Jon boat build

[oldsparkey]

A round bottomed boat is like a ( heavy ) person with a beer belly , sometimes it is harder for him to get threw a tight place then a ( skinny ) flat bellied person. The round bottom sticks out and takes more water to float it then a nice flat bottom one .... So the flat bottom will get into tighter areas then a round or "V" Bottom one will. The flat bottom has a lot less draft ( water needed to float it ) then the others. Taking the same size of the boat and the weight in it into consideration.

Besides the round bottom or "V" one will be tippy as heck when it gets hung up on a log. Or if it hits an object like a stump it can take a 90 degree turn which means the operator of the boat goes overboard and swimming with the motor running and with luck does not fall victim to the spinning prop. At the worse the flat bottom will tip to one side and give you a moment to panic with one side high in the air or just sit there as solid as if it was on a sandbar if you managed to hit it straight on. Or just slide over it , usually sliding over it creating some problems for the lower foot of your motor as it passes under your boat.

Best bet is don't hit any stumps and slid over the logs. Or better yet , go slow when in new waters.

I learned that a long time ago down here at a young age. Later it was reinforced when on a lot of the trips the guys in round bottom canoes got hung up where my flat bottomed pirogue just slid threw without any problems. They were back there cussing , pushing , pulling and doing all sorts of things to get un-hung. Even getting out and balancing on the log while pulling the boat over it , hand over hand style. :evil:

It depends on the water you want to travel , open water then the round or "V" Bottom , back or shallow waters then the flat bottom. Jon Boats are designed as back ( skinny ) water boats that can be operate in open water, the best of both worlds.

As Jack said..........
The main thing is to have the bottom well made to take any abuse if it would come along and it normally does at some time.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Chuck's right,if you wanna travel in backwaters. He forgot, however, to state that in open water with waves - particularly whitecaps, flat bottomed boats are beginning to get dangerous. They take on water and tip over quicker and more easily in that environment.

Yes, each design feature has an envelope. Each design feature will operate outside of that envelope, but not as well as one made for it. Old timey-type stories don't change the facts.

 

[oldsparkey]

I'm with Jack on this 100% and the way I like to say it is ......... Expect the unexpected and be prepared for it...... With luck it will never come but if it does ... You are prepared for it.

Chuck.
PS. Corney and an old time saying but true...... An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure , everytime.

 

[Kayak Jack]

...PS. Corney and an old time saying but true...... An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure , every time.

Not corny, very prophetic.

Also, a stitch in time saves nine. IE: Fix it when the break is small rather than let it go and get worse.

 

[tx river rat]

I have run some awful bad water in a 16 ft flat bottom bass boat ,even some that sunk some high dollors glass boats,
I figure its 10 percent boat and 90 percent operator.
My first wooden boat was a 10 ft air boat with a 10 horse lawn mower motor,it was built entirley from 1/4 inch ply with glass just on the bottom.never did poke a hole in it and it would run about 20 miles an hour.
Ron
Little boat mad many a trip on the brazos river.

 

[islandpiper]

TRR, what kind of rods should I buy to weld 2x4s to 1/2 " ply? fillet size? How many passes? What should i chip it with?

(Sorry Chuck.......just couldn't help it.)

piper

 

[funbun]

Yes, each design feature has an envelope. Each design feature will operate outside of that envelope, but not as well as one made for it. Old timey-type stories don't change the facts.

I figure its 10 percent boat and 90 percent operator.

Yes, that makes for good commentary on mass produced aluminum jon boats. The designers add all kinds of features to push the envelope of what a simple jon boat can handle: Flared sides and continual curves add some secondary stability; some models come with either a V-bottom or a V-bow, and all of them have plenty of emergency float.

I guess these companies don't want to get sued, so they put as many safety features in these boats as possible.

 

[Kayak Jack]

...I guess these companies don't want to get sued, so they put as many safety features in these boats as possible.

DANG! And all this time I thought it was because they were concerned about their fellow man. Another myth all shottahell! :wink:

Now, Funbun, you've ruined my whole day. (sneaking off into a corner to sniffle and cry, here)

 

[islandpiper]

I talked to JON, he says two layers of 1/4, bonded with glass between and inside and out, graphite bottom, good UV paint, silicone bronze ring shank boat nails and bronze/brass screws, and a dose of common sense overall.

piper

 

[BEARS BUDDY]

I talked to JON, he says two layers of 1/4, bonded with glass between and inside and out, graphite bottom, good UV paint, silicone bronze ring shank boat nails and bronze/brass screws, and a dose of common sense overall.

piper

piper, That last item on the list is in short supply.

 

[funbun]

Update. Gosh it's been a year since I started this. So, here's what I decided to do. I scraped the jon boat plan and decided to build a power dory instead. I decided to go with the Carolina Dory by Jeff Spira. I've built the strong back and plan to get started on the support ribs this weekend.

I wanted something that can take big waves and wind and get me home safely, not that I would purposefully go out in those conditions.

It's flat bottomed, hauls a lot of weight and can be powered on low to moderate power. With my pirogue there was too much paddling and not enough fishing.

 

[Kayak Jack]

You must be fishing in some choppy waters, ehh? Not in the traditional, southern backwaters?

 

[funbun]

Well, I'd like to fish below the dam for strippers and cats. When that water starts churning, man you'd better have enough ponies to get out of dodge, and boat that can take the waves, not that I'll be that close up, but still.

Plus, I want a boat that no one else is using around these parts.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Yeah, don't want to get close to a dam - they pull you under and hold you there. A couple fellows in a town near here had that problem a few years ago. They'd been drinking a bit, couldn't get the outboard started, and the boat drifted back into the spill coming over the dam. Their bodies washed out a few days later.

 

[eSpark]

Yes, that makes for good commentary on mass produced aluminum jon boats. The designers add all kinds of features to push the envelope of what a simple jon boat can handle: Flared sides and continual curves add some secondary stability; some models come with either a V-bottom or a V-bow, and all of them have plenty of emergency float.

I guess these companies don't want to get sued, so they put as many safety features in these boats as possible.

Yes, absolutely. These companies do not want to be sued so they thought of one important thing- safety first. The safety features they intended to design on the boats are reasonable. This would secure safety for the people while in an operation.