Jon Boat Customizing?

[clemmy]

Hey guys,

I just picked up my new lure research vessel; a 12' Lowe jon boat.

I've found several boards on customizing Jons, all with good advice, but I'd love to hear and converse directly with my TU brethren who have "been there, done that"

It's a little boat, and I'm a big guy, so I'm not planning casting decks or anything. Come to think of it, it may be more like outfitting a fishing kayak!

I'll need advice on trying to create storage without weight for pushpole/driftsock/oar/net/rods/etc.

I'm thinking one of those poles with switchable attatchments...

Has anyone compared battery amps/amphours vs weight?

Anyone who makes a mountable plano box holder?

The planned usage is in some of the local phosphate pits, so the biggest water it'l see is prob Stick Marsh...

Oh, and I forgot to mention why I got it for lure research:

[clamboni]

That's awesome! you definitely have to take some pics of those windows in the water.

HD should have clips to mount poles and nets. BPS has paddle mounts. If you're rowing, you can mount one to each side to put the blade ends of oars in and leave them in the oarlocks. If you have a TM and only need a paddle, you can mount it on the side of one of the bench seats.

I personally wouldn't worry about mounting rods, boxes, and drift sock. Just throw them in and keep them organized. Remember it's a 12' jon. Don't overcomplicate things.

[Mac10]

clamboni is right on concerning not fastening too many things down. You will find, in time, places for everything you need. A five gallon pail will hold the drift sock plus a couple life jackets, and when not being used for storage can also double on a piece of rope as a "drift sock" as well.

For the push pole, you might make your own clips or hooks.

Take a two inch ring cut off a 4 inch diameter pvc pipe and then cut it in half....making two curved pieces. If you have a straight run on the outside of your boat, you can fasten them to the side of your boat using both liquid nails and larger pop rivets. Now, cut a two inch wide strip of old carpet and using the liquid nails, glue it both on top and wrapping around underneath the pvc hook. This makes a very quiet way to store your push pole....and unless you totally capsize, the pole will stay put. I use this system on my kayak for paddle hooks. If you want to, you could mount a total ring for the handle end of the pole, but that isn't really necessary. I've recommended two inch wide hooks, but again, you can change dimensions. If coming up to the dock is a concern and you think the hooks would catch on the dock, being that they do stick out, go ahead and make them 3 or 4 inches wide and use the whole ring concept. Simply line the inside of each with carpet after installation. That way, if they do get bumped, they won't break.

If the push pole slides fore and aft in the hooks, slip on a couple pieces of the Fun Noodles sold at Wally World. After placing them to fit just on the outside of each hook or ring, you can glue them in place, liquid nails again...and then cut them down so they don't protrude so much. If you make these pieces 4 inches in length, they won't need the liquid nails and will stay put on their own quite well.

A couple carpet pads will help to silence the boat. Cut some remnant carpet, hopefully quite plush, to make mats and place them knap side down, and then place another piece knap side up using again, liquid nails.

This keeps the noise down, both against your feet, and against the deck.

As for the lure boxes, a plastic milk carton may be large enough. I'd use a regular tackle bag at that keeps them out of the sun and from overheating. I'd probably use two bags, one for hard baits, one for the soft plastics.

A book you should read if you are testing lures.........I'm in the middle of reading Knowing Bass by Jones. It has a goodly amount of research in it and is very informative....in my humble opinion. If you haven't read it yet, I think you may benefit from some of the information.

As for storing rods....

Most rods fit nicely across the seats.....the but of the rod laying on the back seat, the rod itself laying across the middle seat. If the seats, being metal, heat up a lot, you can do a little heat protection. Go to Wal Mart Crafts Section and pick up some self sticking foam sheets. The lighter the color, the better. Stick them down both on the back and middle seat where the rods will lay. This, in theory, keeps the sun from heating up the seat under the rods and baking the line. It also is obviously a way of dampening noises make by the rods. If you need to fasten them down, I use a bungee cord between two nylon cleats (just a raised hook hole with two holes for pop rivets with washers.) This stretches over the butts. I don't recommend using one on the middle seat as the less you have to mover about in the boat, the better.

I've also seen some pvc hook rings used under the seats near the sides of the boat, but they tend to be noisy when slipping the rods in and out. They also rap against the boat when tilted.

Pvc hooks and rings can also be used along the sides, above the seats, but stagger them forward from bottom to top so the reels won't collide.

Really quieter on top of the seats with either the craft foam or a couple of pieces of carpeting glued onto the seats. On second thought, liquid nails and some good thick carpet pieces would work better than the foam, which is rather thin. You may not even need the bungee cord, being the carpet will keep the rods in place quite well....and will provide better insulation.

Hope this helps, Mac

[dampeoples]

Depends on what you want out of it, I did mine in 98, and have made some improvements, just not gotten around to installing them yet, hehe

Let me know what you're after specifically, and I'll see if I can help, here's mine:

[clemmy]

Thanks for all the advice guys, keep it coming!

The layout of the boat can be seen on the left of the following .pdf

http://www.loweboats.com/2006Web/fishboats/pdfs/specs/jon-boats/L1236-L1436L.pdf

it's the Lowe's l1236.

Here's what I have so far: The inside is faded a bit, and of course is riveted, not as secure as welded. More importantly, it's hot in Florida, and most importantly, if i'm to see fish i'll have to be QUIET! So I plan to have the inside rhino lined.

Weight should not be huge as I'm not going to be adding a deck.

Given my weight and the narrow width (3 ft) I've decided I'm also not going to pedestal seat. I am going to add a LOWE's seat base (2") plus a suspension swivel base (2"). this will raise me 4"-6" from the transom bench and give me better vision/keep me cooler. to adjust the motor for this, as well as shallow running, and also to reinforce the transom i plan on getting the minijacker jack plate which gives a 4" rise.

I've found a 6 gallon portable fuel tank which will fit with 1/2" of space or less at every side in the left transom well.

I had hoped to be able to cram 2 12volt batteries in tthe right transom well, but as it's only 9.5" x 20.5" I don't see how I can.

My alternate location would be one each on top of the side pods seen in the transom well. Ifigure battery box for each, bolted down.

I've stll got the right transom well so I was thinking a dual auto bilge (as I've got 2 new Rule 500gph pumps in the garage) and/or some sort of plano stowaway rack.

Now obviously, I've got too much weight in the back, but given that that's where i'll, the motor, and the gas will be, the only solution I've got is someone close by (100 miles) that does custom flotation pods, so I imagine i'll go that route.

Thanks to your advice, I'm planning on a multi-use pole mounted to the front of the middle bench seat with pushpole/stake-out/paddle attatchments.

On the back of same seat I'm goinr to mount an alum. fish ruler.

Now it occured to me I'm still going to have a hard time seeing into the water if the sun is directly overhead, so I'm making a custom short bimini top. I bought a second set of oarlocks to mount behind the first. I'm going to take a couple of shock-corded fiberglass tent poles with fabric to mount in, it'll look like a half "c" column.

There's only 13" of floor space for my feet before the lexan starts, so that's all I'm going to deck is 13x 36.

I'd like to fill in underneath this footrest with foam, not for the little flotation, but instead so a split shot doesn't get stuck underneath and roll back and forth incessantly with the wave's.

Remaining questions:

I know I need closed cell foam, is there a canned verison for this small area so it doesn't absorb water?

I'm going to mount a trolling motor in the bow when I get around to it, but also have a new in box worth anchormate I'd like to use. How do you mount this and the TM?

I'l prob add a ff and or rodholder with RAM mounts when I get everything else settled.

I've also got a NIB onboard Minnkota battery charger sitting in the garage, but it's for a single bank. Is there a way I could rig switches to charge one at a time?

Any sugguestions/screwups?

Any more advice?

Thanks!!

Clemmy

[millsryno]

Awesome work guys. It makes me want to go get another jon boat. I used tohave one that I fixed all up.

There is just something about fishing out of a jon boat that is a lot of fun!

[Mac10]

Sounds to me like you have most things worked out already. Best to put your batteries as far forward as you can get them. When I had a small jon boat, I used to carry a 5 gallon pail of water up front with a snap on lid to balance. I probably could have shifted the battery forward instead as well as the fuel tank with a longer hose.

Are you researching your own lures, or using pre-made lures? I have a couple of "self invented" or "self modified" lures if you would be interested. Just PM me your mailing address and I'll get some in the mail if you would like. Sounds interesting.

Good fishing, Mac

[clamboni]

Here's my boat, since we're showing them off. I did it three years ago, and it's always an ongoing project. Not the best picture to show it, but if I took one now it looks horrible because I tried to skimp on carpet and it did not last. would change a few things if I did it again, but I'm happy with it.

[willie525]

our old boat was a lowe with a 24 gal. feul tank lol.

[braveviper]

I have a 10 foot Jon boat,how far in the water should I keep the prop of my trolling motor? If it is all the way down,it would create more drag and lessen my battery time right? Should the prop be just under the bottom of the boat?

[Mac10]

Unless you gather a lot of weeds on the motor shaft, you will not be creating much drag with the shaft extended downward. I usually run mine about a foot deep....that is to say the upper blade tip to the water surface is about a foot's distance. I had a ten footer once, and found it to be quite tippy. Do be careful. Good fishing, Mac

[clamboni]

viper,

On my 10', I only keep the prop as deep as it needs to be to be able to turn around 360 degrees and not hit the hull. Also, if it's making a little whirlpool and sucking air down into the prop, it's too high. If it's a little deeper it won't create enough drag for you to notice, but then you have to raise it to get into super shallow water, which for me, is the best thing about a little boat like that.

[braveviper]

Makes sense, I was running it too low.The battery isnt getting the performance it should.Running it all the way down used too much energy.