Jon Boat to Bass Boat Conversion Pitfalls

[KSanford33]

For those of you who have done a Jon boat to bass boat conversion, what pitfalls did you run into? Mine will be very basic since I'm still going to transport it in the back of my truck, so weight will be an issue; but I wanted to see what issues anyone ran into with theirs.

[Captain Phil]

I have done a couple of these conversions.  I would say the worse mistake is adding too much weight.  Some people put wood decks or floors in Jon Boats attempting to make them into bass boats.  Simplicity is key.  Adding bass seats is a must for me as my back needs to lean into something.  Mount everything within easy arm reach.  A Jon boat can be a great fishing platform, just don't overdo it. 

[volzfan59]

My biggest problem is nothing in my boat was square. It was originally a 16'X50" duck boat made by a local, small boat builder. They have an excellent reputation as a tough boat. Anyway, it has a gun box that I modified into a rod locker and a front deck with a storage locker. I added another rod locker and large storage compartment using the factory compartments to build off of. They were about 3/4 of an inch out of square. Finally decided to shim everything to square and cover it all with decking. You can't tell at all until you open a lid. I also rewired everything, new trolling motor, onboard charger, recessed t/m tray and micro pole. So far, so good. The plan is to redo the trailer this winter. Hopefully @MN Fisher will respond. His rig is one of the nicest I've seen.

[casts_by_fly]

I haven't done one, but I've researched a ton since an aluminum conversion is the boat I need.  If you haven't already, get into tiny boat nation on youtube.  There are builds from quick and cheap (one of the current ones) to fully tricked out $30k.  Amazing learnings over 8 or 9 generations of boats.

[MN Fisher]

Filling un-used space with foam is a must. Keeping any framing to support decks as light as possible is also key. Phil mentions wood - long as you keep it minimal, it's not too much of a concern.

 

1/16" Aluminum angle, 1/2" plywood, carpet and rivets turned this.

 

Into this

1 minute ago, volzfan59 said:

Hopefully @MN Fisher will respond. His rig is one of the nicest I've seen.

Was typing and linking as you posted, my friend.

[KSanford33]

26 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Filling un-used space with foam is a must. Keeping any framing to support decks as light as possible is also key. Phil mentions wood - long as you keep it minimal, it's not too much of a concern.

 

1/16" Aluminum angle, 1/2" plywood, carpet and rivets turned this.

 

Into this

Was typing and linking as you posted, my friend.

That's very impressive! If you don't mind me asking, how much do you think it weighs now, ballpark?

 

I'm really just looking to add a casting deck and livewell, although I'm sure it's like car modifications: You say you're only going to do x and y, and by the time you're done it's literally unrecognizable.

29 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I haven't done one, but I've researched a ton since an aluminum conversion is the boat I need.  If you haven't already, get into tiny boat nation on youtube.  There are builds from quick and cheap (one of the current ones) to fully tricked out $30k.  Amazing learnings over 8 or 9 generations of boats.

Yeah, I've watched a lot of TBN's stuff on YouTube. My only hangup with some of what they do is if you're going to spend that much, why not get an actual bass boat instead?

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, KSanford33 said:

That's very impressive! If you don't mind me asking, how much do you think it weighs now, ballpark?

Original empty weight was 215lbs - that's according to the pamphlet

 

By the time all was said and done - without gear, motor and batteries, I'd estimate it at around 250-275lbs. The original seats were removed, so weight was saved there, and being mostly aluminum, it really didn't add a large amount. Here's a shot of the framing before the decks were mounted.

[casts_by_fly]

10 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

Yeah, I've watched a lot of TBN's stuff on YouTube. My only hangup with some of what they do is if you're going to spend that much, why not get an actual bass boat instead?

very true. In my case, it’s because I can’t fit basically any ready to go bass boat in my garage. I’m 19’6” X 94” opening. So a 16-17’ boat that the trailer is under 90” wide is the max. Tracker 16’ and 17’ semi v works (though I don’t like the lack of rod box on the 16’).  That’s about all outside of a full custom build.

 

the bigger thing from the TBN videos for me is that they document everything and you can see the evolution over time of their methods. It takes a bit to sift through it all, but just about anything you’re considering has been done multiple times and multiple ways.  You can see if it would work for you and what to watch out for as you do it. For what you’re describing to start, I think aluminum framing is probably the way to go, though wood decking will be fine. If it were me, I’d use one of their premade livewells and plumbing to make the overall job easier. The do your own thing up front. 

[MN Fisher]

20 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

Yeah, I've watched a lot of TBN's stuff on YouTube. My only hangup with some of what they do is if you're going to spend that much, why not get an actual bass boat instead?

You can do it much cheaper than they do. My total expenditure, including buying the boat, motor and TM was around $3000. Course you have to look for deals...the boat is a 1972, the motor is a refurbished 1973 electric start Evinruder 25hp, and the TM was a factory refurbished MinnKota Edge 45. Aluminum was purchased from a metal supplier, not a big-box store, carpet was a remnant, plywood is BCX that's sealed with Spar Urethane, not Marine Grade...which is twice as expensive...etc, etc, etc.

[KSanford33]

6 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

You can do it much cheaper than they do. My total expenditure, including buying the boat, motor and TM was around $3000. Course you have to look for deals...the boat is a 1972, the motor is a refurbished 1973 electric start Evinruder 25hp, and the TM was a factory refurbished MinnKota Edge 45. Aluminum was purchased from a metal supplier, not a big-box store, carpet was a remnant, plywood is BCX that's sealed with Spar Urethane, not Marine Grade...which is twice as expensive...etc, etc, etc.

Absolutely. I was able to get a bow-mounted trolling motor for $25 off of FB, and bought the boat from the NYC surplus auction for $150. This will be my winter project, so I'm still in the early stages of planning out what I want to do.

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

Absolutely. I was able to get a bow-mounted trolling motor for $25 off of FB, and bought the boat from the NYC surplus auction for $150. This will be my winter project, so I'm still in the early stages of planning out what I want to do.

Then you're already way ahead of me. Boat with trailer was $700, TM was $300.

 

Mine was a winter project as well, started with the trailer refurb last September, rolled the completed boat out of the garage last week of June.

[volzfan59]

Another good YouTube channel is Bass Brothers Fishing DMV. He does some amazing work.

 

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, volzfan59 said:

Another good YouTube channel is Bass Brothers Fishing DMV. He does some amazing work.

 

And a forum that concentrates on small boat mods is tinboats.net. Lots of pictures and instructions.

[KSanford33]

Just now, MN Fisher said:

And a forum that concentrates on small boat mods is tinboats.net. Lots of pictures and instructions.

Cool, thank you so much! 

 

Since this is my first time trying something like this, I wanted to keep the costs as low as possible. I'm fine with the fabrication side of things, but if I get everything wired without shocking the snot out of myself it'll be a miracle.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

I'm fine with the fabrication side of things, but if I get everything wired without shocking the snot out of myself it'll be a miracle.

Ask questions - I did the wiring for the F-9 from scratch. I'm very familiar with electrical systems, I actually worked wiring control panels in one of my jobs.

[KSanford33]

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Ask questions - I did the wiring for the F-9 from scratch. I'm very familiar with electrical systems, I actually worked wiring control panels in one of my jobs.

I appreciate it.

 

I'm going to wire two trolling motors (one bow and one stern), a fish finder, and a livewell. I have one 24v deep cycle marine battery with 550 cold cranking amps and 140 reserve (not sure if you need that info). Can I just hook everything up to the battery, or do I need additional batteries, or a circuit breaker, or...?

 

Thank you again for your help.

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

I appreciate it.

 

I'm going to wire two trolling motors (one bow and one stern), a fish finder, and a livewell. I have one 24v deep cycle marine battery with 550 cold cranking amps and 140 reserve (not sure if you need that info). Can I just hook everything up to the battery, or do I need additional batteries, or a circuit breaker, or...?

 

Thank you again for your help.

Are the TMs 24v?

If the battery has both CCA and Reserve ratings, it's a dual-purpose, not a pure deep cycle.,,in any case, an reserve of 140 translates to 58ah. Given you don't want to drain a lead-acid battery (wet-cell, gel, AGM) below 50%, you have an effective 29ah - that would run a 30# Endura C2 for less than an hour at speed 5.

What's the thrust rating of the TMs?

Are they going to be run separately or both on at the same time?

Always put a circuit breaker between the battery and what it's powering - as close to the battery as possible.

 

No matter what, I'd run a separate, smaller battery for the electronics...some TMs will cause interference with your fish-finder if both are running off the same battery. Get a timer for the livewell, you don't need it running all the time - I actually used a programmable digital timer that cost me all of $15 on Amazon connected to the recirc pump.

[KSanford33]

Both TMs are 12v. I still have the battery I used for the fish finder on my kayak, so I can definitely keep that self-contained. 

 

I plan on running the TMs one at a time. The stern-mounted one is 40lbs thrust and the bow-mounted one is 38. What sort of battery(ies) would you recommend for this?

[MN Fisher]

Just now, KSanford33 said:

Both TMs are 12v. I still have the battery I used for the fish finder on my kayak, so I can definitely keep that self-contained. 

 

I plan on running the TMs one at a time. The stern-mounted one is 40lbs thrust and the bow-mounted one is 38. What sort of battery(ies) would you recommend for this?

Okay - do NOT run a 12v TM from a 24v battery...BAD THINGS HAPPEN.

 

You should be fine with one battery for the TMs - but if your going lead-acid, I'd shoot for a 100ah 'true' deep cycle.

This is the one I'm running for my TM.

https://www.amazon.com/ML100-12-Internal-Terminal-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B00S1QCK94/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=100ah+agm+battery&qid=1665702623&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjU4IiwicXNhIjoiMy4wMiIsInFzcCI6IjIuNTUifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685

 

I've also got a 35ah Mighty Max AGM running everything else.

 

Make sure you get a quality charger - ya, the NOCO Genius 5x2 I have is a bit up there in price - but when I finally have the money to upgrade to LiFePo4, the charger doesn't have to be replaced as it's Lithium compatable.

[KSanford33]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Okay - do NOT run a 12v TM from a 24v battery...BAD THINGS HAPPEN.

 

You should be fine with one battery for the TMs - but if your going lead-acid, I'd shoot for a 100ah 'true' deep cycle.

This is the one I'm running for my TM.

https://www.amazon.com/ML100-12-Internal-Terminal-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B00S1QCK94/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=100ah+agm+battery&qid=1665702623&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjU4IiwicXNhIjoiMy4wMiIsInFzcCI6IjIuNTUifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685

 

I've also got a 35ah Mighty Max AGM running everything else.

 

Make sure you get a quality charger - ya, the NOCO Genius 5x2 I have is a bit up there in price - but when I finally have the money to upgrade to LiFePo4, the charger doesn't have to be replaced as it's Lithium compatable.

Good to know. I would've hooked them up to the 24v battery and thought nothing of it. I've got the same exact battery for my fish finder, so no worries there. I'll definitely look for a decent charger as well. Thank you again for the help. If you don't mind, I might call on you again if I hit any snags.

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

If you don't mind, I might call on you again if I hit any snags.

We're here to help....and being retired, I'm here off and on all day long.

[KSanford33]

15 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

We're here to help....and being retired, I'm here off and on all day long.

Unfortunately I'm still a few years away from that.

 

As it turns out, 24DC on a battery does not mean 24 volts direct current. So my battery is 12v. Who knew?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Original empty weight was 215lbs - that's according to the pamphlet

 

By the time all was said and done - without gear, motor and batteries, I'd estimate it at around 250-275lbs. The original seats were removed, so weight was saved there, and being mostly aluminum, it really didn't add a large amount. Here's a shot of the framing before the decks were mounted.

Skills, you got them.

 

This is why I'm buying a decked pond boat.....I don't have these skills.   

 

 

[MN Fisher]

7 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Skills, you got them.

 

This is why I'm buying a decked pond boat.....I don't have these skills.   

 

 

Acquired over many years.

Dad taught me plumbing, electrical and woodworking growing up.

I got into hobby electronics as a late teen - got to the point where I was designing circuits, doing the layouts, etching the PC Boards and assembling.

Spent 20 years doing computers - was everything from an operator to the interim MIS Director (they offered me the position permanent, but the pay wasn't up to snuff.

After the bottom dropped out of IT early 2000s, I worked manufacturing doing metal work, hi-pressure plumbing, wiring control panels, pneumatic controls...the works.

I also worked retail for a bit...was assistant manager before a higher paying, manufacturing job was available.

 

Just takes experience...this was actually the first time I'd worked with rivets, believe it or not...I just logically applied other things to how to do it.

[volzfan59]

I leaned heavily, and really appreciate @MN Fisher during my build. Ken is a valuable resource and a doggone smart man! He's right about tinboats.net and Mighty Max batteries. I bought a 100 a/h lithium battery from them. Great battery and they beat the pants off of everyone else's price. Excellent pricing, didn't charge sales tax and free shipping.