# Flats style jon boat mod



## bullship (Apr 25, 2010)

Hello tin boat folks. I'm in central NC, and fly fish for carp in the lake flats, so this will be my best attempt at a cheap and dirty flats boat. I was going to build a stitch and glue boat, but ended up checking into used jon boats and found lots(with boat, motor, and trailer) that were cheaper than buying materials to get started on a months long experiment.

I know nothing about aluminum, but am a contractor by trade, so I decided to use wood, epoxy, and a little fiberglass(which I also know nothing about) to do my interior 'remodel'. It's still in process, and a poling platform/jackplate/new console/rear deck/etc....will have to be phase 2, but I should have some paint on her by the end of the week and be fishing by next weekend.

It's a 15' Sylvan modified v with a 28 Johnson SPL. The control cables were bad, and the carb gaskets leaked a little, but a little dough and a few minutes, and she runs strong. I clocked it at 30mph on the water test, which is lightning fast compared to the floating moped I had before.
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Here's a link to the build photos:
https://s468.photobucket.com/albums/rr50/mattp77/Carp%20skiff%20build/


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## ober51 (Apr 25, 2010)

Good stuff - I like the pvc rod locker set up. I still have my front deck open and might create one on the port side of my boat down the road.


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## ncfishin (May 9, 2010)

Where bouts in NC are you from? I live in Broadway, just east of Sanford. There's access to Lakes Shearon Harris, Jordan, and the Cape fear river right down the road. That's a great job you're doing on your boat. I haven't done much too mine yet, just enjoying it as is. I think I'm going to go the non-carpet route also, when I get started. Anyway, Nice job again.


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## bobberboy (May 9, 2010)

That's a really nice job. Seems like you got the fiberglass figured out pretty well. Very nicely thought out and well made.

I wonder if in this or another thread if you'd mind explaining the poling platform and how it is used for the kind of fishing you do. Most of the fishing I am familiar with here in Minnesota is on lakes but even in the shallows I have never seen a boat like yours used. Of course there are shallows in the lakes and backwaters of rivers here but you're up to something different then I am used to seeing. Catching carp on a fly rod must be a blast.


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## Froggy (May 10, 2010)

Nice Job!! what weight rod? how about leader? and what kind of bait? I like fly fishing for smallies, that is a blast!


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## Rat (May 10, 2010)

Nice, I am building out my PolarKraft the exact same way. I am also building a stitch and glue along the way as well, a GF16. Maybe we need to start an AlumaGlass club! :mrgreen:


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## bullship (May 12, 2010)

I'd be all about an alumaglass forum! It's the perfect mix of a shallow, cheap hull that is fully customizable. 

I'm not a carp guru by any means but I am an addict. It's very much like saltwater redfishing. The carp move into the flats when it warms up and root around in the mud for food. They are omnivores, so they eat nymphs, crawfish, occasionally small baitfish, and basically anything small and buggy that's presented accurately and lightly. They often are head down with their tail out of the water, just like redfish. They'll cruise up into 6" or less sometimes, so it's important to have a very shallow draft.

The poling platform gets you higher so you can (1) see the fish better, as it's all sight fishing, and (2) gives you a pivot point for pushing the boat around. There are lots of expensive fiberglass and graphite poles out there, but I made mine from a wood closet rod. 

I use a 6wt most of the time, but I overline it to make fast, short casts. Most carp are within 30 feet, and as long as you're quiet you can almost get right on top of them while they're feeding. I use flouro bonefish leaders since they'll run you through all kinds of cover on their way to showing you your backing. It gets so muddy at times that I occasionally just flick the leader and hope for the best. Carp are absolute beasts on a fly rod. They're spooky, generally non-agressive(verrrry subtle takes), average 10 lbs where I fish, and will run for the end of the earth when hooked. I'm mostly a catch and release fisherman, so I could care less about them being a bad-tasting, bottom feeding trash fish. Actually, I'd prefer it if people keep on believing that. I got burnt out trout fishing on rivers that were packed shoulder to shoulder on a nice weekend.

We don't have the asian carp variety here, so even though ours are technically invasive, they seem to have found a balance in the lakes and haven't come close to taking over, at least from what I've noticed. All the lakes I fish have very healthy populations of bass, turtles, gar, and billions of panfish.

I'm actually off to Florida tomorrow for a few days to try for some reds. I'll post some better pics when I get home.

Thanks for the interest.

Matt


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## bobberboy (May 12, 2010)

Matt
That sounds like a lot of fun. I used to fish with my brother on the north shore of Lake Superior for steelhead. When they were running, the rivers were shoulder-to-shoulder too. You practically had to fish in unison with everybody else in order to cast. The steelhead were also very subtle - most people fished with roe or some artificial variant of roe. The fish try to pick it up and plant it in the river bottom. It's not like fishing for hungry fish. I was terrible at it but my brother could really haul them in. He could fish among two dozen lines and pull out fish when no one else was catching any. At that time - nearly 40 years ago now, the rods weren't as good as they are today. No graphite and mostly clunky things like broom handles. My brother had a Fenwick fly rod which at that time was about as good as there was. He could really "feel" with it so was able to react to the slightest tug. It's pretty interesting stuff.
My x's parents had a summer home in lower Michigan on Gun Lake and we used to go every summer. I loved to fish for panfish with a flyrod. I used floating flies or poppers. That was really fun and unlike fishing panfish with bait, they didn't get to swallow the hook. I love ultralight too. Thanks for explaining how it all works.


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## bullship (May 19, 2010)

Well, she made it back from Florida. The boat did great...except I had a lower unit problem and had to limp back to the dock on the last day. It could have been much worse. I must have pretty good breakdown karma  

Fishing was poor to awful. Just the way it goes sometimes.

I updated the pics with some of the finished-for-now photos.


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## Brine (May 19, 2010)

Nice build, and welcome to TinBoats.

Looks like you put a paint job on the hull too. What kind of paint did you use?


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## Anonymous (May 19, 2010)

That's a beaut ! 

That front deck / flooring looks factory.


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## Rat (May 19, 2010)

Very nice bullship! How did your poling platform work? It sure is nice to have a boat set up just the way you like isn't it? That is a HUGE fore deck, love it!


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## Jim-Iowa (May 19, 2010)

That's one nice boat. There are tons of lakes up here that were built in the 50's and the upstream ends have silted in. Untold acres of placed no one takes their boats. That would be perfect and one would have it al to themselves.


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## bullship (May 20, 2010)

Thanks!

I painted the hull with green jon boat/camo paint, and put a clearcoat on top of it. I like it, but I ran out of time and got sloppy, so it still needs some work.

The platform actually worked great. I have no experience on those things, so I was surprised how comfortable I was up there. Still need lots of practice though. Thankfully I don't have to deal with tides and oyster bars very often.


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## rook (May 20, 2010)

Thats what Im talkin about. Love it. I got one with a very similar concept goin right now. The poling platform I bought bolts on the transom as yours does. I have since completely modified it and now its sits on top of the transom and has two braces comes off the front to bolt to the back deck. Well it will when my welder becomes available. I was really worried about the stability and strength with just bolting it to the transom. After reading your post sounds like it may not be as sketchy as I thought. Nice build again, love me some flats boats. We chase Redfish out of them though, well I hope to chase some more when BP gets off there butts and takes care of this leak. We havent seen it yet on our coast but I spend alot of time in the La marsh and some of its getting hammered. It depressing to even think about.


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## Loggerhead Mike (May 20, 2010)

howdy from wnc

nice rig!


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## Rat (May 20, 2010)

What kind of non-skid did you use on the fore deck? I have used Kiwigrip in the past with good results but I also bought some Pettit non-skid additive I may want to try out. Just wondering if it is an overcoat non-skid or an additive; and if its an additive how do you like it?


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## bullship (May 20, 2010)

The non-skid is a cheapo sand type additive. It's really not my favorite, but it was cheap and locally available. I taped off everything after the prime coat, and rolled out the non-skid. Then I went over all of it with the finish coat(porch and floor paint) with 4 coats. The more paint you cover the texture with, the smoother it gets. It works really well--just attracts dirt a little more than I like.

This is definitely not a best paint job scenario. i just wanted it done without spending a fortune, and I can add a topcoat in about 5 minutes, so if it gets too dirty, I'll just slap more paint on it!

I was really concerned about the platform being strong enough--or, rather, the transom being strong enough--to support the platform, but it's a non-issue. My first design was going to cost a bundle, so I made it as simple as possible. There is no flex at all. I can't imagine I'll ever be able to put enough weight up there to cause a problem.


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