This is my first post and found this site due to a recent find. My father had an old 12' jon boat that he gave me. It has no trailer and it's only 32 inches wide. It's completely empty except for the factory bench seats. My question is: What can I do to upgrade this boat without adding too much weight(it's going in the back of the truck) and making too tipsy?? Any help and ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and great site!
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1232 Jon Boat(Before and After Pics Posted FINALLY)
- Thread starter tennjed9
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Well, anything small and light obviously. Small lights, rod holders, basic seats. Since it sounds like you'll be handling it from the truck bed to the water, why not get one of those kayak/jon dolly's for about $40 that gives you wheels when you need it. Will really take the load off, especially if you're going to also carry a battery, TM and gear.
erictetterton
Well-known member
Check out the project in my signature
Well, it isn't the most fantastic mod of a jon boat, but I'm pretty pleased with it for my 1st one. Because it's a 1232 and I don't have a trailer, I didn't want to add too much weight or height. So, I put some leftover foam board in the bottom and glued some leftover indoor/outdoor carpet on to it. I gave it a coat of primer, but haven't painted it yet and not sure I will right away. I still need to install the swivels for the seats, but I put the seat in it for the pic so you could see what it'll look like. With the mod, I'll probably have less than $150 in the boat total. I'm pretty sure this won't be the last boat I flip. It was a lot of fun and I appreciate this sight for being so helpful. Here she is.
Kismet
Well-known member
Nice, clean job. Well-done!
If I might suggest, take it out on the water with a friend BEFORE you make any permanent modifications. They're neat little boats, but come with intrinsic limitations. You should find those out before you install anything into it.
On another thread, a person here put in swivel seats without mounting them TO the boat. He put the seats on a piece of wood, and--in effect--put angle iron supports to mount "legs" to that wood, running down the front and back of the boat's seat. Held the swivel seats nicely, made no mods to the boat, and he painted the wood supports to match the color of the craft.
You've got $150 into it now, if you spend much more, you'll have a difficult time getting your money back.
Be safe, have fun. =D>
If I might suggest, take it out on the water with a friend BEFORE you make any permanent modifications. They're neat little boats, but come with intrinsic limitations. You should find those out before you install anything into it.
On another thread, a person here put in swivel seats without mounting them TO the boat. He put the seats on a piece of wood, and--in effect--put angle iron supports to mount "legs" to that wood, running down the front and back of the boat's seat. Held the swivel seats nicely, made no mods to the boat, and he painted the wood supports to match the color of the craft.
You've got $150 into it now, if you spend much more, you'll have a difficult time getting your money back.
Be safe, have fun. =D>
Thanks for the comments. I had already made sure it was seafaring before modifying. This boat used to be mine 20 yrs ago and had seats in it as well. The only real mods I made is putting the foam in and carpet, replacing the transom and painting it. Didn't really make any spectacular changes. Also, just found a trolling motor in great shape for practically nothing. Looks like I'm in business. If I ever do sell it, I plan on keeping the seats, so I should be able to get my money out of it and more considering the boats and flooring were free. I'll post completed project as soon as I get seats in.
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