There is a 14-foot Carolina Skiff that been beached ever since my family's pond busted, they said if I could get it on a trailer I could have it.

it's basically a big fiberglass Jon Boat. 14 feet long x 64 inches wide, I think.

 

Looking for advice on what to do to make it into a good bass fishing boat. as of right now it is completely bare, just a boat and a paddle, and that thing is a pain to paddle.

 

 

the type of water I fish is mostly shallow swampy areas (banks lake/rays millpond in Ga), and small rivers, (alapaha, satilla, ocmulgee)

though a trip to Blackshear or even Eufaula/Seminole every once in a while, is not out of the question. and I also want to take a trip to tired creek lake and fish a swimbait to see if I can find one of those teeners that have been popping up on occasion out there.

 

my plans are a small outboard motor, a bow-mount trolling motor with foot control, a wood deck with carpet. once all that is sorted out maybe some type of electronics if I start trying to fish deeper water.

 

 

 

 

my main questions:

 

1: would decking a boat that size make it tippy or off balance. I don't think it would but just want to make sure. It seems quite stable; I would like to keep it that way. (its not a must have but it would make flipping/pitching easier to be elevated)

 

2: would this boat be safe to handle slight winds on larger lakes like Eufaula and Seminole, or would I need to only go on the calmest days and stick close to shore to avoid rough water. (never been on water that big and unsure what to expect if I did go to fish it)

 

3: what size motor ? 5, 10, 15, 25hp ? (again, ill mostly be fishing places less than a mile across, but larger lakes aren't out of the question if i get the chance.)

 

4: is there anything that I am overlooking ? anything that a first timer often doesn't think of. tell me. I know very little about boats.

 

5: is this to heavy / to much boat for my purposes, would I be better off with a lighter 12 or 14ft aluminum jon.

 

 

 

 

any advice is welcome outside of just drop 50,000 on a new bass boat.

or a kayak, absolutely no, banks and rays mill have way to many gators for that, and way to many little kids training them to see people as a food source. 

(I know they don't eat people often; I don't plan to help that change anytime soon.)

1 - Decking it will work fine 

2 - I've had my decked 14 x 48 Jon on many lakes & rivers(Blackshear, Eufaula, Santee, Cooper, Ocmulgee) in heavy winds. BE SMART and slowly learn what  you and your boat can handle. In a smaller boat adding a second person makes a major difference in rough conditions.

3 - I would go with the max HP according to your data plate. You're gonna add weight when you deck it so you'll need the power on bigger waters. I'd also suggest going with a 24 volt TM with SpotLock . I ran a 40 lb for many years and when I upgraded to an 80 lb it allowed me to fish in winds and currents I previously couldn't and I never run out of battery.

4 - Plan for all the storage(tackle, life jackets,etc) under you deck that you can as the CS typically have very little storage. A 750 GPM bilge pump is priceless.

5 - The CS is a little heavier than aluminum which helps in the winds. But if you plan on dragging it across alot log jams on the rivers I'd probably look at aluminum. 

I’ve seen Carolina skiffs running the Atlantic Ocean many times 

6 hours ago, GreenPig said:

1 - Decking it will work fine 

2 - I've had my decked 14 x 48 Jon on many lakes & rivers(Blackshear, Eufaula, Santee, Cooper, Ocmulgee) in heavy winds. BE SMART and slowly learn what  you and your boat can handle. In a smaller boat adding a second person makes a major difference in rough conditions.

3 - I would go with the max HP according to your data plate. You're gonna add weight when you deck it so you'll need the power on bigger waters. I'd also suggest going with a 24 volt TM with SpotLock . I ran a 40 lb for many years and when I upgraded to an 80 lb it allowed me to fish in winds and currents I previously couldn't and I never run out of battery.

4 - Plan for all the storage(tackle, life jackets,etc) under you deck that you can as the CS typically have very little storage. A 750 GPM bilge pump is priceless.

5 - The CS is a little heavier than aluminum which helps in the winds. But if you plan on dragging it across alot log jams on the rivers I'd probably look at aluminum. 

This is some good advice. ?

I loved my 1448 jon boat. Flat bottom is a little rough running and can be more challenging tracking on the trolling motor. 
 

A boat that size weight is at a premium. Max your hp. I’m really not sure if it’s a good move going 24v on the trolling motor for weight reasons. 
 

I decked mine and it was plenty stable. 

Is your's similar to this?

 

 

4 hours ago, Catt said:

Is your's similar to this?

 

 

pretty sure that's the exact same boat actually, minus the motor and seat.

51 minutes ago, hunterPRO1 said:

pretty sure that's the exact same boat actually, minus the motor and seat.

 

You have a front deck?

 

What are you trying to deck?

 

That's my son's boat, it has a 25 hp on it.

7 hours ago, Catt said:

 

You have a front deck?

 

What are you trying to deck?

 

That's my son's boat, it has a 25 hp on it.

I was going to try to extend the deck back some if I could, just to have more space to stand and maybe a place to store things. not entirely sure how I would go about it and like I said it's not a must have, just a preference. in honesty I could put a motor and a trolling motor on it and be happy just to have a boat.

 

Also, the pond has been fixed and I was able to push it into the water the other day; I immediately realized that stability wasn't going to be a problem like I had thought before, you can stand on the side and it barely tilts.

Much more stable than I remember, maybe I just scared easy as a kid.

 

It is very heavy, so I'll probably go with max rated hp, or just a little under as suggested.

12 minutes ago, hunterPRO1 said:

I was going to try to extend the deck back some if I could

 

My son's back seat (deck) is movable. We have considered doing something similar to what you're wanting.

 

There's one major issue, this boat is a single fiberglass hull. The problem will be attaching anything to hull. 

 

My thought was trying to build a wider seat out of fiberglass using the old one as a pattern