Jon Boat Mods

[billmc47]

I bought a new 14' 48" wide all welded jon boat last summer new. With trailer. Fisher brand made by tracker. I am happy with the boat, I already know it is not as big as I want but it is what I could afford. In short this has been a project boat, get a few dollars and do a little more. Well as you all know I now have a 18hp Evinrude on it. A bow mount foot controll trolly motor. Since I have had it out on the water, I now want a floor. When I bought this boat I was told I could get a few accessories for it. ie: gun box floor, rod holders. Problem is dealer is not intersted in getting parts for me. I have called the Big Bass Pro and no help. So how hard is it to build a floor? Any help appreciated.
BillMc

 

[StuBone278]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

I've also got a 14' jon, weldbuilt, but its only 32" on the floor. I'm looking to add some decking also, and was going to try to get some old angled-aluminum from a scrapyard (or its like $12 for 8') instead of using 2x4s, as they are heavier and tend to water-log/rot. My deck isn't going to be big, just a few feet on the front. For the top of the deck I'm going to put 3/8" plywood. I plan on running it from just in front of the middle seat to the front of the boat, and have a hatch on the top.
Search for a website "hydrillagorilla" and they have some great ideas and pictures of modded jons, I'm just trying to go as light as possible to keep the boat stable.
If I'm going to carpet it, should I still use marine grade plywood?

 

[JB]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

If I'm going to carpet it, should I still use marine grade plywood?

Carpet in a fishing boat is stupid. It collects and holds water that will then rot the DECK. It also collects foul smells and loose hooks.

You can use Exterior grade plywood and seal it well with bedliner type material, color of your choice. That will hose down in a flash and keep the deck dry.

 

[StuBone278]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

Then why do these 50g bass boats have thin carpet? Will the bedliner material weigh a ton?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

We make alot of boats that have a marine grade vinyl flooring, I have no idea where you would get it and it is a little hard to apply but an alternative to carpet.
A buddy had me redo his boat awhile ago and he got indoor/outdoor carpet from Lowes/Menards, it was barely 1/4 thick and super easy to work with.
Ya it will collect stains and the odd hook but it is so thin I think water would evaperate pretty quickly and if some thing did go wrong you just pull it up and redo it.
the bed liner would be a bit heavier and more expensive and make sure there is nothing under the floor that you ever need to see agian, I think it would work really well but once you do it is done and never coming up again.

As far as building the floor,sure it can be done the questuion is can you do it?
If you think your skill set will let you do this go for it.
I imagine you will be working with wood for everything, you will need stringers to hold the floor up and some way to attach your decking to the stringers ect.
I start all these kinds of project with a paper and pencil, get measurements and draw and draw until you have solved all your problems, if you can get it to work on paper you can probly do it in the boat and if you can't get it on paper you probly can't do it in your boat.
That way if you are over your head or it is too dificult all you have messed up is a couple sheets of paper.
I have seen alot of people start projects like this on the actual boat and by the time they figure out it won't work there boat is all jacked up.
Example, a guy wanted to put a live well in the front of his boat, he starts hacking a hole,well he cut through all the front deck supports and now he is screwed.
So work out the entire project from fasteners to all your materials first then start working.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

StuBone278, carpet is a lot cheaper, than a finished hull. carpet hides many unfinished things, rough edges, misfits. a good fishing boat has a finished fiberglass liner. carpet thin or thick, is one of the nastiest things on the planet. it's not in my boat or my home.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

I went through the same crisis about 7 years ago. The dealer told me that
they do make a floor kit, but he wouldn't sell it to me and let me install it
because the aluminum edges were sharp. The costs of the kit and the installation
were higher than what I expected, and more than what it was worth to me.
My boat is another Fisher, and still a darned good boat!
Aluminum floors are best done when built into the boat at the factory.

I designed and built what I call a "compromise floor". It consists of pieces of
3/4" exterior plywood that fit in between the floor aluminum channels. I cut the
pieces about 1/4" less than the width, to allow for the marine carpet to fit in
around the edges. I put pieces of wooden dowel, stained, on the bottom where
needed for support. Ok, the dowel does fit into the drain channel, but it is round,
so it doesn't clog the channel and it still permits water to drain. Note in
the picture that the dowel shows some water discoloration, but I had the boat out
just 2 days ago. For 7 years, I'd say that is acceptable. I take the floor pieces
out for the winter, and whenever they need a cleaning, or the under bottom
needs a cleaning.

I prefer the carpet for comfort on bare feet, and a non-slip surface. Just an
option, and it works fine for me. Good luck!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

mickjetblue fantastic idea, whether carpet of not.

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

There are a number of sites that show how folks modified their Jon boats, that might give you some ideas...

http://www.bassingfools.com/jonboat/boat.htm
http://www.secretweaponlures.com/odf/odfsite.html
http://www.guestfamily.com/robertg/jpdeck.htm

http://calfishing.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1388

There is also the Hydrilla Gorilla book that you can buy.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

Yeah, I like those carpeted, removeable deck panels...the panels make it easy to get the hull/bottom cleaned out. Nice job.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

Very nice mick,a very simple solution to what could be a complicated problem.
I like it.

 

[billmc47]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

mickjetblue;
I really like your floor idea. I just want a better floor. Seems like when ever I look at the floor it gets dirty. I would like to know how you attached the dowel rods and what size? Did you run them thru a table saw to create a flat edge to attach to the plywood?
I did find a Tracker/Fisher dealer tto sell me the floor kit. 400.00 plus shipping. I can save the shipping cost by driving to Springflied Mo and picking it up myself. Give me a reason to go to Bass Pro. What I have found is that there and no accessories avail online for fisher. Called Bass Pro and they don't carry any, said to call a dealer. I would like to find the rod holders for the track system in the gun wales. Maybe someone will know of a online dealer.
BillMc

 

[kennyboater]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

mickjetblue,

i really like your idea. i just got a 15 aluminum that i would like to do somthing similiar in.

my question and problem:

it looks like your aluminum ribs or stringers (going horizontal) have a lip on each side for your plywood deck to rest on...is this correct?

my problem is that my boat has the ribs, but no lip on the ribs for the deck to rest on...any ideas solve this problem and still use your design?

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

I think the dowel rod is 1.5" round. I didn't make a cut for a flat edge.
Reason is that 1.5" fills the vertical void just right. You can test this
measurement on your boat by putting any straight edge or a 2" x 4"
across the same area you would be covering with the plywood piece.
Then measure the vertical distance at the center that you need to fill to
keep the floor piece flat. You can custom fit the wooden filler to whatever
is needed. I used a piece about 3/4" x 2" x 10" for the front piece because it had
a greater arch from the modified V being there. I used about 4 2" long
screws to attach the dowel pieces, drilling in and attaching them from
the top down. I actually prefer this setup to a flat aluminum floor, but there
are pros and cons to everything.

The aluminum horizontal boat channels do not have a resting lip. There is a 90
degree bend where it is attached to the boat, although that mates to the
hull and is not a lip. That does create a double layer of aluminum for the wood
pieces to rest against.

As with everything posted, you can customize any design to what you need.
I'm glad there is some interest in it, and I appreciate your comments.
Happy boating!

 

[nightstalker]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

I just got done rigging my jon boat. I built the floor out of 1/2" plywood which I put preservative on top and bottom, painted the wooden floor with that non-skid paint addative they sell at Home Depot and screwed the floor to the cross members with stainless sheet metal screws. I even built a poling platform out of PVC which everyone said wouldn't be sturdy enough, but they were wrong. It's not 4' high like some I've seen. Mine clears the outboard about 28" high. It's stable and I'm plenty high enough to see the fish. I put a 42 quart cooler in the middle of the boat secured to the floor with brackets from Boater's World and a high yield bubbler that keeps pins and shrimp alive all day. I carpeted the seats with indoor/outdoor carpet. I put a trolling motor on the bow and mounted a pedistal seat between the bow and the front seat where I can reach the trolling motor. A tripple rod holder, bambo push pole, storage compartments, and she's good to go.
Nightstalker

 

[jennis9]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

i bought my brother a book and used this site for some tips:
http://www.myjonboat.com/aboutboat.htm

had a few great pointers on installing a live well... making a livewell from a cooler and wiring diagrams. I talked to the guy because I had download issues and he was very cool. I just love seeing what everyone is doing with the mods. good luck.

 

[pootnic]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

http://www.tinboats.net/index.htm

alot of jon boat mods and info here

 

[morriscrazy]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

For those of you, who want to use plywood for your flooring. After you cut to measure, locate a Line-X dealer and give him your measurements and tell him what color you want. Line-X can be sprayed on plywood or any wood for that matter. Then you can place them in the boat. You will never have to get carpeting re-installed and these can be easily hosed down.

 

[billmc47]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

Been looking at everyones work and ideas on this subject. Thinking allot of info and great ideas. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to fill the area between the ribs with sheet foam from Home Depot, and then cut 1/2 plywood to fit, seal then carpet? What do you guys think.
BillMc

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Jon Boat Mods

foam from Home Depot, and then cut 1/2 plywood to fit

I did something similar, but used 3/8" ply, 1" stringers between the boat ribs and then filled the void under the floor with foam (stringers the same height of boat ribs).

1- cut plywood to fit leaving 1/8" gap on ends and 1/4" on sides for carpet and water drain.
2- Gorilla glue and screw stringers to the bottom of 3/8 exterior plywood
3- seal wood with several coats of urethane/resin
4- line boat hull with thin painters plastic very important unless you want the floor hopelessly stuck in place!
5- heavily mist plastic and floor underside with water, very important for foam cure
6- apply a few cans of spray foam insulation to the bottom of wood floor (not too much at once, easier to add more later than have it over fill)
7- set floor in place and weigh down with 2-300# while foam cures, front deck should cure overnight so it takes the boat's curvature
8- remove floor, add more foam to fill voids, weigh down again and cure
9- trim foam that filled the channels (so water can drain)

I used 3/8" ply because I wanted it light and after doing some testing found that 3/8 wouldn't flex with the support I was using. I'm 250 and the floor feels rock solid.

Wondering how the heck I was going to get the front floor to conform to the curved bow, a light bulb clicked on as I walked into Lowes and saw the top sheet of 3/8" ext ply, the one no one takes. It was flat on one end and warped up on the other end, perfectly flat for the back and almost a perfect curve for the bow. Even though the warped sheet was close to the boat's curve I hosed it down and let it dry in the hull (several times) to perfectly conform to the shape of the boat's hull.

I also cut out the middle of the box seats, rolled over the edge 1" and lined the cavity with 2" foam. 2- Group 31 batteries, 3 gallon gas tank, anchors, ropes and life jackets fits under the middle seat. Same amount of storage under the rear seat.

There's a lot more too, maybe I'll post a thread on the build?