12" Lowe Jon Boat Build

Alrighty so after looking at all of the awesome conversions on this website i decided to get myself a jon boat and do my own little project. I am very excited to build onto this boat and hopefully learn alot along the way. Just so you know I am 17, and this is my first boat, and Im on about a 1,500-2,000 budget. So i picked up a Lowe 12 ft flat bottom jon boat. I had to drive 2 hrs to go get it but it was in good condition, it had a title, and was a reasonable price. About 2 weeks after of hard searching with no luck, i ran into a jon boat trailer. The guy was selling his whole boat setup but i drove out there (2 hrs 30 mins) and let him sniff a good portion of the money he was asking for his whole boat set up, and i came home with a boat trailer, 55 lb thrust minn kota endura c2 trolling motor, almost new, and a marine battery. People cant resist selling things when cash is in front of their nose ... So, my PLANSfor my boat is to get fresh paint(black interior and lip, and a dark red exterior-automotive paint) Build a carpeted casting deck in front and back, have a flat surface to walk on in the middle(just a carpeted peice of wood). Storage compartments, outriggers to stabilize the boat(pvc pipe, hopefullly that swing up for storage purposes) seat in the front, fish finder, livewell under the rear deck, a foot controlled trolling motor, and an outboard 6-9.9 hp... Not sure what size depends on what i can find online. :lol: So, any and all help/advice is appreciated. So with that being said, Lets get this boat ready to fish!!! =D> 8)

So this is the boat, its a 12 ft Lowe flat bottom. The hull is 42' inches in the front and 48" in back.

So here is the trailer i picked up, It needs some work. When i bought it, it was covered in mud so i washed it, and i started sanding it so i could paint it. I am going to have to replace the winch, adjust the bunks, add a trailer jack, maybe add side bunks, and add a stopper in front of the winch so the boat doesn't slide forward. You can see in the picture with the crappy winch that there is no stopper. Im assuming the previous owner had a v-hull of some sort and had the front tip of the boat stop at the roller in front. And Im going to clean the wheels up and paint them. It looks like they have a bunch of built of grease on the wheels so it will be interested to see how difficult it is too get off! I think im going to use Herculiner on the trailer, Its like a truck bed lining. I think it will prevent any rust from getting worse, protect the trailer, last a while, and give it a nice texture to stand on, if needed.

Nice boat. What is the width at the bottom of the boat? The old owner of the trailer didn't necessarily have to have a v-hull. Take a look at mine and how the rib and bow eye is in relationship with the roller.

Make sure you check the wheel bearings out. They are one of the most important things on a trailer. One goes out it can mean disaster!

DrNip, My boat hull is 48 inches in back and 42 inches in front, its tapered, and gets skinny as it goes to the front.... Is that some type of insert in the roller, I like that. And I am going to check the wheel bearing tmrw... I just got the last coat of paint on.. Will post pics soon!

Alright I got the paint on, new winch, old bunk brackets off((((pain in the a$$... Some bolts broke, The threading is screwed up, and some bolts are stripped, so i have to fix them up soon. I will post pics))), and new trailer swing away jack.... Looks pretty good. I painted with herculiner. which is the truck bed lining. It has a grip texture but i have to touch up a few spots and i take some pics.. You can kinda see in this pic but its dirty. I brought the trailer into my school to weld a nut onto the broken bolt to get off the last bracket off.. You can see i didnt paint where the brackets were so i will touch that up, and i have to wash the trailer because every kid likes to step on top of the trailer #-o instead around it..... Progress is being made but time is my biggest battle right now! Stilll have to repack wheel bearings. Paint wheels, make new bunks. and my whole boat project :shock: gotta get err done!

shes a jewel!

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=347989#p347989 said:

typed by ben » 08 Apr 2014, 17:44[/url]"]shes a jewel!

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Thank you! cant wait to see what she looks like when its complete

I have the same size hull and don't need outriggers. I am 6'1" 220# and it is plenty stable

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=348019#p348019 said:

smackdaddy53 » 08 Apr 2014, 22:46[/url]"]I have the same size hull and don't need outriggers. I am 6'1" 220# and it is plenty stable

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Really? Thats good news, but i have a friend thats about your size and he likes to throw his weight around when he sets the hook lol... Plus with the deck and that i build may make it wobbly plus weight of gear, batteries, motor,etc but ill test it before.... Is your hull tapered too? and do you have a deck?

This was the original hull

Alright guys i need some help. I have to find out the best way to build the frame of the front and rear deck. Please explain with great detail ( i am a rookie when it comes to building with wood).... Thanks!