Lowe 1236 Conversion

I've been watching this site for over a year now and recently purchased a 2003 Lowe 1236. I've been a bass fisherman for years and have always fished on the 17-21' fiberglass bass boats. Between my counsins and brothers their are 5 bass boats in the family. I've always been a fan of the jon boat as it can get into the smaller ponds and is much easier to tow around with a small suv. After seeing some of the great jon to bass boat conversions on this site I made the purchase.

I purchased the 1236 because of the longer beam. Me and my fishing buddies would be over 500lbs so stability was a concern. I've taken the boat out a few times already and i'm very happy with the stability and room we have.

First step in my conversion is to add flooring, carpeting, and some storage. Right now i only have a 55lb transom mount TM, but will be purchasing a 4-10hp gas motor shortly. The TM is fine when fishing but is painfully slow when trying to get from one spot to another on the open water.

I also want to THANK EVERYONE on this site for taking the time to post pictures and details of their projects. You ALL have given me some great ideas to not only design a bass fishing machine, but do it correctly the first time!

I will post pictures of the boat shortly...

The guy I bought if from was the original owner and provided me with the original purchase receipts from the dealer. The trailer however is a "home-made" utility trailer converted to a boat trailer. It does the job, however I will be purchasing a bunk boat trailer shortly.

Ok, now to the boat itself. Here are a few pictures of my first modification. I added a front casting deck with large storage area underneath. I used multiple 2x3s with standard plywood. I cut and tested my design (using gorilla duct tape to hold in place) to ensure the proper fit. Then used Thompson Water seal on every inch of wood. Then carpeted the decking, cutting the hole for storage first and installed. We tested this last weekend and the extra weight on the front was not noticeable. However, having the storage hatch for life vests, anchor, rope, drinks (non-alcoholic of course) and extra tackle was awesome. It got everything off the floors giving us more room to stand and fish.

Here are a few pictures...

Question - I see a lot of you guys are cutting into and removing the seats of your jon's. What is the downside/risk to removing the seats? Everything i've planned to do on my boat consists of minimal drilling/changing of the original hull. I do however like the flexibility of using the seats for storage and removing the middle seat for more flexibility and room.

What's the risk?

I have a chance to pickup a 3hp 2-stroke gas motor for pretty cheap from a friend. What do you guys think? I was thinking way too small for this boat (escpecially once the decking is completed with added weight). Boat is rated for 10HP. Would I be unhappy with anything under 7-10HP? I'm not going to water ski with the thing, however I need it to get across the lake in good time. Thanks.

My first boat was a Lowe 1236 and it was nice. About removing the center seat - I think most people here will say that the seats are integral to the design and structure of the boat and not to remove them. I guess if you were going to build a deck either forward of the rear seat or back from the forward seat, and that the deck(s) were attached to the sides of the boat, you'd probably be ok. Taking out the center seat and not replacing the structure will probably eventually cause enough motion in the sides to affect the rivets and maybe even the aluminum if you were in rough water a lot. If you haven't checked out Bufford's build yet, take a look https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9912. He did a variation of seat removal that might get you what you want without completely taking out the seat. Post more pics as you go...

Thanks for the response. I hear what you are saying about the structural integrity of the boat, and that was my concern. I will continue with my plans to not remove the seats.

One tip for anyone doing plywood flooring. The guy I bought the boat from put plywood flooring in the boat without cutting around the ribs. I never understood why anyone would take the time to cut around the ribs to make the floor flush with the sides of the boat until I went fishing last weekend. We had our fishing scale slide down underneath the floor and couldn't get it out. I guess a good thing is we didn't need the scale, however I am now redoing the floors and cutting in the ribs to keep it flush so nothing can get lost under the floor again!

I'm replacing the flooring this weekend and will post pictures so you can see the difference.

Got the floor in this weekend, see attached pictures. So front deck/storage and flooring is completed. Now just need to buld the back deck with storage.

I need to add a front TM and gas engine.

Any thoughts on the size of engine? Rated for up to 10HP. I'm torn between a 4-5HP motor with integral gas tank or a larger 8-10HP with external gas tank. I'm concerned about the weight difference, but also want to get from spot to spot on the lake as fast as possible. Would their be a significant difference in speed from 5 to 10HP? Or is it not enough to justify the added weight to the boat?

Thanks guys!

go with a 9.9. a 5 hp would possibly plane it out with one small guy but with 2 guys and gear would only move the boat maybe 5-7mph. a decent 9.9 you would be able to take the full load and run on plane.
on my 1240 with 9.9 and 600lbs of gear and people i hit 21mph average

21mph would put a smile on my face as well!

Nice boat sbm2240. As far as cutting into the seats, your should be able to cut a section out, remove the foam and use it as storage, I did this with my boat. I agree with others that a complete seat removal would have an adverse affect (or is it effect? ) on structural integrity. My older boat, a 12' V-Hull, ran pretty well with my 8 HP, but I do recommend going with the 9.9, if you don't you will wish you would have. If you chose to go small, the built in gas tank looks like the way to go.

Great feedback on the seat. I've been told that the foam inside is simply flotation incase you flip the boat (which I don't plan to do, famous last words...).

Here are some updated pictures of the completed flooring. I didn't have the rear section of the floor included on the other pictures.

As you can see I am using the clamp seats, which at 230lbs don't feel to secure.

A tip for those using the clamp seats - I put heavy grade velcro underneath the front of the seat attached to the aluminum. I then wrapped the velcro strip around the clamp so that it will attach down to the other velcro. This added velcro does seem to keep the seat from tipping back on you (see picture below) As stated, I will eventually perminately install the seats with pedistal bases. But I can highly recommend this velco reinforcement for anyone using the clamps.

Sean

sbm2240 said:

Great feedback on the seat. I've been told that the foam inside is simply flotation incase you flip the boat (which I don't plan to do, famous last words...).

Click to expand...

I forgot to add that I did add foam between the ribs under the deck, probably more than I removed from the seats.

Updated pictures/progress...

I started working on the front bench seat. I was torn on whether to cut into the seat to take out the insulation to make a storage area or not. My main focus in starting this project has been to keep the original hull in factory condition. I've been sucessful in doing this and didn't want to stray from that.

So, here are some pictures of the carpet/plywood bench seat. I made three carpeted peices to cover the seat. I'm going to use toggle bolts to secure all three sides (next weekend). I currently have clamp seats (will eventually buy pedestals) however for now i'm going to bolt the clamp directly to the carpeted plywood. This will give it a secure install to eliminate the concerns of the seats dumping you into the water. I will post pictures of the final, but for now this shows the wood cut, carpeted, and placed where they will be installed.

More to follow...

Looking great so far buddy

Ok, so I finshed installing the carpeted plywood to cover the front seat. Pictures below. I'm very happy with how it came out. Used toggle bolts and it worked great. I'm hoping to get pedestal bases for the seats within the month and will post pictures once those are installed.

Also, I was able to purchase a 2001 5HP Mercury outboard at a great price. It's in excellent condition, well maintained. I went with this due to the year (most outboards I found in my price range were 70's and 80's motors) and the fact it had an internal gas tank and totals only 50lbs. I got a chance to get out on the boat tonight for an hour or so. I can say it was a great investment, does the job getting from spot to spot much faster than just having an electric only.

Thanks again for the input and comments. Good fishing!

I'm having issues with the pictures (possibly due to the 12oz curls), so I'll get them up tomorrow....

For some reason my last pictures didn't post, but these should work.

I decided on the type of pedestals to install. Due to the fact that I wanted to keep the center of gravity low and that not one of my fishing buddies is under 230lbs, I wanted something permenant and strong. I went with 7" permenant pedestals with top swivels installed. The down side will be that I cannot remove the seats, the plus side is the permenant install should give me no worries of the seat popping off and losing someone off the boat! I used 1/4" toggle 3" bolts for the install. I put the four in for the pedestal and another bolt on each side securing the carpeted plywood. As you can see I've only intalled the front seat due to time constraints. I'll get the rear seat installed this weekend. I'm very happy with how it came out and how secure they feel (as if part of the boat itself).

Upcoming projects this weekend:
Install rear pedestal seat
Install Bilge Pump
Move battery into front storage deck for weight transfer
Install a panel switch to run lights, bilge and future depth finder

Here are the pictures of the front pedestal install...

Update!

Installed the real pedestal seat and swivel
Finished the carpeting and decking of rear
Installed a bilge pump
Moved the battery to front of boat
Installed a 5 switch panel to run the bilge and future electronics

There is no better feeling than having the plywood and carpeting done! I now feel like I can stop focusing on getting the boat done, and get out to fish and enjoy it! I still have a few items for the wish list, such as a new trailer and fish finder, but that will come in time. Also, I've setup the boat with wiring already so they are just minor additions for when I (meaning my wife) decides I can spend the money. But for now, I'm good to hit the waters. Going both tomorrow and Sunday.... I'll post an update of how this boat performs on a few 5-6hr fishing trips after the weekend.