[19lowe96]

i just bought a 14 ft flat bottom lowe fishing boat and i am trying to covert it into a bass fishing boat. i have looked at many boat projects and pretty much know what i am trying to do as far as the lay out of the boat. i don't know what i should use to support the front deck and back deck with out putting to much extra weight on the boat. i also don't know if i should leave the original metal seats in because they are rivitted into the boat and there would be all these whole left....if someone could help me out and throw some tip my way i would really appreciate it..
thank you..

[boomah21]

http://www.tackleunderground.com/for...oat+conversion

Not sure if that link will help you or not.

Sorry never tried doing the conversion myself.

[JSC]

Hi 19
Just ran into this thread.
DO NOT REMOVE the seats ... your floation is incorporated into them.
Build your decks using the seats as supports. Use as little material as possible to keep the weight down.
Let us know how it turns out.
JSC

[bhorlings]

I have not purchased mine yet but I will be getting one soon. I plan on using 1"x1"x1/8" aluminum angle for the support. You will have to rivet it but it will be much lighter than wood.

[JSC]

bh
The Alum for bracing is the way to go ... You do not have to think rivets all the way as it can be bolted as well.
Keep us up to date.
JSC

[rhahn427]

Originally Posted by JSC

bh
The Alum for bracing is the way to go ... You do not have to think rivets all the way as it can be bolted as well.
Keep us up to date.
JSC

I totally agree ....... I screwed an alumnium frame to the supports on the bottom and to wood blocks that were even with the bench seats and made a plywood deck with a bunch of hatches ......... it's very comfortable and the whole boat is storage below the decking .......

[bhorlings]

Are you standing on the deck or sitting on a pedestal? How stable is it? What's the width of the beam?

[Spike-A-Pike]

I am working on my 1985 Bass Tracker Tournament V-17 and the bulk of the boat is rivets with some kind of sealant (it could be J B Weld for all I know) in the seams. Rather than aluminum angles, you might want to go with the added strength of aluminum square or rectangle tube for the center of the boat. I had the local sheet metal shop bend me some aluminum zees to go around the deck hatches on the deck and some C-channel to go around the hatch covers to prevent warping. Take some time to figure out how to route the water that is going to collect in the hatches and along the sides of the decks into the bilge so it can be pumped or drained. RTV and vinyl tubing can be your friends

Remember to use either aluminum rivets or stainless steel fasteners or you'll have electrolysis problems because of the dissimilar metals, zinc fished screws won't last very long.

[Dean McClain]

Good tips Bruce.

On any jon boat conversion, keep in mind the original design...It is not a boat structurally engineered for the modifications you're going to perform---original seats not only contain the flotation but are vitally important to the structural integrity of the boat. Try to keep your added weight down as much as posssible, if you're expecting to run the boat on plane with an outboard...extra weight in the front of the boat will mean extra strain and flex on the transom. Also remember that old adage about a boat being a hole in the water into which you throw money, as it can get spendy for a boat that has a limited scope; because you can't hang a big motor on the back for fishing bigger water, which in turn, hurts its resale value.

However, if the boat suits a lot of the places you're going to fish, such as outboard or horsepower restricted water, and you plan on keeping the boat for a long time for just that purpose, a personally customized jon conversion can be well suited and a lot of fun to fish from!

Dean

[thedude]

i have a 14' Lowe (48" bottom, 72" beam) that has front and back decks.
use angle iron or 2x4 bolted to the front face of the font deck and then the middle seat to support your front deck. If you use 3/4 plywood, you won't need any other support. I'm 230lbs and my deck supports me just fine. its even cut with "hatches" on either side like rod-lockers on a traditional bass boat (not big enough for rods) and has a pedestal seat mount.

For the rear, i have a pedestal seat mount in the rear bench. I used a piece of 3/4 ply bolted up to the back of the seat and set about 1" lower than the top. I have a single piece of 3/4 that is hinged directly to the transom and rests on top of the other 3/4 i just mentioned - it sits flush with the rear bench.

user exterior treated plywood - or if you want it to be super strong - use exterior untreated ply and "paint" it with some u.s. composites epoxy. The epoxy will permanently seal the ply and add strength.