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any body fish out of a jon boat


will hughes
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For 12 foot or less you can't go wrong with "spider" bases which hold a regular bass boat seat of your choice. They make boat super comfy and stable. I use the older back seat to secure my extender handle when I stop moving. Find someone to make you a tilting trailer. It is worth it's weight in gold. No need to submerse wheels ever. It saves on bearing changes those tiny trailers need and makes loading and unloading a breeze.

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  • 1 month later...

Here’s mine that i picked up a little over a year ago, 1978 Lowe hustler pro 1748,  this was hideous when i got it and the trailer needed some love. I fished it a little the summer i got it but then i couldn’t take the look, plus i didn’t really have a decent size motor for it so i took the rest of the season off and fixed it up, boat was in great shape had a couple of cracked areas that i brazed and sealed, painted the boat with a roll and tip technique that turned out great, added 2 budget finders, put in some new cheap carpet, added a console, picked up a old 35hp and cleaned that up and got it running good, and a 24volt 80lb minn Kota. Then i turned towards the trailer while the boat cured, trailer needed some welding done for a couple areas that where cracked and rusting out, had like 5 coats of paint so i completely striped it down to bare metal, sprayed 2 costs of primer and then 3 coats of satin black rustoleum, new led lights, new winch, new bunk boards, new leaf springs, and a new set of wheels and tires. It was a lot of work but now it’s all looking good. I’m trying my hardest right now to clear my plate of bullshit work (finishing basement)  so i can start my deck build after checking out tiny boat nation I’m going to sign up for the patreon account to get the owner to help me layout my entire build. Hoping to start in about a week. Can’t wait for this little rig to be fully custom to what i want. All in all once i gave a deck with storage i think this boat will be perfect for me, i mostly fish alone these days so it was really hard for me to justify getting a nice big fiberglass, plus i don’t really have the room to store a bigger boat and hoeslty water around where I’m at is pretty limited so it would be hard to swallow a big payment on a pro boat. This boat cost me $1200, motor i got for $300, all in all I’ve probably put about $1000 into it so far and I’m hoping my deck build won’t be much over another 1k so for under 4K it’s a perfect boat for me right now. 

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On 1/8/2019 at 4:06 PM, bassbass said:

I keep my jon boat simple, it fits in the back of my truck and is still light enough for me alone.

Once you start adding stuff you can't handle it alone or will need a trailer.

Thats  why I have the ZX ..

I'll second Brian's thoughts.  Before you start modifications think about how you're going to transport it to the lake.  I use a jon boat a lot even though I have a Z519.  I have a pickup truck and keeping the boat simple means I can toss it in the bed and handle a 12 footer by myself or with one buddy.  Once you get to the point where you need a trailer you start to limit yourself to places with ramps and suitable parking.  I mount a 45 ft-lb hand control Traxxis electric on the front and a homemade keel on the back (helps a lot to keep the boat from swinging in the wind) and some rubber foam mats on the floor to keep things quiet.  It gets me into a lot of places that a heavier, decked-out boat would be tough to manage.

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12 hours ago, waynem said:

I'll second Brian's thoughts.  Before you start modifications think about how you're going to transport it to the lake.  I use a jon boat a lot even though I have a Z519.  I have a pickup truck and keeping the boat simple means I can toss it in the bed and handle a 12 footer by myself or with one buddy.  Once you get to the point where you need a trailer you start to limit yourself to places with ramps and suitable parking.  I mount a 45 ft-lb hand control Traxxis electric on the front and a homemade keel on the back (helps a lot to keep the boat from swinging in the wind) and some rubber foam mats on the floor to keep things quiet.  It gets me into a lot of places that a heavier, decked-out boat would be tough to manage.

Would be interested in how you did the homemade keel, sounds like a good idea especially on solo runs. 

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A bit of a glorified Jon, I believe mines a Mod-v 1448 15, running a 25hp Yam and 101 fortrex. Absolute brute and gets me everywhere I want to be without worry of scuffing fiberglass :grin:  Fishes 1 very comfortably, fishes 2 just fine depending on how many beers have been cracked, fished 3 on it before as well and no one fell out. Very customizable platform if you decide to deck it out, tons of livewell space, front/rear storage and even a good bit of room to recess a trolling motor tray in the bow. I love this rig. 

 

Video shows it in the earlier stages of the build but shows a good idea of the deck width and a cool netjob lol 

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