12 ft Jon mod project

Newly registered today but I've been lurking the site for a few months. First of all let me say these forums are a very valuable resource.

I just picked up this 12 foot Jon boat, it's powered by a Mercury 9.8 and has an old Minn kota trolling motor. As you see it in the pictures is exactly how I got it from the previous owner. For some reason he thought it was a good idea to remove the rear bench and replace it with a seat that's not even physically attatched to the boat. I plan to fix that by moving the middle bench back to the rear and re-bracing the area where the middle bench was removed. This will be the start of my front deck area. Plans are to build the deck starting where the middle bench is and extend it just past the front bench. Built at the same height at the current benches.

Myself and a buddy took it out yesterday and I think I should be fine with the deck plan and the height.

I do have a couple questions:
1. Where are you guys buying your aluminum angle? I went to Homedepot and was very suprised at the price for this stuff!! ??

2. Where is a good source for the marine carpet you guys are using on your projects?

Thanks in advance

I got my carpet from Lowes. It was the Stratos grey marine carpet, I believe it was around $28 for 5'x12'.

im not sure of the angle iron but i used reg alluminum stud 20 gauge and they worked great and super lite

No disrespect but here lowes/hd doesn't sale marine carpet they sale out door carpet and that is what alot use and have good results.


Just my 2 cents

Welcome Aboard, and nice rig! 8)


Moving this to the Boat House forum. Once you start the mods we can move it into the conversion forum.

for alum angle look at a fab shop,scrap yard ,or for metal supply .

HD/LOWES is way to pricey if you need alot

Made a bit of progress.
Moved the middle bench back to the rear position and installed some bracing in the area where I removed the middle bench.. This bracing is the start of my front deck framework.

Take a look at my drain plug situation. It's some type of conduit fitting or something :lol: I definitely want to re-work this so I'm open to suggestions.

:WELCOME: Aboard. The plans you have seem like they will work and great progress so far. I have not had to by any aluminuim so I can not help with that.

What part of Al are you from? I was born and raised around the Boaz/Albertville area until we moved here in '96.

Doug

I'm in Huntsville.. not a native though. I transplanted here about 3 years ago.

I'm also looking for some type of gas tank solution. It needs to fit between the transom and the rear bench. I've basically got a 1 foot by 1 foot area available. The boat came with a 6 gallon tank which will never fit back there.

This an intriguing boat, where are the braces going up on the sides, or is it welded somehow? also you need to know the bottom witdth, like 32,36, 47, 42, 46 etc . Most 12 footers are not moded to deck that high, safest would be 5, 6 inches from bottom, its a stability thing. if its a 46 , go ahead, 42 maybee, 36, no more then 5 inches from bottom. Just my experience with 12 footers. You also should consider leaving the middle seat bracing, that hold the sides together.

There are no braces going up the sides. It's not a welded boat. From what I understand it's a 1974 Starcraft boat. Bottom width is 36. I'm going to roll the dice on the deck height. With me and my buddy in the boat he was able to stand on that center bench and fish without any issues. I don't plan to go any higher than that.
As for the bracing. I actually moved that middle bench seat to the rear. The previous owner thought it was a good idea to remove the rear bench and throw it away. So if anything at this point the boat is more struturally sound than it was when I got it as I've added the bracing back in the middle.

The drain: You have two options A) Remove it entirely and use a bilge pump or B) Replace it with a piece of tube.

A) Many small craft have no drains as they are intended to be dumped to be drained; my GF-16 will not have a drain. Or you could use a bilge pump exclusively with a hand pump for back up if you felt it was needed. Many will argue that a drain is only needed while the boat is moored to get rid of water while at rest, but for our boats that isn't an option because the drain is below the waterline anyway. A drain does make it easier to clean when out of the water.

B) To replace the drain with a piece of tube is pretty easy. You need a piece of 3/4 inch Alum tube and some HTS 2000. You could also use 1 inch tube if that is the size of the hole already in the transom, you just need to find the right plug to fit for whatever size you install.

If it where me, I would remove the plug and install a bilge pump in this case. But again, it depends on YOU and the intented use and complexity of the build you are willing to cope with.

Thanks for the input on the drain. I should be able to work something out.

Got lucky at Lowe's this morning and scored a 7X12' remnant of carpet for $21. Also got a good line on some aluminum angle and should have enough of that to finish out the project.

Made some more progress. Pretty much got everything finished with the framing and wood. Took the boat out today and tried it out with one of my fishing buddies. Didn't have any issues. He was able to fish from the front deck while I fished from the rear area. Boat didn't seem any more tippy than it was before putting the front deck on.

Now that I'm condident that it's going to work out I'll start laying the carpet etc. Went ahead and layed some carpet in the bow which will be an under deck storage area.

We also learned a hard lesson today. The wind picked up today shortly before we were getting ready to leave and we took on several huge waves. Needless to say I would have given anything for a bilge pump because we were only a few gallons away from being on the bottom of the river.

Moved forward a bit more yesterday. The more I play with this the more I keep coming up with better ideas.

Enjoy the pics

That is some nice work.

Good looking so far. Keep it up. =D>