12 ft Sears Jon Boat

[StrixOccidentalis]

Hi all,

I just picked up a free 12 ft sears Jon Boat from a buddy who was moving and was just purging. This will be my first boat restoration, but i get the general gist of it, but im looking for advise on the best ways to go about it...the transom board will need to be replaced. The hull is lathered up with tar or some sort of roofing gunk, so if anyone has ideas on removal, that would be great. I used gas briefly yesterday to test it out and it would work, but would take a while. Ill need to get as much off as I can, so I can start from scratch. Pictures should help yall see what im seeing. I dont want to just scrap it, since it was free. My plan is to convert it to a duck boat. Ill be getting the 6.5 hp predator engine with a mud buddy kit if this project works out. Thanks in advance for all suggestions. (Well, pictures are too large to post, if anyone can tell me how to make them small, ill post pics).

 

[king killer delete]

Almost lost my life in a sears JON boat duck hunting .

 

[Mexican Squealer]

Wouldn't recommend getting too ambitious with a mud motor and that paper thin hull. Good luck with your project.

 

[Dbender]

The tar is probably keeping the boat together and floating. I wouldn't waste time converting it into a duck boat other than to paddle out in a pond and pick up ducks.

 

[StrixOccidentalis]

Wouldn't recommend getting too ambitious with a mud motor and that paper thin hull. Good luck with your project.

Thanks for the heads up. I really dont want to give up on it 100% yet. I really need to see what that hull looks like without all of the tar on it. That'll give me an idea of bad the rivets are and such. Is there anyway to reinforce the hull (if repairable)?

 

[StrixOccidentalis]

The tar is probably keeping the boat together and floating. I wouldn't waste time converting it into a duck boat other than to paddle out in a pond and pick up ducks.

Thats more than likely the case with this boat. Although, ive only found one crack in the hull (1inch long maybe). I still think i can melt/tear that crap off to see how bad it really is...i feel like it would do it justice. If it cant handle what i want it for, ill have to use it for picking up ducks. I already planned on rigging my kayak up for this season anyway.

 

[flatsmaster]

If u have the time give it a go .... but as others pointed out use in very protected waters and small longtail in vegetation only ... won't handle stumps and cypress knees and don't overload ...We run some 12 ft layouts with a 6.5 LT motor .. only 1 person per boat and in shallows or protected ponds in Fl and kill some ducks ... have fun with ur project but free or not don't take a knife to a gun fight .... be SAFE !!!!

 

[StrixOccidentalis]

Exactly. Id be the only one in it. Definitely not going to overdo it as far as weight. I work in the wildlife removal business, so i always have the "what if" question in the back of my mind. If it doesnt work out like i want it to, so be it. Better safe than sorry. Lol thanks for your input!

 

[king killer delete]

does it have 12 inch sides?

 

[Rabun]

have you tried Goo Gone or Goof Off to remove the coating? it's going to take some elbow grease whatever you use

 

[StrixOccidentalis]

So, i used gas this past weekend and got it knocked down so i could see the rivets. I actually picked up some goof off (tar remover) today with a scraper. The tsr is still all over the bottom, it just in a thin layer now. Hopefully this will knock that off for the most part. Im afraid that if i dont get it all off, the gluv it wont properly seal it...only time will tell.

 

[king killer delete]

Here on the coast folks take old beat up leaking Jon boats and the fiber glass the leaky portion of the boat

 

[Jim Baker]

A 12' "Sears" jon boat won't float a mud motor rig. And where how would you mount a grab bar?

 

[DRBugman85]

Here on the coast folks take old beat up leaking Jon boats and the fiber glass the leaky portion of the boat

Here on the coast we DO NOT put a Death trap in the water. A 12 sears tin boat were made for a POND,No way No how would I are anyone I know would put that puddle boat in any water.Scrap it save the money and wait till you get enough cash to get a safe BOAT,A mudmotor will sink it on its maiden voyage it's not design for anything--but a Electric trolling motor and then only in a POND. IMO

 

[king killer delete]

Here on the coast we DO NOT put a Death trap in the water. A 12 sears tin boat were made for a POND,No way No how would I are anyone I know would put that puddle boat in any water.Scrap it save the money and wait till you get enough cash to get a safe BOAT,A mudmotor will sink it on its maiden voyage it's not design for anything--but a Electric trolling motor and then only in a POND. IMO

Yea I remember a night that you pulled Bruce Carter and I out of the Altamaha river and what were we in a fourteen foot Sears Jon boat. I begged Bruce to go in my Lowe 14 ft with my 25 on it but he was not having it. My boat weighed to much. Funny thing you were in the same model boat that I had. Your right it’s a death trap , period.

 

[king killer delete]

Almost lost my life in a sears JON boat duck hunting .

As I said before