1232 Alumacraft Flatbottom question

I've asked this question on other forums but I like doing my homework before I commit to things. I have a 1232 flat bottom Jon boat my wife bought me and wanna make a bit more comfortable. I wanna do a 1/8" or 1/4" diamond plate floor, better seating(those bench seats suck), a few rod holders, and either rubberize or rhino-line the underside of the boat. The Lakes I fish a solely for electric motors so there isn't many wakes to worry about. I normally fish with me, or my wife and me, or me and my 5yr old and 2yr old, and only carry a Battery, trolling motor, a small cooler, my tackle box,and a river anchor(sometimes). My question is would doing the things I wanna do to it be ok or would they make it unsafe?Thanks

I'm guessing that is a 12' flat bottom boat?
the diamond plate will be heavy and slick when wet
the rubber bottom will also add weight.
if you add pedestal seats that sit above the gunnel's of the boat it will be top heavy and unsafe for small children
a 12 ft boat seems like you may be pushing the limits with 4 people in it


welcome to the site


Wayne

Welcome to the forum!

You might be able to get away with a small deck in the front and a pedestal type seat! but it might be a tad heavy with all the mods your trying to do.
I would skip the rubber liner underneat also. Those jons are pretty solid. The very least you could put those folding seats on the benches for all day comfort.

Let me rephrase my intention's a bit....... I don't want to do seating that would raise me up, something like those clamp on style seats with plenty of cushion would be great(cause 32" wide is a bit tippsy). The diamond plate would only add 4# to the wieght of the boat where I plan on placing it. The rubberized coating is to protect from the rocks as we shore land which would add 2#-5# extra wieght. I don't fish this boat with all of us in it at once, I'm 230#, my wife is not a big woman(if I tell her wieght I'm a dead man), and my kids combined only wiegh maybe 70#. My wife get's sick once in a while so she stay's on shore and reads a book or something, and I take the girls out with me. When she want's to fish normally we don't take the girls, they go get spoiled at Grammy's.

Hopefully bassboy posts to this question, he should have a good answer for ya......... Me however not so much, but welcome aboard!!

I am far from being the jon boat pro. My second hobby (aside from bass fishing) involves restoring, repairing, updating, and using aluminum boats. So, I spend my meager free time, learning what I can, and getting as much experience as I can.

I haven't had any experience with the rhino lining, but I have not heard many good stories about it. If you want more info on that, join bassresource.com, and PM member LowBudgetHookers. Or, PM me what you want to ask, and I will forward that to him (Jim, have you asked him to swing in here from time to time?)

As far as the deck, if you can afford the aluminum, or find the right used stuff, it would be great. It is light, and it won't rust, bust, or collect dust. Won't rot either. The slippery factor can be solved by a layer of cheap indoor/outdoor carpet. I would recommend doing something like that on any jon boat that is too small for a conversion. I am just waiting until we can do it to our 12 footer, but none of our boats have gotten any attention in 2 months (either fished from them, or worked on them - my family is way too busy, and unfortunately, dad and I (I am 14, not a big ole baby still living at home) have to take the hits).

As far as those seats, the idea is great, but the quality is shoddy, from the ones I have experience. The mount is made from a non flexible, brittle plastic, and isn't in the strongest shape. Ideally, that part would be made of aluminum, and we have parts of the brackets in the shop, that are awaiting the replacement of that plastic piece, with an aluminum one, when we have the time to mill it out. Your best bet is to probably to make your own design to hold the seats on. Currently, our seats are mounted to the swivels, and those swivels are mounted on a piece of 3/4 inch ply. Then, we used a ratchet strap, around the bench, to hold that ply down. Started out as temporary, but it worked so well, we haven't yet bothered to change it.

That boat probably shouldn't have trouble holding the weight you want to. When your kids get older, you will have an excuse to get a bigger boat, and build up the navy.

I would rhino line some of the interior before I used it on the exterior. Its durable and somewhat grippy, even when wet. You can also get pretty creative with it for a custom look. I used it on the tub of a jeep wrangler and it was the best 150 i ever spent. I believe those seats are available at Dick's for about 40 bucks.