Jon boat restoration

I fished all of my young life.

My dad has an old aluminum boat we use for duck hunting. Its from the early '80's, made by a Central California company called Valco, which is no longer around. Its a great size - 12' long and over 50" wide. All the flat-bottom Jon boats made now in 12' are " wide, and really only good for 2 people and gear, while this one is stable with 3 and a dog, so its worth repairing. Valco boats are like Grumman canoes: thick aluminum made to aircraft specs from when America was Great Before. I'd take a riveted Valco or Grumman over a modern "welded" boat made from recycled Bud cans any day.

Jon boat restoration

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Added some stainless fender washers to the middle holes, where the wobbling engine had made the old holes into ovals. I noticed that the old seats had failed along their ends.

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The Jon boat is a simple and versatile vessel which is known for its superb ability to navigate shallow and calm waters. It is often the boat of choice for the angler and huntsman who can use these agile flat-bottomed boats to access the best waterways for fishing and waterfowl hunting. The basic design of a Jon boat means it has a flat bottom and an open hull with exposed ribs along with a transom to which a basic outboard trolling motor can be attached. These boats can also be easily propelled manually with a paddle or pushed in shallow waters with a pole. A Jon boat can also be rowed by oars when oar locks are fitted. The simple design of this easy to maintain vessel lends itself excellently to a wide variety of customization and upgrade projects. Most boats come as a stripped down aluminum or wooden shell, meaning that you can take a basic Jon boat and with a little work and patience turn it into your ideal vessel. Here we share a variety of Jon boat ideas that will help ensure your Jon boat excels in performance, comfort and looks. A Jon boat, by design, has an open decking area that allows you to move freely about the boat.

Jon boat restoration

Here are 11 tips to keep in mind when restoring an older boat. Take an inventory of your tools, and then roll up your sleeves and start. Clean the boat from stem to stern so you can see exactly what you have to work with. Remove all the water, leaves and debris from the boat. Organic material is your enemy. Seat bases? Fiberglass components? The steering system? Will you need fiberglass boat restoration?

Lifetime picnic table with umbrella hole

Loading Comments The Rapala RipStop. Paint doesn't stick to it all that well, but if it gets scratched and exposed, it'll just be more camouflage. Make it about them. Our country and our kids need both. Type your email… Subscribe. Its a great size - 12' long and over 50" wide. Think golf balls or shark skin. Unfortunately, I don't have any 'before' pics of the whole boat, but from the detail shots it'll be clear it needed a thorough restoration. Didn't want to drill any new holes anywhere if I didn't have to.

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I just evened it up with the long aluminum flanges. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked my Instructable! Its from the early '80's, made by a Central California company called Valco, which is no longer around. If you watch this summary video, make sure to look at all the crap in the background… this was clearly pre-minimalist fisherman…. It was a guess, and it didn't do much. I decided to make it 2" taller than the old one, to give more support to the stern end of the boat. There was a small lake I found near me that had a few miles of shoreline not the pond mentioned above , with only about 25 feet that could actually be fished via the shore. You don't want to overdo it on the darker ones especially in a marsh but you do need some. Each seat also had a pair of brackets to reinforce the rim of the hull and keep the boat from twisting under load. Find articles focused on becoming better anglers, and better men. God bless this great land we live in. I had to borrow a friend's pressure washer because I don't know where mine is. Let your mind just GO wherever the hell it wants. We could put some storage compartments in it.