You should come fish our Small Waters tournaments out of that! Check out the link in my signature, we'd love to have you!

Looks great! I did one a couple of years ago, so I can relate. Hope it catches lots of fish!

Great job!!! i have played with different designs on my Jon and am on revision number 4. One question I have for you is when you are runnig the wiring back the the control panel you probably went down the sides of the boat and under the supports on the side and under the built in seats. (not sure if that made sense). How do you keep the wires from getting smashed when the boat flexes? I have had problems with this and other than running the wires on the floor of the boat do not know how else to do this./

Thanks for all the kind words guys. Let me see if I can answer the questions that have been asked.

1. Can you build one for me?

Answer - Probably not as I would have to charge enough to keep my wife off my back when bringing more boats to the house. I think you could buy a nice used Tracker before you accomplished that.

Seriously though do not look at these results and think I am super handy man or anything. I know how to use a saw and cut mostly square. I own a circular saw, a skill saw and a drill and that is about my full boat building resume before this project. If I can do this anyone can. I was pretty intimidated before I started but once I started going I just used Red Neck engineering along the way.

I think I may do another video explaining how I got passed a few issues along the way later this month.

2. Will I come fish small water tournments?

That sounds cool I will look at your website and check it all out. If it is a bass only type of thing I may pass I am not much of a bass angler. Nothing against em mind you just a crappie/sandbass/catfish/panfish kind of guy. I love eating fish! So I just never learned much about catching large mouths. Now get me in a northern small mouth river and....well that is another post all together. Anyway I will check it out and even if it is just bass I may give it a try I don't mind loosing.

3. How much weight did I add?

Answer - just on the south side of 100 pounds total including everything other then the motor and the battery. I did not weigh every piece but based on the weight of the sheets of wood, etc before I started cutting my best estimate is about 89 pounds. I set 100 for a limit.

That said my buddy 210 lbs and my son 130 lbs have fished in the boat with me before I added the decks with no problems. Hence I figure this is now a two person only boat. I would not put three people in it now.

4. How do I avoid the wires being smashed?

Well, I did not run them under the decks really so to speak. They go under the front deck but there is a ton of room there. I then ran them down the sides in the channels rather then on the floor. So there is nothing above them to smash them.

I then painted them where they are exposed with OD green spray paint. So they blend in, the fact that no one notices them in the video or the pics tells you how well. Now that you know to look for them they would probably stick out like a purple thumb.

I hope that helps mudshark? If I do a follow up video I will show exactly how I ran the wires.

If anyone else has questions just ask I am glad to help where I can. Just don't think I am Johnny Boat Builder or anything I just kind of went with it and adjusted as I went. The next time I do a project like this I think I could do much better. One day I am gonna find a 16 x 48 Jon flat bottom and really go to town.

Jack,

that is what I have done in the past, run them down the sides in the cahnnels, problem is the boat will flex and eventually the wires will get down between the channel and the seat and get smushed. its just the way it is. I don't have a solution and was just wondering if you did something different.

Beautiful job, Jack.

Mudshark,
I ran mine in cpvc conduit down channels on each side of the boat, keeping transducer wires away from trolling motor wires to prevent any "motor noise" interference. You can see pics HERE. Hope this helps.

Henry that is a great solution. Good advice on the other hand though I have just not experience the issues that mudshark has, my wires stay put pretty well.

Your boat may be made of heavier material than his, or the seats may be secured differently. The conduit on mine didn't just hold wires, it made a great "moulding" to secure and hide the edges of my carpet. Without the carpet I was afraid I would constanly be losing small items in the cracks between the decking and hull. The carpet prevents that, but I wish I had chosen a different carpet, because mine seems to catch hooks like velcro! If a hook, especially a treble hook lies on it, about 1/3 of the time I have to dig it out. I probably should have sprung for boat carpet, but I found some "outdoor" carpeting at the local home center and thought it would be fine. It does wear well and clean well and look good, but it loves to catch hooks.

Yup, Conduit would be the perfect answer to this..I have thought about going back into mine and doing that but it never seems to be a problem once I get the boat back home. Kind of like not fixing the hole in the roof until it rains type of thing. Again, great job!!

Mudshark,
For a quick patch solution for your problem, take some hose (garden hose, heater hose, whatever) and cut it just longer than your seat is wide. Split the hose and you can put your wires into it without cutting the wires. Then slide the hose into the channel next to the seat. A spot of silicone caulk will hold it in place.

Nice job, Jack!

how much would a boat liek that cost before and after im looking for a small john-flatbottom boat with a little motor. thanks

is it stable enough for 2 people to stand?

Total cost depends a lot on what you pay for the boat in the first place. Minus the motor and the electronics you can easily keep the modification price under 500. Most used 14 foot flat bottoms seem to sell for about 300-400 if it is just the boat. I gave 800 for mine with the trailer and the old 15HP motor that died.

If I was going to sell this boat I would ask 1500-1800 (no I am not selling it this year) and I am pretty sure it would go fast.

Now could 2 people stand, probably could but I would advise against in on the high decks. One person on each mid deck, no problems at all.