That is interesting. I have been rolling the idea around getting a boat. Im always nervous it will break down.

I'd call that a people killer instead of a yak killer. First thing many people would do is try to fish 2 people out of it. They even put 2 people in it in the video when capacity would only be around 200 lbs for people and tackle. Looks really dangerous.

Cool little boat, but I am not that skilled to build something like that. Therefore I would have to buy it and maintain it. Far less electrical and metal engineering in a kayak.

What a fabricator! How many hours do you think he has on the just the 7th generation of that Jon boat? I would like to see him drop a jet ski engine into a 15’ Jon boat and build that deck for 2 fisherman.

He does clean work.. I think I heard him say about 10K in labor?

Iconn4, no, I think he was implying that if you had someone else build it for you, it'd be 10K total. So, the ~5K he spent on parts, then another ~5K for the labor.

My opinion? I totally agree that he is a really good fabricator. But, a vessel like this is DOA at 10K. DOA.

And, there are already several vessels out there on the market that bridge the gap between a kayak and a smallish bass boat.

I would WAY prefer to fish out of a Hobie Pro Angler or PA 360 than his little boat. He's not going to win over many kayakers I suspect.

Brad

There's no way you can buy that boat for 10K. The motor, trolling motor, batteries, electrical system, fish finder and trailer is 6 grand or more. IMO this boat would be over 15k.

I do agree this isn't going to bridge the gap between boats and kayaks.

Been a subscriber to his channel for a long time. His best videos are the ones he does on swimbait making—simple effective designs and methods.
He has some excellent ideas, but many of his concepts aren’t practical for tall/big people and our wind/weather conditions.
He does add a lot of floatation/bouyancy to his vessels (lots of foam, etc)

In several of his early videos; he has disclaimers regarding modifying small vessels and safety, etc.

So he is trying to compete with Hobie and the Pro Angler?
Hobie has nothing to worry about!

I don’t think he’s trying to compete with Hobie or any kayak manufacturer.
It’s just an attention grabbing title.

My impression is that he enjoys teaching people how to improve the fishability/enjoyability of small boats

In my opinion, starting with a Jon boat was a mistake. If you want to see a really nice aluminum fishing skiff, check out Sabine Skiffs, in Kemah, TX. Don't have any idea what they cost, but that's a step up from a kayak. I took a 14-foot antique(1958) aluminum rowboat/runabout and cut the gunwales down, put a flat deck on it, and made it into a flats skiff. It weighs under 300 pounds, less the Yamaha 15 4-stroke, will putt along in 8 inches of water and poles nicely. Pics were in the Jon Boat section on this forum.
The secret is keeping it light! Plus, a jon boat has too much hull slap. My opinion. YMMV. IslandJim

Jerry, agreed! It could very well end up costing 15K. But, the speaker in the video was comparing it to a 5K Hobie PA and said it came in at about the same or a little under in a price comparison (w/o labor). Not certain about the trailer. Then, he went on to say that if one had someone else fabricate it, maybe 10K so I assume he means 5K more in labor for 10K total. I can't even imagine a little boat like that being 5K in materials and then 10K for fabrication, with or without a trailer. Anyway, the whole thing is silly as it has as close to 0% marketability as imaginable. There are so many better options. Brad

What would you rather be in on a day like today? White caps, winds gusting 25 to 30, and have to navigate a stump field? I’ll take a used plastic, low seated, smooth paddling wind cheater... every time. Tarpon 140, Native Manta Ray, or even my old Perception Illusion.. to name a few. Lots of good manufacturers have one in their line ups... all for a fraction of 5k and more capable when conditions aren’t ideal.

Brad [/quote]Anyway, the whole thing is silly as it has as close to 0% marketability as imaginable. There are so many better options. Brad[/quote]

Yes sir agree this is a big swing and a miss and mostly eye candy. He does have awesome fab skills tho

I would take something like a NuCanoe 12 with a 3 HP Torqueedo motor or even with a gas engine over this.

Small Jon boats are more dangerous than some folks realize and as Jim mentioned the hull slap is bad and can spook a lot of fish especially where I fish in the salt flats.