Finally found a use for my little old JOHNSON.

THEFERMANATOR

THEFERMANATOR

God
Now that I have your attention, I done went and lost my mind. Really didn't have the money, but my wife pointed out we have been boatless(without a useable boat anyways) for almost 4 years now so I went out did something about it. It's not a V-20, or even an offshore boat, but it is something to get us back on the water(and cheaply). It's an 07 GRIZZLY by TRACKER all welded 1654 flat bottom. I wanted a modified V, but everybody wants an arm and 2 legs for them down here, so I settled for a flat bottom. It needs some welding where the welds have broken on the center seat, a deck extension on the front seat because it is WAY to small to be used as a casting platform, and a smooth floor for my boy so he isn't tripping across the ribs in the floor.

He wanted $1250, but because of the broken welds I got him down to $1100. I didn't tell him I have the stuff to weld aluminum, so that won't cost me much(but it worked to get the price down). And the trailer needs the fenders cut down because the boat is so wide it hits the fenders, and a set of wheels and tires. I know boats like this down here fetch $1500-2000 all day long, so I wasn't going to pass it up. Worst case scenario I put my engine and such on it and sell it for $3500.

On the plus side I still have an old 35 HP JOHNSON tiller with a 20" shaft, electric start, and charging system that I have been trying to sell for years(best offer I ever got on it was $400, I have more than that in the add on charging system and starter I put on it), so it just found a new home. I also have a 55 pound thrust MINN KOTA foot control trolling motor for a pontoon boat(will work just fin on a jon boat), some 6 gauge wire I pulled out of one ofthe bass boats I junked to run the trolling motor power feed, and most all the anchors and such I need to outfit it leftover from boats in the past.

So I will be back on the water here soon.

Some pics of the JOHNSON recipient.
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Yes it's as wide as it looks.
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And heres thee welds that need fixed. Pretty common on welded jon boats as I had the same problems on my ALUMACRAFT I had years back.
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I guess i should have posted up a picture of my JOHNSON. She looks rough because she has been sitting since 06, but it will clean up nicely. It's an 80 that spent it's first 20 years being used strictly in freshwater. I freshened it up in 04 because the previous owner believed in using 30 weight oil instead of two stroke, and the bearings got coked up with ash(theres a reason they tell you to use 2 stroke). Other than that it has less then 150 hours on it since new, and 125 pounds of compression. Some time with the pressure washer, a can of spray paint, and a little bit of maintence and my JOHNSON will be as good as new.

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Try to overlook the mess under it. The engine has been sitting over my scrap pile for the last 8 years.
 
Good deal Ferm! I used to have a 14' Fisher Marine modified V side console with a 30 Mariner that I always wished I'd never sold. You can ALWAYS use a boat like that no matter where you live, and cheap and easy to operate and maintain.

Is that a Damon Escaper motorhome?, If so I have a 1990 model built on a Chevrolet G30 chassis.

I seen a familiar Evinrude in the background too.

I'll bet that's gonna be your boy's first boat one day.
 
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Yep, the motorhome is pretty well rotten though. I don't know why my mom won't get rid of it, but she's dead set she's gonna fix it up one day. It's been killing me not being out on the water, and I've come to terms with the economy not recovering down here anytime soon. So I decided it was time to at least get out on the lakes, rivers, and flats. Plus this boat will run for a solid day on what my old 225 burned in an hour. I seen a couple of bass boats here lately for CHEAP money, but then I would still be filling a tank to feed a big engine. I decided spenidng the money for a boat a small engine could push, would pay off in short order in fuel savings.
 
Man that is gonna be a sweet set up Ferm. 54" wide should be a nice stable shallow drafting platform. Love it man. Good for you on snagging that up and getting back on the water!
 
Yep, I was blown away at how wide it is for a 16 footer. Should be plenty wide to go most anywhere I want to go, and get up into some of the springs around here with my son this summer.
 
Looks like you got a sweet deal Ferm. Congrats. I completely agree with you about engines and fuel burns. Sadly, it's a fact of life that under the present administration, we're not going to see any reduction in gas prices. I have a 12 foot Sears tri-hull Gamefisher rowboat with a 9.9 Honda 4 stroke on it for exactly that reason. I LOVE ocean fishing, but like you said, what I burn in a day with the little guy is what I burn in an hour (or less) with the V. Good luck with your new toy. :clap:
 
I didn't take any pics, but I got to finally get some work done on it. Got all the welds in it touched up, made a plate for my trolling motor to mount on the bow, got the trolling motor mounted, ran the wires for the trolling motor and lights, redid the carpet o nthe trailer bunks, added a 3rd bunk i nthe center to help support the floor to hopefully keep the welds from breaking in the center again, repacked the wheel bearings, new wheel seals, new tire/wheels, and got my bimini top mounted on it. I got the outboard running, but I need to clean up my mess from the welding so I can rebuild the carb replace the water pump, replace the coils(the 34 year old coils have finally gave up and are leaking the potting out), and hopefully touch up the pain on it a bit. i've been working on it al ittle here and there, but having a toddler running around sure slows down the progress.

Hopefully in the next few days I can get the engine done, and maybe by this weekend get her wet and see it sits in the water. If all is OK with the setup, I'm going to do a floor in the center(my son trips over the ribs, so it needs a smooth floor), build an extension for the front deck as the little 26" deck is awfully small, and put some carpet in it so my little guy doesn't get burned when it's out in the sun. I'll try and get some progress pics up here soon.
 
Here's a few pics I got of it today. I'm still not 100% done, but I wanted to run it before I put the floor in it in case I needed to move the battery or fuel tank forward. I was pleasantly surprised that it balances it very nicely even with me and my son both in the back idling along, and on plane it ran flat as could be. I was also surprised it could pull a 13 pitch prop I had, and feels like it could pull more. Being so wide really helps out with the balance, and letting this old school 35HP(flywheel rated) engine spin up. At least now I know it will work setup like this, so I can put a floor and carpet in it.

And don't criticize my paint work. I painted the engine in the dark with just a head light on(weatherman was calling for rain, and I didn't feel like waiting any longer to paint it), and I can't find an olive drab green that matches the green that tracker used.

boat with an old bimini I had stored in the shed.
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My trolling motor mount, wiring, and bow light base
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The outboard don't look half bad in this pic, but if I take a close up it's rough.
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Battery box, fuel tank, and you can see my stern light base in the background.
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And a set of LED flood lights in case I can get out to go gigging.
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bradford said:
Looks great Ferm!

Are those leds pretty bright?
Click to expand...

Yes. They are just the 18 watt versions I got on Ebay($20 a piece if you buy 8, and they will mix and match the 30 and 60 degree beam pattern for you), but they put out alot of light. I got a set on one of the mowers, and my neighbor thought aliens had landed the first time I used them. They don't project out the farthest(downfall of LED's), but within 30-40 feet they are blinding. I couldn't imagine having the 48 watt ones that are out there.
 
It looks like my time with my little old JOHNSON will be coming to an end. Last time out with my 2 year old, he leaned up against the hull side and got burned pretty bad, so momma said I had to do something. I had already carpeted the seats, but didn't want to go through all the hassle of adding a floor to cover the ribs, and carpeting all of it. So if I want to keep momma happy, and take us all out at the same time, I have to get a different boat. I did some work yesterday for a friend of mine, and he told me that a friend of ours was getting ready to get rid of his CAROLINA SKIFF because he hasn't used it, and his kids stopped using it as well. So I went and talked to him this morning, and he made me a deal I couldn't refuse. It's a 2005 CAROLINA SKIFF 19DLX(flat bottom model), with a 2005 HONDA 75HP carbed engine on it, aluminum trailer, re upholstered seats last year, and bimini top for $4K. The boat has less than 100 hours on it, and has seen saltwater less than 10 times in it's whole life. It needs the carbs gone through in it, new control cables, battery and a few other things from sitting, but for $4K for a like new CAROLINA SKIFF with 4 stroke power, I think I'm making out like a bandit. I know on CL others are going for $6-9K down here, so if anything I can flip it and double my money. So my little JOHNSON and TRACKEr will be up for sale here soon if anybody needs a pond jumper/skinny water boat.
 
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