Lowe 1236 modifications

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bobberboy

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MY APOLOGIES TO READERS: DUE TO NEW PHOTOBUCKET THIRD-PARTY HOSTING POLICIES THE PHOTO'S ACCOMPANYING THIS THREAD ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. WITHOUT THE PHOTO'S THE INFORMATION HERE HAS LOST MUCH OF ITS USEFULNESS SO PROCEED IF YOU WISH. GREED AND MONEY AS USUAL TRUMP EVERYTHING.


This is my first boat so I didn't have much experience to base my choice of boat and motor. I have fished all my life - my folks owned a resort when I was a kid - but never owned my own boat before.

I think a lot people believe that bigger is better when it comes to choosing a boat. I decided to go small for two reasons. First, I have a small pop-up camper and wanted a boat small enough to carry on top. I didn't intend to even get a trailer at first believing I would only take it on camping trips and because I didn't really have a place to park two trailers (It didn't take long to figure that one out!). Anyway, the camper is only 8' long so I couldn't really haul a 14' boat on top, plus weight was a factor. The second reason for a small boat is I like to go on small lakes and in areas that the big boats can't get into. The lake I fish most is so low right now that the big boats can't even get off the trailers.

I chose the Lowe 1236 because it's the widest 12' jon I could find and because I liked the seat configuration. I got a riveted boat because the weight was less than a welded one. The motor is a Nissan 9.8 4-stroke w/electric start. It's a nice motor and I'm really glad I went with the 4-stroke because it's so much quieter and there are no mixed gas exhaust fumes to inhale when trolling. I got a too-small 30lb thrust electric trolling motor. When things are quiet the trolling motor is fine but in wind the flat bottom slides across the water so easily that the motor sometimes struggles to keep up. I'm in the weeds and lily pads a lot so this can be a problem at times.

lowe1236.jpg


My choice of boat/motor wasn't completely dictated by my budget. I could have spent more, but decided to go small and to make any upgrades or modifications myself. I like the challenge, and being the son of a farmer, like to invent ways to make things work. Also, it's good to solve problems with your head instead of your credit card. So, there's the background.

I bought the boat/motor last fall and took it out enough times to break in the motor and to figure out some things I wanted to do. Weight distribution was an issue. With the motor, me, the battery and gas can all in back, the boat practically never got up on plane. Even with a second person on board, the weight was too far back. I screwed a piece of plywood to the floor between the front and middle seats and moved the gas and battery forward to test the weight distribution. This configuration worked much better so I decided to make a small deck over the front seat to contain the gas tank, battery and hopefully some other things. Also, I can't park the boat in a garage and wanted a lock-up for some of the things I always take along like life jackets, etc. So the plan was basically to make a small storage area under a front deck, put in a floor, add some navigation lights and other minor conveniences.

First the front seat came out. Being at the bow it seemed that it didn’t really add anything structural to the boat and I tried to make use of every little bit of space I could. On the right side you can see the gas hose that runs to the back and on the left the 8ga wires from the battery to the rear of the boat. I ran two PVC tubes through the bottom to act as conduits – one for the navigation lights and the other for some future wire pull that I didn’t think of before the floor went in.

frontseatremoval.jpg


After I had run the conduits and wires I could think of below the floor, I added 1-1/4” of foam for flotation and sound insulation between the ribs. As it turns out the insulation was a really good idea because I am always clunking things around in the boat and the noise when running is considerably less. I installed the foam with foam glue and weighted it down until it was dry.
foamin.jpg


Once the foam was in place I cut out cardboard templates for the floor. To me this was one of the most important steps because it let me see what I was going to get before I invested in the real material and it helped avoid making bad cuts and wasting the real stuff when the time came. You can’t really see in the photo’s but I rough-cut the template around the ribs and then filled in the specific shapes with small pieces of tape. When I was done I had a pretty accurate template of all the shapes I would cut.

template1.jpg

template2.jpg

template3.jpg


One big decision for me was what material to make the deck and floor out of. Again, I was concerned about weight so I had to be careful about the thickness as well as the type of material I used. Even though it was a lot more expensive than plywood, I decided to use Sintra, a PVC sheet material. I was able to cut out (barely) all the parts I needed out of one 1/2” - 4’x8’sheet of material, otherwise, at $110/sheet, I would have had to use something else. The Sintra is lighter than plywood, cuts easily and will last forever. The floor was pretty easy.

I took a long time trying to figure out the deck. I decided to use aluminum angle for the framing to save weight and I got some for free. I engineered the framing as I went along, trying to figure out one problem at a time. I decided to pop-rivet the frame as I can’t weld so I just cut and clamped my way along until I had figured out what configuration worked best. You can use a carbide-tipped blade in a power miter saw to cut aluminum stock, just be absolutely sure to wear face protection.

There were two problems with the deck that I got stuck on and couldn’t decide how to solve. One was the deck hatch. I was afraid of doing a crappy job on the hatch if I made it myself but I didn’t want to spend the $ on a factory one. I looked online at a lot of suppliers and finally found one that was big enough but not too expensive so I opted to buy the hatch cover.

The second was more serious. I intended to put the gas tank and battery both under the front deck. I’m not sure how real the danger of gas fumes building up inside the deck is and a possible spark from the battery causing an explosion, but it was real enough for me to take some time to figure out how to separate the two. It took a bit of work but I managed to seal off a separate gas tank compartment within the deck space.

deckinterior1.jpg

deckinterior2.jpg


This meant that I had to also have separate access to the gas tank and I used a 6”d. round deck plate placed directly over the fill cap on the gas can. You probably have already seen the flaw in this plan, but you can’t get gas tank out through a 6” hole. I figured this little problem out the first time I thought of actually putting the boat on top of my camper and not on the boat trailer. Needless to say, the upside-down gas tank isn’t going to work too well. For now, the deck top is screwed on and I can remove the tank that way, but maybe a second hatch cover big enough for the tank to fit through will be the answer. I have been hauling it on a trailer for now so I haven’t had to face this mistake yet. You can see in the photo I foamed the cavity around the tank to seal it from the rest of the deck. It does a pretty good job of sealing the two compartments once the deck top is on. I also added in a ventilation grille for the gas tank side of the deck. Note the foam all around for the seal and the cardboard template to the left of the boat.

deckinterior3.jpg


The battery tie-down.

batterytiedown-1.jpg


The gas tank tie-down.

gastanktiedown.jpg


The deck before carpet. This is the black Sintra PVC sheet material. I glued the carpet on with carpet glue – contact cement. The carpet was medium grade marine carpet. Given that the Sintra will last forever, I might have spent the extra to get a longer lasting carpet. I keep the boat covered so maybe the carpet will hold up ok.

deckcarpet.jpg


The deck on and flooring in. The deck has the hatch cover, 6” round deck plate over the gas filler, seat mount and trolling motor plug-in all installed. Note that I ran another PVC tube along the left side (the red tube) for the battery wires, trying to eliminate as many hook-snagging wires as possible.

deckcompleted.jpg


The gas-fill cover.

gasfill.jpg


The hatch and gas-fill cover.

deckhatch-gasfill.jpg


The finished floor and deck.

finishedinterior.jpg


The mistakes –

Besides the gas tank mistake the other main one turned out to be putting the battery in front. After all the trouble to separate the battery and gas, the weight distribution with the additional weight of the deck materials in front turned out to be too much weight forward. I couldn’t get the boat up on plane with that much weight in front so given the choice of moving either the gas or the battery to the back I opted for the battery. It was an easy fix and the 8ga. wires running front-to-back were still good to connect the bow-mounted trolling motor. The battery move was pretty simple.

I don’t have pics of the boat with seats, motor, etc. on and the small electrical control panel yet but I’ll add those later.

A few $ saving things I figured out along the way –
It seems anything sold as a boat part is more expensive than it would otherwise be. Lots of 12v DC stuff can be bought at car parts stores for less than at most boat places. There are many specific marine parts of course and you have to be careful of the corrosion that will certainly happen, but it is possible to save a little $ by looking around.

I looked for a swivel mount for my locator. The ones I found were an incredible $40 or more. I solved this by getting a tripod mount for $10. It has 1/4x20 threads and I just tapped the hard plastic mount of my Humminbird to fit. It only has a ball-and-socket at one end, but it does the job ok.

I get into some real messes in the weeds. I have a “weedless” prop for my trolling motor but it still gets fouled up. I also have a paddle but I need to reach bottom in order to move sometimes. I looked at push-poles at the boat shops and was amazed by how expensive they are. I did buy the foot for $10 and put in on the end of a telescoping paint pole. I had a pole laying around that extended to about 10’ so when collapsed it is about 5’ long. It has gotten me out of some real messes, it’s aluminum/fiberglass and it works.

I bought lots of parts at the end of the boating season and saved a lot of dough in the process. I happened across a sale at a Northern Tool location near me and bought seats and navigation lights for half price.

I purchased the Sintra at a Plexiglass seller. Cabela’s has a similar material called King Starboard that is considerably more expensive. Whatever you buy and wherever you get it, the PVC material is expensive. I guess one consideration is how long you will be keeping your boat and the life span of the wooden materials. What I decided on will live on well beyond me.

My brother came by over the weekend and did the wiring for me. I couldn't figure it out. He used to re-wire dashboards on car restorations so he made it work. It turns out that the bow lights weren't wired according to the diagram that came with them. Their engineers may work harder, but we still had to figure it out. Now I can clean it up and get some photo's of the thing as it is now. I think I may be done with most of the work which means I'll have to get another boat.
 
Looks good,I have an older one just like it . I am getting ready to work on you gave me some ideas. This may be a stupid question but in the stern where the fuel tank and battery normally go what is the little tray like thing in the corner there is one in my boat and was wondering.
Thanks Joe
 
buffdadjj said:
Looks good,I have an older one just like it . I am getting ready to work on you gave me some ideas. This may be a stupid question but in the stern where the fuel tank and battery normally go what is the little tray like thing in the corner there is one in my boat and was wondering.
Thanks Joe

I'm not sure what the built-up area on the floor is supposed to be for. When I moved the battery to the back, I put an aluminum plate on the floor in that area and it and the ribs are the same height so it made a good, level little deck for the battery. I ran some wiring through it going to the battery also. I wonder if the other side would have had one also except the drain plug is there. I'm not really sure...
 
Looks awesome.
What did you use to plug the rivet holes when you removed the front seat?
 
WhiteMoose said:
Looks awesome.
What did you use to plug the rivet holes when you removed the front seat?

I ground off the rivets from the inside and they were tight enough that I didn't have to do anything. Apparently when the rivets are put in there is enough pressure on the hole to keep them tight even without the inside head in place. Plus the grinder kind of mushroomed the ends a little which helped keep them tight. Your question reminds me that when I put in the aluminum frame for the deck I riveted it from the outside and was so anxious to get out fishing I never sealed them. I guess because they're above the waterline I wasn't too worried but I do need to get that taken care of.
 
I've been fishing all summer and have not taken any more pics of the work on my 1236. I guess it is mostly done although I am still trying to get my motor position right. Things mostly are working, not too many bad decisions. I still need to get organized about all the things I carry around in the boat. There's just too much stuff - rods and tackle, paddle, push pole, landing net, not to mention my favorite take-along thing, lunch. Sometimes I take my camera and tripod along too. I have some pics of the boat as it is now with the seats in and the lights and other accessories in.

This is a view of the back end of the boat. The seats are Atwood. I got them on sale at Northern Tool & Equip. for 1/2 price last fall. I really like them a lot. They're lightweight and comfortable. No need for padding (I've got plenty anyway), they're flexible and with the spring base get me a little higher in the boat.
finishedbackseat.jpg


Another view of the back. When I moved the battery to the back I made a temporary box for it and I still have to finish that. I made a little electrical "console" where I have a voltage meter, switches for navigation lights, interior lights and the voltage meter. I also added a 12v socket for any accessory that might come along. I wish I had a main switch like an ignition switch to turn all power off from the battery. What I've done works ok but the main switch would make sure everything is off when not in use.
backseat1.jpg


A closer view of the console, depth finder, battery box, trolling motor socket and interior light.
console.jpg


I got a 15" extension for one of the seats that I haven't tried out yet. Given how small the boat is I don't think I would use it unless I am in the boat alone. I think it would be too unstable with someone else moving around in the boat. I put a mount on the front deck also but again haven't tried it out.
highchair.jpg


The anchor pulley works pretty well considering it's plastic. I didn't find any metal ones that work like this one does. I don't know how long it'll last but so far so good.
anchor.jpg


Here's the boat with motor, seats, etc.
highchair1.jpg


I used some PVC tee's and pipe to fashion a support for the boat cover. I used 1-1/2" x 1/2" tee's that I cut about 1/3 out of the long side. These snapped onto the gunnel. I made 8 of these - 4 for each side. I used 1/2" PVC pipe to make bows that went from side-to-side. To keep the cover from sagging and to keep the bows taught and in place, I used 1/16" cable and stops to keep the bows in position. I made a loop at each end of the cable and used a bungee at each end to attach tot he boat.

The tee's...
2PVCtee.jpg


The bow with cable and stop...
cablestops.jpg


The bows in place
pvcbows.jpg


The bungee cord (one at each end) that tightens the cable and attaches the whole deal to the boat.
bungeesupport.jpg


Here's the cover on...
coveron.jpg


I have already been looking at other boats. I liked working on the modifications as much as I do fishing. Maybe someone in my area needs some help. In the mean time, it's Labor day weekend and I'm looking forward to three days of fishing...
 
Very Nice CLEAN work!!! I really enjoyed reading this post.. I'm going to have to look into that sheeting that you used - I think that would be the best route for me too (unless I use aluminum sheeting).

Congrats man - and I started off with a 1236, modded and sold it - and now I've got a 1546... you'll definitely enjoy the extra room if you upgrade!
 
thanks for the good comments everybody...
I wish I had come across this site before I began my boat project. I would love to be able to start over again. There are a lot of good ideas here - some big and some small that would have been nice to incorporate into by boat. I like Bufford's boat, especially the open floor idea https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9912. It would be nice to be able to step to the front of the boat without having to go over the middle seat. I also have the hots for CBGale2's sweet Sea King https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7934 and in fact have found one like it on Craig's list. So now I have to explain wanting the Sea King in addition to a bigger jon boat. I learned a few things about my boat this week. I took a day off and went fishing by myself. I used the high chair for the first time on both the middle seat and the deck. The middle seat is actually ok but not within reach of the trolling motor. When the seat is on the deck the bow sits so low in the water that the boat actually pivots around the front in the breeze. One (expensive) option would be to get a foot controlled trolling motor. That would let me use the center seat and steer from there. The most likely option is to accept the idea that this boat may just be too small to act as a stand-up casting platform but I suppose I knew that from the start. Anyway, I got a quote for a 1448 with a 20hp motor but I'm in no hurry to make the change. I'm not sure whether this is a good time to be selling the boat or not. As for the Sea King, well, now I need to find a spot to store another boat...
 
it's never too late to add something to your boat. You may have to undo several things, but it can be done.

I find several things that I still want to do on my boat and will keep working on them when time permits.
 
I don't know how I missed this post but I have say you did an awesome job on your mods. I wish I had known about the Sintra before I put plywood in mine. The boat looks fantastic and the ideas for your boat cover support are well...lets just say I will be using them for a redo on mine. Thanks for the great post and the super ideas that you shared! Here's wishing you 'tight lines' bobberboy.
 
I'm interested in using something like the Sintra for my floor. I've been reading about it online, but would you recommend it or not? If I did use it I think I would paint it with Skid no more and it should last a while. I'm not sure about the UV properties.
 
To be honest I never considered the UV issue. I guess knowing I would be covering it with carpet kind of eliminated the question for me - at least mostly. I use Sintra at work for signs, etc as it is lightweight and stable. I used 1/2" for my boat but the areas are pretty small and there are no spans larger than the ribs, I guess about 16" apart. In the boat, especially on the floor, you should not have any issues with water and it should last a long time. I have noticed that in the heat the areas around the edges warp up a little - I could not screw it to the ribs at the very edge because of the crimp in the rib where it bends from the floor to the side leaves a large dimple in the corner of the rib. Otherwise I don't have any complaints so far. It comes in thicknesses from 1mm to 19mm. I guess I used 12mm or 13mm, whichever is closest to 1/2". I used contact cement for the carpet and that didn't affect the material at all. I don't know if the paint you intend to use would or not. I have some scraps around still and could send you a piece to test if you want. In answer to your question, yes I would recommend if you be sure it is well supported. PM me if you need a scrap to test.
 
That is an awesome job. I just found this site and its pretty cool. I am looking at getting that exact boat from Cabellas. Very nice job, I got some good ideas from your project.
 

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