# Jon Boat vs V Hull



## Hooked (Mar 3, 2008)

Here's the deal, in the next month or so I will be buying a used boat with my father in law. I have read all about the differences in the V hulls, Modified V hulls and jon boats. The problem is I can't seem to decide what type to go for. It will mostly be 2 adults fishing. Mostly smaller lakes, don't plan on going onto any of the Great lakes (I'm down in Canada). I plan on going for 14'-16' boat. I thought V hull for sure, but on this site it seems the boat of choice is the jon boat, which has kind of caused me to second guess what I want. I have never handled a jon boat, but have rented the stander v hull when I do go out. is it strickly when motoring I will notice the differnce, or will it be when at a stop as well?

thanks guys


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## bAcKpAiN (Mar 3, 2008)

I think it depends on what kind of fishing you do for the most part. I decided on a V hull when buying simply because I like to fish the tidal Delaware river which when the wind is blowing agains the tide it can get REALLY dicey. If you don't fish those type of waters, I would choose the flatbottom as they are considered to be more stable. 

I have fished the same stretch of river in a 16' flat bottom jet as I have with my 14' V with the same three people under similar circumstances. The only differences I noticed were #1 while motoring in the flat jon I was just waiting to take some waves over the bow and be soaked, while in my boat we cut the waves better and stayed high and dry even at WOT compared to signifcantly slowing down in the jon. The other thing I noticed was my boat at anchor seemed to roll just a bit more in the waves that would come sideways from the barges and tugs moving past in the channel. 

Now as far as a comparison I am not sure how this helps, my friends jon had 2' in length over mine as well as a significant beam difference as well. I am thinking I would NOT want to take a flat bottom 14' anywhere near where I like to fish. 

Another thing to consider, is my boat has a much higher weight/HP capacity compared to similar sized flat bottom jons. This might be something to think about when making your choice. 

Thinking back, and knowing what I know now, I probably would have liked to split the difference and went with a modified V like some of the G3's. But they are all out of my price range so I am happy to have gotten what I have.


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## Starfire01 (Mar 3, 2008)

Hooked, 
I had a few 12' jon boats in the past. I recently decided to get a boat to take my family and friends out fishing and for playing. I did some research and found that for me the semi v or v would work the best. I wanted something that was stable, safe for my kid. light weight, big enough to move around inside, to play, and to hold enough persons/ weight. The stabilty and weight were the primary factors. I weight 245 plus my buddies are all over 220. I realized that most bass boats at 16' had a max weight of 550 lbs and the jon's were not as stable. I initially looked at the G3's and the Grizzly's and I ended up buying a used Starcraft on Craigslist.com The pic of my boat is on this site if your intereted. I plan on using mine on both small lakes and some of the bigger lakes . I have yet to get mine out on any lake, but the previous owner, the dealership claim that snce it is aluminum, loading and unloading is easy for one person to handle.


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