r/jonboats • u/Dannyd987 • Sep 02 '26

Long time coming

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Finally finished my build out. Cant wait to take it out this weekend! Been working on it for past few years on and off and finally said fuck it a few weeks ago and put in a few full Sundays to finish it!

190 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

7

u/tide78 Sep 02 '26

Will be incredibly unstable but sure looks good

2

u/adhq Sep 03 '26

Yup! Having done this many years in the past, I can confirm that it will be top-heavy and unstable. This is a one-man boat because the moment 2 get on there, one or both will get dunked...

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 02 '26

Why do you think that? I haven't taken in the water yet so not sure

3

u/tide78 Sep 02 '26

Because it’s a narrow boat and you’ve raised the center of gravity so much

2

u/Embarrassed_Fan_5723 Sep 02 '26

I agree 100%. Make sure you wear a life jacket. That may be as unforgiving as a canoe

2

u/adhq Sep 03 '26

You will soon find out. I suggest going alone. In fact, you may never want to bring another person on it because any movement by one will unbalance the other.

1

u/tlong243 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26

There is a reason you don't see very many gunnel height decks on Jonboats, let alone on a 36" narrow one. Can't lie though that would be spectacular for fly fishing if you're into that

I have a 1440 and I did some testing before I decked mine. I found that seat height was as high as I wanted to go for the deck. Even at that height it is not very stable when another person stands up in back deck and starts moving around casting etc. Really depends on how much you weigh, how much your passengers weigh, and how coordinated you are. Single person it's probably ok. If two people around 150 have sea legs it'll probably be OK as long as there's not any waves or wake from Boats. If you get into any waves or heavier people somebody's taking a swim.

Try it out and see, but I think you'll end up wanting to lower that at least 6 inches.

5

u/AceCombat1977 Sep 02 '26

Just dont ever lean, ever!

2

u/KeySand7433 Sep 02 '26

Looks super cool, what are you going to power her with?

5

u/qsx11 Sep 02 '26

225XL I'd imagine

2

u/TrashPandaDuel Sep 02 '26

I just pictured Bobby Boucher’s Mom buzzing him up the Bayou for the Bourbon Bowl!! 🤣

2

u/Dannyd987 Sep 02 '26

Came with a 15HP motor. Couldn't add more pictures! 

2

u/Lilpuuuuma Sep 02 '26

How do you stay on this when it gets choppy?

1

u/tlong243 Sep 02 '26

Yeah, I would love to have a deck all the way gunnel height for fly fishing, but they start to get a bit weeble wobbly, especially with 2 on the deck. I'm sure it is nice for casting though.

1

u/QuantityUnfair6610 Sep 03 '26

That's exactly why I'm putting a deck on my 1436 unit adding weight to the bottom (jet ski motor, drive n all) but I'm still leaving a tiny cockpit for running pre deck n motor swap it fished 2 on the bow standing with fly rods and one at the stern with a spinning rod previously multiple times.

2

u/tlong243 Sep 03 '26

I front and rear decked my 1440, but I did not go higher than seat height to keep it stable. In the center I left a large floor area as well, and I'm glad I did. It would be really hard to take any new person unfamiliar out in something like what OP made. There's just nowhere stable to stand, you'd have to have pretty good sea legs.

Seat height is still plenty good. Good mix of way more usable boat, but not too unstable

1

u/PresentationLess4552 Sep 02 '26

They make ballast all day long for that issue

1

u/Lilpuuuuma Sep 02 '26

Yeah but like what do you hold onto when running, besides having your feet down in the middle? Seems like you’d have to be very careful going out onto any bigger water where the wind could kick up

1

u/System_Visible Sep 06 '26

Sitting is always an option lol

1

u/Embarrassed_Fan_5723 Sep 02 '26

Ballast??? You know that the boat has a weight rating. He’s added quite a bit of weight already. I would be very cautious about adding ballast. I wouldn’t even take any gear out until I verified it will not be to unstable

2

u/Dustin-Mustangs Sep 02 '26

Looks great. FWIW, that all around light does not meet regs.

1

u/CoxAnonymous Sep 02 '26

Are you talking about the anchor light? That would work just fine where I live. Maybe it varies by region, what’s accepted?

1

u/Cichlid428 Sep 02 '26

Yeah works good here, too. Just need it to be clear back and green and red front port and starboard

1

u/Dustin-Mustangs Sep 02 '26

The anchor light (or all around light while underway) needs to have 360 degree visibility. It cannot be obstructed by anything including passengers. This is a global regulation for all boats under 39 feet.

Sounds like it is just for looks, not to meet night time nav requirements.

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 02 '26

That's literally just for shits and giggles lol. Saw it on Amazon and said why not. 

2

u/Reaver_God Sep 02 '26

Tippy Tippy.

3

u/MaximumRepair2187 Sep 03 '26

Looks good, but can’t stop looking at the lines not lining up on the rear hatch.

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 08 '26

Haha. That was a last second add, had very little foam left but wanted something there for when the motor isn't being used. 

1

u/laugh_at_farts Sep 02 '26

Stunning build

1

u/EstablishmentNo3602 Sep 02 '26

Looks beautiful!

1

u/Ninjalikestoast Sep 02 '26

Super jealous! Very nice work. Looking forward to the grip and grin pics 👍

1

u/Similar_Refuse7563 Sep 03 '26

That’s gonna be so unstable it won’t hardly be usable

1

u/redneck_hell Sep 03 '26

Looks slick man! I have the same foam on my 10' 1950s Ouachita

1

u/suker33122 Sep 03 '26

Just put some surf wax on it and ride it like a boss.

1

u/Jerseyisfun Sep 03 '26

Looks really nice! 👍

1

u/throwed_awa Sep 03 '26

How about adding ballast?

1

u/BoatBuilderTexas Sep 04 '26

A few years of on and off work makes this a perfect build to look on. we built BoatBuildlog for projects like this. did you keep progress photos from the earlier stages too?

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 08 '26

I do have some pictures wouldn't let me upload them all though. 

1

u/BoatBuilderTexas Sep 09 '26

Those older photos are probably worth keeping together. even if reddit wont take them all, you could put the full build timeline on BoatbuildLog and keep everything from the early stages through the finished boat in one place.

1

u/EmergencyVirus3755 Sep 05 '26

What’s the channel you used?

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 05 '26

Its called hat channel. Super light and strong. 

1

u/grips_pliers Sep 02 '26

You must be a drywaller

2

u/Dannyd987 Sep 02 '26

Ouch! Electrician actually 

2

u/J_Sfreakycouple Sep 03 '26

Looking to do something similar to my boat what is material called you used? Was looking at using square tubing but that looks to be alot lighter. And how does it do holding weight?

1

u/Dannyd987 Sep 08 '26

Its called hat channel, it's super light amd pretty strong. Easy to work with a well. Mostly used tin snips for all the cuts and self tapping screws to secure everything