Just picked up my first Jon Boat...

Hey guys, just bought my first boat. 14'er with a 4hp Johnson and 36# thrust troller. Got a decent deal on it but the trailer needs tires and wiring so it wasn't a great deal.

If anyone has tips on things to do, I'm all ears! The trailer needs fixing first but I might go ahead and replace transom, put some flooring in it and build a battery/storage box soon after.




You can see he ran some wires to have battery mounted in front of the middle seat for weight distribution, so thats where I want to make a battery/storage box

I need a bigger garage! haha

 

Where in upstate NY are you?
I picked up a used Jon boat a few years back.
Here are some things I did to get it going.
I replaced the small wood on the outside wall at the motor with an Oak plank and replaced the inside wood as well. I also put new rubber washers and stainless hardware on all handles. I did notice some minor leaking from the bottom, so any loose rivets I sealed with some bondo from the bottom. I also replaced the drain plug in the rear.
In the future I want to add lights for night fishing, just a thought.

 

OP, how much did you pay for the package? It looks to be in decent shape

 

Im near Binghamton NY.
I would like to add lights and some storage and maybe a front deck and all that but I think for now Im just going to do what needs to be done, like fix everything on the trailer, use it for the summer and go over everything in the winter. Just incase the motor takes a crap on me I dont want to put a bunch of money into stuff thats not really needed.


I paid $700 for it all. Was on CL for $1000 obo, offered $850 and they said yes. Then drove about 3 hrs to get it and saw the tires were dry rotted pretty bad(even spare) and the lights on trailer didnt work, one wire is broken coming out of the front near plug. So I told him I could do $700 otherwise I'd have to pass. He took it, but I really would have bailed on purchase if he didnt. So it worked out and I didnt drive 3hrs for nothing haha

 

Ok you are still way south of me.
I've been fishing every week lately on the NY/VT border at the south end of lake Champlain. Great cat fishing there.

 

700$ for it aint bad at all..before putting any money into it, id make sure it floats first..then worry about getting everything back into shape

 

Yeah, we have a place on Wanita lake which is just east of Keuka lake. I'm going to get the trailer all set so I can drive it up there. Have to put a new transom on too, I just looked closer at it and the wood where the motor clamps on is all pushed in and cracked. I'll try and take care of all that then make sure there are no leaks when I get up there. It rained pretty good on my drive back with it and there was a decent amount of standing water in it so Im hoping it'll be good

 

Congratulations on the boat! If the motor runs OK it sounds like a good deal. Take the time (and prevent some grief on the roadside) to clean, inspect and repack the wheel bearings. To check for leaks, fill the boat about 1/3 full of water then crawl underneath to look for leaking rivets or cracks. Having them welded is the best bet and really isn't all that expensive. I jump so many stumps that I take my boat to a welding shop about every two years.

 

I would suggest gettin some bearing buddies. you can get them at any marine place. and the wiring shouldnt be too hard to fix. Do you know how the motor runs? i think its crazy how big that 4hp is. my dad has a 4.5hp around the same year is yours and is huge compared to the 2hp evinrude i have. seems like a good deal though

 

I'd like to coat the bottom with some of that Steelflex stuff but probably wont happen until winter.

The trailer already has bearing buddies on it and the guy just had them all done up!

Everyone says that motor is big for a 4hp. Maybe its the picture or maybe I'll just have to compare it to others that are on the lake this year.

Im in the process of replace the transom right now then I might toss in some flooring, but I really just want to get it out and do some fishing!

 

Looks to me like it is a 40 hp not a 4? I dont think I have ever seen a 4 hp and that is a 40 on the side cover not 4. Real good deal for $700!

 

Did some research and they do make a 4 hp but it is somewhat smaller than yours. You have a 40hp.

 

The outboard is Johnson model# J4RDHCDE I looked it up on google and it says its a 1986 4hp motor

It says 4.0 Deluxe on the lid

Maybe the Deluxe has a little more output? Or the TRD of the 4hp models? haha

 

All of Johnson and evinrudes motors back then were big. Im pretty sure they used the same housing for the engine from the 4 hp all they way up to 15hp. I just sold a 15hp evinrude that is the same size as my dads 4.5 Johnson