1995 Landau 1657 Aluminum Jon Boat Bethel, OH

[HikFishing]

Hey everyone,

New to the scene and new to the forums. Just want to introduce myself and attempt to get through my first build.

Little backstory on the boat and myself,


I have been bank fishing since about 4 years old and my step father got my interest sparked back then 1991-1992. Fast forward to 2006 he decided to purchase a used 1995 1657(Landau's model number) Landau Aluminum Jon Boat, its a 16' boat 36" floor inside and 57" from gunwale to gunwale. The boat was purchased and put directly into my name as my step father had been fighting cancer(Multiple Myeloma) since 2005(he went into full remission for 10 years but was tied to Dialysis the entire fight). We got the boat up and going with a little work and we were able to create some great memories before his passing in 2017. I had my first born son in 2012 and we(my wife and I) had been focused on the kids/careers, wife is a nurse and currently I am an engineer/CNC programmer for high end woodworking and I own my own woodworking business. I parked the boat for the better part of 10 years and through the birth of 3 more children. The time has come to get the boat revamped and start creating memories of our own on the water, my kids absolutely love bank fishing and rarely is the word fishing mentioned in the house without all of them jumping at the chance to wet some lines on the bank. So, I got the boat cleaned up and used self etching primer on the outside of the hull to start the process but I have taken a step back to decide where I really want to take this build and get some input from the experience this forum has built in their community.

I have an odd background starting as a welder (TIG, stick and MIG experience), moved to a heavy equipment mechanic which I stayed in this career for almost 14 years until I started having a passion for woodworking and started my own small business which led to a job offer that is in my current career.

I own a CNC at the house and use Autocad/Fusion almost everyday and of course as an engineer I can't just leave things simple an want to create something out of this Jon boat that my family and myself can call our own.

I do understand that I really need to invest in something larger for the family but this boat is something sentimental as well being the first boat I was able to be on the water in.

I will attach a few photos to give y'all an idea of where I am starting from.

Thanks for checking out the post and hopefully this will be a great place to gain more knowledge!

Jeff

 

[Billy H]

One suggestion, and this is JMHO, is to not go nuts with raised decks that so many like to do. With multiple kids in the boat that would not be ideal.

 

[airshot]

Make sure you fit the kids with comfortable life jackets. When my kids were luttle, they enjoyed the boat ride more than fishing...

 

[HikFishing]

One suggestion, and this is JMHO, is to not go nuts with raised decks that so many like to do. With multiple kids in the boat that would not be ideal.

I believe I’m just going to put a floor over the structure ribs, I thought about the raised deck but this being such a narrow boat I would prefer center of gravity a little lower

 

[HikFishing]

Make sure you fit the kids with comfortable life jackets. When my kids were luttle, they enjoyed the boat ride more than fishing...

Do you have any recommendations, we just had the orange generic ones growing up

 

[airshot]

Do you have any recommendations, we just had the orange generic ones growing up

Let each one pick out their own, then they will be more willing to wear it when on the water. If not comfortable, they won't want to wear them. Most states, under 12 yrs old is mandatory !

 

[David Atkins]

Airshot is 100% correct, let them pick their own
I took my son and daughter and both grandsons to Bass Pro and let them pick out their own, ensuring the jacket was sized, had enough flotation for each person.