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1648 Jon Boat Conversion
- Thread starter pjcalla
- Start date
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Yes. They are great to work with.
Now a little update:
I have come to the conclusion that my timeline isn't going to happen. I don't want to rush into building the decks without fishing it first, and deciding what I want as far as layout goes. I would hate to spend all that money and time only to rip it out and start over. So, I will be putting the wooden front deck back on from the previous owner. I will cut my panels for a new floor from the rear seat to the front deck. I am also going to paint the primer, so it will kind of match the rest of the boat. I have also secured an outboard to rent (from a marina) with the option to buy while I'm on vacation. It's a 15 hp Johnson ~12 years old that runs good (that's all I know at this time). I'm going to rent it for the week for $100 to see how it does with the boat. I will have the option to buy it for an additional $500, if all goes well. This is from a marina, so they are standing behind it. I think that's a pretty good deal, considering all the outboards I've seen for sale are at least double that.
Last weekend I went to repack the trailer bearings, and found some problems. The races were starting to pit, causing the bearing to not roll smoothly. A bearing failure is the last thing I need while traveling 800+ miles with the family in tow. So, I decided to buy new bearings, races, seals, etc. I will finish up that work in the next day or so.
I also just ordered some solid aluminum rivets, bucking bar and set tool to plug the holes from the middle seat as well as reattach the rear seat. They should be here in a few days, so I will get on that this weekend.
My battery charger should be here today, so I will need to pick up a battery for my trolling motor as well as a house battery for my navigation lights, bilge, etc.
This weekend, I plan on doing the rivets, performing another leak test, and getting my flooring and deck installed. That will give me about a week to do the wiring.
Oh yea, my brakes on my truck just started squealing, so I'll have to fit that in as well. It's going to be tight, but I will hopefully get it all done and be fishing in a two weeks.
sticks4walking
Sharpshooter
pjcalla: On your front deck, can you just start it back about 6" or so, back past the angle??? I know you would stand about 4" or 5" lower but might help with your problem. Looks great so far. I have one I have wanted to redo for some time now. You are inspirering me. Thanks. Keep us informed.
do your self a favor on the trailer Bearing Buddy Wheel Bearing Protectors — 1.78in. Inner Dia., Model# 1781SS | Bearing Protectors| Northern Tool + Equipment pick these up fill them with grease and check every now and again refill as necessary. get the rubber dust caps for them also
edit: they make marine grade grease if you arent familiar with boats or grease i use it on my mower since i push snow with it and my boat
edit: they make marine grade grease if you arent familiar with boats or grease i use it on my mower since i push snow with it and my boat
Last edited:
Thanks for the idea. I'm putting off building the aluminum deck until winter. I have to get this thing out on the water and fish! I will keep that in mind.
I've heard horror stories about bearing buddies, and I will not be using them on my trailer. I would rather just repack them every year. It only takes about 30 minutes or so, and also allows me to inspect everything. Yes, we used marine grade grease. Thanks for your input.
Time for another update. Made some progress, and had some mistakes, but I'm getting there.
On the rear bench, I cleaned out the grime with a wire brush, some Simple Green and some elbow grease. I then laid down a couple coats of primer to protect the aluminum if/when the foam gets wet again. I filled the seat with foam board then started to reinstall it. Well, after getting 6 rivets in on each side, it became apparent that I had cut the foam a little too wide
. I could not get the seat to compress enough to get the final three rivets in on each side (port and starboard). So, I had to remove 12 rivets (again), cut the foam then reinstall the rivets. I will not make that mistake again.
I performed a leak test after that to make sure my seals were good. I have two leaking rivets from the rear bench install. Damn! They are REALLY SLOW, but still there. I'm going to put some 5200 on the outside of the hull to hopefully seal them for the time being. This winter, when I complete the build with the new aluminum deck, etc, I will fix those permanently. I just want to get the boat on the water to enjoy it while the weather is nice.
Last night, I did some dry fitting of the old deck, foam for between the ribs and the aluminum panel I will be using for the floor. I also ordered a battery box, navigation lights (cheapo clamp-on for now), and some other things I need before I go out on the water.
My list that has to be completed before Saturday afternoon is as follows (no particular order):
1. Attach the casting deck to the ribs using stainless screws.
2. Cut my aluminum panel to fit between the ribs for my floor and screw it down.
3. Add some sort of non-skid to said panel.
4. Install battery and box and wire trolling motor.
5. Touch up the paint.
6. Skin the rear bench with some aluminum and possibly add a seat.
7. Cut a new hatch for the casting deck and install.
8. Seal up the leaking rivets.
9. Install battery charger.
Well, that is about it. Here are some gratuitous pics of the boat as she sits now:
On the rear bench, I cleaned out the grime with a wire brush, some Simple Green and some elbow grease. I then laid down a couple coats of primer to protect the aluminum if/when the foam gets wet again. I filled the seat with foam board then started to reinstall it. Well, after getting 6 rivets in on each side, it became apparent that I had cut the foam a little too wide
. I could not get the seat to compress enough to get the final three rivets in on each side (port and starboard). So, I had to remove 12 rivets (again), cut the foam then reinstall the rivets. I will not make that mistake again.I performed a leak test after that to make sure my seals were good. I have two leaking rivets from the rear bench install. Damn! They are REALLY SLOW, but still there. I'm going to put some 5200 on the outside of the hull to hopefully seal them for the time being. This winter, when I complete the build with the new aluminum deck, etc, I will fix those permanently. I just want to get the boat on the water to enjoy it while the weather is nice.
Last night, I did some dry fitting of the old deck, foam for between the ribs and the aluminum panel I will be using for the floor. I also ordered a battery box, navigation lights (cheapo clamp-on for now), and some other things I need before I go out on the water.
My list that has to be completed before Saturday afternoon is as follows (no particular order):
1. Attach the casting deck to the ribs using stainless screws.
2. Cut my aluminum panel to fit between the ribs for my floor and screw it down.
3. Add some sort of non-skid to said panel.
4. Install battery and box and wire trolling motor.
5. Touch up the paint.
6. Skin the rear bench with some aluminum and possibly add a seat.
7. Cut a new hatch for the casting deck and install.
8. Seal up the leaking rivets.
9. Install battery charger.
Well, that is about it. Here are some gratuitous pics of the boat as she sits now:
The last couple of days have been productive (they need to be). I received my online order, that included my battery box, ropes, pfds, etc. I also went to Walmart and got my deep cycle battery. I pretty much have everything I need now, just have to put things where they need to go.
Anyway, on Wednesday evening, I started making some guide-ons for my trailer. I used some steel bar (.25"X1.25"X48"), bent them in my vice and drilled holes for them to mount to the trailer using U-bolts. I will then put some pvc that I had laying around over the steel and secure. The steel is being coated in paint as we speak. I also put down a couple of coats of paint on the boat to cover the primer and bare aluminum. It doesn't match perfectly, but it is close enough for a river boat. I also secured the front casting deck with stainless screws into the ribs.
Last night I made more progress on the floor, getting it cut to fit flat on the ribs of the boat. I've read on various forums to make a template with a big cardboard box, then trace and cut the aluminum. Well, I started to tape some boxes I had laying in the garage to form a 4'X8' sheet, then I had an "ah ha" moment, and came up with another option to get the job done quickly without sacrificing a tight fit. What I decided to do was lay the sheet of aluminum on the ribs where it was going to be placed. I made sure that it was level side to side on the front and back of the sheet.
I then started marking the ribs using a piece of angle to keep it square to the widest part of the rib. That way, when the sheet was allowed to sit flat on the bottom ribs, it would not get bound up on the vertical ribs. Here is a pic that shows what I'm talking about:
After marking all the ribs on both sides, I measured the width that the floor had to be on top of each rib so it wouldn't rub on the vertical ribs. It just happened to be 46", which meant that I had to take off 1" from each side. I just used the same piece of angle to mark a line. I got out my trusty angle grinder with a cutting wheel and got to work. This stuff cut like butter, and I finished cutting in about 5 minutes. I was done in about 30 minutes with the floor, and about 15 minutes was getting my tools and saw horses out and put back. I figured that it would have taken me at least that to just get the template made. Here is a pic of the finished product:
I still have to put the foam in and screw it down, but the hard part is done.
The battery box that I bought does not fit under the current casting deck, which pretty much sucks. It will fit under the deck I'm going to build, but for now I'll have to keep it on the floor just outside of the deck. Unfortunately, the power leads from the trolling motor are too short to reach the box. I am going to have to splice some new cable on to make it work, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem.
I've also been thinking about a "non-skid" surface for my flooring. I've looked at truck bed liner, epoxy coatings, etc. I don't want to put too much money into it now, since I will be modifying the layout this winter, plus I only have a day to finish it, so I think I've come up with a solution...anti-skid decals that people use on their bathtubs. I think it will work, but just have to find some that don't look like flowers.
Today, I plan on installing the guide-ons, screwing down the floor, seal the leaky rivets, mounting and wiring the trolling motor as well as touching up some paint. That will leave my Saturday morning to tie up any loose ends, then I will be out on the water!
Anyway, on Wednesday evening, I started making some guide-ons for my trailer. I used some steel bar (.25"X1.25"X48"), bent them in my vice and drilled holes for them to mount to the trailer using U-bolts. I will then put some pvc that I had laying around over the steel and secure. The steel is being coated in paint as we speak. I also put down a couple of coats of paint on the boat to cover the primer and bare aluminum. It doesn't match perfectly, but it is close enough for a river boat. I also secured the front casting deck with stainless screws into the ribs.
Last night I made more progress on the floor, getting it cut to fit flat on the ribs of the boat. I've read on various forums to make a template with a big cardboard box, then trace and cut the aluminum. Well, I started to tape some boxes I had laying in the garage to form a 4'X8' sheet, then I had an "ah ha" moment, and came up with another option to get the job done quickly without sacrificing a tight fit. What I decided to do was lay the sheet of aluminum on the ribs where it was going to be placed. I made sure that it was level side to side on the front and back of the sheet.
I then started marking the ribs using a piece of angle to keep it square to the widest part of the rib. That way, when the sheet was allowed to sit flat on the bottom ribs, it would not get bound up on the vertical ribs. Here is a pic that shows what I'm talking about:
After marking all the ribs on both sides, I measured the width that the floor had to be on top of each rib so it wouldn't rub on the vertical ribs. It just happened to be 46", which meant that I had to take off 1" from each side. I just used the same piece of angle to mark a line. I got out my trusty angle grinder with a cutting wheel and got to work. This stuff cut like butter, and I finished cutting in about 5 minutes. I was done in about 30 minutes with the floor, and about 15 minutes was getting my tools and saw horses out and put back. I figured that it would have taken me at least that to just get the template made. Here is a pic of the finished product:
I still have to put the foam in and screw it down, but the hard part is done.
The battery box that I bought does not fit under the current casting deck, which pretty much sucks. It will fit under the deck I'm going to build, but for now I'll have to keep it on the floor just outside of the deck. Unfortunately, the power leads from the trolling motor are too short to reach the box. I am going to have to splice some new cable on to make it work, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem.
I've also been thinking about a "non-skid" surface for my flooring. I've looked at truck bed liner, epoxy coatings, etc. I don't want to put too much money into it now, since I will be modifying the layout this winter, plus I only have a day to finish it, so I think I've come up with a solution...anti-skid decals that people use on their bathtubs. I think it will work, but just have to find some that don't look like flowers.
Today, I plan on installing the guide-ons, screwing down the floor, seal the leaky rivets, mounting and wiring the trolling motor as well as touching up some paint. That will leave my Saturday morning to tie up any loose ends, then I will be out on the water!
Forrest 362
Plinker
Looking good there so far ! I just bought a used and slightly abused 12' no name aluminium jon boat yesterday .The right rear corner under the seat area has a dent where it was either dropped on something,or hit a stump.No holes showing through,but silicone needs resealed in a few places.Eventually,it'll have an outboard motor,trailer,and other necessary gear
2 year old thread, dude.
I saw this thread and opened it, thinking somebody was doing a tin conversion. I then realized it was my thread from 2 years ago.
Anyway, that summer, I got the boat on the water with a rented 15 hp Johnson. I ended up trading the trolling motor in the pics for a 15 hp Johnson that fall. I worked on the motor through the winter, getting everything replaced, tuned, etc. The next spring (2014) I realized that the flat bottom was not ideal for the lakes I was running in MI, so I ended up trading that for a bigger V jon boat.
Worked on the new boat, adding lights, bilge, etc. that spring getting ready for the summer trips to MI. I also bought a 25hp Johnson for that boat. On my second day up in MI, the 25hp started making funny noises, and I limped back on my trolling motor. I did not bring the 15hp with me as backup, so the boat just stayed on the dock for the entire trip. The 25 was about to "throw a rod" and it wasn't worth fixing, according to the marina up there.
I pulled the boat home, and there it sat until this spring. I was going to fix the 25 myself, but then life got in the way. I ended up selling everything early this summer and bought a single man pontoon to float the rivers. My next boat will be a nice raft (Sotar, NRS, etc.) with fishing frame, that I will use quite a bit when I move to MT in a couple years (fingers crossed).
