New Member Needs Help!

[Mr.Divergent]

Hi guys. I need your advice so here is a little background about this boat and myself.

I have a 14' long x 5' wide jon boat from the 60's??? Not sure of the year but it has many dents, dings, and scrathes. 9.9 Evinrude which gets us there and back safely. It has a couple of coats of paint from my father's handy work (looks bad!). This boat is SOLID though. Transom may need to be replaced as it has not weathered very well since the last replacement six years ago. The only negative about this boat is the drain has become oval shaped which lets in about 1/2 gallon of water.

After viewing this website and hundreds of entries, I am now convinced to "mod" this boat. I have taken all the dimensions, know exactly what I want this boat to have in it's modifications (locked rod storage, 2 raised seats, hide the gas tank, locked storage for fishing equipment, lights for night fishing), have a pretty good understanding of what I need to do to repaint this, and finally have a number of questions for you guys, and ladies.

#1 - Does the highest "groove" on the side of the boat represent level? If not, how do I find levelness on the boat without it being on the water?

#2 - I have a couple of concerns with added weight which brings up my next question. Is wood framing significantly heavier than aluminum? (aluminum is very expensive and I am more comfortable working with wood)

#3 - I primarily use this boat for river fishing for walleyes and stripers. The rivers we fish on have a great deal of output below the dams. Should I look at keeping my decking lower than what I am seeing most of these conversions being made? It looks like many of you are primarily fishing lakes and ponds. Is this an accurate assumption/statement?

#4 - Do I really need a bilge pump if I do not have a live well?

#5 - Should I have a live well? What are the advantages of livewells?

$6 - If I want various lights on the boat, how do use a 12V battery work with lighting?

Before I start converting anything, I would like some feedback so I know what exactly I am getting myself, boat, and my wallet into.
Thanks Mr. Divergent

 

[Jim]

Hi guys. I need your advice so here is a little background about this boat and myself.

I have a 14' long x 5' wide jon boat from the 60's??? Not sure of the year but it has many dents, dings, and scrathes. 9.9 Evinrude which gets us there and back safely. It has a couple of coats of paint from my father's handy work (looks bad!). This boat is SOLID though. Transom may need to be replaced as it has not weathered very well since the last replacement six years ago. The only negative about this boat is the drain has become oval shaped which lets in about 1/2 gallon of water.

After viewing this website and hundreds of entries, I am now convinced to "mod" this boat. I have taken all the dimensions, know exactly what I want this boat to have in it's modifications (locked rod storage, 2 raised seats, hide the gas tank, locked storage for fishing equipment, lights for night fishing), have a pretty good understanding of what I need to do to repaint this, and finally have a number of questions for you guys, and ladies.

#1 - Does the highest "groove" on the side of the boat represent level? If not, how do I find levelness on the boat without it being on the water?

#2 - I have a couple of concerns with added weight which brings up my next question. Is wood framing significantly heavier than aluminum? (aluminum is very expensive and I am more comfortable working with wood)

#3 - I primarily use this boat for river fishing for walleyes and stripers. The rivers we fish on have a great deal of output below the dams. Should I look at keeping my decking lower than what I am seeing most of these conversions being made? It looks like many of you are primarily fishing lakes and ponds. Is this an accurate assumption/statement?

#4 - Do I really need a bilge pump if I do not have a live well?

#5 - Should I have a live well? What are the advantages of livewells?

#6 - If I want various lights on the boat, how do use a 12V battery work with lighting?

Before I start converting anything, I would like some feedback so I know what exactly I am getting myself, boat, and my wallet into.
Thanks Mr. Divergent

:WELCOME:

Thanks for joining!

Let me try to answer some of these

#1 - Does the highest "groove" on the side of the boat represent level? If not, how do I find levelness on the boat without it being on the water?

Why do you need to know this? I am trying to understand what you are trying to accomplish by knowing this? If it was because you are trying to have a level deck in the water, weight distribution will play a big factor.

#2 - I have a couple of concerns with added weight which brings up my next question. Is wood framing significantly heavier than aluminum? (aluminum is very expensive and I am more comfortable working with wood)

Yes, Wood is significantly heavier when comparing to aluminum, but if your not going with full out decks you don't have to use the really thick plywood


#3 - I primarily use this boat for river fishing for walleyes and stripers. The rivers we fish on have a great deal of output below the dams. Should I look at keeping my decking lower than what I am seeing most of these conversions being made? It looks like many of you are primarily fishing lakes and ponds. Is this an accurate assumption/statement?

oops, you did not mention decks in your post above, so I will take back my statement. Yes a wooden deck will add some weight to your boat. The lower the deck, the more stable your boat when you are on it because of the lower center of gravity.

#4 - Do I really need a bilge pump if I do not have a live well?

A Bilge pump will help remove the water that gets into the boat via rain or splashing from waves.

#5 - Should I have a live well? What are the advantages of livewells?

A livewell is your choice. Most livewells are designed to keep the fish alive. Are you going to be fishing tournaments? Do you keep the fish you catch? If so, a removable cooler would be better in my opinion that way you dont have to have it on board if you are just going out to catch and release fish.

#6 - If I want various lights on the boat, how do use a 12V battery work with lighting?

If your going to have one 12 volt battery for a trolling motor, I would do a bunch of low power consuming LED lights Like the ones sold from Board sponsor BLUEWATERLED. He has a DVD that will show you exactly how to rig up the lights to a power source. It is not difficult at all.

My opinion in this is keep your decks as low as possible. You will be fishing a river that has current. Post up a picture or two of your boat if you can.

Jim

 

[CarlF]

I will stick to the parts I know the best:

#3 - I primarily use this boat for river fishing for walleyes and stripers. The rivers we fish on have a great deal of output below the dams. Should I look at keeping my decking lower than what I am seeing most of these conversions being made? It looks like many of you are primarily fishing lakes and ponds. Is this an accurate assumption/statement?
I would go with low decks/floor. I used to fish below dams quite a bit for stripers & hybrids. I had a standard bassboat with raised decks and would have felt a lot more comfortable with just a wide jon boat with a floor & seats. As you know, it can get rough with fast currents & eddies. Being lower will be much more stable. And below a dam is the last place you want to lose you balance & fall overboard.


#4 - Do I really need a bilge pump if I do not have a live well?
The two are not related, bilge pump pumps out water that leaks or otherwise gets in the boat. I would put one in, even a heavy rain can put 2-3" of water in a boat quick. And fix that drain!
#5 - Should I have a live well? What are the advantages of livewells?
Main adavantage is keeping bait alive, especially if you are netting shad to fish for stripers. If that is the purpose, itwill need to be round or oval with good areation. You can use a portable one or build it in. If you will use it for bait on about every trip, build it in. I always use a cooler for fish, but i dont fish tournaments.

 

[Zum]

Just wondering a couple more things,that may help us.
Do you use a trolling motor?
Do you fish tournanments or want to keep fish alive?
Does the boat have a complaince label?(hp,weight load?)
Not 100% sure about the size of your boat,we like pictures

#1...No...don't think theres a way of really knowing till it's in the water with all the mods(weight)
#2...wood is heavier but still is managable(weight wise)
#3...lower the deck the more stable,I fish some rivers with current but nothing like what your probably in to;mostly med.lakes
#4...said B4,not related,bilge is to get water out your boat,unless your livewell drains into your boat but the drain will get rid of that
#5...thats up to you,if you just need it for bait and your bait is smaller,theres are alot of portable ones or you can make one using a cooler
#6...again not sure of what type lights your thinking,spot lights do use a bit of power but led lights don't use hardly any at all.Are you asking if you have to use switches or just hook directly up to the battery?

Welcome to the site,I'm sure the answers are on this site for you.(or will be)

 

[Mr.Divergent]

Thanks Jim, CarlF, and Zum!

Sorry about not mentioning I am/was going to build a deck and all of that levelness, grooves, misunderstanding. Weight huh?

Well after CarlF's comments, I'm reevaluating whether or not to build a raised deck. The boat currecntly has two floor decks with one seat each. I'll post pictures VERY soon.

I don't fish tournaments, just to put meat in the freezer. I don't use a trolling motor and I'm not even sure I would if I had one.

A week ago we slammed the stripers for a little over an hour we came out with about 60 between my dad and I. Tomorrow my buddy and I are going about noon to four.....

After that, the cleanup, painting, and modifying begin.

Thanks again guys!

 

[moerawn]

Hey man, Just curious where uou are fishing? I am from the austin area and would love to tie into some stripers/walleyes. I did not know we had walleyes in our area.

 

[Mr.Divergent]

moerawn - I live in Des Moines, Iowa. Sorry man...

 

[moerawn]

oops... :shock: ithought I saw you sigunature read S.A. Texas. Makes a lot of since because I have never heard of walleye this far south :mrgreen:

 

[Cheeseball]

Ok I have to chime in.

First let me say, Post some pics we friggin love pictures of boats :WELCOME:

Here's my answers:

1. On my boat I used the tops of the seats. They aren't perfect but close enough. You can confirm by measuring down the sides from the gunnels. (At least up to the point your gunnels curve up at the bow)

2. If you fish a river like the one I fish (shallow and rocky) keep your boat as light as possible. Go with aluminum. It is more expensive, but if you look around you can scrounge a lot of the material you will need. (old alum. ladders, window frames, etc...) Look around this sites in some of the other threads there are tons of scavenging ideas there.

3. I would keep your decks low.

4. You don't need a BP but I would recommend you do get one.

5. If you fish tournaments yes. Otherwise no.

6. 12V wiring is pretty simple. Again look around the site under the Electrical topic. Tons of info. Also if your planning anything complicated I recommend the book "The 12 volt Bible" it has more info on 12v than you'll ever need.