buying a jon boat

First off, thanks to everyone, this site is great and has given me a wealth of valuable information. I am thinking about purchasing a 14 foot jon boat and the plan is to frame, deck and carpet the boat. My thoughts were leaning towards a casting deck on the bow and another from the transom to the back bench seat. Leaving just a low floor in between.

My first question is about the purchasing of the jon boat, trailer, and outboard. The package that I found on Craigslist consists of a 14 foot jon boat with a 60 inch beam and 42 inch floor width. The trailer is in decent shape, but has some severe rust on the leaf springs and axle, the frame seems to be solid. Finally, the motor is an 1984 Yamaha 8 HP, that needs the seals replaced in the lower unit after the water pump was installed improperly. We did a compression test and the cylinders came out with 120 and 140. My question is what is a rough estimate of how much the package would be worth? I am worried that the lower unit will need a complete rebuild after getting water inside and sitting for who knows how long, and don't want to spend too much on a beat up boat and trailer that may need replacement leaf springs and an axle in the near future.

Next, if I did purchase the boat I was hoping to paint it inside and out. This brings us to the issue of the multiple dents. I know jon boats take a beating and are meant to get beat up, but this boat has tons of dents, and some holes where rivets used to be towards the top. My question, is there any solution to these dents, or should I just live with them and paint over it?

Thanks for bearing with me in this long post. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

I dont know where you are from, but in my area that listing would bring an easy $1500. The repairs that you talk about seem pretty inexpensive. The outboard I got had a leaking seal in the lower unit that sat for many years with water in the lower unit but I was told that as long you keep the unit sealed until you are ready to change fluid it will not harm the gears or shaft.
As for the trailer, I have been looking into axles and springs for awhile and they are not as expensive as I thought. Springs for my trailer are approximately $16.00 a piece and an axle is about 100.00 give or take. I looked closer at my axle and it still seems really solid with surface rust.

Leave the dents, it gives the boat personality. Beating dents out of the boat can be frustrating. I gave up on mine.
Hope this helps, good luck

Gary

Honestly? Keep looking. Unless you are in a remote part of the country, there will be something that will fit your needs better. How much is he asking? By me, that motor would go for 1000-1500, depending a lot on quality. You don't always need to buy a package, just keep looking and don't jump into anything too quickly.

Last year I bought my 1971 Wards Seaking 1436 Jon boat $195.00 it needed the transom replaced and a seam rewelded. The trailer was $75.00 and needed a full rebuild lights, wires, tires, bearings, coupling and paint. The motor was $500 1983 Mariner 25hp short shaft with tiller. With all the extras I have $1000.00 into it.

Not sure but 120 and 140 sounds like alot of difference between the compression on the 2 cylinders. From what I have read there should be no more than about 5% variation between the 2 cylinders for it to perform right. Talk to someone that knows more, but this would worry me. Both compression numbers sound high enough, but I have always heard that the variation in compression is a problem with boat motors. I believe I would keep looking for something else.

Thanks for your input. He is currently asking for $1000, but I am going to take the boat out in a local lake to see how the motor runs this weekend, and will find out exactly what he wants for it.

As far as the compression goes, I have no idea, all I thought was that the the compression needed to be at a certain level. I haven't heard about the variation between two cylinders being a bad thing, but that doesn't mean it's not true. If someone could help me out with that it would be appreciated.

I will be sure to continue updating this post as I gain new information and have more questions. I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for this website. Thanks again.

I'm thinking the cyclinders should be within 10%.
I'm not a mechanic,remember reading that somewheres.
Who checked the compression?

The cylinders should be within 10% of each other. When you take the boat out run a can of seafoam in the fuel then recheck the compression.

I doubt the current owner will allow him to do a decarb and all related. 120 and 140, while they are far apart, are still fairly high, so it is almost certainly a carbon related problem. If you had other issues, you would probably see lower numbers. If it runs well, buy it, do the decarb yourself, and watch those compression numbers rise a bit, and gain some equality.

1442s, in my neck of the woods, will bring 1200 bare boat and trailer. 900 if not in good cosmetic condition.

That Yammy 8 is a definite plus too. Those hold value fairly well, and are good motors. I would say for 1000, you aren't doing that bad cost wise, unless the boat has major problems. Sure, you can get 1436s much cheaper all day long, but trust me, the extra width is definitely worth it, and when you go to look for another 1442 or 1448, you will realize how tough they are to come by.

bassboy1 said:

1442s, in my neck of the woods, will bring 1200 bare boat and trailer. 900 if not in good cosmetic condition.

That Yammy 8 is a definite plus too. Those hold value fairly well, and are good motors. I would say for 1000, you aren't doing that bad cost wise, unless the boat has major problems. Sure, you can get 1436s much cheaper all day long, but trust me, the extra width is definitely worth it, and when you go to look for another 1442 or 1448, you will realize how tough they are to come by.

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Not sure where you're located, but like BassBoy1 said, in the Southeast 1442's and 1448's are hard to come by. I looked for 9 months without finding a good deal on one. I finally gave up and bought new. I'd say as long as the boat is seaworthy (so to speak) you're looking at a pretty good deal.

1448 are pretty easy to find down here in Mobile. If you dont mind driving, check craiglist & the Mobile Register classifieds.

I did the compression test myself, and can repeat it this weekend when I go look at it again. As long as the variation in pressure isn't a sign of a major problem in the motor, I would be willing to do some work on it myself or have it serviced.

As far as the price goes, I have to agree that it is hard to come by wide boats, for a reasonable price and that was one of my priorities in the boats I have been looking for. The boat itself though is quite beat up. It has an extensive amount of dents and scrapes, and a few holes where rivets used to be, as well as the transom wood in need of a replacement. None of that really bothers me, but I think it should give me a possibility of a slightly lower price.

So far you guys have given me all the help I need, but I'm sure I'll be back soon with more questions, especially if I get a boat this weekend.