Bob_Gordon

I just finished one about like your building, if I knew how to post pictures here I would. It is 15' long, 58" wide on bottom and 68" on the gunnels. 1/4" marine ply sides, 1/2" bottom, stitch and glue construction, fiberglass bottom,' sides, used epoxy resin inside and out, bare hull with seats weighs 196 lbs, livewell and all sorts of little custom features added. Building is easy and goes fast, took 5 weeks part time messing around. Now if the darn local lakes would thaw out I can use it to do some pike kill'n...I just scaled up a 14" Lowe Jon boat, widened the bottom, sides, raised the side height 4 inches and gave the sides lots of flair for a dryer boat, fun stuff this boat building. Have less than a grand in the whole project and have a nice light weight boat that will last a long time. Secret to longivity is the glass sides and bottom with cloth and epoxy and coat everything inside with three coats of aircraft epxy, no bugs, no leaks, no rot, ever...Bob

Get the 1436 Jon boat. I have one and it's a great little bass killer. Plenty stable and scoots with a small motor. I can stand up in it to fish if I want and I'm 6'2" 220, with it you can get back in the shallow nasty stuff that the big guys can't. Just stay out of the whitecaps, it's still a small boat...Bob

I have a 14' Lowe Jon, great little boat for the type fishing I like to do. Had a 19' with a 115 Merc and it just was to big for my needs. Most of the lakes I fish range from 60 acres to 3,000 acres with only a river access and small outlet channel (shallow) to get into them, rules out most larger boats. Jon's are great little boats as long as you watch the weather and don't do anything stupid as they are pretty small . I like to fish swamps at the ends of these lakes and use a push pole to get way back in where nobody else cares to go. Some real nice bass back in those places and you are always alone except for a feeding moose or bear chaseing frogs. I have a rear electric and a 9.9 4 stroke, great small boat combination for small remote lakes...not everybody's cup of tea but for Idaho bass it works very well...

Thanks Fletchero...That's been my thoughts too. I wouldn't want one on a 200 hp hot rod bass boat but I think on a small, light weight boat with a small motor it should do what I want, also looks like a great weed catcher in the swampy stuff I like to go into but that's where the serious bass live where I like to fish and the big boats can't go...Bob

Anybody used or know anything about the hydrofoil stabilizers like the String Ray and Sport Marine types? What I'm after is the use of one on a small 10 hp 4 stroke to help a jon boat get on plane a little faster and hold it at a lower speed. Do these things really work as advertised of just another gimmick for the boating world.?..Bob

Hookless...My 150 lb (empty) 14Ft. Jon with me in it (220 lbs).electric troll motor, battery, fuel and to much tackle will do 25 mph on the dephfinder spedo, if I add my big butted 250 lb fishing partner in the middle seat speed is down to 15-18 mph, still on a plane and still will get you where you want to go. Fuel consumption isn't even a issue as it burns so little. At 25 mph you have to watch big boat wakes as the little tin can boat will go airborne and has a rather rough bone shakeing landing with the flat bottom. Sure is a fun little bass killer and I can get way back in the swamps where the real bass live and the big glass v bottom hot rods can't get, also having the electric troll motor on the transom makes it pretty weed free as compared to a bow mounted unit.

I have had 4 stroke motors since they first they first came out and would never go back to a two stroke. True, they are a little heavier but it's a good tradeoff for great gas milage, no noise, smoke, smell, and they will troll forever without fouling you plugs, also they are easier to start. I have a 9.8 Nisson 4 stroke on a Lowe 14' Jon, with just me in it I can run wide open as 25 mph, kinda spooky in such a small boat but not bad for the HP. At idle or trolling you cannot hear the motor run 10 feet away, wide open it also is very quite as compared to a two stroke. Also, many "greeny" lakes they are banning two stroke motors due to oil in the water could be the wave of the future, who knows...Bob