Updated
8/29/2005
These
are the modifications I made to my Jon boat for crappie fishing. It is a 2003
Lowe 1448 Big Jon (14’ long, 48” bottom width, and 70” beam).
Top speed with me and the tackle as indicated by GPS is 3.3 mph with the
trolling motors and 21 mph with the Mercury. My best estimate for gas mileage
is 13 mpg at a cruising speed of 15 mph. I’m afraid to add up the total
cost, but believe it to be somewhere in the $6000 to $7000 range. I did things
a little at a time over a period of 15 months so I could keep it within my
monthly entertainment allowance.
Boat
Modifications:
·
Added cleats for guide ropes/anchors
·
Added my existing Minn Kota 36EX Extreme
trolling motor and two Everstart group 29 deep cycle
batteries. The batteries are 125AH capacity and are located in the front of the
boat to get the balance correct. Six gage cables carry the current to the back
of the boat and eight gage cables to the front.
·
Added sheet foam between ribs on hull bottom for inner floor support,
sound dampening, and extra floatation (62 pounds per cubic foot floatation)
·
Added inner floor made from exterior A-C grade 15/32 plywood (30 pounds
per cubic foot floatation)
·
Added storage compartments between aft bench seat and middle bench seat
along both gunwales. These compartments are equipped to hold twenty 360 type
tackle boxes and have two areas for storage of items that will not fit in a 360
box. They also have cigarette lighter sockets for power to portable equipment
and to recharge the batteries without having to always get into the boxes.
Covered inner floor, bench seats, and built in storage compartments with
quality marine grade carpet
·
Added pedestals and boat seats
·
Added a Humminbird Legend 3000 Deep depth
finder with speed and surface water temperature. I really wanted a Lowrance X-15, but had to draw the line where the
electronics are more expensive than the boat.
·
Added a Magellan Meridian Gold GPS (this is one of the best things I
did)
·
Added a small 7AH 12 volt gel cell battery for the electronics to
eliminate any possible interference from the trolling motors
·
Added 8 Cabela’s Quick Draw rod holders
for trolling or spider rigging
·
Added a 2004 Mercury 9.9Hp four stroke motor. The motor has the 15Hp
carburetor upgrade installed right out of the box by the dealer. This motor is
smokeless, odorless, quiet, and can go a long way on just a little gas. It will
also idle all day without complaining.
·
Added a spray bar and pump to the livewell to
keep my catch alive during the hot weather. I have the system wired to a timer
switch so I can run the pump only as often as needed to keep the noise down. I
have an electrolysis system that runs all of the time when fish are in the livewell, but it cannot supply enough oxygen when it is
hot.
·
Finally added a Minn Kota PowerDrive
50PD trolling motor to the bow. The trolling motors on each end of the boat
give me excellent control in even the windiest conditions. Storage space and
the need for electric steering controlled from the back of the boat drove me to
the PowerDrive series trolling motors.
Trailer
Modifications:
·
Removed carpeted slide bunks and replaced with roller bunks. This makes
the boat much easier to launch/retrieve.
·
Added walk board to trailer to make boat retrieval easier and safer
·
Installed 4:1 gear ratio winch so boat retrieval is easier
·
The boat strap was always working lose so I changed it out for gunwale
tie downs
·
Added Shipshape post style guide-on so I can see where the trailer is
when backing up without the boat on the trainer
I decided
to sell this boat in order to get a larger boat and fish the larger reservoirs
(Kerr and Chickahominy) and rivers (James, Chickahominy, Pamunkey,