How do you like your 12' jon boat?

[wasabi_VA]

I'm going to upsize from my 8' Bass Baby and thinking of a 12' jon boat instead. In truth I wanted a 12' Carolina Skiff (J12) because of their various factory deck options but they are no longer making them. A 12' jon boat will still fit the bill for the small reservoirs and lakes I fish and all I really need is the casting platform I'll make for the front. It will be trolling motor only too.

 

Are there any recommended models, and also interested in links to good ways to build the plywood platform and supporting it underneath.

 

Thanks!

[Way2slow]

I have an old, light weight 12' jon that stays in south Texas my son and I use to fish resacas.  I like it because it's easy to get in and out of the bed of the truck and slide into the water.  Since these are small bodies of water, wind and currents are no problem and it's more than stable enough for that.

Brand name, have now idea, it's old and bought used for $100 several years ago.

I also have a 1436 Lowe I use in the rivers and ponds here in GA,  but it's on a trailer and a little heavier than I would care to manhandle from the bed of a truck.  Those are hard to beat for the price.  

[Lead Head]

If you can swing it, go 14'. The extra room will be nice and in my experience they are more stable than a 12', especially with a casting deck. 

 If it was just me fishing electric only, I would go with a bassraider 10e. Haven't ever been in one, but there are several videos of them with casting decks and foot controlled trolling motors. Those things look super stable. 

[Way2slow]

I guess I missed the casting platform idea the first time I read your post.  Bad idea unless it's an extra wide 42-48" jon with a wide bow.  I don't even like standing up in my 12' jon, it's probably about 32" wide,, maybe even a couple inches less.   

My 1436 is ok to stand in, but I only have a small deck on the front for mounting the TM and stepping in and out of the boat, not sure I would even want to try standing on a deck in the front of it to cast.

Of course now, as the old saying goes, with age comes wisdom, back when I was a teen ager, I would stand in my canoe, but got wet a few times doing it.  Now, I don't even stand up getting in and out of it.

[GreenPig]

If you were wanting a skiff you were planning to get a trailer so I'd suggest getting a 1440 or 1448 jon. The 12' will have you swimming with a platform. I own a 1232, 1436, and a 1448 (decked). The stability of the 1448 will allow me(260 lbs) to stand on the side of the deck with my toes over the edge with no concern of tipping.

[Tim Kelly]

You'll be fine if you're reasonably agile and not too heavy. I fish 2 out of my boat all the time, with 2 dogs, and we do fine. Not a rough water boat but for a sheltered river it's great. 

[wasabi_VA]

I need to go to a dealer and see how small these 1240 boats really are. I didn't think they would be so tippy as suggested.

[Way2slow]

Width is more critical than length. A 1248 or 1242  or even a 1240 with a wide bow would be a whole lot more stable than a 1436 .   It's going to roll sideways, not flip up on end

[Catt]

14 hours ago, Way2slow said:

Width is more critical than length. A 1248 or 1242  or even a 1240 with a wide bow would be a whole lot more stable than a 1436 .   It's going to roll sideways, not flip up on end

 

BOTTOM WIDTH is the key to stability!

 

Most guys look at the top measurement (beam), this has nothing to do with stability. 

 

The reason plastic boats are so popular is because they are short in length (10-14') but the bottom width is 48-61" making them stable.

 

If you're gonna put a casting deck I would not go with a bottom width of less than 40".

[wasabi_VA]

I'd like to find a Lowe 1240

[Tim Kelly]

It's always surprised me that 1248 jon boats aren't common. I think my boat is around that dimension, though with higher sides, and is perfectly stable as long as you're averagely mobile and agile. I fish me (53) and my mate who's in his 30s plus a spaniel and a terrier and stability really isn't an issue. 

 

[Way2slow]

Tim, If you are referring to the boat you are using in the pic, I think if you measured the bottom where you are standing, I think you would be lucky to have 32 inches.   That one does not look any wider than my 12'

[Tim Kelly]

Pretty sure the beam is 4ft, and the side are pretty much straight down, not tapered like a traditional Jon boat, so I think a 48" bottom isn't too far out.

 

[Thood]

On 2/2/2021 at 6:37 AM, wasabi_VA said:

I'd like to find a Lowe 1240

I have a 1240 Lowe’s boat that I had stick steering and a 20 horse merc. On and I love it it was electric start tiller steer to start with and me and the dealer started talking bout doing it and I said let’s do it so he ordered a short steering cable and made up some aluminum mounts for the stick and the shifter. Throttle and place to put my lights and my driving lights and all the other electric switches on and I have for me the perfect  boat and with just me and gas tank it will run 35 to 36 mph 

[ChrisD46]

On 2/1/2021 at 11:26 AM, Lead Head said:

If you can swing it, go 14'. The extra room will be nice and in my experience they are more stable than a 12', especially with a casting deck. 

 If it was just me fishing electric only, I would go with a bassraider 10e. Haven't ever been in one, but there are several videos of them with casting decks and foot controlled trolling motors. Those things look super stable. 

*Back in the mid 1970's I had a 14'  v-bottom jon boat used for bass fishing in Florida  : Great for riding into waves but too unstable for standing in ! I would hope that a more modern 14"  flat bottom jon boat would be stable enough to stand up in for casting without having prior experience as a circus tight rope walker ?  (lol !)

[Lead Head]

Standing in a flatbottom is one thing... Standing on a casting deck on a flatbottom something totally different. 

[Danika 327]

A lot of people say not to deck jon boats under 14 feet but honestly if your just using it to fish small ponds i say do it i decked out my 10 foot jon boat and had 2 people standing on it and we did just fine now we only weight 360 pounds together but it did great with just me and him in the boat.