# 2008 1432 Alumacraft Jon Boat (Mini Mod)



## SCARNG2011 (Oct 9, 2013)

Whats up Gents!! Finally after finishing my first build (listed in my signature) and flipping it for a nice $1000 profit I was able to pick up a new "ride" and start my 2nd build here on the glorious Tin Boats forum.

Here are a couple shots of what i've done to it already. It is a 2008 1432 Alumacraft Jon with a galvanized trailer.

Can't wait to get started on this build!


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## DrNip (Oct 9, 2013)

Love it. Just cram everything to the side to shut the door.


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## SCARNG2011 (Oct 9, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=331730#p331730 said:


> DrNip » 09 Oct 2013, 21:37[/url]"]Love it. Just cram everything to the side to shut the door.



That's right buddy! Gotta do with what you got lol


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## SCARNG2011 (Jan 2, 2014)

Picked up a brand new Mercury 9.9HP from Bass Pro Shop for Christmas. this baby purrs!! 2 pulls for cold start and 1 pull when warm. 

I didn't want to drill any holes in my jon so decided to pick up a portable transducer mount manufactured by "Sully". After scowering the internet for directions on how to assemble I just decided to figure it out myself and ended up making an instructional video while installing it. I purchased a Lowrance Elite - 4 DSI with a RAM mount to go on this tin.

Attached are pictures and a youtube video of the Sully LCR Transducer Mount Installation video.

https://youtu.be/FfUWYLiW8ag


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## Gators5220 (Jan 4, 2014)

Nice little boat man.


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## SCARNG2011 (Apr 4, 2014)

Had some time to progress on a mount i designed for my bow mounted trolling motor. I picked up a Minn Kota Edge 45lb thrust from a guy on craigslist that replaced it with an ipilot on his tracker. Once i got home i was very confused as to how to install the thing on my boat.

After looking at different ways people mounted it in the past, i went with a two aluminum strip option (after walking the aisles of home depot for awhile). Attached are the pictures of how i designed and installed the TM mount.

Hardware: (2) Aluminum Strips 3ft long, (4) 1/4" bolts w/nuts, (10) Sheet Metal Screws

***please excuse my dirty feet in some of the pics***


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## SCARNG2011 (Apr 6, 2014)

I took the boat out yesterday and this little TM mount i built is extremely tough! I drove 45 minutes to get to Stone Mountain Lake down here in Atlanta and no problems with bumps in the road. fished for about 5 hours on the lake and the positioning of the mount was perfect for my little jon. 

It's a huge balance game you have to play with these narrow jon boats. but with my batteries, tackle, outboard, and trolling motor i have a very balanced set up. I also clocked my max speed fully loaded yesterday at 21MPH!!

Ok, so i'm trying to decide if i should make cutouts in my middle bench for both of my batteries... right now i have one infront and one behind my middle bench and i'd like to get that space back. i've seen builds where people cut out benches to make livewells... but has anyone made battery compartments before?


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## SCARNG2011 (Apr 6, 2014)

Also, does anyone know of a good way to reduce glare on a fishfinder? it was near impossible to read my display yesterday without shadowing it with my hand. I've seen screen protectors for them... but didn't know if someone else had a better way to view the screen in direct sunlight. thanks!


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## ccm (Apr 6, 2014)

You defiantly want to make a compartment in the bench for your batteries. Trust me tripping over a battery never ends well and the space that you reclaim makes the boat even more comfortable.


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## SCARNG2011 (Apr 6, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=347664#p347664 said:


> ccm » 06 Apr 2014, 16:27[/url]"]You defiantly want to make a compartment in the bench for your batteries. Trust me tripping over a battery never ends well and the space that you reclaim makes the boat even more comfortable.



I agree!


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## KTS (Apr 8, 2014)

Nice Boat. Enjoyed your last build & good luck with this 1.
I will be starting 1 soon with a nice deep V. I will be following closely.
Man I can't wait to get the weather that it looks like you have.
Cold by Lake Erie but I am tuff 19 foxtrot 3/3 Armored Cab here.
If l have issues with my build I will have you & Country Dave make a road trip.


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## SCARNG2011 (Jul 7, 2016)

Whats up fellas! Been a minute since I've last posted here. Wife and I had our first baby girl this March and she is nearing 4 months old.

Since the last time I posted, I bought a 20' Wellcraft V20 Fisherman Center Console with a Johnson 225 Outboard. So my Tin Boat days were put aside with this fiberglass stuff haha. Since having the baby it's time to sell the center console and now it's back to my Jon Boat  (we never sell our jon boats!)

I know I havn't posted updated pictures of the latest stuff I've done to the boat so here is a video walkaround to see the latest addons:

https://youtu.be/UQ1sd_mLpEI

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ1sd_mLpEI[/youtube]


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## onthewater102 (Jul 7, 2016)

Was watching your walk around video and the one thing I noticed was your battery compartment - you've got the two batteries in there but then you have an aluminum hatch over them. I didn't see any tie-down straps so there is nothing in there to keep them from bouncing if you hit a pothole or something and coming into contact with the underside of the aluminum bench above them. You might want to get some plastic battery boxes for them at Walmart.

I love the simplicity of that TM support. I had been planning on putting a deck level to the top of the gunwales for the TM to mount to on my 16' build but after seeing that I kinda like the idea of being able to have a little bit of lip to prevent a small tackle tray or something from accidentally getting pushed over the side and that would be very clean and yet very sturdy. I ran into an issue with my first configuration where the flexing of the bench material eventually resulted in cracks forming but your layout distributes the load so much more evenly I don't think it would be an issue.


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## SCARNG2011 (Jul 7, 2016)

onthewater102 said:


> Was watching your walk around video and the one thing I noticed was your battery compartment - you've got the two batteries in there but then you have an aluminum hatch over them. I didn't see any tie-down straps so there is nothing in there to keep them from bouncing if you hit a pothole or something and coming into contact with the underside of the aluminum bench above them. You might want to get some plastic battery boxes for them at Walmart.
> 
> I love the simplicity of that TM support. I had been planning on putting a deck level to the top of the gunwales for the TM to mount to on my 16' build but after seeing that I kinda like the idea of being able to have a little bit of lip to prevent a small tackle tray or something from accidentally getting pushed over the side and that would be very clean and yet very sturdy. I ran into an issue with my first configuration where the flexing of the bench material eventually resulted in cracks forming but your layout distributes the load so much more evenly I don't think it would be an issue.




VERY good observation! I didn't even think of that to be honest. I'll start thinking about something to secure them better.

And thank you in regards to the TM mount... I know it's not super clean but like you said it distributes the weight over the entire front seat and was very inexpensive and easy to "hammer out".


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## onthewater102 (Jul 7, 2016)

This is something I keep worrying about on my boat when I see others with this situation and it seems to take a while to remember my hatch is all plastic.

Those plastic boxes I mentioned come with a top & also prevent any accidental leaks (should one ever occur) from making a mess of your boat. I suppose you could also attach a plastic board to the underside of the hatch and achieve the same result.


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## SCARNG2011 (Jul 8, 2016)

When we cut the foam (half the foam still in the bench compartment), we cut it so the batteries were tight when seated... they can't really move up or down very easily. But your comment about when trailering got me thinking that you had a point... one good pot hole and there might be a chance that the batteries come in contact with the lid of the seat. I probably won't put a box underneath, but instead weld a hinge and a steel tab that crosses over each battery. Then weld a resting bracket of some kind on the opposite side with holes for a screw and nut to hold in place (allow for battery removal down the road)

Here's a rough sketch of the idea


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