Advice on restoring my Jon Boat..

Hello all!

I've recently decided to take a break from modding my taco to restoring a little bit on my 10 or 12ft jon boat(not sure). Its pretty clean aside from the fact that it dosnt have a motor (i hate paddling).

The first step of the restoration would be the trailer itself. I dont like the whole white with rust deal with the occasional green the trailer. Its ugly and i dont like it. My dad bought it a couple years ago and went on the water maybe 4 times. I've decided ill fix it up and claim it for myself.

First problem- The sanding of the trailer. Me and my mate went and sanded for about an hour and im not really satisfied with how the trailer looks and feels. It chips away in someplaces and in some cases the cracks in the old paint dont go away so im not sure how to remedy that. I have 60 grit sandpaper and i have an electric sander. It still dosnt do the trick. Any suggestions to what i need to do? ill only be working on it when im not in school (weekends) so i want to get the boat ready by spring time for the bass fishing?










THanks for reading and the future advice

 

Anything?

 

Subbed.

I'm looking into getting an old John boat so I will use your thread as inspiration and another research tool.

Bump for some ideas.

Edit- Is the trailer structurally sound? Is the rust just stains or is the metal rusting away?

 

The trailer is good to go structure wise. It just had rust on the metal in some places. So stains would be my best guess

 

The easiest way to clean up the boat trailer is to sandblast but that can be expensive. Doesn't have to be perfect, just get the loose stuff off.
You may be able to find a commercial sandblaster and swing a deal where meet him at one of his jobsites with the trailer.
Sanding by hand is labor intensive as you found out.

The other problem I see are those dinky tires and wheels. Those little things spin your bearings faster than a larger wheel would.
This heats up your bearings on a road trip.

The fix is to convert to a larger tire and wheel. If you're bolt pattern is "four on four" for instance, you can go to a 13" wheel which gets you out of undersize, crappy trailer tires and into automotive tires.
You can buy used 13" auto tires cheap.

The boat looks to be in good shape.
I would get rid of that ghetto front deck though.
Keep it light.
Maybe an electric motor for starters ?
Get one with power like a gas....NOT A CLICKER with set speeds...if you ever want to troll.

Good luck.

Edit:
You will have to build what are called "bunks" for the boat to sit on when on the trailer.
Not rollers for a flat bottom.
Use pressure-treated 2x4's and cover with outdoor carpeting. They usualy go length-wise on the trailer for a flat bottom. For good purchase, lay them out so they land between the hull's strakes. If you're clever you will position them do they center the boat on the tailer automatically.
Drive-on guides can be fashioned the same way. These are those side rails that you see on some trailers.
You may not need these.

The bumper on your winch stand should be converted to a pad made the same way, to meet the square nose of your boat.
To do some of this right, you may have to visit your local welder.

Don't let your aluminum boat touch any steel, the steel will win.

 

Whats sandblasting?

And i do have those "bunks" you speak of. I took them off so we could get to all of the trailer. We were thinking of taking the carpet off and replacing it with bedliner. Would that be a bad idea?

 

Silica sand is blasted out of a special hose and nozzle under high air pressure.
The technique is used to "sand" irregular shapes and difficult locations prior to painting.

Bad idea.
You want a soft surface for your boat to sit on so it doesn't wear.
It is "light gauge" aluminum and needs to be protected from unnecesary wear.

I would see if 2x6 would fit between the strakes. These are the ridges on the bottom of the hull.
If so, 2x6 would double as a walkway.

Again, use pressure treated lumber for rot resistance and wrap with outdoor carpeting.

 

Could you use some sort of "evapo-rust" chemical product on the areas where hand sanding is not effective?

Note - I have not used anything like this personally but I seen and heard of people using chemicals to remove stubborn rust during surface prep on a truck bed prior to doing a DYI bed liner. It might not be appropriate for this application so make sure to check before hand.

 

Alright. Well i believe the previous owner took all of this into conisderation as he had about 3 or 4 of the carpet board things on the trailer. We had to break one in half though because we are replacing all the old bolts and washers on the trailer. Thanks again for the help! There's a sandblasting shop nearby my house so ill check them out tomorrow and see about prices.

 

Bump!

 

for the trailer you could use a grinder with a wire wheel to get the rust off. then spray it with some primer and then paint it with marine grade paint to help prevent future rust. the guy who mentioned the wheel/tire thing has a good point too. and if u dont have greasable bearings in ur axles u should install those as well

 

i have a 12' jon, i just put it in the bed of the truck, like in my sig.

just make sure you get all the rust off, wire brush, sander, and use some rustoleum or marine paint. i lined the bottom of my jon with hurculiner. if you do it get a gallon, one pint is one coat, not nearly thick enough. ive got 2 on right now, im gonna add a third coat though

 

I would upgrade my tire size but...

1. I dont travel very far when i fish
2. I would have rubbing with my fender.

Im going to see someone this weekend so they can sandblast it down. should cost around 50$ so thats fine with me.

Getting the rust off will be my first goal. Hopefully getting it done this weekend. Im gonna paint the trailer camoflauge and the boat afterwards.

THanks for the tips everyone!

 

Update:

I got the call from the sandblasting guy and he quoted me at around $300. I said no thank you. Ill just sand it the best i can do and paint it all black.

I got the crappy defective trailer lights off and bought new ones!

Currently removing a tire.

 

less than $5 at the lowes down the road and you can have this



which will work perfectly for your needs as a previous poster already said.

 

alright i think i have one of those in my dad's garage. Ill be good if thats all ill need.

 

Painting the boat camo is one thing but i'd suggest painting the trailer a brighter color as there are many assholes on the road that don't see a thing. I know you didn't ask just my 2 cents. Good luck with the build.

 

yes, you'll be fine with that. it will get all the paint off, certainly any that's chipping. it will be effective enough for you to to paint over it afterwards. might take and hour, but no more i wouldnt imagine.

and if you want input on paint, i would use whatever "Rustoleum" brand color you want. it will protect it from the elements for many years

 

That's prolly for a perfect, ultra-clean sandblasting job.
It's expensive unless you can catch them already mobilized on a jobsite somewhere and make a deal.

Put 'em up on your "guide-ons" where they are out of the water. They will live longer.

If you're going to stay with the little tires and wheels, get a spare.
Also make sure you clean and re-pack all your bearings with water resistant, boat trailer bearing grease.

I try to keep my bearings out of the water when I launch my boat.
Hot bearings will suck water into the hubs if you submerge them.