recently just acquired a 12ft flat bottom jon boat and i am concerned that with the motor, battery, gas can, and me with all my gear and possibly a 2nd person that it will be extremely too much weight. So my brother mentioned float pods...so looked them up and can't seem to find any info on anything other than the benefits of having them and i am curious as to how they work. I searched online for some for sale and the only ones I can find are made by a company called beavertail. Only problem is. Their smallest pair they offer are made for 14' to 16ft' which sucks...so being I have 2 good friends that are welders I figured I would just get the sizes and specs for the ones sold by beavertail and have my buddies fake a custom pair for me with specs for my 12' in proportion to the dimensions set for the small, medium, and large sets sold online. Does anybody have any experience with these float pods and also would anybody have any guess on what the size should be for a 12ft flat bottom. I'm not sure of the bottom width of the boat. But I can get that and post it tomorrow...my main reason for concern is although my motor is only a 6hp outboard is that I will be sitting too low in the water at the stern and being that I fish a very shallow river that I will be more likely to have my motor and bottom of my boat dragging the bottom. I'm also looking into a homemade jackplate for the motor to help with the motor sitting too low...anybody got any tips or any ideas on what I can do to make this boat more stable and ride better? And should I consider using float pods or is it.pointless with the size of my boat?

Floatation pods extend beyond the transom and add extra floatation to lift the back end up out of the water which is the heaviest part of the boat.

Extending the floatation beyond the transom and adding pods helps:

-Reduces how far the boat sits in the water.
-Levels the boat which can also help with performance including helping you get up on plane faster.
-Forces water to the propellor which helps with getting on plane in skinny water.
-Improves holeshot.
-Reduces transom backsplash.

They're a common addition to shallow water tin boats and on just about every duck boat you come across.

I've got pods on my ProCat that were added to help offset the weight of the motor plus the weight that's added when I fill the rear 80 gallon livewell. I wanted pods because I wanted every advantage to fishing shallow water that I could have.

I've seen them on boats of all sizes so I'm sure they can be added but how much of an impact they'll have on a 12' boat I cannot answer. I don't think they'll do much for you as far as increasing the capacity of the boat but would help in the areas mentioned above.

I'd do a search on the forum at http://www.duckhuntingchat.com I'm sure there's a ton of info there on smaller tin boats and duck hunters love pods.

You could also try calling Beaver Tail http://explorebeavertail.com as they're the one who manufactures most of the mass market pods that you see in stores.

Make sure you pay attention to sizing whatever you do and remember you're wedging a motor in between the pods so you have to have enough room for the motor to move freely in between the pods.

We shot a video on this a week or so ago but haven't made it back around to editing yet.

Good stuff above,,,Ry time you add pontoons and jack plate..Prolly trade up or buy 14f that will do what you want and spend less...just my 2C

I had a 12 ft alumna boat for years when i lived in Washington State. i use to take 3-4 peole with me with all out gear batteries and gas can with a 9hp motor and never had an issue it was a bit tight with 4 people but we managed those boats will hold a lot more then you think they will when you are by our self put your batter at the opaset end and just make some longer cables for the trolling motor. as far as shallow water goes when you get in there lift the motor up and use the trolling motor. when i would go by my self as soon as i anchored i would move and sit in the middle of the boat. take it to the lake and check how it sits and then adjust your weight accordingly .

Not all 12' boats are created equal.

Is it a 12 foot boat from academey etc? or is a 12 50+ inch wide aluminum boat?

If you have a gas motor and 2 folks I thing your already past what a 12-footer like the ones from academy etc is good for.

Unfortunately it is a eldocraft 12ft and the width of the bottom of the boat is only roughly 31 inches...but I'm kinda glad at the same time cuz I wanted the boat so that I can strap it to the top of my dodge nitro (I hate it lol) and not have to worry about trailering

mine was from the 80s it came from sears it was nothing special but 3 people can fish of the them I use to go all the time with my grandfather and his friend. it will do just fine for what you want it for just dont be out their in rough water these 12ft boat are one of the most popular boats in Washington State for lake almost all the lake are natural spring feed lakes and not real big.

Yeah pretty sure mine is a early 80s or late 70s and don't worry this is strictly a river boat. I already have a lake boat lol. Another reason I wanted this small of a boat is because the river I plan on fishing has an average depth of just a couple feet and alot of it is less than 2ft.

Light weight jon boats actually take rough water fairly well, as long as you keep them light weight. I have fished out of 36" 14' non boat quite a bit. I think I would lose the trolling motor and big deep cycle battery. All you need is something to run your depth finder because I am sure your motor is pull start. You might even be able to run your depth finder of a lipo rc battery. Check out HobbyKing and only look in US warehouses.

I planned on looking at deep cycle wheelchair batteries. Because I plan on installing a bilge pump and in line switch as well as my Humminbird 999. You have any idea how much power I would need to power those and run the fishfinder for at least 6 hours or more? Not that I need to run it that long but better safe than sorry. Lol

A bilge pump is really not needed in a jon boat. Anytime you get water in it just get up to speed and pull the plug...put it back in before you slow down. For lights I would go led front and back. That Hummingbird is low draw. In my opinion, you are going to hate how that boat rides if you weigh it down. A deep cycle battery is going g to weigh 60 to 70#s.

I know it's not needed but I prefer it cuz I'll b3 taking it handfishing thus summer and gonna be getting in and out alot soaking wet and that water builds up quick...I was looking into a deep cycle car audio battery or a wheelchair battery...they make them pretty small and lightweight

Not to mention I'll be taking it out in winter and i want to be as safe as possible so me or whoever with me doesn't drown or freeze to death if the boat takes on too much water and sinks...