buying a used jon boat

hello, im looking to buy a used jon boat( rivited,welded,ect)) im looking for one 12-14 feet. What should i look for when i see the boat? ( cracks,dents,ect) and what is a good width of the boat so that when i modify it( put high casting decks) its not to tippy

a 1236 in my opinion would be as narrow as you want to go - and if you plan on putting any type of decking, you want it to be the heavy gauge aluminum. Decking a 36" floor is really safe in my opinion up to the tops of the benches - but to each his own... some guys' kahuna's hang lower than mine I guess...

If i were in the market, I wouldn't settle for anything less than a 1442... that is a good size all around boat - and you can do a lot of modding to it

Other than obvious damage, get the widest & longest boat you can.
I have a 1440mv , have had it for 10 years, been a great boat. Wish I had gotten the 1448 instead, would definately never go smaller.
The difference in room and stability when you go from 1440 to 1448 is much greater than you would ever expect.
Thats my 2 cents.

Like they said...get a wide boat if you want a high deck. I got a 1236 new and wish it was a 1448. Will be buying a 1455 as soon as I can sell mine. In addition to the stability question don't forget about wind, waves and wakes. My boat is really great and if I fished on small hp limited lakes I would be perfectly happy with it. When the big boys with their 200+hp boats come by, I'm not.