10 ft 1031 Gamefisher Conversion Arizona

Moving out of my canoe and into a 10ft Jon. Filled it up with water today and NO leaks. Its actually in pretty good shape. Came with an 1986 4HP Johnson guys clamied it had max 10 hours on it. It looks nearly mint. In the shop now for a new impeller and look over.














Plans: (thus far)
Front deck carpeted with hatch on top of front bench (removable when with a fishing partner for weight capacity)
Building Bow Mount for Minn Kota 34LB and reversing head
Exterior Paint
I understand boat this narrow are "tippy" how ever the stabilizers from my cano will clamp in the front of the boat if i have issues
HB Fishing buddy 110 mount built into existing oar holes

trying to avoid putting any holes in hull, but may cut hatches in bench for additional storage.

I look forward to keep you all posted on updates.

Any Arizona Jon Mods out here?

I have a couple questions that could probably be answered by a little research on the site but in an effort to bring traffic ill ask here.

1. the transom seems to be in good shape but im thinking i should maybe reseal it? What should i use?

2. I mentioned in the original post it is leak free but since i will be doing a little sanding prior to paint should i reinforce the rivits, seam and any deep scratches with anything for safe measure?

Sanding it wont hurt any of the rivets. If the wood on transom is in good shape there really isnt a need to re seal it. As far as adding decking I would take it out on water first and stand on your bench seat and see how it feels. Looks like it has shallow sides so and deck would probably be at you top rail and on a boat that small it is going to be rather unstable. The pods from canoe will help but i would try and center them on boat. Adding hatches to your rear bench will reduce strength of bench and it might buckle when someone sits on it depending on aluminum thickness and how much is removed. Your boat doesnt look to have much for ribs so its probably only rated for about 300lbs keep that in mind when adding mods. Good luck with your build.

I just resealed the original transom on my 1961 Sea King built by Arkansas Traveler. I used 2 coats of spar urethane. A transom will last decades when it is kept sealed to keep moisture from rotting it out. If it still has a good layer of paint/sealer and if it looks fine it probably doesn't need to be resealed. I only did mine because the paint that was used to seal it was flaking and pealing off.

I wasn't afraid of the sanding causing damage i was just curious if it was a good idea to put any type of sealant around the rivets just as preventative maintenance prior to painting the whole thing. So aside from the rivets should i fill the deep scratches with any thing? there is only a few luckily.

I will certainly take your advice and take it out and stand on the front bench. I am gonna make the deck removable so if i take the lady or a buddy im not going over 300lb by too much. Im around 155 so solo i got some room to play. I will also wait on making and mods to the bench i honestly thing there will be enough room with out it.

I guess the next step is to get it on the water and test its stability. I'll do so and report back

I am very familiar with the boat I just sold mine last summer. I fished a lot of small lakes with my son who is roughly 60lbs and im about 220.The 2 of us and the weight of 2 small deep cycle batteries, trolling motor and gear the boat would sit just above the water level. IMO if you plan on adding a deck I am assuming it would serve more as a dry storage area underneath I would probably fish solo and move a majority of the weight and boat contents to the stern. good luck with the build and like all others suggest definitely put it in the water and get a feel of how sturdy and stable she really is

You can put a dab of 3M 5200 on the all the rivets on the outside of the transom on the aluminum side. If the scratches aren't to deep I wouldn't worry about it. I had to fill a hole in my transom. PO drilled a hole all the way through to run his transducer cable through. I filled it with JB Weld. Its rock solid now & I don't expect any problems with it. Cant wait to see what you do with your build, Always wanted a 10ft flat bottom so I could get to some remote back waters where my 14ft v hull cant go. Maybe I'll get one this fall; got to finish one project at a time right now. Good luck with your build!

So I took the boat out on our town lake here in tempe (trolling motor only). It is not as stable as i though it would be when first purchased but far more so than i thought it would be after reading a lot of peoples opinions on this site. How ever i will be adding the stabilizers from my canoe, I'm going to try to eventually mod them so the can sit mid ship but for now they will be mounted up front.

Deck and hatch for front is going to be built this weekend i will post photos when it is done. im going to test it for stability in the town lake than seal and carpet it of i think i want to have it aboard after the trial.

I found a major mod flaw made by previous owner on my test run that needs an immediate attention. The placement of the back seat is dead center which makes steering with a tiller a choir with the trolling motor. With the gas motor I think it would be downright dangerous. That being said i have a choice to make.
1. Remove the seat while using the gas motor and setting it on the floor. This is probably the easiest option but will intrude on space quite a bit.
2. remove it all together. Not my favorite option.
3. reinstall the the mount/seat offset to the right side of the bench. This is the option i favor but i have a couple questions.
first question is if i offset the seat am i going to have more stability problems? anyone out the done something similar on a simlar size boat? Second question is how do i fill the huge hole in the aluminum that will be left from the seats original placement of the seat. here is a photo **edit** I guess if its a pain in the *** to repair i could put a small hatch in for some Plano cases


Click to enlarge


Also im looking for suggestions for on how to construct a bow trolling motor mount or a good one to purchase? a new motor is not in the budget for this lil project.

Deck is constructed and being sealed at the moment carpet this week if i have time. pics to come soon.

Leaving the seat where it is and take it on/off while operating the gas engine for now becuse it is free and easy.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=349165#p349165 said:

StevePruven » 17 Apr 2014, 20:50[/url]"]
1. Remove the seat while using the gas motor and setting it on the floor. This is probably the easiest option but will intrude on space quite a bit.
2. remove it all together. Not my favorite option.
3. reinstall the the mount/seat offset to the right side of the bench. This is the option i favor but i have a couple questions.
first question is if i offset the seat am i going to have more stability problems? anyone out the done something similar on a simlar size boat? Second question is how do i fill the huge hole in the aluminum that will be left from the seats original placement of the seat. here is a photo **edit** I guess if its a pain in the *** to repair i could put a small hatch in for some Plano cases

Click to expand...

Leave the existing seat base and use it for when you are fishing. Mount a new seat base to the starboard side of the boat to make tiller operation easier. Just move the seat depending on what task you are doing.

As for a bow mount, you can check craigslist for a gator mount or you can use a piece of 4" angle aluminum. I went the angle route until I can build a new platform to mount my gator mount.
https://www.ebay.com/bhp/motorguide-gator-mount
This is th egator mount but you can find them on craigslist for cheaper; I paid $20 for mine.

She is ready for carpet this weekend! the deck was a lot more work than i though it would be. and im not very hand but it turned out ok considering. I just need a hole for battery cable to come out. Do people use desk wire grommets or something similar?

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=349483&sid=fb169bc6c9340a996f08e1ec0bcb9542#p349483 said:

Rat » 20 Apr 2014, 23:19[/url]"]

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=349165#p349165 said:

StevePruven » 17 Apr 2014, 20:50[/url]"]
1. Remove the seat while using the gas motor and setting it on the floor. This is probably the easiest option but will intrude on space quite a bit.
2. remove it all together. Not my favorite option.
3. reinstall the the mount/seat offset to the right side of the bench. This is the option i favor but i have a couple questions.
first question is if i offset the seat am i going to have more stability problems? anyone out the done something similar on a simlar size boat? Second question is how do i fill the huge hole in the aluminum that will be left from the seats original placement of the seat. here is a photo **edit** I guess if its a pain in the *** to repair i could put a small hatch in for some Plano cases

Click to expand...

Leave the existing seat base and use it for when you are fishing. Mount a new seat base to the starboard side of the boat to make tiller operation easier. Just move the seat depending on what task you are doing.

As for a bow mount, you can check craigslist for a gator mount or you can use a piece of 4" angle aluminum. I went the angle route until I can build a new platform to mount my gator mount.
https://www.ebay.com/bhp/motorguide-gator-mount
This is th egator mount but you can find them on craigslist for cheaper; I paid $20 for mine.

Click to expand...

Good ideas thanks. Can you post a picture of your angle mount please?