12ft early 70's jon boat... "Buckshot"

[TheMaestro]

+1

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

one more picture from this weekend...

all loaded down and i think it still sits good in the water!

 

[TheMaestro]

Thats sittin pretty good..is that with the battery in the back?

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Thats sittin pretty good..is that with the battery in the back?

ya the battery is in the back along with the trolling motor, outboard, anchor, and 1gallon of spare gas.... i was originally thinking about putting the battery up front with the trolling motor up front also (and still may?) but i dont have reverse on the outboard and it really helps having the trolling motor in the back to maneuver around. do you think the boat needs more weight up front?

 

[trueblue1970]

And in that pic you are runnning you OB...so when stopped is your rear up a little higher? Thats pretty good with all that weight. Boat looks cool...I was thinking about going to a 14 but im going to stick with my 12. Did you add those clamps on your bilge?

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

And in that pic you are runnning you OB...so when stopped is your rear up a little higher? Thats pretty good with all that weight. Boat looks cool...I was thinking about going to a 14 but im going to stick with my 12. Did you add those clamps on your bilge?

very true about the back end being higher when im not moving forward! do you have any pictures of your boat/build yet!? lol... i love looking at other people's boats... especially other 12ft flat bottoms!

as far as the bilge... i bought a pair of alligator clips and clamped them on to the wires of the bilge. its just a temporary fix until i put together an electronic control panel. for now i connect the negative clip to the negative post on the battery and when i need to suck a little water out i just hook up the positive side for a few seconds. when its not connected to the positive battery terminal i have it clipped to the battery handle so its not just flopping around.

 

[trueblue1970]

Good idea with the clips and bilge. Im going to do the same thing for now...peace of mind having that for the time being. With the weather so bad here I havent even taken the boat on the lake yet since I bought it. I have to take some pics. Good to know you carried that weight well. I was debating on putting my battery in the center of the boat, but may not have to. Im not going to have an OB, at least I dont think I will. I just picked up a 55lb thrust Minn Mota at Gander...they have a $50 rebate till the 1st.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Good idea with the clips and bilge. Im going to do the same thing for now...peace of mind having that for the time being. With the weather so bad here I havent even taken the boat on the lake yet since I bought it. I have to take some pics. Good to know you carried that weight well. I was debating on putting my battery in the center of the boat, but may not have to. Im not going to have an OB, at least I dont think I will. I just picked up a 55lb thrust Minn Mota at Gander...they have a $50 rebate till the 1st.

my buddy just bought that same 55lb trolling motor from Dicks. its really sweet! unfortunately i have to have the bilge pump! i dont know if i have leaky rivets or what but i have a leaky boat! lol... its not terrible but enough to not want in my boat! i bet you cant wait for that storm to pass so you can get out on your boat! let me know how it does and definately share some pictures!

 

[trueblue1970]

You have no idea...today I took a ride to the ramp I use on the intercoastal, just because I miss it lol. Strange seeing not one car/trailer parked in the lot. I was debating on buying that Minn Kota because its the freshwater one, but was told the only difference between that the the saltwater one is the anode which I can buy. I do know if I use it in salt, it voids the warranty. Tempted to get the jon in the skinnys. How does that 55 push your friends boat? Cant wait to try it

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

You have no idea...today I took a ride to the ramp I use on the intercoastal, just because I miss it lol. Strange seeing not one car/trailer parked in the lot. I was debating on buying that Minn Kota because its the freshwater one, but was told the only difference between that the the saltwater one is the anode which I can buy. I do know if I use it in salt, it voids the warranty. Tempted to get the jon in the skinnys. How does that 55 push your friends boat? Cant wait to try it

it pushes his boat along great! but he has a 14ft tracker topper... somehow i am faster with the 40lb than he is with his 55lb and an upgraded propeller. i cant immagine being all that lighter than his boat after i added all the weight of my modifications? must be because i have less surface area creating drag on the water than him? i think you should take the boat out in the back intercoastal canals! you wont have any problem in the no wake zones! i dont know about going in the minimum wake zones though? i personally have been 40+ mph in those sections on a few occasions (only when the cops werent looking! haha)

 

[trueblue1970]

Oh wow..ok. Maybe so. When I picked up my motor at Gander the other day, they had a 14' tracker way in the back. THey dont sell jons anymore and the mgr said it was from an old purchase, customer wasnt satisfied. Transom was all splintered. I know most of the guys there so I left my name and # for when they are ready to get rid of it

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Oh wow..ok. Maybe so. When I picked up my motor at Gander the other day, they had a 14' tracker way in the back. THey dont sell jons anymore and the mgr said it was from an old purchase, customer wasnt satisfied. Transom was all splintered. I know most of the guys there so I left my name and # for when they are ready to get rid of it

that tracker would be sweet! i would love to have a 14ft wide semi-v... maybe next year i can sell my boat and start over again!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

went out fishing tonight in my buddy's little lake behind his house... this lake and i have a love/hate relationship!!! the fish are extremely hard to find and up until tonight i haven't caught anything despite the countless hours of trying! i had a BIG bass snap my 4lb test line on my ultra light the other night due to my excitement i rushed reeling it to the boat and lost the bass... so i know there are big ones in there! tonight however i couldnt get anything over 6inches! lol... caught 3 baby bass and one blue gill.... not happy about any of that! haha... anyways here are some pictures from tonight!


i made my own launch ramp!


sunset tonight...




baby fish :/

 

[TheMaestro]

I have the same torpedo top lure...that thing is fun to reel in!

 

[trueblue1970]

Nice pics! At least you caught something, isnt it amazing how those little guys get hooked?? And you cant beat having the pond/lake to yourself. We finally went out yesterday. Didnt take the trolling motor out so we paddled around (didnt register her yet). Had fun but no fish...too hot. But it was nice to get a feel for the boat and what changes we want to make. Your plan/layout seems to work great.

 

[Doubles]

Surf,

Where'd you get your seat pedestals? How tall are they? How's the stability of the boat at that height? Thanks buddy -- keep up the good work.

Doubles

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Surf,

Where'd you get your seat pedestals? How tall are they? How's the stability of the boat at that height? Thanks buddy -- keep up the good work.

Doubles

i got the seat pedestals and swivels at walmart... the pedestals were $14 and are 7inches tall (if i remember correctly?) and the swivels were $11... i dont have a problem with stability fishing on the seats or standing up on the platform. im not saying i can run around the boat worry free dancing around... but i feel comfortable enough to say that i wont be getting wet unless i jump in!

 

[Scott1298]

I just came accross your mod:
1) I really like the colour (Canadian spelling eh!) combo! What colors/kind of paint did you use?
2) I've been reading what I thought were your fiance's posts based on your avatar picture for a month now. A hot girl working on her tin boat, I knew it was too good to be true... It all makes sense now :wink: If I ever have to start dating again she better own her own boat, and I'm going to want to see a picture of the boat before I make a decision! :LOL2:
3) When I watched your outboard demonstration video, I was worried the motor might land in the pail of water... I want you to see the stand I built based on one I found on youtube. This holds the 30 lb 3.3 hp in the picture and a 60lb 6 hp 4 stroke I just bought no problem. I'm sure it could handle even more weight, and I just used scraps of 8-10 inch boards & screws I had laying around. With one new 2x10x8 board and six-eight 3"+ screws, you could have one heavy duty stand for about $8 :!: I don't use it to run the motor's in a pail of water (I just put the outboard on the back of the boat on the trailer) but it's a great affordable, stable, stand! If necessary to run the motor with it, for a few more bucks (and lbs) you could build it out of a 2x12x8 and get a pail between the feet.

Cheers,

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

@ Scott1298... thats so funny that you thought i was some chick modding her boat! haha... ya i am pretty lucky when it comes to my girl! she helps me work on the boat and she actually loves going out on it with me! you are definately right about my engine stand! i just built that quick to see if my motor would even run at all! i may have to steal your idea and build an engine stand similar! thanks for the help!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

so for my 4th of July we woke up super early and went fishing... still cant seem to catch anything bigger than a baby bass! oh... and a turtle :/

finally got to take the little ESKA 7hp full speed... not really all that fast! lol... but heres a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhBCVKfRsPQ&feature=youtu.be











this was all at Lake Smith in Va Beach/Norfolk... its a pretty big lake and i think i found a few spots that i need to try next time early in the morning. there are big bass and cats in there i just need to find them!