General jon

Hey all, I thought I would drop by and introduce myself and my newest project. I'm a 27 year old Alabama native that has spent almost my entire life within a stones throw of one of the best bass lakes in the U.S. Over the past few years my passion for duck hunting and fishing has been increasing and I had to have a boat. Up until this point, I would just hitch a ride on a friend's boat, but they got kinda flaky sometimes and my schedule doesn't coincide with theirs. So, I got a boat.

I was searching craigslist one day and saw a brand new listing for a 14' Jon, 25hp motor, and trailer for 500$ OBO. Called the guy up and he explained that the trailer needed wheels and tires to move, but if I came and got everything he would take 350$. Well, I drug a friend down there and we managed to get everything either in or on the bed of my S10. I'm sorry, but I don't have pictures of this. LOL! Turns out that the boat is a 1973 General Marine. I have never heard of them. Any one have any info on the brand? It is solidly built and does not leak, even though the previous owner replaced about 30 of the solid rivets with bolts and nuts. I spent a solid day just filling screw holes, removing unwanted junk, cleaning, sanding, and prepping the boat for paint.

The trailer and motor are a little more complicated. The trailer will need to be completely taken down, de-rusted, and painted. It will also need new hubs, wheels, tires, lights, bunks, and coupler. The motor is a late 80s 25HP Johnson tiller with electric and recoil start. The starter is locked up and the recoil starter is missing all of the bolts to secure it to the motor. The only way to turn the motor over is to wind a rope around the flywheel and give it a good pull. Using this method, we found out that both cylinders are running around 150 PSI, so that is promising. We drained the oil in the foot to see if it would need seals, but there was no water in the oil. Thank goodness! This might actually be a decent little motor with a few new parts and some time.

Even If I got this Johnson working, it will be WAY to heavy and powerful for this little 1432. Once again, I found a guy on Craigslist selling a 3 year old Briggs and Stratton 5hp outboard for 500$ I talked him down to 250$ cash and a hunting bow for the motor. This air cooled motor should be perfect for duck hunting and fishing. I won't get there fast, but I should be able to get there.

Anyway, sorry for being so long winded. I do have a few pictures of the boat in the cleanup stage. I should be able to get the boat painted tomorrow, then it will be on to the trailer.

I, too, have a General Marine, from around the same time frame! I wish I could help you, but I don't know anything about them either. Very sturdy boat, though. Never had a leak, and no rivets ever replaced.

How's your transom? Mine was practically gone.

The previous owner was gracious enough to have replaced the transom sometime in the near past. I just wished that he would have used stainless hardware, marine grade plywood, and taken the time to wipe all of the excess silicon from around the washers. lol. It does have a weird sort of transom riser rigged up. The 25 is a longshaft motor, so I can understand why it is there. I will have to take it off so I can run the Briggs though.

On a side note: I am currently employed as an aquatic vegetation control specialist....basically, I sit on an airboat all day on Lake Okeechobee, FL, and spray weeds. My company rents a house that is located about 10 feet from a canal. They were also kind enough to give us a tiny 1232 jonboat with a bi-polar (has its good days and bad) trolling motor. This is our "fishing" rig. It serves 3 purposes, but only one well. It floats (that's the one it does well!), we can fish off of it (not very well...) and it keeps the gators from getting to us (works ok for this. If a gator wanted a snack though, he wouldn't have to try hard). I can directly attribute my renewed interest in fishing and tin boats to this boat and fish.

This is a 10 pound largemouth that I caught using a 1/2 oz buzzbait. I'm 6'2" and 250 pounds if that helps give a size reference.

wingsnhammers said:

... The motor is a late 80s 25HP Johnson tiller with electric and recoil start. The starter is locked up and the recoil starter is missing all of the bolts to secure it to the motor. The only way to turn the motor over is to wind a rope around the flywheel and give it a good pull. Using this method, we found out that both cylinders are running around 150 PSI, so that is promising. We drained the oil in the foot to see if it would need seals, but there was no water in the oil. Thank goodness! This might actually be a decent little motor with a few new parts and some time.

Even If I got this Johnson working, it will be WAY to heavy and powerful for this little 1432......

Click to expand...

Disagree with ya, that 25hp is perfect.



My 14/32 with a 72 Johny 25, modified of coarse. What I did not like about the combo was to narrow and felt way to tipsy for me walking around. I step up to a 14/48 MV, no looking back.

Nice catch. Fix it up, use it. If your not happy you will not lose any $$ for what ya got into it and would make for a nice stepping stone moving up. Mine sure did.

I'm hoping to get the 25 running and eventually putting it on a 1542 or 1448. That motor should give me something to tinker with through the winter months. I will probably end up holding on to this little boat. It's great for skinny water and ponds and more stable than most canoes. I'm not going to add any decking or accessories, so I wouldn't have anything up front to counter that motor and me at the back. I will use this boat primarily to get to my duck hunting spots, so I will need all the space I can get. I think this boat will get pretty crowded with 2 guys, guns and gear, and a few dozen decoys.

Well, I got the paint and a decent spray gun and went to town! It turned out looking pretty good I think. There are a few blemishes that are more obvious now, but as a whole it was a complete transformation. The paint is an enamel in the color of "dead grass". My friend has used this on two of his boats, and it has proven to be an extremely durable paint and a versatile color. In one of the pics you can see the horror of a trailer I have to resurrect next. I will get to the trailer in a few weeks when I have time and money. I will most likely use the same paint that I used on the boat.

I like that color for a boat that has the future life you're describing for it. It should blend in well whether you're installing a blind on the boat or just using it for transportation to your blind or timber hunting area and need to hide it once you arrive.

I'd paint the trailer black. Black is common for trailers and it hides a lot of imperfections. :lol:

Looking good so far!

What kind of paint did you use?

Thanks for the compliments! Honestly, I don't know the name of the paint. The only markings on the can was for the color. I do know that I bought the can from a company called Southern Duck Boats. It is an enamel paint. I think they sell a gallon of the stuff for 40$.

i too think that your 25hp would be perfect.
you have a very nice boat.
peabody

yep.....thats my tin boat...
not near as pretty as yours..
peabody

Thanks, Peabody! I like how your boat is set up. How wide is it? I can't remember seeing a remote steer setup on a smaller jon. That's pretty dang cool.

how wide..im not sure ..ill have to measure it tomorrow....
it is wide enough that i can stand on the gunwales... hardly any tip.
... very stable boat....
ive had three adults and two large dogs..and a picknick cooler full ...
the mercury 25 bigfoot launches her (right now ) !!! up on plane.

the bigfoot really made a believer outta me on high thrust motors.

peabody