12' Ouachita Jon Boat Mod

[JerseyFisher]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum... been browsing around here for a while checking things out while in the process of looking for my first boat. So this last week I finally found the right boat located close to my family's lake house on Lake George. So I bought it this past weekend for what I think was a pretty good deal. It's a 12' Ouachita Jon Boat from the 70's. No damage to the hull, no leaks, no dents... it was in pretty good shape. It also came with a Mercury 4HP, which runs very smooth... I was able to test it before buying, and since then It has been great the couple times I went fishing in it. It also has a trolling plate on it, which is a nice bonus.

So the modifications to this boat are probably gonna come with time. I'm a college student on a budget, and the boat is up at my family's lake house and I only can get up there on weekends because of work. This summer I plan on putting in wooden transom mount (the current one was starting to rot, so I already took it out), and give her a nice paint job. Overall, I want to remove the second bench seat and put in a wooden base floor, which I would carpet and mount a swivel chair to, possibly add some storage too.

The first question I have:
-What type of paint should I use to paint the boat with, and what are the steps I should take in the painting process? Recommend any brands?

There will probably be a lot more to come.

Here are some pictures of what I'm working with.

Thanks Guys,

Jack

 

[Brine]

:WELCOME: to TinBoats JerseyFisher,

Great looking boat to work with. Don't put treated wood in the boat, it has copper in it which is corrosive with aluminum. Just buy untreated and put a spar urethane on it. Go ahead an drill all the holes you need, back the bolts/screws back out and the seal it. Make sure to use stainless steel hardware.

Good luck with it!