Anne Marie 14' Sears Jon Boat

[blair_ne]

Hello All,

First I want to thank all of you who have posted your boat modifications. They have been both an inspiration and a valuable resource for those of us looking to remodel or modify our boats.

Now for my new (old) purchase - I just bought a 14' Jon boat yesterday. I have had a canoe for the last few years, but decided to switch to a Jon boat for the versatility and stability. The boat is in rough condition, but since I read the posts on here that is what I was looking for, a project.

I bought this for $20, so even if I fail in the rebuild, I'm pretty sure I'll get more than $20 for it for scrap metal. The old owner thought it was a Sears, and did not know the year. It is old and does not have an HIN or a USCG data plate. I've looked up other older Sears boats and see the Sears logo riveted to the side towards the back. My boat has two rivet holes there and it looks like there was a label there at one time, but is now gone. Due to this I am confident it is an old Sears boat, I just have no way of knowing the year.

Now for the condition- I see there is silicone around the plug hole, there is an aluminum patch on the front bottom with silicone around it, and the runners are worn through where the bottom of the boat starts rising up in the front (like the boat was run up on shore repeatedly over the years and finally wore through).

I don't want to go crazy with this boat as I plan to use it for farm ponds. I have my eye on a 20' jon boat down the street that I hope to turn into a highly-modified bass machine. I just want to make this 14 footer watertight with a couple upgrades. I also will be sort-of practicing on this boat also, so I'm ready to go when I get the 20 footer.

One of the main questions I have at the moment is, for the area where the runners have worn through should I have this welded (I do not yet have a welder), or would JB Weld work? I'm torn because I don't want to put much money into this boat, but I also don't want to half-*** it.

Also, I do not have a shop so I'll be doing this in my backyard after work (when I have time between family, camping, and church events), so this may be a drawn-out process. I will have "before" pics posted after this post.

Thanks,
Todd

 

[blair_ne]

Here are some exterior shots.

 

[blair_ne]

And here are some interior close-up shots.

 

[Talons]

Looks like 'Fun'!

Good luck and enjoy!
Talons

 

[spotco2]

I'm torn because I don't want to put much money into this boat, but I also don't want to half-*** it.

LOL

You're gonna have to make a decision which you want to do. Half *** it is cheap. Fixing it properly is expensive.

If you're just gonna use it on farm ponds, JB Weld it or just smear tar over it.

Carry a Solo cup for bailing occasionally.

Our old farm pond boat leaked so bad that we had half a milk jug that we used to scoop water out as we fished.

It aint gonna sink as long as you keep bailing.

Otherwise you can drop several hundred having new aluminum welded in place where the chines are worn through. Also those cracked ribs need to be replaced and riveted back in. You can also have a new bung welded in for the plug. A wire brush will make quick work of the carpet glue.

Now, go fish!

 

[Talons]

Spotco called it!

What do you want to do with the boat MOSTLY? That's the decision. THEN you can decide what to do with it.

Talons

 

[blair_ne]

If this were my only boat, I would do it up nice. But since this will be my little pond boat, I think I'll go cheap on this so I can go all out on the larger river boat. I doubt this boat will ever have anything larger than a trolling motor on it. JB Weld it is! For the same reason (going cheap) I will JB Weld the cracked ribs, because I will be putting in a plywood floor that I plan to rivet to the ribs in a few places. I think this should add structurability.

I plan to use this boat at my dad's pond and my father-in-law's pond, but I'm sure I'll be in the bigger boat on the river much more than I'm ever in this boat.

I also had a buddy offer me a free trolling motor last night, so aside from the cost of the repairs I'll be making, I'm in this boat for $20.

 

[Talons]

There ya go!

 

[jwhitjr]

Greetings to Todd and everyone else! This is my first post. I have enjoyed reading some of the other posts but wanted to respond to this as it is close to what I am doing. But i'm sometimes a little radical and don't always chose the accepted path.

I too have just bought a 14' tin boat that I am rebuilding. It is a 35+ year old Sears boat, similar to Todds with the plastic Sears logo's on both sides near the stern, riveted in place. One was salvagable, the other was not. I am over 60 and have been around boats all my life. I have a large fiberglass bass boat and enjoyed tournament fishing but find it harder to launch and recover the boat by miself. So, it goes on the sale block in the spring and i'm back to tin boat fishing.

About 15 years ago, I had a bad experirnce with a rented tin boat at a local public lake. Some of the welds and/or rivets came apart on it and I ended up in the water for almost a half an hour and sharing one of two cypress tree tops with a water moccasin. Lost most all the equipment I had that wouldn't float. So, when I build or rebuild things, I tend to overbuild so bad things don't happen to me or who ever else that gets my stuff when I start fishing with Saint Peter on his days off!

I actually ended up with 2 tin boats this summer. A smaller 14' tin boat that was in fair shape and wider 14' tin boat that was in much better shape. The first I paid $100 for and the second I bought along with a nice trailer for less than $300. Will supply some pictures at next post if there is any interest. Whit

 

[rickybobbybend]

Welcome, Whit. Blair_ne had his project well underway here. Why not start a new thread and keep us posted on your progress?