room.

I planned on adding swivel seats to the 2 benches. And i have 4.5 feet between the two benches so i think that is a pretty good size for a floor. I also didn't want to be tripping and stepping on ribs all day.
 
You have the right idea. Check it for leaks before paint. Might be all it needs is a coat of fresh paint

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk
 
Weldorthemagnificent said:
You have the right idea. Check it for leaks before paint. Might be all it needs is a coat of fresh paint

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

yea I plan to leak test at some point. the hull itself is in great shape but im sure there are a handful of leaky rivets in there given the boats age.
 
As far as the transom goes, it measures 1.5 inches thick and 8 inches wide. so Im wondering is it better to use 2 pieces of plywood and glue them together like most others do or can i get a 2x10 cut it down to 8 inches and go from there? I would prefer to just cut it out of a 2x10 than to have to go the plywood route given the cost of materials and labor involved. But if the plywood method is really supposed to be that much stronger than maybe i will do it that way. Also, I may only ever put a trolling motor on it anyway given that the lakes i fish are hp restricted. But i do have a 15hp i could use if i wanted to so ideally i would like a transom that could handle that as well.
 
Protect it. I used spar urethane. Minwax helmsman is what I use, there are other good ones.as.well

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk
 
I have another question on the transom. It looks like i have to cut the corner caps off the top of the boat to get the new piece of wood in. Has anyone ever cut their welded transom caps off and then riveted them back on? Or should i just have them welded back on? I don't mind having them welded back on but if i can rivet them back on myself that would save me money and also make it easier to replace the transom again down the road.

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I think the floor is a good idea. Not so much for standing, but when you step in or stand up, it spreads your weight and doesn't concentrate all of it in one small area. Saves stress on the rivets, which will eventually flex enough to possibly cause a leak. And it makes a quieter and smoother surface for tackle boxes, coolers, gear, and what not. You are not fighting with the ribs.
Also, don't use treated lumber, and I am not convinced that two pieces of plywood glued together isn't stronger than standard board stock(2x8-10). If you have a lumber yard any where near, they probably have a rack of cut offs that may work.

One more thing, I don't think you will have to worry about replacing transom if it is sealed correctly and not left out in the weather, so welding versus rivets should not be a concern. Whatever works the best for you.
 
I'm gonna keep following your progress on this. I FINALLY managed to get a 1978 Lowe 1436 titled in my name. It was given to me by a friend that left the state and he got it from a guy who got it from the original owner - but it hadn't been registered in like 20 years - so I had a hard time.....

Anyway - Mine looks identical except it doesn't have the extra pods behind the rear seat. I'm thinking minimal mods on mine. Same as you, I'd like to put in a floor with hopefullyh some foam under it. Then only put a plywood top on the rear and middle seats to support a low CG swivel seat. I'm looking around for a 6-10 hp outboard and will probably put on a transom TM. It's not my primary rig - as I have a 18' bass boat, two kayaks and a two man pond boat - but this will fill a role as primarily a catfishing boat on some nearby lakes and for several HP restricted lakes near me.

But I want to keep it simple and light. I 'might' extend the front deck back a bit and put a small storage area under it and build to support a bow mount at some point.

Any thoughts on the right HP to target. I'm planning to make this a one man rig - but be able to take a buddy too.

No doubt I'l have to address leaky rivets and I'l probably repaint it. In the meantime - I gotta get my old 18' jon boat trailer ready as it has a cracked yoke, need lights and probably new bearings - but I can easily mod it for this 14' boat and it's got 13" wheels - so that's a plus...

Anybody that's done a conversion on a 1436 - I'd love to hear what you did, what you were happy with and what you might have done different.

Good Luck with your mods - keep posting your updates!
 
I don't think I'd try to remove the corner caps. I'd notch the 2x10 to fit around the rear pods. At a top width of 50" (+/-) A notched 2x10 will be plenty strong enough. The problem with removing and re-welding the pods is that it's going to be difficult to remove the 2x10 later if you need too.
 
I know this is an old thread but I just obtained a 1986 Lowe 14 Colt that looks the same for the transom.Would it be an issue to put three pieces of wood in for the transmon to get around the side wells. Cut one for each side and install them and one for the center. Would this be an issue for support?
 
Turtle1231 said:
I know this is an old thread but I just obtained a 1986 Lowe 14 Colt that looks the same for the transom.Would it be an issue to put three pieces of wood in for the transmon to get around the side wells. Cut one for each side and install them and one for the center. Would this be an issue for support?

I would try to go with one piece. Having two joints in the transom board eliminates the stiffness that a wooden board adds. A transom board can be notched to fit around all of the stuff that's in the way.
 
I appreciate your quick feedback. I don't see how you could notch it and get the wood behind the side seat pods. I have to have enough wood to attach the side seat pods and the back handles of the boat as well. Based on some other post, it appears the right way to do it is below but I don't want to do all that rivet work if there is a way to get around it. How could I notch it and get the board in that bottom brace and behind the side seat pods?

First, remove the knee brace(s). Simply remove the bolts going through the transom, and drill out the rivets holding it to the hull.

Next, remove the side seat pods. Again, remove the rivets here - don't cut any sheet. It should have rivets through the side of the boat, and through the bottom of the hull.

Remove the L brackets in the corners (shown in your second picture). Again, just rivets and bolts.

Now, remove the strip on the bottom of the wood. It should be a Z shaped piece of formed sheet. Just as above, it's just riveted to the hull.

At this point, the wood should come right out - it is cut undersized enough to drop down an inch or so to clear the top cap. If it doesn't slide right out, figure out what bolt is still through the transom that you missed.

Install your new wood (or better yet, your new custom fabricated aluminum ) core, and replace everything in the reverse order.
 
Also, the original idea came from the video below. Start at the 5 minute mark to see how he did the transom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agdu5jEKvBg
 

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