I have been wondering - I have 2 nephews that have recently purchased jon boats to fish out of. Both are 14' and at least 36" wide if not a hair more. One of my nephews just built a casting deck on the front of his and it got me wondering - will it be stable? I went fishing in the other nephews boat with him and when either of us stand and move in the boat you have to do it with care as the boat rocks side to side very easily. It seems to me that the rocking would be enhanced once you stand up on the deck - I keep thinking that a strong hook set could turn out disaterous with my nephew in the water......am I wrong on this?

What is the minimum width that the bottom of the boat needs to be to safely be able to fish and move around on a casting deck?

Get a camera!!!!

Wont matter cuz I aint gettin in the boat with him. He's at or over 300Lbs and I aint exactly been doing cardio.

check out www.tinboats.net answers are there

Not sure there is a good answer, I decked out 2 or 3 in my life, I generally had a seat on a pedestal on mine. We always joked about putting outriggers on a jon boat to make it more stable.

Holy cow thats gonna be a funny story

+1. My Jon boat was 48 in wide and you still had to be careful setting the hook. I never threw my co angler out, but it was close a few times.

As a kid in high school I had a 30" wide flat bottom with a deck that I put hinges on to allow me to store stuff under it.

Of course I barely weighed in at 130lbs and was quick on my feet.

I once thought about putting a deck in my 36" wide flat bottom, then I started fishing lakes with stumps and bringing a partner and quickly realized it was a terrible idea! I always stood up in mine to fish, and I never fell out, but there where many times I either hit a stump, or my partner made a sudden move that dang near threw me over the side. I without a doubt would have been overboard MANY times if I had been up on an elevated deck.

I got used to fishing that boat without the deck, and whenever I wanted to stand up a little higher to bed fish or whatever I would just stand on the bench seat. I carried a long PVC pipe that I could use to drive in to the lake bottom to hold on to while I was up there, and I never did it with someone else in the boat for fear they would make a move and throw me out. It was my "Redneck Power Pole", but it worked.

Remember, once you fall out of a jon boat, you can't crawl back in it....keep that in mind if he's going to be out when the water is cold.....Oh....and they will sink like a rock too if you don't have additional flotation in them!