New Jon Rebuild/Conversion Build Thread COMPLETED! 4-30-12

[wcbond4]

Hey all. I've had this boat for a little over a year now. I got this boat for free along with two 35 HP Johnson Sea Horses.

I have just recently started working on it. I have no idea what make or model it is...or even what the year model is! Maybe somebody can tell me? I think it might be a Lawrence?

I've been enjoying this site tremendously and have learned a ton so far. Heres what it looked like before I touched it.

Transom looks pretty rough!

My initial goal was to make this a nice river boat. I live near the Little Red and it is excellent for trout! My dads got a bass boat that we use on the Greers Ferry Lake. Since I have been working on the boat, I have decided I want a shallow water rig that would be good for crappie and the river.

So far my plans are as follows;
Strip interior of old console, carpet, controls and anything dry-rotted or falling apart (which was practically everything!)
15 HP Evinrude with tiller handle
Rework transom
Refinish the exterior with U-Pol Raptor
Extend front deck
Section off live well for fish/bait
Construct seat for top of live well
Pole seats front and back
Rod&Reel/gun box
More storage under front deck
Rear gas and battery compartments along with a small rear deck
Mount bow trolling motor
New carpet/possibly Raptor the inside too (haven't decided yet, what do you guys think?)
Install bilge pump/live well aerator
Refinish/rebuilt trailer


Since those pictures I have sanded all the old decals off and replaced the transom board. I just took it today to the welding shop to have the transom put back together! I can't wait to get it back. I'll be posting pictures through out, hopefully regularly.

Let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions that would make my project better/easier!

 

[wcbond4]

OK.

Got my boat back from the welding shop today! I cant be more pleased! On top of getting my transom back to useful, it only cost me 85 dollars!

^
Check out all those old bolt holes! I've already begun patching them with some WaterWeld by J.B. Weld.

Got some more shots of my boat

Heres the front deck that I want to extend

Heres my floor as of right now.

Does anyone have any idea of what this boat might be? I love the flat floor that is apparently factory made. Makes my life easier!

 

[1munford]

nicest free boat I've seen in a while!

 

[wcbond4]

Thanks! I've been working on her all evening! I'm ready to get fishing

 

[MrSimon]

That is a really great layout. Do you think its a factory set-up?

I wouldn't change a thing.

The front deck is perfect for mounting trolling motor, battery, lights, cupholders etc. You could cut a hatch in it and keep tackle bins underneath, along with the TM battery.

Then you have the forward fishing deck that is slightly raised ... which is perfect. Install a pedestal chair at the very rear of that deck maybe.

A rear deck would be easy and nice.

What a great base to start your project! Congrats!

 

[wcbond4]

I do think its factory. It looks to good to be homemade

Do you think I should bring the front deck up level with the raised deck? I've been debating that for a while. I do want a pedestal seat at the front..which is part of the reason for the new deck. I plan on bringing it back to where the floor drops down.

The rear deck is also something I'm 100% positive I want to add. For storage of the gas tank, battery, etc. Also a place top mountthe rear seat for the driver.

I've been sanding her down all week and also sanding the old dilly trailer that came with her. I need to get some carpet for the bunks, gonna look around town for that today. Plan on painting the trailer tonight and cutting my new bunks.

I've also got a tiller handle TM that I plan to mount on the bow. I found a bow mount for a tiller handle TM on eBay and got it for 25 bucks! I'm super excited about that.

I'm still trying to figure out who made this boat. The transom tag starts with LWNT.

 

[JFDBasser]

Cool layout. That'll be a nice boat to work with, lots you can do....looking forward to seeing how it goes.

 

[Ictalurus]

Do you think I should bring the front deck up level with the raised deck? I've been debating that for a while.

Not sure how wide your boat is but I'd leave it low. I made a low deck on my 1448 and love it. I tend to stand and fish most of the time and the low deck works perfectly. The low deck will also make it easier to control the tiller TM as you won't have to bend down as much. Great looking boat by the way, it's going to look great whatever you choose.

 

[wcbond4]

Thanks for the tips! I think you are right about the ease of use for the TM. Problem solved!

Got the bed liner and color for my boat the other day!

I went with OD green for my color. I cant wait to get it sprayed and post some pics!

I think im probably going to end up using wood for the framing of my decks..what should I attach it with at the bottom? I've got some 3M 5200 on its way from eBay, will that be the best bet for wood?

 

[Ictalurus]

I think im probably going to end up using wood for the framing of my decks..what should I attach it with at the bottom? I've got some 3M 5200 on its way from eBay, will that be the best bet for wood?

Little confused here, the boat pictured above appears to already have decks. Are those aluminum? If so, I'd just re-use those. The boat in the pic with the paint is different. Anyhoo, if you want to frame with wood, 2x2 coated with three coats of spar urethane or paint would work fine. For wood decks, 15/32 plywood treat with spar urethane or paint works well.

Heber Springs is a beautiful area, I've been diving on Greers Ferry Lake before, all sorts of cool stuff down there.

 

[wcbond4]

Yeah, that boat that the paint is sitting on is a 15 foot Alumacraft that I'm selling. The other boat is the one I'm working on. It does have "decks" but they are super low with no storage. Plus I'm not sure if I can do a pedestal seat on that decking. I'm afraid it might be to weak/no deep enough.

The lake is beautiful here! I'm sure theres lots of goddies at the bottom! Lots of people uh..get to a happy place and lose stuff!

 

[wcbond4]

I HAVE AN UPDATE! Finally...I get to show some progress here.

I used Benjamin Moore urethane based low luster paint. It really looks great! I originally got it to add color to my bed liner but I had to buy a gallon...so guess what else got new paint! At least my boat and trailer will match

Heres ol Dilly

Fresh after sanding and cleaning

Heres after the paint

Boy howdy...this oil base paint is hard to clean up after! I have got to go buy more paint thinner before I do the second coat!

Got some pressure treated 2x4's to redo my bunks and then picked up some FREE indoor/outdoor carpet from a local flooring store. Its not exactly "marine" grade ...but it was free and it will last a little while. Gotta watch every penny on this project!

 

[Ictalurus]

Got some pressure treated 2x4's to redo my bunks

I strongly advise staying away from using pressure treated wood where it will make contact with your hull. The chemicals used to treat the wood will have bad reaction with aluminum and cause corrosion/pitting. Cheaper and easier to replace the bunks when needed than fix the boat. You may be able to get away with PT wood if you use bunk slicks, but that is up to you.

The trailer looks great =D> =D> Did you spray it on?

As far as your decking, you may be able to reinforce the area where your seat base will go by adding a 1'x1'x3/4" ply or aluminum under the seat base. I too had to give up some storage space with the low deck, but managed to make an area that will hold a net and paddle under the low deck. This is going to be a sweet mod =D>

 

[wcbond4]

Do you think the PT wood and reaction will be an issue after I spray the bed liner on the hull?

I know that the chemicals will seep out even with carpet on the bunks..but would it react with the coated hull? I definitely don't want a bad reaction.

What are bunk slicks?

Thanks for the compliment! Yeah I sprayed it. It looks sooo much better than before I got after it. Its not perfect, but I'm happy.

 

[Ictalurus]

Do you think the PT wood and reaction will be an issue after I spray the bed liner on the hull?

I know that the chemicals will seep out even with carpet on the bunks..but would it react with the coated hull? I definitely don't want a bad reaction.

Can't answer that with 100% certainty, but the paint/bedliner my get pretty worn where it makes contact with the bunks from all of the friction.

What are bunk slicks?

They go on the bunks to aid in getting in on and off the trailer. I've attached a link, easier to show than trying to describe :LOL2:

https://www.basspro.com/Bunk-Slick-Boat-Trailer-GlideOns/product/1111100500571/315091

 

[sixgun86]

I've heard a lot of good things about Raptor liner. Thinking of putting it on the truck.

Will be watching :shock:

 

[wcbond4]

So you just bolt them down on top of your wood?

 

[wcbond4]

I've heard a lot of good things about Raptor liner. Thinking of putting it on the truck.

Will be watching :shock:

Lol that last line and your avatar scare me a little.

Raptor is amazing. This isn't my first rodeo with the stuff.

My favorite thing about it is the fact you can tint it to ANY color. Most other products only have set colors to choose from. You tint this stuff with 50ccs of any urethane paint you want. Or you can go with black and be dull :LOL2:

 

[wcbond4]

Well I stayed away from PT wood, and I got my bunks done!

 

[TimRich]

The trailer turned out great! Looking forward to more updates!