Jon boat for saltwater?

Hello, new to the site and look forward to getting my Jon boat, my question is, I want a boat that's going to be versatile enough to fish in the shallow back creeks, but also be able to handle the wake from a decent size boat if I wanted to get out in the st. Johns river. I was thinking a 14ft?

Thanks for any input

-Ryan

I'm not familiar with St Johns but I do know you won't have any issues with Salt water and an aluminum boat. Additional hardware you install needs to be stainless, flush the motor, and at least use a galvanized trailer other wise I'd put the boat in by hand. If leaving it in the water for long periods of time consider anti foul paint. Width is more valuable than length when considering a Jon boat. Measure on the floor, not gunnels. The standard is 36" on the floor. 48" is Ideal.

Where at on the St. Johns is the question. Up towards Jacksonville there is big freighters and such and something bigger would br better. Down where I am near Lake Monroe you would be fine. That said I have a G3 1448 now and hoping to upgrade next year yo a G3 Guide V16 or 18 for a touch more comfort around the rough water.

I live in Jacksonville.

The river up there is very big and has some big traffic. For back country And even the icw around St. Augustine you would be fine under the right conditions. But the river from Green Cove Springs north I would personally want a bigger boat and probably even a V hull.

HI Ryan. I live right down the road (sort of) in Tallahassee, so I do lots of fresh to salt, back to fresh water trips in my tinny. You're boat will be perfectly fine. Just give it and your trailer a good rinsing down after any trips in slat water. You'll also want to flush the motor with freshwater by running it in a tank for a few minutes. However, if you're lucky you can take the river out to the ocean and then take it back to the trailer in which case the return trip in the rive will rinse and flush everything nicely. Do be mindful of the big boats. They have right of way.

Awesome, thanks for the advice. The yellow mouth trout are runnin right now by NAS jax, we went out the other day an got about 40. As far as taking the bigger boat wakes, a wide 14ft should be fine?

Hey Ryan, the whole reason that I started my mod on my mirrorcraft was because here in St. Pete there is a huge amount of boat traffic. I have a deep v hull and when your running the icw it plows right through the wakes of most boats, and you can still get pretty skinny with it. That being said, I would recommend a deep v hull if you have the traffic up there like here. The flat bottoms are nice for the back country, but I would not feel as safe in one around here.

I agree with Big Wave. Boats with a v-hull (v-shaped from bow to stern), or semi v-hull (v-shaped in bow that tapers to a flat bottom in the stern) are best for choppy conditions. They allow you to cut through waves and wakes more easily and with less bow slapping than flat bottom boats which are great for super shallow water, but do tend to bounce up and down (porpoise) in rougher waters. A semi-V hull is a good combo of all features and is readily available. Of course, there's nothing "wrong" with a flat bottom, there are guys around here that take jon boats 20 + miles offshore (very stupid to do btw), but you will probably notice a rougher ride. Either way, be sure you turn into the wake/waves as they come. If they're big enough and broad side you, into the drink you go and/or it will swamp your boat. As a result, always where your PFD in while underway and install/use a lanyard kill switch on your motor. That way, should you fall out, or get tossed the motor will die and stop the boat rather than leaving you bobbing up and down in the water like a cork as you watch your boat motor off into the sunset without you. Installing a kill switch is a super easy, DIY job and only costs about $10. You can/should also add floatation to your boat in the form of pool noodles and/or the pink or blue close cell insulation foam boards available at lowes/HD. Rule of thumb is that one cubic foot of space/foam will float 60 lbs. of boat.

I'm pretty comfortable in my 16ft Semi V with high sides fishing the salt marsh/rivers/and out into the open water a little on a good day. I'd be scared to do it in a tin boat with low sides, but some people do. It's just intimidating the first time you get a big wake and realize just how small you are. There's really no reason for me to be in water any shallower than my boat will go. Just because it's big doesn't mean it won't go shallow. Sometimes its the opposite. If you are talking about fishing little creeks with a paddle where you have to drag the boat in and out, then you need more than one boat. My dad nearly drowned 6 miles out in a 1232. Silly, I know. Got caught in a rainstorm on the way in. Small boats sink fast when they get a lot of weight in them.