Need help with a small project

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scoobeb

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I need to add some weight to the front of my new 1648 flat bottom jon boat. I am going to add a few pieces of thick plywood to the front deck to make it flush with the top of the boat. That will add some good weight without going overboard. Plus it will make the deck a bit stronger and more stable to walk on. My question is will liquid nails work to stick the plywood to the aluminum? Plus I would like to know what the best screws are at like home depot or lowes to secure the plywood to the aluminum? Plus I'm putting a nice thick plywood floor in it with carpet to add a bit more weight to the front of the boat. Probably 3/4 inch in the front and back. I just want to keep this boat basic and leave all the fishing room as possible for comfort. I may down the line mod it out. I just want to get this boat ready to fish. I have a brand new 25hp efi suzuki so power to push this boat won't be an issue. There is just so much weight in the rear and I need to counter weight it to balance it out and a nice thick plywood deck should do a nice job to add decent weight without going overboard like I said. Also what is the best thing to use to seal the wood to waterproof it but will still let the glue work with no issues? Thanks for any help.
 
Paint or spar urethane to seal.

Don't forget you can add a TM/battery up front also.
 
So you think 5200 would keep the plywood in place along with good ss screws? I want to coat the whole bottom on the plywood with this and stick it straight to the aluminum,then drive a bunch of ss screws through the plywood and aluminum together. Will any ss screw work or does anyone know which is best for this application? Also I just measured from the bottom of the deck to just under the top of the boat and I can put over 4 inches thick of plywood or any wood for that matter. Heck maybe I will put all 2x4s across the bottom with plywood on top,no matter how I do it it should add a good amount of weight to balance it out.
 
I wouldn't use adhesive to fasten the wood to the deck, only SS screws, would be a huge headache if you ever want to get it off. Who know's you may have to re-carpet one day.

Four inches of ply is going to be pretty heavy, have you had it on the water to see how it floats yet?

Get it one the water and bring some empty five gallon buckets. Fill them w/ water to see how much weight you need to counter balance that 4-stroke 25.
 
Don't use adhesive. Either screw it or just test it out and see if it will just lay in there with no fasteners. Some folks do this and it's really easy to remove if you want to replace carpet or whatever. Depending on how it's cut it might sit in there just fine.

I would definitely not put 4" of plywood layered in there. That would be super heavy and unnecessary. As previously said, try moving around some weight you already have in the boat. I wouldn't add extra weight if not necessary. If you want it flush with the deck, build a subframe and use just one sheet of plywood.
 
That's the whole point I'm trying to accomplish,I want it heavy to counteract the heavy weight in the back of the boat. Me 300lbs,motor,136lbs,gas,say 30lbs. My outboard sits really deep in the water and I realized my outboard either needs raising or I can counter the weight in the front to lift the outboard a bit higher when running. I have a whole other thread about raising the engine but I want to try it this way first as it can't hurt it. With all the weight in the back it would take many hundreds of lbs to lift the motor out of the water so a few sheets of plywood shouldn't hurt it.
 
As you have found, weight is not your friend, especially in a 1648 JB. Any weight you add just decreases performance.
Use what you have to get the weight forward. Relocate the battery, anchor and fuel tank (get a bigger one) to the front.
If you feel like must have more weight on the nose, get a 5 gal container and gradually fill it with water, testing the results to find how much is needed, then get a fuel tank that equals the weight when full. Hope this helps.
Jerry
 
Jonboat jerry,you made allot of sense,weight is the enemy on a small boat. I went back to my original 20hp four stroke efi suzuki. It is 40lbs lighter than the 25 I had and much easier to work with. The boat with the 20hp does near 28-30mph with me and gear. With 2 people and gear it will hit 25-27,that is plenty fast enough on a 16ft jon boat. I'm also using an 11pitch prop instead of the 10 it comes with. This little 20 has amazing power and top end speed for a 97lb outboard. It's much easier to tilt and pull start the 20 to. The 25 had so much compression it would rip your arm off if you pulled it wrong. If I went with a 25 again down the road it will be a light 2 stroke. I thought of buying the 25 suzuki with electric start and power tilt and trim but that would be 163lb outboard plus fuel,6gallons,and a battery. That is a ton of weight plus my big butt. All I have now is the outboard and a 3 gallon tank plus me. Works out much better that way.
 

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