Thread: Looking For a jonboat

If you don't find a used on in good shape you may want to check out some of the Lowe Jon's. They have some pretty decent prices on some in that size range.

https://www.loweboats.com/jon-boats/

Cabelas sells them if you have one near you

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/brows...&WTz_stype=GNU

If your going 14'. Get at least a 48" wide or wider and better yet, go at least 1648 in size. You can power a 1648 as most will take up to a 25 hp motor. Also check the hull thickness. Go with as thick a made hull as possible as some like the bass tracker topper models are thin and very cheaply made and won't last long. Granted, your Lowes, G3's, Alimacrafts cost more, but they are well built, take tons of abuse, and will last forever. You can play with modifying them and setting them up any way you want. Same goes for Jon boat trailers. Get a trailer that the boat will set between the wheels and not on top of the wheels and is rated to hawl at least 1500 lbs and make sure your tire size is 13" or 14" vs the cheaper 12" tire size if your going to run from lake to lake fishing. You can add side bunk guides from Bass pro if a trailer doesn't come with them for 100 bucks or so. Lots of ways to go on a nice skinny water boat.

I have a 1452 Crappie Jon. It is stable for a small boat and well built. I found mine on craigs list. It was a "Plain Jane" now it is "Tom's Jon".

Agree with everything you said. Personally, I'd probably try to find a 1652 or 1654. As you mentioned - the wider the better - particularly that bottom width. They'll handle a lot and can be customized the way you want. Best all around boat I ever had was a Polarkraft 1652 with a 35 Johnson on it...

craigslist is your friend.