Hi everyone.  I'm new to the forums.  It looks like a good group of friendly and helpful people here. 

I just picked up a 1232 Topper 12' Jon boat over the weekend.  I'm fairly new to Jon boats, other than a couple rentals from when I was younger.  I haven't been out in it yet, but I love fishing and there are plenty of small lakes and ponds in my area.  I wanted something I could toss in the bed of my truck and go.  I don't plan on putting a motor on it, aside from a small 30lb thrust trolling motor.

I'm curious to know about the weight capacities of these boats.  It seems that they are not even rated to hold two grown men, but then I read on the forums about people adding all kinds of decking, seats, etc to smaller flat bottom boats and going out with two 200lb+ guys.  Is there a fairly large safety margin in these max capacities?  Are the newer boats less rigid than the older boats, therefore they can't support the additional weight?  Does anyone have experience with this boat in particular and can shed some light?

Also, it looks like the paint job from the factory is absolute crap.  All the boats at the dealer had chipped paint all over.  You can literally lightly scrape it off with your fingernail.  Is this typical for the factory paint, or did they have a bum batch?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your time!

-Ken

Welcome, I have a 1232 PolarKraft that I like very much, 1987 model so it is built really good but still light enough that 2 people can carry a pretty long distance with out killing yourself. It has a #30 TM and a 5 HP outboard, perfect river boat.

32" bottom width is the only drawback as far as stability, so no decks on mine just carpeted plywood floors that are removable if need be.

I do stand and fish but only if I'm alone.

Buzz

I frequently fish out of a 1232 from bass pro. It is about 3 or 4 years old. Me and my buddy fish this boat together and we probably weigh a combined 450 lbs and have never had a problem. We also bring a battery and 46lbs thrust trolling motor along with a cooler and our two tackle bags and rods. We both stand up while fishing and neither of us have ever gone for a swim. You should fine with two people in the boat.

Thanks for the feedback buzzcatcher and CFFF. It sounds like there could be a fair safety margin build into the weight capacities. I guess the true test is to load it up and find out!

How is the paint job on your boats? It's ridiculous how crappy mine is. Almost the whole front of my boat has peeled off, and it hasn't even seen water yet! It looks like I might have to strip the whole thing and apply my own paint job. Does this sound right?

Thanks again.

-Ken

Don't worry to much about the paint.

It's going to get scratched and dinged loading and unloading, mooring, and fishing. Just touch it up once in a while with a spray can of olive drab paint.

I'd worry more about your rods and reels getting scratched up from laying on the aluminum benches.

You can carpet them to prevent that.

I just kept my floor as low as possible and still be level, trust me you don't want or need a raised deck on this boat.

Just pack a little lighter when you're not alone [ ie 3600 bag instead of 3700, 4 rods instead of 8, share a cooler].

Buzz

get some carpet on it. I had a modded 14' topper. The first time I went out, it was just me, my gramps, the 8hp OB motor and some fishing gear in July. both of us burned the crap out of out legs on the aluminum benches.

Besides that though, only time i ran into trouble with the weight was in heavy wakes in the lake during the summer. Pleasure boaters just seemed dead set on trying to pass as close as possible to me in the wide channel on the lake.