2008roadster
Member
As those of you that read my introduction post already know, I came out of tournament bass fishing having gotten totally burnt out on it into a small tin boat. Having fished out of these colorful water rockets for 30 years I knew I would want more than just a plain jon boat but I did not know what I wanted nor had I found this site yet, so I went fishin". Now, some 20 months or so after purchasing the boat (2009 Bass Tracker 1436LW) I know what I want and wanted to share my plans with you guys and gals.
The simplist addition will be the floor between the middle seat (livewell) and the rear seat. Just cover an appropriately sized piece of 3/4 plywood with marine grade carpet and lay it in the floor. Instant flat surface to walk on
One change already made was to move the transom mount trolling motor up front. There have been several homemade mounts done on this site and I think I looked at all of them before doing mine. I simply cut two pieces of 2x4 that was laying in the shop to the appropriate size, drilled two holes though both of them and through the lip on the front of the boat, and used stainless bolts, fender washers, and nylock nuts to bolt the two pieces of wood on top of the front lip on the boat. I then clamped the trolling motor to the wood, turned the head of the trolling motor around so it would work property up front, and voila....front mounted trolling motor for less than $3 in the mount.
On the rear I want to install a piece of 3/4 plywood on top of the rear seat (carpeted) for added strength to install the fishing seat mounts. One in the middle and one offset to operate the 15 Yamaha from. Also, I want to hinge a hatch to cover the back section where the battery and gas tank live leaving the corners cut to 45 degrees to match the back corners of the boat and to allow for ventilation of the area.
Now, what I think will be the most fun; the front deck. I do not want a high raised deck like most of you are doing. I want the front deck to be at the waterline with a circular hole cut for a plastic insulated minnow bucket to sit down into so it will not move around. I want a second cutout, rectangular in shape, for a small Lil' Playmate cooler to sit down into. And for the front fishing seat, I want a bucket seat. I found a 5 gal bucket (camo colored) with a rotating seat in the hunting section of a local store. I bought it and intend to mount a fishing seat on top of it. It is the right height with a seat on top of it and it gives extra storage inside the bucket which jon boats don't have much of to start with.
There you have it, a description of what I intend my boat to look like. Simple and functional.
P.S. I did not post photos yet because I figured you all knew what a plain jon boat looks like
Stan
The simplist addition will be the floor between the middle seat (livewell) and the rear seat. Just cover an appropriately sized piece of 3/4 plywood with marine grade carpet and lay it in the floor. Instant flat surface to walk on
One change already made was to move the transom mount trolling motor up front. There have been several homemade mounts done on this site and I think I looked at all of them before doing mine. I simply cut two pieces of 2x4 that was laying in the shop to the appropriate size, drilled two holes though both of them and through the lip on the front of the boat, and used stainless bolts, fender washers, and nylock nuts to bolt the two pieces of wood on top of the front lip on the boat. I then clamped the trolling motor to the wood, turned the head of the trolling motor around so it would work property up front, and voila....front mounted trolling motor for less than $3 in the mount.
On the rear I want to install a piece of 3/4 plywood on top of the rear seat (carpeted) for added strength to install the fishing seat mounts. One in the middle and one offset to operate the 15 Yamaha from. Also, I want to hinge a hatch to cover the back section where the battery and gas tank live leaving the corners cut to 45 degrees to match the back corners of the boat and to allow for ventilation of the area.
Now, what I think will be the most fun; the front deck. I do not want a high raised deck like most of you are doing. I want the front deck to be at the waterline with a circular hole cut for a plastic insulated minnow bucket to sit down into so it will not move around. I want a second cutout, rectangular in shape, for a small Lil' Playmate cooler to sit down into. And for the front fishing seat, I want a bucket seat. I found a 5 gal bucket (camo colored) with a rotating seat in the hunting section of a local store. I bought it and intend to mount a fishing seat on top of it. It is the right height with a seat on top of it and it gives extra storage inside the bucket which jon boats don't have much of to start with.
There you have it, a description of what I intend my boat to look like. Simple and functional.
P.S. I did not post photos yet because I figured you all knew what a plain jon boat looks like
Stan
