BtsNhoS
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2011
- Messages
- 69
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Hey guys, been watching this site for months now getting ideas and supplies to build my boat. I got an old 12ft jon boat from the Navy for free that they were throwing out about 4 years ago. Since a few months ago we had just been trolling around with a little trolling motor but now i decided to actually make a boat. The NUMBER ONE thing about this boat is that i did not want to spend alot of money since i dont have it. About 90% of this boat came from craigslist and including the motor, seats, trailer and supplies it cost about $500 bucks total. The first thing i did was purchased a trailer on craigslist for 100 bucks and i found a 9.9 johnson on craigslist that i traded a 42" LCD tv for, pretty good trade since i never used it and had a 50". The trailer is obviously to long for the boat but i will make it work, i got some new lights from Northern tool and im going to cut the end of the boat to make it fit, i also plan on adding some PVC pipe for guides...eventually. The inside of the boat is basic and i patched most of the leaks with JB weld on the bottom and on the inside. Next, i stole another guys idea, Bufford's 12 foot modification, (who i think got it from someone else) by cutting out the center seat to make a deck. This made ALOT of noise inside the parking garage and my apartment complex wasnt to happy, but oh well. i measured the area i wanted to cut plus an inch so i can fold the insides in, once the center seat was measured and marked out, i decided to make a change to the front of the boat also. Since about 6 months ago i have been in a huge drought when it comes to catching fish, this made me drink more beer while i fish so i decided to have a spot for a cooler...or 2. i wanted to make the other side a hatch for storage but i ran into some cutting problems and instead we just put the life jackets in it, or another cooler. after this i started cutting everything and making a huge mess. once the center seat was cut i bent the insides down so i wouldnt get cut. after this i cleaned the inside out and started sanded it and wiped everything down and started applying the first layer of rhino liner. I used about a gallon and a half and put on two thick layers, this took a really long time. next, i decided to add a 3/8" piece of plywood to the back seat, i used 3/8" for the entire boat which i polyurethaned first. It wasnt until i had the back seat totally on (when i finally got it in the mail) that i realized the center seat was way to high and unstable so i moved it, the picture shows it in the center but i moved it to the stbd side of the boat with a swivel and saved the 7" pedestal, so i would be able to swivel the seat i built a makeshift platform with the wood and was able to painstakingly attach the seat. once i got the back seat on i added the wood on the floor and casting platform with the 3/8" platform and 2X4's. I forgot to take photos of the 2X4's that i put as a brace for where the center seat was; i ran four 2X4's about forward-back and also outlined the cut-out of the prior seat with the plywood, we then added the 13" pedestal with the seat. I used a 1.25" size screws to secure the deck and i used 3" screws for the stern seat and 2.5" for the bow seat. again sorry there are no good pics. after cutting my hand many times i decided to get weather stripping for any sharp cuts, after this i rhino lined all the wood and i built my own trolling motor mount using a 2X4 cut in half and a piece of plywood, this was also rhino lined. . finally after all this we did all the touch up for the rhino lining and added the carpet using .5" staples. and the final finished product.... the next thing i am doing is adding the steelflex, thanks to the info from Bufford's 12 foot modification, it should be here any day now and its the same color of the boat, i also have the fish finder installed on the back seat on the port side, plus there are rod holders on the starboard side with two mushroom anchors on the port so we can sit sideways on the river and fish. The titling and registration is in the mail and im waiting for my stickers to get back, unfortunately i am running into alot of trouble with my motor lately, im going to post some questions on the motor forums on here, let me know what yall think, thanks for looking.