# Lowe 1236 modifications



## bobberboy (Jul 27, 2009)

MY APOLOGIES TO READERS: DUE TO NEW PHOTOBUCKET THIRD-PARTY HOSTING POLICIES THE PHOTO'S ACCOMPANYING THIS THREAD ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. WITHOUT THE PHOTO'S THE INFORMATION HERE HAS LOST MUCH OF ITS USEFULNESS SO PROCEED IF YOU WISH. GREED AND MONEY AS USUAL TRUMP EVERYTHING.


This is my first boat so I didn't have much experience to base my choice of boat and motor. I have fished all my life - my folks owned a resort when I was a kid - but never owned my own boat before.

I think a lot people believe that bigger is better when it comes to choosing a boat. I decided to go small for two reasons. First, I have a small pop-up camper and wanted a boat small enough to carry on top. I didn't intend to even get a trailer at first believing I would only take it on camping trips and because I didn't really have a place to park two trailers (It didn't take long to figure that one out!). Anyway, the camper is only 8' long so I couldn't really haul a 14' boat on top, plus weight was a factor. The second reason for a small boat is I like to go on small lakes and in areas that the big boats can't get into. The lake I fish most is so low right now that the big boats can't even get off the trailers.

I chose the Lowe 1236 because it's the widest 12' jon I could find and because I liked the seat configuration. I got a riveted boat because the weight was less than a welded one. The motor is a Nissan 9.8 4-stroke w/electric start. It's a nice motor and I'm really glad I went with the 4-stroke because it's so much quieter and there are no mixed gas exhaust fumes to inhale when trolling. I got a too-small 30lb thrust electric trolling motor. When things are quiet the trolling motor is fine but in wind the flat bottom slides across the water so easily that the motor sometimes struggles to keep up. I'm in the weeds and lily pads a lot so this can be a problem at times.







My choice of boat/motor wasn't completely dictated by my budget. I could have spent more, but decided to go small and to make any upgrades or modifications myself. I like the challenge, and being the son of a farmer, like to invent ways to make things work. Also, it's good to solve problems with your head instead of your credit card. So, there's the background.

I bought the boat/motor last fall and took it out enough times to break in the motor and to figure out some things I wanted to do. Weight distribution was an issue. With the motor, me, the battery and gas can all in back, the boat practically never got up on plane. Even with a second person on board, the weight was too far back. I screwed a piece of plywood to the floor between the front and middle seats and moved the gas and battery forward to test the weight distribution. This configuration worked much better so I decided to make a small deck over the front seat to contain the gas tank, battery and hopefully some other things. Also, I can't park the boat in a garage and wanted a lock-up for some of the things I always take along like life jackets, etc. So the plan was basically to make a small storage area under a front deck, put in a floor, add some navigation lights and other minor conveniences.

First the front seat came out. Being at the bow it seemed that it didn’t really add anything structural to the boat and I tried to make use of every little bit of space I could. On the right side you can see the gas hose that runs to the back and on the left the 8ga wires from the battery to the rear of the boat. I ran two PVC tubes through the bottom to act as conduits – one for the navigation lights and the other for some future wire pull that I didn’t think of before the floor went in.






After I had run the conduits and wires I could think of below the floor, I added 1-1/4” of foam for flotation and sound insulation between the ribs. As it turns out the insulation was a really good idea because I am always clunking things around in the boat and the noise when running is considerably less. I installed the foam with foam glue and weighted it down until it was dry.





Once the foam was in place I cut out cardboard templates for the floor. To me this was one of the most important steps because it let me see what I was going to get before I invested in the real material and it helped avoid making bad cuts and wasting the real stuff when the time came. You can’t really see in the photo’s but I rough-cut the template around the ribs and then filled in the specific shapes with small pieces of tape. When I was done I had a pretty accurate template of all the shapes I would cut.














One big decision for me was what material to make the deck and floor out of. Again, I was concerned about weight so I had to be careful about the thickness as well as the type of material I used. Even though it was a lot more expensive than plywood, I decided to use Sintra, a PVC sheet material. I was able to cut out (barely) all the parts I needed out of one 1/2” - 4’x8’sheet of material, otherwise, at $110/sheet, I would have had to use something else. The Sintra is lighter than plywood, cuts easily and will last forever. The floor was pretty easy.

I took a long time trying to figure out the deck. I decided to use aluminum angle for the framing to save weight and I got some for free. I engineered the framing as I went along, trying to figure out one problem at a time. I decided to pop-rivet the frame as I can’t weld so I just cut and clamped my way along until I had figured out what configuration worked best. You can use a carbide-tipped blade in a power miter saw to cut aluminum stock, just be absolutely sure to wear face protection. 

There were two problems with the deck that I got stuck on and couldn’t decide how to solve. One was the deck hatch. I was afraid of doing a crappy job on the hatch if I made it myself but I didn’t want to spend the $ on a factory one. I looked online at a lot of suppliers and finally found one that was big enough but not too expensive so I opted to buy the hatch cover.

The second was more serious. I intended to put the gas tank and battery both under the front deck. I’m not sure how real the danger of gas fumes building up inside the deck is and a possible spark from the battery causing an explosion, but it was real enough for me to take some time to figure out how to separate the two. It took a bit of work but I managed to seal off a separate gas tank compartment within the deck space. 










This meant that I had to also have separate access to the gas tank and I used a 6”d. round deck plate placed directly over the fill cap on the gas can. You probably have already seen the flaw in this plan, but you can’t get gas tank out through a 6” hole. I figured this little problem out the first time I thought of actually putting the boat on top of my camper and not on the boat trailer. Needless to say, the upside-down gas tank isn’t going to work too well. For now, the deck top is screwed on and I can remove the tank that way, but maybe a second hatch cover big enough for the tank to fit through will be the answer. I have been hauling it on a trailer for now so I haven’t had to face this mistake yet. You can see in the photo I foamed the cavity around the tank to seal it from the rest of the deck. It does a pretty good job of sealing the two compartments once the deck top is on. I also added in a ventilation grille for the gas tank side of the deck. Note the foam all around for the seal and the cardboard template to the left of the boat.






The battery tie-down.






The gas tank tie-down.






The deck before carpet. This is the black Sintra PVC sheet material. I glued the carpet on with carpet glue – contact cement. The carpet was medium grade marine carpet. Given that the Sintra will last forever, I might have spent the extra to get a longer lasting carpet. I keep the boat covered so maybe the carpet will hold up ok.






The deck on and flooring in. The deck has the hatch cover, 6” round deck plate over the gas filler, seat mount and trolling motor plug-in all installed. Note that I ran another PVC tube along the left side (the red tube) for the battery wires, trying to eliminate as many hook-snagging wires as possible.






The gas-fill cover.






The hatch and gas-fill cover.






The finished floor and deck.






The mistakes – 

Besides the gas tank mistake the other main one turned out to be putting the battery in front. After all the trouble to separate the battery and gas, the weight distribution with the additional weight of the deck materials in front turned out to be too much weight forward. I couldn’t get the boat up on plane with that much weight in front so given the choice of moving either the gas or the battery to the back I opted for the battery. It was an easy fix and the 8ga. wires running front-to-back were still good to connect the bow-mounted trolling motor. The battery move was pretty simple.

I don’t have pics of the boat with seats, motor, etc. on and the small electrical control panel yet but I’ll add those later.

A few $ saving things I figured out along the way –
It seems anything sold as a boat part is more expensive than it would otherwise be. Lots of 12v DC stuff can be bought at car parts stores for less than at most boat places. There are many specific marine parts of course and you have to be careful of the corrosion that will certainly happen, but it is possible to save a little $ by looking around.

I looked for a swivel mount for my locator. The ones I found were an incredible $40 or more. I solved this by getting a tripod mount for $10. It has 1/4x20 threads and I just tapped the hard plastic mount of my Humminbird to fit. It only has a ball-and-socket at one end, but it does the job ok.

I get into some real messes in the weeds. I have a “weedless” prop for my trolling motor but it still gets fouled up. I also have a paddle but I need to reach bottom in order to move sometimes. I looked at push-poles at the boat shops and was amazed by how expensive they are. I did buy the foot for $10 and put in on the end of a telescoping paint pole. I had a pole laying around that extended to about 10’ so when collapsed it is about 5’ long. It has gotten me out of some real messes, it’s aluminum/fiberglass and it works. 

I bought lots of parts at the end of the boating season and saved a lot of dough in the process. I happened across a sale at a Northern Tool location near me and bought seats and navigation lights for half price. 

I purchased the Sintra at a Plexiglass seller. Cabela’s has a similar material called King Starboard that is considerably more expensive. Whatever you buy and wherever you get it, the PVC material is expensive. I guess one consideration is how long you will be keeping your boat and the life span of the wooden materials. What I decided on will live on well beyond me.

My brother came by over the weekend and did the wiring for me. I couldn't figure it out. He used to re-wire dashboards on car restorations so he made it work. It turns out that the bow lights weren't wired according to the diagram that came with them. Their engineers may work harder, but we still had to figure it out. Now I can clean it up and get some photo's of the thing as it is now. I think I may be done with most of the work which means I'll have to get another boat.


----------



## ben2go (Jul 27, 2009)

Nice work.It's all about working an idea and then improving upon it.


----------



## buffdadjj (Jul 27, 2009)

Looks good,I have an older one just like it . I am getting ready to work on you gave me some ideas. This may be a stupid question but in the stern where the fuel tank and battery normally go what is the little tray like thing in the corner there is one in my boat and was wondering.
Thanks Joe


----------



## Loggerhead Mike (Jul 27, 2009)

great job clean as a whistle


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 28, 2009)

buffdadjj said:


> Looks good,I have an older one just like it . I am getting ready to work on you gave me some ideas. This may be a stupid question but in the stern where the fuel tank and battery normally go what is the little tray like thing in the corner there is one in my boat and was wondering.
> Thanks Joe



I'm not sure what the built-up area on the floor is supposed to be for. When I moved the battery to the back, I put an aluminum plate on the floor in that area and it and the ribs are the same height so it made a good, level little deck for the battery. I ran some wiring through it going to the battery also. I wonder if the other side would have had one also except the drain plug is there. I'm not really sure...


----------



## Zum (Jul 28, 2009)

Professional looking job,nice work.


----------



## WhiteMoose (Jul 28, 2009)

Looks awesome. 
What did you use to plug the rivet holes when you removed the front seat?


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 28, 2009)

Zum said:


> Professional looking job,nice work.



thanks


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 28, 2009)

WhiteMoose said:


> Looks awesome.
> What did you use to plug the rivet holes when you removed the front seat?



I ground off the rivets from the inside and they were tight enough that I didn't have to do anything. Apparently when the rivets are put in there is enough pressure on the hole to keep them tight even without the inside head in place. Plus the grinder kind of mushroomed the ends a little which helped keep them tight. Your question reminds me that when I put in the aluminum frame for the deck I riveted it from the outside and was so anxious to get out fishing I never sealed them. I guess because they're above the waterline I wasn't too worried but I do need to get that taken care of.


----------



## bobberboy (Sep 4, 2009)

I've been fishing all summer and have not taken any more pics of the work on my 1236. I guess it is mostly done although I am still trying to get my motor position right. Things mostly are working, not too many bad decisions. I still need to get organized about all the things I carry around in the boat. There's just too much stuff - rods and tackle, paddle, push pole, landing net, not to mention my favorite take-along thing, lunch. Sometimes I take my camera and tripod along too. I have some pics of the boat as it is now with the seats in and the lights and other accessories in.

This is a view of the back end of the boat. The seats are Atwood. I got them on sale at Northern Tool & Equip. for 1/2 price last fall. I really like them a lot. They're lightweight and comfortable. No need for padding (I've got plenty anyway), they're flexible and with the spring base get me a little higher in the boat.





Another view of the back. When I moved the battery to the back I made a temporary box for it and I still have to finish that. I made a little electrical "console" where I have a voltage meter, switches for navigation lights, interior lights and the voltage meter. I also added a 12v socket for any accessory that might come along. I wish I had a main switch like an ignition switch to turn all power off from the battery. What I've done works ok but the main switch would make sure everything is off when not in use.





A closer view of the console, depth finder, battery box, trolling motor socket and interior light.





I got a 15" extension for one of the seats that I haven't tried out yet. Given how small the boat is I don't think I would use it unless I am in the boat alone. I think it would be too unstable with someone else moving around in the boat. I put a mount on the front deck also but again haven't tried it out.





The anchor pulley works pretty well considering it's plastic. I didn't find any metal ones that work like this one does. I don't know how long it'll last but so far so good.





Here's the boat with motor, seats, etc.





I used some PVC tee's and pipe to fashion a support for the boat cover. I used 1-1/2" x 1/2" tee's that I cut about 1/3 out of the long side. These snapped onto the gunnel. I made 8 of these - 4 for each side. I used 1/2" PVC pipe to make bows that went from side-to-side. To keep the cover from sagging and to keep the bows taught and in place, I used 1/16" cable and stops to keep the bows in position. I made a loop at each end of the cable and used a bungee at each end to attach tot he boat.

The tee's...





The bow with cable and stop...





The bows in place





The bungee cord (one at each end) that tightens the cable and attaches the whole deal to the boat.





Here's the cover on...





I have already been looking at other boats. I liked working on the modifications as much as I do fishing. Maybe someone in my area needs some help. In the mean time, it's Labor day weekend and I'm looking forward to three days of fishing...


----------



## huntinfool (Sep 5, 2009)

Very nice!


----------



## russ010 (Sep 8, 2009)

Very Nice CLEAN work!!! I really enjoyed reading this post.. I'm going to have to look into that sheeting that you used - I think that would be the best route for me too (unless I use aluminum sheeting). 

Congrats man - and I started off with a 1236, modded and sold it - and now I've got a 1546... you'll definitely enjoy the extra room if you upgrade!


----------



## cyberflexx (Sep 18, 2009)

Very Nice! I like your cover idea!, I really like how you did the gas tank cover..


----------



## bobberboy (Sep 19, 2009)

thanks for the good comments everybody...
I wish I had come across this site before I began my boat project. I would love to be able to start over again. There are a lot of good ideas here - some big and some small that would have been nice to incorporate into by boat. I like Bufford's boat, especially the open floor idea https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9912. It would be nice to be able to step to the front of the boat without having to go over the middle seat. I also have the hots for CBGale2's sweet Sea King https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7934 and in fact have found one like it on Craig's list. So now I have to explain wanting the Sea King in addition to a bigger jon boat. I learned a few things about my boat this week. I took a day off and went fishing by myself. I used the high chair for the first time on both the middle seat and the deck. The middle seat is actually ok but not within reach of the trolling motor. When the seat is on the deck the bow sits so low in the water that the boat actually pivots around the front in the breeze. One (expensive) option would be to get a foot controlled trolling motor. That would let me use the center seat and steer from there. The most likely option is to accept the idea that this boat may just be too small to act as a stand-up casting platform but I suppose I knew that from the start. Anyway, I got a quote for a 1448 with a 20hp motor but I'm in no hurry to make the change. I'm not sure whether this is a good time to be selling the boat or not. As for the Sea King, well, now I need to find a spot to store another boat...


----------



## huntinfool (Sep 21, 2009)

it's never too late to add something to your boat. You may have to undo several things, but it can be done.

I find several things that I still want to do on my boat and will keep working on them when time permits.


----------



## phased (Sep 21, 2009)

I don't know how I missed this post but I have say you did an awesome job on your mods. I wish I had known about the Sintra before I put plywood in mine. The boat looks fantastic and the ideas for your boat cover support are well...lets just say I will be using them for a redo on mine. Thanks for the great post and the super ideas that you shared! Here's wishing you 'tight lines' bobberboy.


----------



## huntinfool (Sep 22, 2009)

I'm interested in using something like the Sintra for my floor. I've been reading about it online, but would you recommend it or not? If I did use it I think I would paint it with Skid no more and it should last a while. I'm not sure about the UV properties.


----------



## bobberboy (Sep 22, 2009)

To be honest I never considered the UV issue. I guess knowing I would be covering it with carpet kind of eliminated the question for me - at least mostly. I use Sintra at work for signs, etc as it is lightweight and stable. I used 1/2" for my boat but the areas are pretty small and there are no spans larger than the ribs, I guess about 16" apart. In the boat, especially on the floor, you should not have any issues with water and it should last a long time. I have noticed that in the heat the areas around the edges warp up a little - I could not screw it to the ribs at the very edge because of the crimp in the rib where it bends from the floor to the side leaves a large dimple in the corner of the rib. Otherwise I don't have any complaints so far. It comes in thicknesses from 1mm to 19mm. I guess I used 12mm or 13mm, whichever is closest to 1/2". I used contact cement for the carpet and that didn't affect the material at all. I don't know if the paint you intend to use would or not. I have some scraps around still and could send you a piece to test if you want. In answer to your question, yes I would recommend if you be sure it is well supported. PM me if you need a scrap to test.


----------



## zr7cat (Sep 22, 2009)

That is an awesome job. I just found this site and its pretty cool. I am looking at getting that exact boat from Cabellas. Very nice job, I got some good ideas from your project.


----------



## huntinfool (Sep 22, 2009)

PM sent.


----------



## jasper60103 (Sep 29, 2009)

bobberboy, 
you did an awesome job on that rig. Thanks for the detailed posts.
-jasper


----------



## recon2g (Sep 29, 2009)

Hey bobberboy 
that is one nice looking boat, I love what you did with it. Thanks for the ideas. 8)


----------



## zr7cat (Sep 30, 2009)

How does that motor work with that boat. I am trying to figure out what motor to go with for my 1257 polar kraft project. I would like to go with a two stroke.


----------



## bobberboy (Sep 30, 2009)

zr7cat said:


> How does that motor work with that boat. I am trying to figure out what motor to go with for my 1257 polar kraft project. I would like to go with a two stroke.



With just me and all my stuff it's great, with two in the boat, not as good. The plate for my boat says the max hp is 10, so I'm basically at max. I have raised the motor up 2" from its original position per advice from crazymanme2 to get the cavitation plate level with the bottom of the boat. It made a big difference but I have still to do some fine-tuning. I assume as your boat is wider that it could take a bigger motor. If there is no plate on the boat listing the recommended hp, go to the USCG web site. There is a document published by the Coast Guard for boat builders that includes a formula based of a couple of factors and you should be able to figure out the appropriate hp. If you can't find it let me know, I may have squirreled it away somewhere - it's in a PDF format. There are a lot of guys on this site that know a lot about motors (I'm not one of them). Maybe you should post your question on either the boats or motors forum. Good luck.


----------



## jw2 (Jan 30, 2010)

Awesome mod!! Love that boat cover frame! May have to try that for myself!!


----------



## jsharp (Jan 31, 2010)

nice looking boat how is the anchor pulley holding up was thinking of putting one on my boat


----------



## bailey86 (Jan 31, 2010)

i know im inexperinsed at boat but wouldnt it be better if the fuel tank is in back closer to the motor that way less hose and if you get a hole in the hose be easyer to replace and all way in front and under the decks and all what if you get a leak and dont find it for a while and it soaks in your foam and all


----------



## bobberboy (Feb 1, 2010)

jsharp said:


> nice looking boat how is the anchor pulley holding up was thinking of putting one on my boat



I don't use it that much but so far so good...


----------



## bobberboy (Feb 1, 2010)

bailey86 said:


> i know im inexperinsed at boat but wouldnt it be better if the fuel tank is in back closer to the motor that way less hose and if you get a hole in the hose be easyer to replace and all way in front and under the decks and all what if you get a leak and dont find it for a while and it soaks in your foam and all



I don't want the gas in the back near me because is stinks and I was trying to balance the weight of all the various things in the boat. I got heavy weight gas line that I expect will last for many years. It isn't under the floor but run through the spray rail cavity along the side of the boat so a leak would show up right away and would be pretty easy to pull another hose through if it ever became necessary.


----------



## RStewart (Feb 1, 2010)

I also dont know how i missed this mod. Nice job. Couple things for you to check out. If your trolling motor is too far away from you, you can get an extension handle for it. As far as the main power switch, you can get a battery on/off switch from autoparts store. Here is a link to show you what I'm talking about.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/?keyword=battery%20switch&dds=1


----------



## Tennessee_Fisher (Mar 17, 2010)

I tell you, that is an inspiration. Very nice work indeed. 

=D>


----------



## bobberboy (Mar 20, 2010)

John, the new owner of my 1236 came to pick it up this morning. He fishes small-mouth bass on the Mississippi and St Croix rivers. It's a sweet outfit and he's going to get good use out of it.







As for me, now it's time to start work on this - a floor, some lights, seats etc...


----------



## Froggy (Mar 23, 2010)

Very nice Job! =D> and as 12fters go sold to move up, I am still fixing my 1237, but not Hitech like you, I have 2 questions, how did you cut out that front flush on a riveted boat? I might do the same. Also is that a harbor freight trailer? did it do the job? on a side note, unless you paid me I would never sit on the 15" extension on top of the seat [-X .....thats rad!! ( like wacky videos...) :lol:


----------



## bobberboy (Mar 24, 2010)

I got the trailer at Northern Hydraulics. It is a kit trailer and I think I paid about $350 for it.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...netconcepts&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=kit+trailers 

I replaced the 1 7/8" hitch with a 2" one, added a spare and winch and raised up the tail lights. The trailer works just fine for a light-weight unit. I raised the lights up in part because the trailer is so low that without the boat on it I couldn't see the trailer when I backed up (I hit the dock once and had to replace one of the lights). Also note that the winch is bolted to the tongue - not the best place as the handle dips into the water when you use it. The tongue was too short to do it right and the winch post wasn't quite configured the right way. All in all, it's good for a light boat and especially in low water because the boat comes off/on so easily. The only complaint I have is because the trailer is so light it can bounce a lot - sometimes it sounds like the end of the world is going on behind you. I was going to find some kind of rubber bushing to cushion the leaf spring but just never got to it before it sold.

I'm not sure I got the other question...


----------



## FIREDUTYONLY (Jul 26, 2010)

I recently was given a 2006 Lowe 1236 and I stumbled upon this website. WOW! ! ! This site is awesome. I am getting a lot of different ideas and trying to get something started. I have a quick question. When you removed the front seat, how did you seal the rivet holes in the side of the boat itself? I really like the layout that you did, but I am afraid of doing something wrong, so I figured I'd ask before I get started.


----------



## bobberboy (Jul 26, 2010)

FIREDUTYONLY said:


> I recently was given a 2006 Lowe 1236 and I stumbled upon this website. WOW! ! ! This site is awesome. I am getting a lot of different ideas and trying to get something started. I have a quick question. When you removed the front seat, how did you seal the rivet holes in the side of the boat itself? I really like the layout that you did, but I am afraid of doing something wrong, so I figured I'd ask before I get started.



I used an angle grinder from inside. There was still enough of the "mushroom" left inside after the seat came out that the rivets were sound so I did nothing! I guess you could give them each a couple of wacks to rebuck them if you were worried about it. As it was above the waterline I didn't sweat it. Post some pics as you go along so we can see what you're up to...


----------



## RodeoHard (Aug 24, 2010)

Hey,

Love the mod Bro, one question where did you purchase the Sintra PVC sheet material? Is it expensive and is it lighter than plywood?

Thanks,
RodeoHard


----------



## bobberboy (Aug 24, 2010)

RodeoHard said:


> Hey,
> 
> Love the mod Bro, one question where did you purchase the Sintra PVC sheet material? Is it expensive and is it lighter than plywood?
> 
> ...



I got the Sintra through a local Plexiglass dealer and yes, it's kind of expensive. I paid about $120 for a sheet of 1/2" x 48" x 96". It's really light weight, easy to machine and will last forever. I used it primarily because of its light weight. BTW, Cabela's sells a similar product but it's _really_ expensive through them. Try a local sign shop or plastics dealer.


----------



## back4more (Feb 25, 2011)

bobberboy said:


>



thats an awesome 1236 you had. Id love to do something similar but my 12 footer is a 32, not 36. love your new toy as well, especially the new seat base!

Im thinking of installing seat bases the same way you did on your 1236, directly to the boats benches. were the perfectly stable? after installing them, did you ever feel the need to reinforce the benches?

also, with the seats staggered, did it make for a leaning boat if you went out alone?


----------

