I have ordered the Uncle John’s JonBoat plans. I am wanting to build a Jon Boat Bass rig. I just don’t know how important the weight distribution is. I have a 66hp Suzuki outboard that I will be using to power the boat. I have been looking at boat manufactures and their sizes vs. hp. I have come up with a 16’ boat that has a 62â€Â
Newbie: weight distribution
- Thread starter 1fast68
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I'd build the boat to whatever the specs say. Then worry about weight distribution after ward.
Move the battery and live well around after it's built and you've run it a few times.
Move the battery and live well around after it's built and you've run it a few times.
I haven't built a Uncle Johns , Jon Boat (as of yet , have the plans here at the house) and from looking at them I would go with the 3/8ths , but that is just me. Then glass the bottom and sides on both the outside and inside. Some graphite and epoxy mix on the bottom would not hurt anything. The outside of the bottom ...not on the inside.
Running that large of a motor I would add three elbows to the transom to help stiffen it and distribute the force (And weight) it will put on the boat.
A elbow is nothing more the a "J" shaped of wood running up the transom and out about the same distance on the interior of the bottom of the boat. It is something they do to boats which are light weight and with large motors. My last , powered, fishing boat had that arraignment but it was made for racing and I converted it over to a fishing boat.
I am not sure if I understand your statement about the weight distribution .... when your boat will be sitting in the water it will be a little heavy on the stern with that motor on it but running it should level out and then if you are fishing from the bow it would level out with your weight forward.
It would pay you to send John a e-mail about this , he is semi retired now but is handling all of the technical questions .... Tell him you have posted the question over here and I asked you to bounce this off him.
It is best to ask a lot of questions before making the boat then to make a mistake and find out about it later.
Chuck.
PS. Tell John HI for me.
By the way I forgot to tell you.... If you epoxy saturate the wood it multiples the strength of the wood up to four times the original strength.
Running that large of a motor I would add three elbows to the transom to help stiffen it and distribute the force (And weight) it will put on the boat.
A elbow is nothing more the a "J" shaped of wood running up the transom and out about the same distance on the interior of the bottom of the boat. It is something they do to boats which are light weight and with large motors. My last , powered, fishing boat had that arraignment but it was made for racing and I converted it over to a fishing boat.
I am not sure if I understand your statement about the weight distribution .... when your boat will be sitting in the water it will be a little heavy on the stern with that motor on it but running it should level out and then if you are fishing from the bow it would level out with your weight forward.
It would pay you to send John a e-mail about this , he is semi retired now but is handling all of the technical questions .... Tell him you have posted the question over here and I asked you to bounce this off him.
It is best to ask a lot of questions before making the boat then to make a mistake and find out about it later.
Chuck.
PS. Tell John HI for me.
By the way I forgot to tell you.... If you epoxy saturate the wood it multiples the strength of the wood up to four times the original strength.Thanks oldsparkey. I wasn't sure about how heavy the stern would be sitting in the water. I didn't want to have it so unlevel that it was awkward to fish out of.
Not sure what you weigh but if you are like most fishermen they like to sit up around the bow when fishing (solo) so your weight would level out the boat , or should , when fishing. :wink:
Now I can't be responsible or answer for all of the fish you would get and they would make the boat heavier in one end then the other. :roll: You know , That all fisherman only tell the truth and nothing but the truth about there fishing abilities and what the catch .... cough , choke , gasp , gag
Chuck.
Now I can't be responsible or answer for all of the fish you would get and they would make the boat heavier in one end then the other. :roll: You know , That all fisherman only tell the truth and nothing but the truth about there fishing abilities and what the catch .... cough , choke , gasp , gag
Chuck.
Must be some hellaciously strong fish to need 66 horsepower to yank'em in! Sounds like putting a 250 Hp V-8 in a Volksy.
G'day IFast28, Welcome aboard.
Mate your Suzi sounds awful big for a 15' jon boat to me.
I would be re-inforcing the transom as Chuck said but also further stengthening the transom with braces to the sides as well.
With that much weight in the back, it will surely sit low in the stern while at rest and this could be a problem in choppy water. I would very respectfully suggest that you consider a smaller motor.
Mate your Suzi sounds awful big for a 15' jon boat to me.
I would be re-inforcing the transom as Chuck said but also further stengthening the transom with braces to the sides as well.
With that much weight in the back, it will surely sit low in the stern while at rest and this could be a problem in choppy water. I would very respectfully suggest that you consider a smaller motor.
I kinda skipped over the HP size in your first post. That is a big motor for that size boat.
Now I've enjoyed my time on power boats with the wind almost peeling my face off because we were zooming along so fast. The hardcore fishing tournament guys like to be able to get up and go to the next spot quickly too.
But there safety you have to consider. Please give a good round of thought about if you really want to put a motor that big on that boat.
Uncle John's website even states what the max is: http://www.unclejohns.com/jonboat/faq/default.htm#motor
I completely understand that you want to use the motor you already have and not spend money on a new one. I've been in that situation. But I also think that by the time you spent the money on materials building a boat that could safely handle that size, you could have just as easily bought yourself a smaller motor.
Now we're telling you this not to rain on your parade or tell you your foolish (although a bit of foolishness is implied if you hang around this group of characters).
But we want to see you happy with your boat and share the pictures and stories of your experiences with her.
Now I've enjoyed my time on power boats with the wind almost peeling my face off because we were zooming along so fast. The hardcore fishing tournament guys like to be able to get up and go to the next spot quickly too.
But there safety you have to consider. Please give a good round of thought about if you really want to put a motor that big on that boat.
Uncle John's website even states what the max is: http://www.unclejohns.com/jonboat/faq/default.htm#motor
I completely understand that you want to use the motor you already have and not spend money on a new one. I've been in that situation. But I also think that by the time you spent the money on materials building a boat that could safely handle that size, you could have just as easily bought yourself a smaller motor.
Now we're telling you this not to rain on your parade or tell you your foolish (although a bit of foolishness is implied if you hang around this group of characters).
But we want to see you happy with your boat and share the pictures and stories of your experiences with her.
I'm kinda thinking that if a guy firewalled the throttle on a 66 horse engine glued to a peerow, he will learn how to do a loop right there at the dock. The aft end of the boat will be accelerating faster than the bow, and that's a distinct problem to a fellow sitting in the middle.
I have a 16 foot Jonsboat made on the Jim Michalak's design and I mostly run a 15 hp motor , and that is fine for two people , I've had a 25 on it and with that it bloody flies , too fast for me ,
David
David