Fisher 1538 Jon modification

Hi All,
New here and to tin boats. Been fishing from a kayak/canoe for a season or so... was time to step up. I mainly fish electric only reservoirs, but setting this thing up for gas too.

Where I started: 1995 Fisher 1538 jon, and a 1968 Merc 20hp 2T, I wanted something wider, but couldn't pass up the deal. $650 for the boat, motor, and trailer, along with all proper paperwork





And where I am now:
The Transom was beyond rotted. I ended up drilling out the rivets for the transom braces. Probably going to replace with SS hardware.




I needed some aluminum sheet for the transom.... so out came the middle seat. Plan is to add aluminum frame work back here, and extend the front deck to the front of the middle seat.



Aluminum tubing, carpet, and a slew of other odds and ends ordered... Hoping to have this thing "fishable" by the time this snow melts.

Cheers!
Pete

Been staring at this thing, planning out the layout.

I have 55lb trolling motors for the front and rear. I'm planning to run two 100AH AGM batteries.

My initial thoughts on weight distribution say to put both batteries in the back(electric only configuration), and run wire to the front for the troller. Only problem there is it's looking like I need 4ga wire... not exactly cheap, or small...

Most of the time, it'll be me up front 230lbs... and my much lighter girlfriend in the back. Hence why I'm thinking I want to put most of my weight in the back.

The cheaper and simpler way would be one battery up front and one in the back.

My concerns:
-Two completely isolated circuits... which is kinda nice, run front dead, still have the back...
-I don't want to be too nose heavy with the gas motor off


What do you more experienced folks suggest? Two batteries in the back and run wires up to the trolling motor? Or one front and one back? Yes, I know testing this all out would be ideal, but I'm trying to guess best I can to plan for wiring.

I'm primary concerned with electric only configuration. I have a smaller battery for accessories and rear trolling motor will likely stay home along with it's battery when in Gas motor "mode".

I have a similar Fisher with a 40 hp jet. When I ran it with a 20 horse prop it was significantly nose heavy. Even with the jet it likes most of the weight in the back. I would suggest put everything in it you plan to install but loose and drive around moving stuff about until you find the sweet spot. Case in point a PO had installed 5/8" ply floor and sides. It weighs as much as a person. I have removed it and driven the boat without it. Twitchy as hell but way faster. I plan on replacing the wood floor and sides with 10 mm cloroplast covered with foam to save weight. I also replaced my transom completely with a solid double skin reinforced with square tubing aluminum one and raised it to fit the jet. Much heavier duty than the original which was pretty flimsy.

stinkfoot said:

I have a similar Fisher with a 40 hp jet. When I ran it with a 20 horse prop it was significantly nose heavy.

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hmm, interesting, I did not expect that...thanks

Guess I have no choice but to wait out the weather a bit. Plan now is to brace the removed bench, then stall until I can get it in the water and play the weight distro game.

Life caught up with me, and I haven't spent a ton of time n the boat, but did get a few hours in yesterday.

Front supports for the now missing seat almost done, still have to finish burning that in. Started getting the rear deck laid out too.





Started adding some storage to the rear bench too:

Looks great man!

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$650 for that rig is a steal. Are you dating the previous owner's daughter? Can't wait to see the project

LionHeart said:

$650 for that rig is a steal. Are you dating the previous owner's daughter? Can't wait to see the project

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I was happy, it was dude's long since passed grandpa's boat, hadn't been used in 2-3 years, and transom was rotted. On top of all that he posted it for sale during a snow storm... couldn't have timed it better.

I got the rear aluminum supports cut and tacked together last night(but neglected pictures). Hoping to get the framing done and start sealing the rear deck. then move back to the front support work while it cures, then carpet rear, then lake test. It's still fairly cool water temps up here, pre-spawn. Hoping to have the back of the boat done and ready to fish by the time the bite really picks up. Been fishing out of a canoe or kayak, it's just not the same...

Had some delays, but finally got back to this. Rear deck is carpeted now, most of the supports are burnt in now, gonna add another brace in front of the motor mount, and hopefully lock down the rear deck for good this weekend.











still debating if I want to extend the front deck, or shorten it up and keep the pedestal mounts down at floor level...

Photobucket messed everything up....lol

Heres some current photos. I ended up adding to the front deck, because I have a week on the lake coming up, and didn't have time to redo the front yet. Still working back to front. She's been in the water now, and does good, so wrapping up the floor now.

Got the foam in the floor done. I used 1" and 1/2" foam layered.



Carpeted the floor too, debating adding some tie-down points to it for traveling/ tying down gear.



Still debating rod holders too... Rod savers or Du-Bro holders like these:


something makes me think I'll like that better for rods going in and out regularly... but the rod savers seem nicer for travel... probably add a bungee to the Du-Bro setup, anyone have suggestions here? I want to carry atleast 6 rods regularly. I only have 12.75" of space on each wall... so thinking I can probably setup 4 rods on each side fairly easy.

Also mounted a Helix 5 SI I just picked up, excited to try it. I used a 1" Ram mount setup I had laying around. Seems plenty sturdy.

Started making sides for the interior, and wrapping things up a bit: they are drying in spar as we speak. plan to carpet them, and wrap this thing up by Friday




sorting out Rod storage, ended up trying rod savers

I seem to be boring people to death... took her out last night. She played nice. Did a little carb tuning, and tried out some prop options. Think I'm all set for a week at the lake, I'm certainly mentally prepared!

Got the side panels sealed and carpeted.



few little things left and she'll be good til winter. Planning to re-do the whole front deck then.

I had RodSavers on my last two boats and really liked how quiet & secure they keep a half dozen rods. Weather and UV will affect these over time but if you cover or garage your boat, they'll hold up for a decade.


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Boat looks great, Pete. What kind of speed are you getting with 20hp?

Your boat is looking very nice, very good work.

I am using the Du-Bro holders on my boat and really like it. I own an old 15ft Fisher Marine Water Rover and love it. Mine is setup with the crappie seating and I left it that way. It's old and not so pretty, but very functional.

I have to agree that the boat is nose heavy for me as well. I had a 24 volt trolling motor on mine with the batteries setup in the front, and that made things even worse. I had to pretty much move everything to the back in order to plane with two people. Definitely take the time to test out the weight distribution with yourself and a passenger on board.

Thanks guys!


Rod savers: they seem perfect for transport. Installed two sets of 4 rod holders last night. I'm not sure how much I'll love putting rods back in all the time on the water, but it I definitely like them for trailering/motoring around.

Mainline: good to hear! mine will be garaged or covered always (well, when reasonable... lol)

Stinkfoot: I went to a 9p 3blade, and lost a couple mph from the 2 blade 11p... but with me in it, fully loaded it does about 26-27. with two people it does better, or if I walk up front while underway... will mess with moving the gas can up front further, but I'm pretty happy for now. Top speed with 2 people I'm seeing 28-29mph on GPS. I bet my motor has a bit of power still available too. I'll tweak the timing and fuel a bit more this week and see if I can gain a little.

oomph: with my gas motor on, I'm running two 100AH batteries... one up front and one in the back... it distributes decently like that. If solo, I could benefit from both up front I bet. When I'm electric only though, moving the weigh to the back helps once that outboard is off though. IT's a give and take, with a passenger this seems to work good for now.

Headed to Lake champlain in the morning! a week on the lake is exactly what I need right now. pretty darn big lake for this boat though.. crossing fingers for low winds, and calm water.

If it's any consolation my boat is surprisingly good in rough water(for a jon)

stinkfoot said:

If it's any consolation my boat is surprisingly good in rough water(for a jon)

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I agree, it did outstanding for what it is. I had to cross a few bays with 3-4' rollers(and lightning at my back) on a couple occasions. I was solo, and fairly empty, it did well, way better than I expected.

But, with the GF, and the dog in, I needed more weight in the back, even with the Merc on the back. I ordered wire to move the front trolling battery to the back.

I'll post up some pictures from the trip later this week. Already planning the next round of mods. I'm kinda glad I waited out the front deck, I know exactly how I want it laid out now that I've used the boat a bit. (and already watching for a 16'+ deep V project boat...lol)