14ft Landau Restore (start thru finish) w/ photos

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AndrewR

Well-known member
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
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Location
Illinois & Wisconsin
Hi everyone, back in October I bought myself a project; an old Landau jon boat that I converted into a "Lund". I made an introductory post for it in the fall and it's somewhere on this site. In March and April nearly every weekend was spent fixing it up with hopes it would be ready by first week of May. This past weekend my restoration was concluded. However, now I must wait for close to 30 inches of ice to melt until I get to use this new toy on the rivers and lakes of Wisconsin.

To get everyone acquainted with the project, here's a quick synopsis of the early stages of the project:

Boat was purchased on October 8, 2012 along the roadside. I took a $350 chance on it because I was tired of looking for the right deal online (I seriously spent close to two years browsing Craigslist throughout IL, WI and IN. Along the way I passed on several boats for sale), and neither did I want to spend $1,000+ for a dream rig from the dealer. Therefore, like most of you, I decided why not build it myself.

Boat was immediately stripped down, and put in storage until March. This boat was in a sad state of affairs. Old camo paint wearing off, all original floorboards and decks rotting away, and a crack where beam met transom in need of a welder to seal.

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Despite its age and wear, this turned out to be easier than I imagined. I preserved the rotting flooring which led to a seamless template trace and new floor cutting and installation. Also, I had a plan in my head. I wanted to build myself the ultimate little river rig for running float trips - casting for muskies and hunting down smallmouth bass.

From October thru end of February, boat was sitting in storage in our garage up north. It was trailered back to IL so I could work on it throughout these last several weeks. Before I began my restoration, boat immediately went to the welding shop when it returned to IL for repairs. After a $100 fix at the welder (Bear Metal Welding in Lombard IL), I was ready to begin.

In early March I spent my time by carefully measuring out the floor and tracing my new floor and deck templates with cardboard. It went well and took about half a day. After working out the blueprints, I settled on this layout.

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Following the layout, my prepwork began. I did lots of research on this and spent hours reading this site and a few others regarding the need for sanding and priming. About half of the census told me that all I really needed to do was a thorough job of electrical sanding and oscillating. Meanwhile, the other half of the census advised that I should paint it with primer first. Considering we've been limited on nice weather days in the Midwest this spring, I elected to sand it down as best as I could and this would be all the prepwork I'd do. Next I had to wait till we had a few consecutive days of 60 degrees and sunshine.

In late March, I was blessed with a weekend of warm weather. I used it for painting. I was able to paint both the exterior and interior and conclude this stage of the project. I was originally planning to use Rustoleum Marine but I had difficulties selecting my ideal color and locating it. I hit the 'net some more and did research on what duck hunters and other jonboat enthusiasts use for their paints. I was recommended to use Duralux. I'm so glad I did, and got my exact color match in "Dead Grass Green."

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For the multiple coats I put on, I used up 80% of the gallon. It dried and adhered well. I can run my nails through it and it won't chip off. I do expect it will scratch up with use but hey it adds to the character of a utility river boat.

I completed the sanding, prepwork, and interior and exterior painting; All during a two day window of sunny 60-degree weather. Since then, we haven’t come close to reaching those daytime highs. These were big tasks which led me to this latest and the project’s completion.

After painting, I had to wait until the next phase of the project began: Floor cutting and installation. We fast-forward........

On the weekend of April 13/14, the flooring (marine grade plywood) was cut. A buddy helped me out with this. With the professional builder and contractor by trade this took us three hours to complete. If I did it myself, probably a full day.

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We used my cardboard templates for tracing our cuts. To make sure each cut would fit perfectly (seen below), we took them to the belt sander for precise shaping. Thankfully we had just enough wood for this project.

Below is what it looked like following our morning cutting session.

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Later that day, I sized up my carpeting. It was glued to the boards, and then reinforced with the staple gun. The cutting and carpeting was all completed within a single day.

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The following next few days, in between the great flood of 2013, we worked on building up the deck supports. What I believed was going to be difficult and intimidating turned out to be fairly simple. I was never good at geometry, nor am I a structural engineer, but the system we came up with is seen below:

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I’ve observed photos of other jon boat projects and everyone’s deck supports are always different. Likewise, everyone has their own opinion about what to do, how to do it, and what to make. They range from sophisticated bracing and welding jobs to a simple buildup of wood and in other times nothing. We figured why not just incorporating both braces and wood. My dad helped me out a lot with this part. It's important to know that the original owners of this boat used absolutely zero deck supports for this.

Clearly this is strong enough for a 190lb fellow. Built rock solid with zero give.

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Initially I was undecided on whether to include a storage door for beneath the deck. I wouldn’t have minded leaving it open for easy access underneath. However it would have been unpleasant to the eye. Luckily when Pat and I made our cuts the weekend before, we had enough leftover wood to trace out my sad excuse of a door template. When my cardboard templates were laid out weeks before, the template had trouble fitting. But when our cut was completed, Pat and I accidentally stumbled into a good problem. The storage door fit! After installing the deck and piano hinges for the door a modest door was created.

[All photos seen from here were from 4/21/2013]

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Note the strip of wood below: I have that drilled into the floor so the door stays closed and won’t swing inward towards underneath the deck.

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I’m very glad the deck was able to accommodate a door with lots of storage space underneath. This was purely an accident, but a good one.

Following the deck and door installation, it was time for rigging and accessory installation….. the home stretch.

Back in December I was monitoring Craigslist in search of a lightly used or possibly new bowmount trolling motor. Something short shaft and 55lb thrust would have been ideal but the ones I found were either overpriced or very old and broken down. I eventually settled on a brand new MinnKota Edge w/ warranty that I picked up for $250. I figured this was the best I was going to find for the amount I wanted to spend. It has a 42″shaft with 45lb thrust, good enough for just about any type of scenario.

In order to mount it, I had to get creative. I built a mounting platform with treated lumber and made it level with the diamond-plated bow. We then used four 6-inch torx screws (used to build patios and deck building) to drive it through and hold the mount in place.

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Following the platform installation, the trolling motor was installed without trouble. The mount is strong as hell and I can’t imagine having any problems with it.

By the time battle was over, my fully rigged front deck with finished wiring now looks like this:

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Moving forward into the summer months, I am leaning towards eventually installing a removable front deck seat w/ floor base drilled in. I have more than enough room up here for standing or sitting and leaning back on a butt seat. This will be my next add-on, sometime this summer.

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By 6pm on 4/21/2013, I had successfully restored, refinished, and built myself another brand new fishing boat along with the aid of a friend and my father. The feeling is awesome.

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you The Muskie Jumper. 14 feet of aluminum badassery nestled onto Shoreland’r trailer which I saved from my previous tin boat. Not pictured are Evinrude outboard and rear deck electronics as those two items are sitting in the garage up north. I’ll be sure to post photos once those are added on, in the driveway up north. Then all will be completed.

This original boat was purchased for $350 along roadside. Original rotted trailer was then given away. The cost of parts and materials and add-ons was $365 before all sorts of last-minute screws and mounting bolts were needed. What saved me was having lots of accessories such as the outboard, trailer, electronics and carpeting.

This luxury yacht will be primarily used on rivers and lakes with horrific public access.

Before any of that happens, I must wait for 30 something inches of ice to melt. This boat was going to be trailered back to its garage up north this upcoming weekend but due to snow and ice and a brutal winterspring season, that won’t be happening until two weekends from now.

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As bad as this boat once looked, it was a surprisingly quick project (quicker than my fiberglass Lund restore in 2007/08) due to organization, having an idea of what I was doing, and envisioning what I wanted to build. This goes to show that if you can picture it, you will surely be able to build it. What I’ve built myself is a dream fishing rig for float trips.

Click to View Complete Project Image Gallery
https://www.fishing-headquarters.com/galleries/thumbnails.php?album=9
 
Thank you. I may install lights this summer along with the butt seat at front deck, though both are not a high priority at the moment. I do have 12g wires running thru the beam and they are pre-rigged for what I decide to do. Whatever night fishing I usually do (walleyes) is done from my other boat.
 

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