Hey guys, I'm new around this website and I thought I would share my conversion process of an old piece of crap boat to a useable fishing boat. I'm sharing this because converting Jon boats to bass boats is becoming a big phenomenon and I would like to assist those who are trying to do this. This is the whole process minus adding the carpet, enjoy!
Converting a Jon Boat to a Bass
I purchased a 1962 Polar Kraft 14 FT. V bottom boat from a friend. I bought the boat, trailer, and motor for $500 (pictured below). The motor that came in the package deal was a 1957 Johnson 18 HP outboard motor (later sold & currently searching for a new motor).
For the price I paid, the boat was actually in really good condition. First things first, I pulled the bearings on the trailer, cleaned them, and repacked them. Next I stripped all the paint off the outside and inside.
After all the paint was off the boat, it was time to tackle the transom. Because this boat uses a wood transom and the current transom was falling appart, the whole thing had to be ripped out and re done. Pictured below is the back of the boat after I ripped all the rotten wood out.
Finally the boat was back to its bare naked self, and I could finally start the conversion process. First things first I lightly sanded the boat, and I gave it a fresh new layer of marine grade paint. After that I reinstalled the transom. The transom is constructed with advantech (which is a high quality treated type of plywood meant for water applications) and held together bolts with marine grade rubber washers to resist rot, and provide a good watertight seal. You can see the boat after this process in the pictures below.
Now that the boat is painted and the transom is complete, now its time to begin construction on the front deck for fishing. It took me a long time to decide on how I wanted to go about building a casting deck, but finally I came across a picture while browsing the internet that assisted me in the planning process. The picture below is the framing design that I followed.
The materials needed for the frame are minimal (6 treated 2X4's, metal framing brackets, galvanized deck screws, & 7 carriage bolts with washers and nuts). Pictured below is the complete frame building process from start to finish
Casting Deck Framing Process
Step 1: I had to put these two 2x4's on top of the seat as pictured, to ensure that the deck was level, and that all joints of the frame were flush to ensure a flat level surface for the plywood to sit. These two pieces are attached with 3 carriage bolts each to serve as the anchoring point for the deck.
Next I cut this piece of 2X4 to provide an anchoring point for the front of the frame. I cut the angles to match the angle of the boat, and attached it with a carriage bolt with lock washer. (This piece is attached to a vertical metal bracket that is supposed to serve as an anchor attachment point, so most boats may not be able to follow this option).
Next begins the framing process. I measured twice, and ensured all angles were spot on. Pictured below is the process of building the frame.
Most joints throughout the frame were attached with galvanized deck screws, plus these metal framing brackets that you can see in the pictures above. You may notice that I stacked five 2x4's in the middle of this section pictured above, this is to provide a sturdy base for my pedestal seat.
Now that the frame is complete and secured to the boat, its time to get some plywood and cut it to shape.
So the plywood ended up being a lot more tedious than I imagined. This was because the back edge of my deck frame was wider than 4 ft, and as everybody knows plywood only comes in 4 ft wide sections. So to cover my deck with plywood, I just turned the plywood sideways across the front of the boat. I then traced the outline of the boat with pencil onto the plywood to give me the rough dimensions of the boat. I then had to trim the edges in order for the plywood to sit flush on the deck frame which is sitting inside the boat. Now because we had to turn the plywood sideways, there was a small gap remaining in the plywood at the very front of the boat, as you can see in the picture below.
Because of this gap, now I had to cut a small piece of plywood, to fit inside that gap. This was easy, I simply used cardboard, and created a template for the small section. Where I ran into a problem, is now how am I going to attach this small piece to the rest of the plywood? Well after a long thought process I decided to attached both pieces with liquid nail to create a seamless surface, and also I used small sections of scrap wood and secured those to the underside of the seam to provide more stability. You can see this process in the pictures below.
After the liquid nail dried, this seam was not only seamless, but also very sturdy. All that was left was to cut a notch in the very point of the plywood to provide space for wiring, and then the plywood for the deck was complete!
The next step in the building process is to cut a door, to provide access to the huge amount of storage space underneath the deck. I had to think for a while and decide the doors position and what shape it would be. Because my trolling motor would be hanging over on the left side of my deck, I decide to cut one door on the right side of my deck. To provide the door with good stability, I added two more 2x4's to the frame to establish the shape of the door. You can see this in the picture below.
Next to ensure that the door would be precise I had to trace the shape of the door on the plywood. This required my 6'3" frame to climb underneath the seat to access the underside of the deck. After much wiggling, I traced the outline of the underlying 2x4 frame to provide a template for cutting the door.
So I would not have to add supports to the door itself, I measured 3/4 of an inch
(half the width of a 2X4) to provide a lip for the door to sit on. You will see what I mean in a second. But next I grabbed the jigsaw, and cut the door out of the plywood. You can see the completed door in the pictures below.
All that is left for the door is to add hinges, but we will worry about that later. But as you can see, when the door is shut, it will rest on the 2X4 frame underneath to provide a sturdy and functional door to access my battery, and other storage space.
Next all that is left is to add carpet, mount my trolling motor, and install my pedestal seat. Stay tuned!!
