Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/25/13)

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

Coming right along.....I love the little rear deck. Are you going to use it as a poling/seating platform? Try to buy as much of the SS hardware in bulk as possible. It gets pricey quick :/ Where in Pa are you located? My family has a cabin in La Porte/Sullivan County.

Yeah I plan on mounting a swivel seat as well as on the middle area. I am hoping the SS doesn't run me too much for now, but I will definitely get as much as I can for my price range. I will need it all.

I'm in Northampton county. Right along the edge of the state, Jersey side. I've never been to Sullivan.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

The epoxy came yesterday but between the colder weather and promising to take a friend fishing, I didn't get it on the wood until today after work, but finally the first coat is on, and I can continue along with the rebuild:

After this cures I will glass the transom and motor scuff board with cloth and epoxy. I won't have enough epoxy to do the seats as well, but I do have fiberglass resin, so that is an option. I am not as worried about the seats in general, but would like to at least glass the top side where the carpet will be affixed.

I have my flange tool ready and the drain pipe should be here tomorrow. I will probably get that installed by Thursday. All in all by Friday she should be reassembled and ready for the test float that has been set back a week. My only concern now is finishing the sanding and preparation next week and having enough warm weather left in the near future to get the painting done as well.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/12/13)

After this cures I will glass the transom and motor scuff board with cloth and epoxy. I won't have enough epoxy to do the seats as well, but I do have fiberglass resin, so that is an option. I am not as worried about the seats in general, but would like to at least glass the top side where the carpet will be affixed.

No need for glass cloth with epoxy resin, epoxy resin is plenty strong enough by itself.

Don't try to put polyester resin on top of epoxy resin, it won't bond well at all.

Bring that epoxied wood in the house or garage before nightfall, you don't want any dew to get on it before it cures or you'll have an icky gooey mess in the morning.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

+1. Epoxy alone is fine and no need to mix poly with it either. Just be sure to use some 3M 5200 on the stainless steel through-hull fittings and you'll be good to go.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

No need for glass cloth with epoxy resin, epoxy resin is plenty strong enough by itself.

Don't try to put polyester resin on top of epoxy resin, it won't bond well at all.

Bring that epoxied wood in the house or garage before nightfall, you don't want any dew to get on it before it cures or you'll have an icky gooey mess in the morning.

+1. Epoxy alone is fine and no need to mix poly with it either. Just be sure to use some 3M 5200 on the stainless steel through-hull fittings and you'll be good to go.

Nice! Thanks for the tip guys, will save me some trouble then. I have plenty of 5200 and planned on using it on the SS hardware, so that's perfect. Woo.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/17/13)

The second coat of epoxy has been applied! I am happy to be done with this messy phase, and the gloss coat looks pretty good to boot:

I will buy spar varnish tomorrow to top coat for UV protection and assemble the transom to the skin. I will also carpet the seats and attach them. The drain pipe arrived today as expected and will be installed tomorrow as well:

Special shout out to iBoats for the fast shipping! :joyous:

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/18/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/18/13)

Lookin' good. I love the biscuit/eye right in the middle of the transom. Looks like a sunburst, or something.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/18/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/18/13)

Lookin' good. I love the biscuit/eye right in the middle of the transom. Looks like a sunburst, or something.

Yeah I thought it came out pretty decent.

Until today when I lived and learned a little. The transom didn't fit as well as it was supposed to. I couldn't really test fit it before being ready to seat it due to the way the back brace and top lip is set up. I didn't want to have to bend the top lip up anymore times than necessary, but as it were, making sure your transom is the right size, is pretty necessary. I did the proper adjustment, and got it to fit, but then I was faced with the issue of holes not lining up correctly, and not being a spot where I could have re-drilled them without hitting the old holes, making one bigger and not circular hole.

All in all I decided to just half-*** the current transom in and attach the motor scuff board for just this weekend so I can still get a test float going. I will make a new transom next week using the modified old transom that now fits quite well. I wasted about $40 in materials, but learned some valuable lessons. :facepalm: :blue:

It looks nice, even though it's not right. The next one will be perfect!

I did get the seats carpeted and put in as well:

Not bad. I am excited for this weekend's float. Hopefully without anymore surprises.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

I KNOW what being a perfectionist is like. I am one too! Having said that...IF your test float works well and the transom does not leak and performs well...I'd recommend filling the holes that don't line up, re-drilling, painting and get on with the fishing!!! Now that my boat's been on the water and suffered some battle scars, I realize I spent WAY to much time fussing over the SHOW ROOM Perfection stuff when I could have been ON THE WATER having fun. Just something to consider.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

I KNOW what being a perfectionist is like. I am one too! Having said that...IF your test float works well and the transom does not leak and performs well...I'd recommend filling the holes that don't line up, re-drilling, painting and get on with the fishing!!! Now that my boat's been on the water and suffered some battle scars, I realize I spent WAY to much time fussing over the SHOW ROOM Perfection stuff when I could have been ON THE WATER having fun. Just something to consider.

I know what you mean and the thought has certainly crossed my mind several times in determining how much work and money I wanted to put in this boat. I was a graphic designer by trade and had to give up the ghost because my obession with little details and perfection stood in the way of efficiency and giving someone what THEY wanted.

I think where I stand currently my thought is that for the sake of my future, more adventurous projects, I would like to spend time making sure this is right so that what I learn in the process can be applied later. I can also take my time a little more with the new one since I won't be as worried about letting the admiral down and not being able to take her out on the water for a weekend. I was definitely trying to do a lot with only a little time previously.

I will definitely keep the old one around as a spare or template regardless just in case.

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/19/13)

I had her out on the water last weekend and everything went well. The admiral and I trolled around a local lake for a few hours and caught several species of fish. Most days shore fishing this lake you'd be lucky to catch two kinds of panfish, so we had a good time.

The admiral getting her serious fish on:

Then she landed the big one:

Just a shot out the back:

I am anxious to get back on the water a bit while it's nice so this week has been all about trailer upgrades, or replacements. I replaced the old winch, the hitch mount, and re-did the wiring for a set of new LED trailer lights. The lights went smoothly, but the other two items required some modifications. Everything is on now and working properly. Tomorrow I will fish again as well as Friday before dedicating the weekend to making the new transom.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/25/13)

... and that makes it worth every minute of work and every penny spent!

Looks like it was a nice day to be out on the water and the fish were just made it even better!

 

[ailurion]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/25/13)

... and that makes it worth every minute of work and every penny spent!

Looks like it was a nice day to be out on the water and the fish were just made it even better!

It was beautiful. It's been that way for two weeks here almost. So I have to get out and enjoy it before it goes away.

I've got some new tackle to try out today, the bass will never know what hit them!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Restoring an old 14' jon boat. (Updated 9/25/13)

Congrats on the re-splash.

Catching is always better then the fishing

Enjoy being out again this week a couple times