Need help IDing my first boat

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I recently purchased my first boat from a good friend. When he purchased it the seller didn't know the exact make/model but told him he thought it was a 60's Del Magic. I've been doing my own research and based on a couple pictures I found I think it's a 70's MonArk Jon boat. I'm really hoping someone here might recognize it. It's fiberglass and I measured it at 13' 6" long and 48" beam at the outside of the gunwales. Thanks!!

 

[Scott Danforth]

What does the paperwork say it is?

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

What does the paperwork say it is?

My friend registered it as a Del Magic and Unknown for the model simply because that's the info he received when buying it. The man he bought it from had it registered as a "self-build".

 

[QBhoy]

Can’t see a boat there. Just a picture of a house and a garage door. Any pics of the boat ?

 

[jbcurt00]

Can’t see a boat there. Just a picture of a house and a garage door. Any pics of the boat ?

?several pix of boat

 

[dwco5051]

Check for pictures on the internet of late 60's to early 70's Chrysler bassboats. Yours looks similar. https://www.harbortownemarine.com/listings/chrysler-14-jon-boat
Back in those wild and wooly days of fiberglas boats many companies would buy a particular boat and use it to mold their own hulls. Some of them only made a few with their nametag and went out of business. I saw a list a few years back that had 1400 discontinued makers.

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Check for pictures on the internet of late 60's to early 70's Chrysler bassboats. Yours looks similar. https://www.harbortownemarine.com/listings/chrysler-14-jon-boat
Back in those wild and wooly days of fiberglas boats many companies would buy a particular boat and use it to mold their own hulls. Some of them only made a few with their nametag and went out of business. I saw a list a few years back that had 1400 discontinued makers.

Oooooooh, that would make a lot of sense then. Many thanks for the info! I have found a couple other pictures and an online-auction post with scarce info that made me think it might have been a MonArk or Lund but I couldn't find anything concrete, and I was finding even less info about Del Magic boats. That picture you shared does look kind of similar, and a quick search found this picture in a forum thread on allpar.com, which looks darn near identical. (I'd appreciate if you voiced an opinion on matching that image.)

My main interest in ID'ing it is to know the weight capacity as I want to add in a bow platform with storage and a livewell, and I'm thinking about putting pods on the back, upping the engine to a newer 4-cycle, possibly even a Mercury 20hp, and adding shallow water anchors. I feel like I can go off this info for the Chrysler Dart and be safe with a capacity of 620#. While there *are* some differences from the Chrysler boat I linked, it is so similar that I think I would be comfortable working off that information. Thoughts?

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

?several pix of boat

I think he's going for the old "I can't see it because it's camo" joke.

 

[nola mike]

?several pix of boat

It's camouflaged

 

[JimS123]

My main interest in ID'ing it is to know the weight capacity as I want to add in a bow platform with storage and a livewell, and I'm thinking about putting pods on the back, upping the engine to a newer 4-cycle, possibly even a Mercury 20hp, and adding shallow water anchors. I feel like I can go off this info for the Chrysler Dart and be safe with a capacity of 620#. While there *are* some differences from the Chrysler boat I linked, it is so similar that I think I would be comfortable working off that information.

Thoughts?

Yes, for sure.

I can see the pics very clearly. And I don't need info re. capacity.

The 9.5 you have on the back is the perfect engine for that boat. Adding all the amenities you desire would be foolish. That little boat is suitable for 2 people, a tackle box and a couple poles. Adding weight or more HP is toying with safety.

If you want fancy, you need a bigger boat.

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Yes, for sure.

I can see the pics very clearly. And I don't need info re. capacity.

The 9.5 you have on the back is the perfect engine for that boat. Adding all the amenities you desire would be foolish. That little boat is suitable for 2 people, a tackle box and a couple poles. Adding weight or more HP is toying with safety.

If you want fancy, you need a bigger boat.

The info for the Dodge Dart specifically says it is rated for up to a 25hp motor, so I would think there shouldn't be any issues that I know of with throwing a new (lighter) 20hp motor on it. The point of adding pods would be to increase the support for any larger motor or accessories on the back. I've seen lots of guys do with with jon boats the same size, so I'm not sure why it would be such a concern with this boat in particular. Can you elaborate? I'm also going to be the only person riding in this boat; I plan on buying a bigger one if I need more passenger capacity.

I can also say for certain that I'm not too worried on the weight even as it is now, because when me friend owned it we used it for duck hunting. He built his own blind that he mounted to the gunwales with metal conduit as the framing, and we took it out on the Mississippi several times with 3 guys, gear, and at minimum 6 dozen decoys, and it handled that just fine.

 

[southkogs]

I think you can add some storage to it, but weight isn't your only concern with this boat. The beam is narrow on this hull. Adding stuff like a casting deck would dramatically affect the center of gravity on this little guy. You'll be more of a circus acrobat than a fisherman on it.

That could be the same issue with the outboard. With a tri-hull and narrow hull, running 20HP on it could get exciting quickly. On one hand it could plane really high and be hard to control, on the other hand it could walk all over on you. We had that with an old 14' boat: the difference between 10HP and 20HP was terrifying.

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I think you can add some storage to it, but weight isn't your only concern with this boat. The beam is narrow on this hull. Adding stuff like a casting deck would dramatically affect the center of gravity on this little guy. You'll be more of a circus acrobat than a fisherman on it.

That could be the same issue with the outboard. With a tri-hull and narrow hull, running 20HP on it could get exciting quickly. On one hand it could plane really high and be hard to control, on the other hand it could walk all over on you. We had that with an old 14' boat: the difference between 10HP and 20HP was terrifying.

I guess I'm confused then on why they would list the Dodge Dart I linked above as being rated for up to 25hp. Most of the info (albeit I'm not finding a ton) talks about the Dodge Dart being known for stability due to the tri-hull.
Edit for elaboration: The sides are actually almost completely vertical. At the gunwales it's a 48" beam, and at the hull it's 43" (42+" if measured inside).

 

[Scott Danforth]

before you spend any money on the boat. if it is a chrysler boat, there was balsa used in the structure. make sure that balsa isnt wet or rotten.

as for motor, the 9.9 on there is lighter than any 20hp you will find.

also the library at fiberglassics has the dart at 20hp max. http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=File:Chryslerbb002.jpg

it also has the dart at 48" wide

the boat you have in the pictures appears to be about 40" wide.

I wouldnt try to put a casting deck on it. that will just raise the center of gravity and make the boat tippy.

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

before you spend any money on the boat. if it is a chrysler boat, there was balsa used in the structure. make sure that balsa isnt wet or rotten.

as for motor, the 9.9 on there is lighter than any 20hp you will find.

also the library at fiberglassics has the dart at 20hp max. http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=File:Chryslerbb002.jpg

it also has the dart at 48" wide

the boat you have in the pictures appears to be about 40" wide.

I wouldnt try to put a casting deck on it. that will just raise the center of gravity and make the boat tippy.

Thanks for the link, I haven't seen that site so I'll check out the info there. I have measured it and I am sure that it is 48" wide at the gunwales until it starts narrowing at the bow, and down at the hull it is 43" wide (measuring at the floor is 42 3/8"). I guess I'm confused why this would be any more tippy than the 48" jon boats that people put casting decks on.

My friend replaced the floor with marine grade plywood when he bought it. There are 3 fiberglass braces across the bottom that are about 8 wide (he showed me pictures of it). That being said, I'm already planning on redoing the floor because it looks like the fiberglass over top is starting to separate a little after sitting outside, unused for several years without a cover. I'm planning on sanding off the paint and doing a full inspection of all the fiberglass before I 100% commit to anything.

Edit: looking at that page you linked it states that both the 1968 and 69 Dart are 48" bream, and the '69 (which my friend said this one is supposed to be) is rated up to 25hp, so I guess I'm failing to see what the huge concern is.

 

[southkogs]

If you can comfortably stand on one of those seats, and cast without that boat tipping - it's a "reasonable" simulation of a casting deck. I've been proven wrong plenty in my life, so perhaps I am. But I'd be surprised if you can do that comfortably, and consistently, in that boat.

Could that boat be rated for a 20HP? Maybe. But it doesn't look like it. I've had boats that looked like they should handle a 20HP fine, and were a terror on the water (lots of slip / chine walking, and a weird rise going on plane that almost flipped it). If you own a 20 and wanna' try: go for it. If you don't already own a 20, that's an expensive experiment.

 

[briangcc]

The problem is weight. That 4 stroke you're eyeing up is a lot heavier than the 2 stroke it was originally designed for. It may very well make the boat sit too low in the water.

I'd proceed with caution and look at the weights very closely before pulling the trigger.

Won't get into the argument of that much power on that short/narrow of a boat. To me, that's got You-Tube fame written all over it.

 

[JimS123]

The tinny in my signature is much much deeper and wider than the one in this thread. The model is "R" for rugged duty. It performs OK with 2 adults and 2 kids and will even plane with the same little 9.5.

It is rated at 25 HP, so I put one on. OMG, squirrely. The biggest I could run safely was an 18, but I ended up putting the 9.5 back on and buying a bigger boat for the 25.

 

[DreadPirateRoberts]

If you can comfortably stand on one of those seats, and cast without that boat tipping - it's a "reasonable" simulation of a casting deck. I've been proven wrong plenty in my life, so perhaps I am. But I'd be surprised if you can do that comfortably, and consistently, in that boat.

Could that boat be rated for a 20HP? Maybe. But it doesn't look like it. I've had boats that looked like they should handle a 20HP fine, and were a terror on the water (lots of slip / chine walking, and a weird rise going on plane that almost flipped it). If you own a 20 and wanna' try: go for it. If you don't already own a 20, that's an expensive experiment.

Yeah, I've stood in it a lot duck hunting, even shooting while standing, so I'm pretty sure the platform would be fine. I'm not committed to a 20 or 25, I just know it's easier to get a motor with a charging system when you get up to those motors. I'm definitely going to put a trolling motor on the bow, so I just want to be able to charge the battery off the motor. But all this is just info gathering; I'm not committing to anything until I sand the layers of paint and inspect all the fiberglass.

The problem is weight. That 4 stroke you're eyeing up is a lot heavier than the 2 stroke it was originally designed for. It may very well make the boat sit too low in the water.

I'd proceed with caution and look at the weights very closely before pulling the trigger.

Won't get into the argument of that much power on that short/narrow of a boat. To me, that's got You-Tube fame written all over it.

The info I've been finding shows that a 25hp motor from the 70s weighed around 150 pounds on average and a brand new Mercury 25hp weighs 157lbs. Do you have some info you can link on motor weights so I can read up more? Like I said above in this reply; I'm not committing to anything at this point, just trying to collect info.

The tinny in my signature is much much deeper and wider than the one in this thread. The model is "R" for rugged duty. It performs OK with 2 adults and 2 kids and will even plane with the same little 9.5.

It is rated at 25 HP, so I put one on. OMG, squirrely. The biggest I could run safely was an 18, but I ended up putting the 9.5 back on and buying a bigger boat for the 25.

That's good info to have, thanks. My main interest in a bigger motor is to have a charging system for the lights and trolling motor I am going to install (provided the fiberglass all checks out when I sand and inspect it). Do you know of any motors that would work well in this situation without being too heavy?

 

[JimS123]

That's good info to have, thanks. My main interest in a bigger motor is to have a charging system for the lights and trolling motor I am going to install (provided the fiberglass all checks out when I sand and inspect it). Do you know of any motors that would work well in this situation without being too heavy?

A charging system means electric start and thus a heavier motor and a battery is required. The engine will keep the battery charged and even run the lights, but it won't have any impact on the battery once you run the trolling motor. They use more juice than the engine can handle.

I have one boat with a recoil starter and I use a simple 12 volt lantern battery to run the lights. I used to have a boat with a recoil starter, But I DID have a 12 volt lithium battery to run the trolling motor. I simply charged it up when I got back home.

Personally, I would never have an electric start tiller motor. Especially if weight were a concern. If you indeed put on a troller, go lithium battery because it is lighter.

I have the same motor you have. Its probably the best engine I ever had and now its over 50 years old. If I had yours and it ran good, it would not be replaced.