1983 Dawson Bass Boat

I recently purchased a bass boat and the title says it is a 1983 Dawson. I have researched, reasearched, and researched and when that didnt work i researched just to make sure. Is there anyone that can shed some light onto the history of these boats and where i can get more information about them?

Re: 1983 Dawson Bass Boat

Chances are you won't find much. In the 70's and 80's there apparently were boat builders popping up all over the place and many of them didn't stick around very long. In fact I recently got my hands on a Vision bass boat which I'd never heard of (it came free with the engine I bought for my Checkmate). It looks like I'm gonna bite the bullet and rebuild it, I'm a sucker for a project.

Oh, by the way. Not to bring up a can of worms or anything, have you checked the transom, stringers and deck on your boat? Any boat that old has a high likelihood of having some rotted wood, and it seems like bass boats are especially bad just due to the nature of how they're used.

Re: 1983 Dawson Bass Boat

J & J Industries Inc in Brielle, NJ - Boat Manufacturers

Thats the most I could find. The Dawson was built by J&J Industries out of NJ. They went belly up in '01.

Re: 1983 Dawson Bass Boat

Thanks for info, that was the same that i found . Im also a sucker for projects, im working on replacing the floor in it then i am getting started on my '79 Chaparral 19. Fun fun

Re: 1983 Dawson Bass Boat

Metric, i have checked transom and stringers, drilled some core samples and much to my surprise they all had dry wood. Dodged a big one there