Salty Cracker

My young son and I restored an old 16ft Loweline Jon boat and want to add a small outboard. Up until now we had electric-motor-only lakes available to us, so we just used a trolling motor. Now we have the lower Chesapeake Bay to play in and we’ll need more power to get around in the open water. I don’t really have any idea where to start. I did find the Maximum Outboard Horsepower Capacity Guide sticky and it looks like my max is 15 H.P. I’m not necessarily interested in max though if it’s not needed. But I do want to be able to get out of the way when I need to. We’re just pikers that goof around some when we have the time. So I’m not looking for “the best”. Entry level is the name of our game. Key considerations: Cost Market availability Weight (I’ll be lifting it off after every use) Ease of maintenance and DIY repair Parts availability Tiller steering Electric vs pull start 2 stroke vs 4 stroke MINimum recommended HP

Will do.

Thanks for the replies. I tried my best to talk a local industrial marine coatings Sherwin Williams into selling me zinc chromate but I got the brush-off. I ended up using Rustolium self-etch primer with pretty good effect. Even though I put quite a bit of effort into removing most all of the factory coating, leaving behind only what refused to come off, the primer did end up lifting just very small amounts of the factory finish that was left behind. I solved that by hitting those spots with a small wire brush and getting bare aluminum in those spots this time. I spot primed those areas and am now waiting for the rain to stop so I can do my top coats. I hope I don't regret it but I plan on using Rustolium "professional" oil base. Hunter Green. I'm leaving the underside of the hull bare aluminum since it'll see fresh water only. That's okay isn't it? Bare aluminum in fresh water? Oops. Wouldn't you know it but once I got it primed (Rustolium self-etch), I'm in my 3rd day of light rain. What am I risking by not topcoating within 24 hrs.? There was no mention of a 24 hr time limit with the product I used.

Thank you.

Hello folks. I have my rescued jon boat stripped and waiting for refinishing. There is some of the factory finish left around rivets and inaccessible crevices. I would like to spray both the primer and topcoat. I've done quite a bit of searching here and elsewhere and it seems to come down to 3 options; epoxy, self-etch and zinc chromate. Any info that I can find from the forum search seems to turn up threads that are fairly old so I suspect their may be new info on the market. I think self-etch is out because it may lift whatever paint is still left. The boat will only be used in fresh water and trailer kept. I don't want to imply that cost isn't an issue but I like to spend my money and labor once. So quality and performance is my main concern. Please advise.

I’ve just joined your forum and want to introduce myself. I hope you’ll all be patient with me. I only have very new experience with boat ownership and maintenance. At my young son’s prompting, I purchased a used Jon boat so we could take up fishing on our local lakes to keep us occupied during this quasi zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, we know just as little about fishing as boat restoration. But that’s an issue for later. Right now, I want to get our circa 1975 1548 Lowe aluminum boat ship-shape. It will be used only with an electric trolling motor in fresh water and trailer kept. So, bear with me while I describe the project so far and my plans. So far, I’ve removed the add-on decking and supports, have it 95% stripped to bare aluminum (except for around rivets and inaccessible crevasses), inspected rivets for leaking (no leaks) and have filled the several holes drilled for accessories above the water line. I overfilled with JB weld and have ground smooth. The next steps I want to take are pounding out some dents (one is kind of major, almost a crease), priming and painting. I plan on using marine epoxy primer then maybe a high build primer (that’s what the car guys do at least), top coat with marine grade coating or automotive paint. I’ve chosen the epoxy rather than the self-etch because I seem to understand that it’s more durable and that the self-etch may lift some of the remaining paint left on the boat. Whatever I end up using, my plan is to apply it with a cup gun. I don't want to roll/brush. I now know there are several topcoats specifically made for aluminum boats but I want more color choice. I’m looking at Awlgrip because of their wide color selection. I’m also looking at Steelflex. They have several color choices other than the traditional drab colors. I can’t tell if the Steelflex is a coating similar to truck bed liner though. I definitely don’t want that. Here come the questions. Is the high build primer over the epoxy primer something just car guys care about for the nicer automotive finish? If that’s the case, I don’t think it’ll be necessary for this 45 yr. old nag would it? Since the boat won’t live in the water but a few hours at a time, am I correct that I don’t need an actual “bottom paint”? If that’s correct, couldn’t I just use a “topside paint”? I’m not worried about bottom fouling obviously. How well would that hold up to typical fresh water use and trailering. Would my bunk boards rub it off? From what I can tell, traditional bottom paints come in two flavors: “Hard Bottom” paint = copper and shouldn’t be used on trailered boats. “Ablative Bottom” paint = recommended for boats hauled from the water. Both seem to be used only by those concerned about bottom fouling though. I'll appreciate any advice on this project.