Can I use this boat?

[xPikeRx]

Hi
I just registered and posted some pics in the Introduction thread but there seems to be little activity there so I´ll post my pics and ask some questions here instead.

As I wrote in the other thread I found 2 x 16' jon boats at my storage yard and I want to use one for fishing. From what I can see they are in acceptable condition and in heavy duty construction standard with 2-3 mm/0.1" alu and with thick reinforcements. The only difference from all other jon boats I see on the net is the side depth which is 95 cm/37" and that seems to be massive. How will that affect the boat?

I plan to add foam for floatation and add an outboard motor, gas tank and 4-5 batteries plus a casting deck. What is the estimated weight for this kind of boat?

I will add more questions during the day.

Best regards
Kim

 

[Attwanl]

Wow!!!. Looks like it was made from part of one of thoses containers in the background.
Who made it, doe it. Have any markings or ID plate? There is formula to detrimine safe load . I'll look it up.

 

[Ranchero50]

Those are very interesting critters. From the time stamp and dimensions I suspect these are somewhere in Europe or the UK. They look almost like net tenders for a seine trawler. They also look like they would interlock with the other barge looking containers behind it but I don't see a way for the powered hulls to pull or push the barges.

Per the use question I don't think you'd have too much of an issue. Keep the center of gravity low and they should work out until you can find something better. The top hull looks twisted which may straighten out once the water is out of it and it's on flat ground. The hull look like they spent a lot of time sandwiched together and were lifted often.

You didn't post what kind of fishing or the water you plan to use them in so it's hard to give good advice on suitability.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I would definitely take caution in using those as a fishing vessel. Those look to me like transport containers and not meant for fishing or personal travel.

I'd suggest looking for an actual jon boat, you'd be much happier with that. I see a lot of headaches in the future before that thing does what you want.

Also depending on where you are in the world there may be regulations and codes that it might not pass.

 

[fender66]

Very interesting tubs. Now I can see from the pics that they are stacked inside of each other.
Does not look like they are reinforced as well as I'd expect for a passenger vessel. I agree with what others have said.....be careful. With the right mods, you might be able to make these safe...but it could take a lot of work. Not really sure yet from just seeing the pics.

Keep us posted....this could be a very interesting build.

 

[xPikeRx]

I went by my storage yard again today and looked them up and they are actually Swedish military ramp pontoons from à surplus stock. I will try to get more info from the military since the only thing I got is à model number and the weight of either 335 or 385 kg / 738 or 848 pounds.

I will use this in smaller lakes and in our local "big" lake which is 484 km² or 187 sqm2.

 

[xPikeRx]

I would definitely take caution in using those as a fishing vessel. Those look to me like transport containers and not meant for fishing or personal travel.

I'd suggest looking for an actual jon boat, you'd be much happier with that. I see a lot of headaches in the future before that thing does what you want.

Also depending on where you are in the world there may be regulations and codes that it might not pass.

The problem with buying à Jon boat in Sweden where I come from is the price. À similar new one will cost around $6-7000 including taxes and this one is free
Also there are no used ones

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

Cool boats. Go for it!

 

[Ranchero50]

Shore end of a pontoon bridge makes sense. Green color, derp. I wonder if you couldn't scrap out the whole pile of them and buy a nice hull?

So the top one was cut out for an outboard. I'd make a solid plywood transom like the US ones are and go from there.

Heck, you could cut the other one in half 20" from the top, weld another bottom onto it and it would be better than most US hulls.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Yeah maybe check on the scrap pricing?

Knowing now where you are makes sense that there is not much for used jon boats. How will you move that beast around? Do you have a trailer that will haul it? Seems like a beast to launch.

 

[Kismet]

OK...I think it would be a nightmare.

That said, I bet that you could make it work. :lol:

Do you have access to a cutting torch? If you cut the sides down to 20 inches, you'd take off a great deal of weight, and still have a nice sidewall. It would STILL by very heavy though. It would over 300 pounds for a 16 foot boat? Well, maybe not too bad.

You have access to some very creative minds here. I just made the sides lower and made it lighter, now let's see what the REAL brains can come up with.

It will be fun to me to see what YOU do with it.

=D> =D> =D>

 

[FerrisBueller]

Haha yes Kismet it would be a fun project for us!

Not so much for him though, it looks like a long and dirty road to get where you'd want to be, but with some ingenuity and elbow grease its possible!

 

[xPikeRx]

Wow awesome response!

To adress a few of your points/questions

I wonder if you couldn't scrap out the whole pile of them and buy a nice hull?

I cant do that since we might use the pontoons in the future. In any case they would be worth around 0,5K USD in scrap and might be hard to sell as whole hulls.

Yeah maybe check on the scrap pricing?

Knowing now where you are makes sense that there is not much for used jon boats. How will you move that beast around? Do you have a trailer that will haul it? Seems like a beast to launch.

I work with scrap and scrap trading and world market prices are pretty rough today. Around 1.12K USD/mt so not a really good idea.

I´ll buy a trailer or rebuild an existing one or if I decide to get a boat spot I´ll keep in in the water. I might put it in the "big" lake at my father-in-laws cabin. I have a few trucks to carry it around as well if I have to.

Do you have access to a cutting torch? If you cut the sides down to 20 inches, you'd take off a great deal of weight, and still have a nice sidewall. It would STILL by very heavy though. It would over 300 pounds for a 16 foot boat? Well, maybe not too bad.

I have access to cutting torches and plasma cutters and all kinds of stuff including a full mechanical workshop. We have a family business and we do industrial demolition/decontamination and scrap handling/trading. Problem is I´m not working in the physical production so I cant handle TIG/MIG welders to weld aluminium but cutting torches and regular tools are no problem for me to handle. I guess I'll just have to learn to weld and I´m set

I´m a layman in boat building to say the least but from my point of view the high sides are a plus as long as you keep the center of gravity low. My initial thought was to build the deck around 30 cm / 12 inches below the gunwale while keeping double flooring, batteries, gas tank and maybe some ballast as low as possible (I´ll try to make a 3D drawing asap). All and all it might weight in at just over 500 up to 550 kg /1111 up to 1222 pounds. That would keep the boat steady and with the high sides it would be rather sea worthy but require a semi-big motor. I dont have any demands regarding the speed of the boat since I wont use it in the ocean or travel long distances

Thanks for all the answers so far!
Awesome forum!
BR
Kim

 

[Ranchero50]

xPikeRx » 12 minutes ago[/url]"]

I´m a layman in boat building to say the least but from my point of view the high sides are a plus as long as you keep the center of gravity low. My initial thought was to build the deck around 30 cm / 12 inches below the gunwale while keeping double flooring, batteries, gas tank and maybe some ballast as low as possible (I´ll try to make a 3D drawing asap). All and all it might weight in at just over 500 up to 550 kg /1111 up to 1222 pounds. That would keep the boat steady and with the high sides it would be rather sea worthy but require a semi-big motor. I dont have any demands regarding the speed of the boat since I wont use it in the ocean or travel long distances.

My 16'6" x 48" bottom drafts about 3-4" loaded (800lbs) so your center of gravity (CG) is going to be really high with that narrow of a hull if you deck it higher than 12-14" off the floor. It'll be uncomfortable when not at speed.

 

[Team Colibri]

I suggest you simply clean one up (just powerwash it for now), and get it in the water to see what it feels like. This should give you a rough idea on their seaworthiness, and maybe even what hight of floor you might use.

 

[marshman]

Kismet » 06 Aug 2013, 15:01[/url]"]OK...I think it would be a nightmare.

That said, I bet that you could make it work. :lol:

Do you have access to a cutting torch? If you cut the sides down to 20 inches, you'd take off a great deal of weight, and still have a nice sidewall. It would STILL by very heavy though. It would over 300 pounds for a 16 foot boat? Well, maybe not too bad.

You have access to some very creative minds here. I just made the sides lower and made it lighter, now let's see what the REAL brains can come up with.

It will be fun to me to see what YOU do with it.

=D> =D> =D>

where can i buy tickets to watch someone cut aluminum with a torch?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[FerrisBueller]

I suggest you simply clean one up (just powerwash it for now), and get it in the water to see what it feels like.

I agree, take her out on the water first to get a feel for how she does on the water, that way you can get a grasp on how it floats and what set-up may work for you.

It looks like your "transom" is pretty deep, and that may inhibit you from being able to travel at any sort of speed as it might be tough getting a prop down that low.

 

[m casey stock]

Looks like a military beach landing vessel. I can just see men running up that ramp style bow. The horizontal strips across the inside of the bow ramp could be for traction and the high sides would handle higher wave action. IDK, just an observation.

 

[user 10949]

wish i had seen this post earlier. a friend had these growing up. we used 4 to make a floating lake house on an island in the middle of his pond.
first thing to understand is that they are not boats, and don't function well as a boat. they are designed to sit stationary in the water and support a massive amount of weight.

this should give you a better understanding of what these "boats" and "containers" are. yours are just made a little different.

truck would dump the whole package in the water and then flip open the top to meet land side, or multiples would be placed in the water to support roadway for longer stretches across water.

bad news is they will make a terrible boat for any kind of recreation. likely what the previous owner found out after he cut that transom mount into one of them(and ultimately ruined it for it's original purpose)

good news is, if you do take it out and get on the fish they probably have a capacity limit close to a ton \/

 

[xPikeRx]

NaturalLaw » 10 Aug 2013, 18:14[/url]"]wish i had seen this post earlier. a friend had these growing up. we used 4 to make a floating lake house on an island in the middle of his pond.
first thing to understand is that they are not boats, and don't function well as a boat. they are designed to sit stationary in the water and support a massive amount of weight.

this should give you a better understanding of what these "boats" and "containers" are. yours are just made a little different.

truck would dump the whole package in the water and then flip open the top to meet land side, or multiples would be placed in the water to support roadway for longer stretches across water.

bad news is they will make a terrible boat for any kind of recreation. likely what the previous owner found out after he cut that transom mount into one of them(and ultimately ruined it for it's original purpose)

good news is, if you do take it out and get on the fish they probably have a capacity limit close to a ton \/

Hiya

Yeah I figured out they were pontoons, specifically ramp pontoons, which were kept in the front and back of the pontoon bridge.

Found a video of exact same pontoon in action
[youtube]YCq6LTICjGs[/youtube]

Anyways I found 4 more on a another storage yard we got and I took a few crappy pictures.

I will mock up a wooden platform, put on a smaller outboard and try it out. Worst thing that could happen is that it doesn´t work out

BR
Kim