# Good idea or waste of time?



## ParadiseFeller (Aug 14, 2013)

Hi all, new to the site and I got a quick question. I just got a little 1232 jon boat from my buddy for dirt cheap. I'm thinking of tricking it out a bit. I wanna cut out the middle seat, put a small deck on the front and back, and add some kind of stabilizers to the sides. I'm wondering if yoy guys think this is a waste of time, or a fun project. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks, Nick


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## kylerprochaska (Aug 14, 2013)

Im sure a lot of people think my projects are a waste of time, but I enjoy them... If you enjoy working on a project it's not a waste of time. Go for it!


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Aug 14, 2013)

A waste of my time may not be a waste of your time.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 14, 2013)

I'm thinking I'm gonna go for it


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## SumDumGuy (Aug 14, 2013)

pics (or drawn ideas) or it didn't happen!


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## cva34 (Aug 14, 2013)

Most consider a 36 narrow ...32 is canoe width..If your a small guy with good balance ..it will be OK Kinda like getting on unicycle and rideing it..Other than that any project is a learning experience..I'm a salt water so I'm a little harder on Boats


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## marshman (Aug 14, 2013)

i put a deck on a 1232 once...it was a waste of my time...it would tip when the trolling motor changed direction!!


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 15, 2013)

I'm planning on making some kind of an outrigger for it, like for a canoe, to add some stability. Do you guys think I would lose too much of the structural integrity if I cut out the middle seat? Some people tell me it's fine, others say it'll make the boat taco in.


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Aug 15, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326151#p326151 said:


> ParadiseFeller » Today, 1:49 am[/url]"]I'm planning on making some kind of an outrigger for it, like for a canoe, to add some stability. Do you guys think I would lose too much of the structural integrity if I cut out the middle seat? Some people tell me it's fine, others say it'll make the boat taco in.



I wouldn't remove the seat, but I've seen others that have. The risk of tacoing would be made worse with outriggers.


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## overboard (Aug 15, 2013)

I personally wouldn't get too crazy with a boat that small. Maby a few basic mods., but not too many. Save your time and money for a bigger, more stable boat.


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## FerrisBueller (Aug 15, 2013)

overboard said:


> I personally wouldn't get too crazy with a boat that small. Maby a few basic mods., but not too many. Save your time and money for a bigger, more stable boat.



x2


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## Kismet (Aug 15, 2013)

I understand the enthusiasm.

But...

That's one of those boats that "is what it is."

If you can, enjoy it within its limitations, see how you like life on the water, and make modification plans for the boat AFTER this one.

As it stands, this boat is intact. Once you mess with it, it will never be worth what it is now.

Your choice.

Have fun, be safe.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 15, 2013)

I'm not fully decided on anything yet. We had three people out on it the other day, and it wasn't TOO unstable. Maybe I can do without outriggers. Do you think decking it and putting in a wood floor would give me more stability or take some away? Also, if I cut out the mid seat, is there a good way to reinforce it so it doesn't taco?


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## FerrisBueller (Aug 15, 2013)

You could add some sort of a floor to the bottom just to make it nicer to stand, but as Kismet suggested, you should maybe fish it as is, or with little modification. If you enjoy it enough maybe you can find a nicer sized boat that can support further modifications. 

Obviously you can mod the heck out of it, but once its all done you might be kicking yourself for not having a bigger boat.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 15, 2013)

It's basically a free boat. Also, I'm not really the biggest guy (5'10", 140lbs) so I kinda wanna see what I can do with this boat. It seems pretty well fit for me, but I'm just always worried about rolling it and losing my tackle.


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## FerrisBueller (Aug 15, 2013)

Understandable! I'd suggest maybe bringing a few boards out on the water one day and laying them around and seeing how it feels to give you an ideal of how a deck/floor will feel. Then you can go from there!


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## BrazosDon (Aug 15, 2013)

I have had a 12X32 Alumacraft from Acadamy and after the first time on the river and swamped it, I got rid of it quick. The purpose I had for it was to keep it at the river(base camp) and fish and trotline out of it and keep my 14X48 alumacraft at home to use on different lakes around. But after capsizing it just by trying to get to the bait bucket(I'm 6' and weigh 185lbs) I decided to send it on its way. I would not do a thing to you 12' jon just to keep the weight down. And be careful of who you take with you on the boat.(size, weight, experience, ect.) Good luck in your fishing and boating, BrazosDon


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 17, 2013)

Well, I started today. Ripped out all but one transom board, and began grinding off the paint


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## SumDumGuy (Aug 17, 2013)

Are you going to replace that wood?

What are you going to power this with?


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 17, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326437#p326437 said:


> SumDumGuy » 17 Aug 2013, 17:37[/url]"]Are you going to replace that wood?
> 
> What are you going to power this with?



I'm gonna take that board out later. I'm leaving it in for now because the handles are bolted through it. Easier to lug around for now. I have a small trolling motor I'm planning on using. We have an electric boats only lake in town, and this would be perfect for that.


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## SumDumGuy (Aug 17, 2013)

yup, makes sense.

What color are you gonna paint it?






Here's a sample of an option...







j/k :LOL2:


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 17, 2013)

Got this motor from my neighbor. $20. Needs a new prop though.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 17, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326439#p326439 said:


> SumDumGuy » 17 Aug 2013, 17:55[/url]"]yup, makes sense.
> 
> What color are you gonna paint it?
> 
> ...



Lol no. just no


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## SumDumGuy (Aug 18, 2013)

please repost motor pics.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 18, 2013)




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## marshman (Aug 19, 2013)

the beauty of a 1232 jon is that its light and easy to drag around, made to throw in the back of a pick up truck... adding floors and decks and too much stuff takes those advantages away...

i learned that the hard way...i put a deck on one, and as soon as i launched it i knew it was a mistake...i stripped it back to bare hull and used it like that for years...

even if the boat is free. id leave it how it is...a good refurb with paint and stuff is cool...if used for fishing, carpet would even be pretty neat to make it quiet...but id skip any floors or decks...

get a bigger boat to deck out...


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## ggoldy (Aug 20, 2013)

I like that color!!! Easy to spot if some one were to steal it. I painted the bow and part of the stern, of mine, bright orange just for that purpose LOL East to spot in the back of a pick-up.

Gary


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## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2013)

Really, about the only thing I'd do to it is bolt a 1" steel rod on the bottom of the transom to act as an axle and get a set of pneumatic wheel barrow tires to mount on it. They'll add some stability, add some flotation on the back and work wonders for getting it in and out of the water. With a trolling motor it's not going to affect the speed that much.

Forget the decking and all the other nonsense. I might go as far as carpet taping some foam mats in the bottom so it's easier to walk on barefoot without sliding around.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 20, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=326725#p326725 said:


> Ranchero50 » 20 Aug 2013, 09:47[/url]"]Really, about the only thing I'd do to it is bolt a 1" steel rod on the bottom of the transom to act as an axle and get a set of pneumatic wheel barrow tires to mount on it. They'll add some stability, add some flotation on the back and work wonders for getting it in and out of the water. With a trolling motor it's not going to affect the speed that much.
> 
> Forget the decking and all the other nonsense. I might go as far as carpet taping some foam mats in the bottom so it's easier to walk on barefoot without sliding around.



Do you have a picture of the rod and tire setup you're talkung about. And yeah, I've since decided to abandon the idea of decking it. I was thinking plywood with carpet for the floors, and mabe mounting some kind of seats on the existing benches


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## Ranchero50 (Aug 20, 2013)

Something like this. Fat tires, 12-14" OD like from an 4 wheeler on an axle bolted to the back of the hull. You could literally roll the boat to the bank and into the water.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 21, 2013)

Well I went ahend and tore out the last board of the transom. Any suggestions on the type of wood to replace it with?


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## SumDumGuy (Aug 21, 2013)

Any wood that can support the load will work. Some are better than others as far as longevity, but I personally see no reason to spend huge money for wood that will last 100 years when I can get a cheaper wood that may last 5-20 years (long enough for me).

I used an oak ply for transom wood on this boat. Stained it and gave it several coats of spar polyurethane.


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## Sharpix (Aug 21, 2013)

It might not work.
As others have said, the boat is NARROW. I have fitted a 1232 with side pods. Basically i spent my childhood on this 1232, with four people on it. It was fun as hell, but i had no experience on boating. Just once we had a problem ending up in the water, because somebody was fishing standing.... that's a big NO for those small boats.

The limitations on that boat were big. We used a Minnkota Maxxum 55lbs, (infinitely variable speed with "maximizer", that is an electronic throttle control that saves electricity when not using full speed).. We couldn't travel farther than 4 miles until the battery were losing it (group 27 deep cycle, heavy one). Max speed was 2.5 mph.

After this previous incident we left boating for maybe 8 years.

Then i grew, at 22 we took the boat out again, but this time without the side pods. 3 people on it. It wasnt stable when windy. In fact, it was scary on a very small reservoir.
The downside where that, if we fitted the pods, the thing would be slower and the range would be shorter, so 4 miles were the maximum at perfect conditions (no wind, no nothing).
*Fishing standing up on it was PROHIBITED. I mean standing on the boat floor, not even over a bench.*

Me at 33 years old, after all the hassles, after frustration of never knowing all the places of our local reservoir, we bought a Lowe 1760 + Fourstroke 60 hp.
If we had bought a medium size boat, FROM THE START, lets say a 1450, we could have fitted the thing with a 10 o 15 hp motor, and gone to all the places we wanted.


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## ParadiseFeller (Aug 23, 2013)

Almost done grinding the hull


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## MrTotty (Aug 23, 2013)

If you want it to last use Marine Ply and waterproof it with Epoxy, or Spar Urethane. I thought about using Regular ply until I saw how many voids are in it, those can hold and trap water causing it to rot from the inside out.


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