1964 sears 12'

bassman14 · Dec 26, 2011

Last year I became inspired by some of the great jobs that some of you guys have done on your boats on this forum. Sooo, I took my 12' Sears "jon/utility" boat and started my own projetc. The enclosed picture shows the point I was at in the project.

Later I would ad a bow mounted trolling motor, an anchor mate and 2 swivel seats.
However, I got very concerned about the weight that I had added to the boat and the fact that my son and his 75 lb. lab would probably be in the boat with us. So I scrapped the project and it is now just an aluminum shell of what it was.
Do you guys think that maybe I should have just went with what I had or was I justified in being concerned about the amount of weight I had added. She definately looked like a fishing machine when I was done, however the safety aspect just concerned me alot so thats why I am asking for opinions here.

Jdholmes · Dec 27, 2011

Does your boat list the weight capacities on back? It looked good...as long as I was within the specs of what the boat could handle I would have taken it out and tried it. How thick a wood did you use for framing and floor?

bassman14 · Dec 27, 2011

If I remeber right there was a 2x4 running front to back to add ceneter spport and the plywood was some 5/8 inch pywood I had laying around so I used that for the floor.

Jdholmes · Dec 27, 2011

Well, I am sure you will get some more folks to chime in...

I would think it would be a bit much for just running a trolling motor, but if you had a main motor, I don't know that there would be an issue. I think most folks now are using 2x2's for framing to help with the weight and 1/2 inch ply.

sixgun86 · Dec 27, 2011

Only concern I'd have is the floor being too high on such a narrow v hull, just short of a full deck. Stand up and have the dog running around you could loose your balance easily. If you are fishing a small lake or pond you should be fine but if your out in anything large enough to deal w/ wake an over loaded boat is a bad idea. Won't know until you get in it and see where the water line rests at your stern. If in doubt don't risk yourself for a fish.