# 18ft Alumacraft jon boat mods



## Kajun (Sep 4, 2008)

figured i'd start a mod thread on my boat and add pics as i go along...

1984 18ft Alumacraft jon boat with a 1984 johnson 35hp....

its gonna be mainly a catfish and crappie boat....and maybe alil flounder giggin and backwater redfish/speckletrout fishin too...i'm not much of a bass fisher...but if they bite my hook i dont throw them away 

plans are to add seats...a floor with carpet and rebuild the front casting deck, rod holders,fish finder,trolling motor...and maybe a repaint later on down the road..and another trailer that fits it..

here it is when i first bought it


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## Kajun (Sep 4, 2008)

here's a update from last weekend....ripped out the rotted front casting deck...i will replace it later....i also added some seats.


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## dedawg1149 (Sep 4, 2008)

:WELCOME: aboard nice big boat


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## SlimeTime (Sep 5, 2008)

Nice big boat! What's the beam width?

And welcome!
ST

PS- What's stuck in your oarlocks?? (lol, inquiring mind  )


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## ben2go (Sep 5, 2008)

That's a darn good boat to do a bass fishing conversion.Those big Jons are hard to find in my area.


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## FishingBuds (Sep 5, 2008)

NICE  

Its gonna be a beast


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## ACarbone624 (Sep 5, 2008)

SlimeTime said:


> PS- What's stuck in your oarlocks?? (lol, inquiring mind  )




Looks like the oar brackets you clamp onto the oars...

Can you imagine rowing in that Jon.....that boat is a "pig"


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## SlimeTime (Sep 5, 2008)

ACarbone624 said:


> SlimeTime said:
> 
> 
> > PS- What's stuck in your oarlocks?? (lol, inquiring mind  )
> ...



Now that you mention it I believe you're right. lol, and NO! I just sold a 16' canoe because I couldn't paddle it anymore  

ST


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## dedawg1149 (Sep 5, 2008)

i believe i would stay home before i would paddle a 18 foot john boat


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## Kajun (Sep 6, 2008)

SlimeTime said:


> Nice big boat! What's the beam width?
> 
> And welcome!
> ST
> ...



the top beam width is 72 "...the bottom is 48... so what is this considered to be a 18x72 or 18x48?...i'm going to install some gunnel rod holders later this afternoon..too hot outside to do anything now .i'll post some pics of it when done......yea those are oarholders...there is no way i'd be rowing this big beast either lol..i'll have a fully charged battery and trolling motor each time i go out...


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## Waterwings (Sep 6, 2008)

> the top beam width is 72 "...the bottom is 48... so what is this considered to be a 18x72 or 18x48?...



That would be an 1848 :wink:


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## Kajun (Sep 6, 2008)

kinda thin for a 18 fter huh?


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## ben2go (Sep 6, 2008)

I think you could deck that boat,get 4 seats in there,and still have plenty of room and stowage.


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## minicuda (Sep 6, 2008)

that boat is plenty wide i say deck it!


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## SlimeTime (Sep 6, 2008)

I'd remove the center seat, deck it at current floor level, carpet it, add 3-pin-style removable seats (front, center and rear) and add stick steering controls to the front & electric start motor. Add a rod locker down one side, and a large livewell/baitwell on the other, maybe some storage if it worked into the plan.

ST


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## Kajun (Sep 6, 2008)

i wont be decking it like a bass boat..just need a simple floor and a front casting deck....its gonna be an old slimy catfish boat :mrgreen: 

well..here are the pics of the rod holders i just installed....i'll be using them to troll for crappie,spanish mackeral and when i'm catfishin i anchor up above the hole, set 6 rods on the hole and hope for a bigun :mrgreen: 













here's what i'm after...big Cats!....this is me on the James river in Virginia 2 yrs ago...


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## Waterwings (Sep 6, 2008)

That's a big cat! 8)


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## FishFry (Sep 6, 2008)

Nice catfish. I like the big jon, but what's the blue boat with the fins next to it? Looks like you're restoring an old one there.


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## ben2go (Sep 6, 2008)

Dats a big cat. :shock:


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## Kajun (Sep 8, 2008)

FishFry said:


> what's the blue boat with the fins next to it? Looks like you're restoring an old one there.



thats my 1959 herter's flying fish  ...very rare boat..not many of them left..i'm going to do a full restore on it..kinda waiting for it to cool off here in florida so i can start sanding/fiberglassing/painting....i got a white 1962 Mercury 500 that i'm going to restore also..boat is gonna be same color blue/white....can't wait to finish it 

here's some pics of it..














here's 2 of them thats been fully restored..pretty much mine will have same paint scheme as the pink/white..just light blue where the pink is and white on topside..


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## SlimeTime (Sep 8, 2008)

Cool boats! Looks like an amphibious '57 Chevy with '60 Cadillac tail lights 8) 

ST


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## ACarbone624 (Sep 8, 2008)

SlimeTime said:


> Cool boats! Looks like an amphibious '57 Chevy with '60 Cadillac tail lights 8)
> 
> ST



I was just thinking the same thing! :shock:


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## phased (Sep 8, 2008)

maybe 57 Plymouth? Cool boats though.


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## browndog (Sep 9, 2008)

those are some cool boats.i look forward to seeing yours come together.my first boat was a 14ft f/glass v/hull HERTERS hudson bay,great duck boat.when i got my new boat i gave it to a freind.he's still using it to duck hunt.


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