New to me boat

[8SteelTown]

My buddy has this little boat that he wanted to get rid of (taking up room at his house). Now it's coming to take up room at my house! I used it last year and it worked fine. Looking for some direction on how to improve this boat please (and saying buy a new boat is not what I'm looking for here).

When it's loaded with 2 people, it only has like 6" from the top rail to the top of the water. Was thinking of adding on some trim on the outside to keep it more stable side to side. Was hoping to make it more buoyant as well as more stable. Going to go through it and possibly replace the deck with new wood and marine carpeting. Also want to chop down the seats or mount them lower because center of gravity when you're on the seat is sketch for sure. I'll be loading, unloading, and reloading it by myself most times so I'm trying to figure out an easier way to store and load/unload it without completely destroying the bed of my truck or the boat.

Thanks in advance

1) Tips for more buoyancy.
2) Tips for more stability.
3) Tips for improvement / upgrading.
4) It has CF and numbers / registration. Saw on a previous post about registering... do I have to register it every year? If I only have a trolling motor on it, do I still have to register it?

 

[Gspman]

Nice little boat 8). I've been looking for something like that just a little bigger. I've had boats all my life big and small. Get some rollers for the tail gate that will help load and unload. Look at Yakima canoe/kayak roof top mounts for inspiration. As for boyancy/stability, when I had a little 10ft Jon boat I strapped 6" pvc to the sides. Glue end caps on and get big pipe clamps and strap them to the gunnels.

Cut those seats all the way down or just take off the risers all together.

Any time you have any motor gas or electric trolling you must have cf numbers and register it every year. Make sure you have oars/paddles and know how to use them.

Lastly and this is very important.... When it's all fixed up and you get tired of it let me know ill buy it from you.

 

[ilovesprig]

Jesse,

Be real careful in a jon boat like that. Especially if you have waders on in deep water.....Narrow and they can slide out from under you easily.

Don't really know anyway to make them more stable......Watched a guy today almost sink his when he leaned over in one corner. Fortunately, he was in about 2 feet of water.

 

[8SteelTown]

Thanks GSPMan... pretty stoked on it. Think I might be able to do some 2x4's in the bed of the truck. They fit right down the bottom of the boat nicely and slide pretty easily on them. It's easy to manage by myself for the most part but did weigh a lot when I got it.

Gotcha Sprig. Chances are if I'm using it, I most likely won't be in my waders. I'll lean in that direction for safety purposes. I got the boat in the garage and took off the chairs, the wood decks, and the wood framing. Gave it a good scrub down and got it all cleaned up. It'll make a big difference on weight removing the 1980's oak wood and betting with the 2' seat risers gone, it'll be a lot more stable.

Time to sand, repaint, and re-deck. Should be a good little boat.

 

[nicapopolis]

What is the length on that, 10? 12?

For a free boat that is perfect, but be very careful. Do not push your limits.

For small backwaters it should work fine. I think you have the right idea on what needs to be done.

If it was me I would turn it into a duck hunting machine with some versatility. A harbor freight built surface drive motor will scoot that boat with decoys pretty good and would open up a lot of options. Maybe hunt 2 guys okay.

We are going to build a duck boat in the offseason, probably a 14 ft mod v for smaller waters and we will use my big boat for big water opportunities.

Tinboats.net is a good resource.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[8SteelTown]

What is the length on that, 10? 12?

For a free boat that is perfect, but be very careful. Do not push your limits.

For small backwaters it should work fine. I think you have the right idea on what needs to be done.

If it was me I would turn it into a duck hunting machine with some versatility. A harbor freight built surface drive motor will scoot that boat with decoys pretty good and would open up a lot of options. Maybe hunt 2 guys okay.

We are going to build a duck boat in the offseason, probably a 14 ft mod v for smaller waters and we will use my big boat for big water opportunities.

Tinboats.net is a good resource.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

12' x 4' flat bottom. My first time in it was a little sketch. Yeah that's the goal... keep it easy and low and it'll be perfect for me... Thanks for the resource tip.

 

[Aeon]

Just a fyi, Jon boats are measured on the floor for width. Pretty sure it's a 36" or smaller bottom. Fun boats for sure

 

[nicapopolis]

Just a fyi, Jon boats are measured on the floor for width. Pretty sure it's a 36" or smaller bottom. Fun boats for sure

Agreed. A 12'x48" would be a bathtub!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[stikbrandon]

Needs a dog ladder