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Customer's Comments
Just to let you know I received your book today, and I am very pleased with it. I can see that the information it contains will save anyone embarking on such a project a lot of wasted time and effort.
So often when you have an idea to make something, you spend hours pondering over suitability of materials, trying to spot potential design faults, and despite your best efforts, there is almost always something that you wished you had done differently when the job is finished
Admittedly, there is satisfaction when you have ironed out all your teething problems and you have designed and completed something useful, but you can't beat experience, even if it is from someone else.
All the best,
Paul B.
Kent, England
A "MyJonBoat.Com" Success Story
(From "DevilJohn")
Howdy Ray,
After 3,000,000,000 man hours of labor (ok, exaggerated), I finally got my jon boat fish ready, and I have to tell you it is a work of art!! I modified your design somewhat, I didn't remove any of the bench seats, as I was slightly worried about structural integrity. The boat is old, had cracked ribs and lousy rivets.
Good Tip:
I used stainless bolts w/ nylon washers and non-hardening gasket sealer w/ nylock nuts to replace the lousy pop-rivet job done previously. Also, gooed all the remaining rivets beneath the waterline w/ Marinetex. So far the rivets/bolts are solid as Fort Knox. I used 1" right angle 1/8 aluminum bar stock to brace the cracked ribs on each side.Good Tip:
On the design, I cut a rectangular hole in the front bench and used the bench as a dry storage box/electrical terminal area. This was fairly easy, as I put in 1/2 ply in the bottom, and put a hinged/carpeted 3/4 lid with a hasp on the top. It is quite handy and didn't get wet. My boat has a fairly narrow beam (36" at the base) so I didn't install any side panels to cut down on weight. I used 1/2 ply for the front and rear floor decks (saving weight again), cutting notches for the ribs.I also added a 12'' wide strip of 1/2 " ply beneath the front deck from front to rear to support the front swivel seat which is mounted via stainless bolts and t-nuts, thus making removal of the seat a synch w/ socket or wrench w/o removing the deck or having nasty carriage bolts protruding upward.
Good Tip:
To hold the front deck down, I mounted a 2" strip of 1/8 aluminum bar stock across the front tied into the front rib and simply tied the rear in w/ a strip of 2" ply mounted vertically to the center bench. The rear deck is similarly held in place, tied in to the center bench w/ a strip all the way across and to the rear bench w/ a single block in the center, thus allowing a paddle etc to fit under the rear seat.Beneath all of the floor decking is 1/2 foam board (that pink stuff from home depot used for wall insulation, one 4x8 sheet was all I needed). The foam replaces the flotation removed from the front bench to make the dry storage box and adds support to the 1/2 ply decking.
Good Tip:
One mod I made, which I found to be quite handy, was the addition of a lantern pole holder. I put a stainless eye-bolt in the center of the front side of the front bench/dry box and drilled a 3/4" hole directly beneath the eye-bolt in the floor deck. Used a piece of electrical conduit about 6' long w/ a 6" eye-bolt and snap clip thru the top.This way, I can slide the pole into the eye-bolt and floor deck and support a Coleman lantern high in the boat. works like a charm. The eye-bolt also serves as a stop for the drybox lid.....btw the lantern pole (about $4 to fabricate) also serves as a great tarp support, lure retriever, underwear hanger etc.....
Good Tip:
Another addition.... 1-1/2" PVC pipe rod holders. Drilled 3/4" hole 3-1/2 inches from the top of a 12'' piece of PVC, used dremel w/ cutoff wheel to make a slot and rounded the edges. I mounted 7 of these around the boat, one #10 stainless bolt through the gunnel up top and another bolt through the edge of the rib brace at the side V, thus no hole drilled through the boat below the water line.
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The rod holders are awesome for this size boat, two guys w/ three rods each have nada problema, also, can anchor the boat sideways in current by attaching a 8' rope w/ clip to the bow and clipping in the anchor line from the rear seat. Using the rod holder on that side, I have an adjustable "V" anchor system which I can easily tie off and loosen or tighten to put the boat sideways in a river. The rod holders also can dangle the lantern pole over the sides and rear...callin in all those bait fish at night.
One question, I put a 1-amp fuse in-line on the bow/stern lights, which btw I wired in
parallel vs. series. The 1-amp fuse promptly blew, so I used a piece of wire cut to fit and skipped the fuse part on the maiden voyage. What amp fuse do you think I need and is one really
necessary??
Another quirk on the electrical system is erratic behavior of the depth finder with the trolling motor on. LED screen of Humminbird 200DX gets erratic when Endura motor is running. (I have the transducer/temp wires running parallel to the 6-gauge trolling wires and 12-gauge stern light wiring...could be a problem?? Or perhaps the depth finder is not getting enough juice when the motor is drawing power)?
I was glad to have found the MyJonBoat.Com link on the net, as your publication helped me to do the job right the first time. Feel free to use any of my mods/ideas in your future publications. I can send you some photos in the future if you would like.
Take care and drop a line...next project, wider jon w/ front stick steering and jet-outboard prop!!! A CAD dwg of my design is attached in GIF format. (btw as if you couldn't tell by my compulsiveness, I am an Engineer by trade)
J D
Hotlanta, GA
PS: the maiden voyage was 3 days on the Ocmulgee river just north of Macon, GA. It is shallow and at times swift. We got rained on and I whacked a chunk of the skeg off on a rock, but the hydrilla, which I have named the "Sandlapper" (after my roots in the Palmetto State of South Carolina) performed like a charm.
Dirt from camping was easy to wash out on the short pile outdoor carpet I used, In the morning, all I had to do wash splash her off w/ a cup and run at speed w/ the plug pulled. This
Friday I hit the Oconee River for the Hybrids.…
Happy Fishin!!
JD
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