So this spring I decided I wanted to get back into fishing, which I did pretty often as a kid. I wanted a boat that would allow me to easily take along a friend or two to do pan and game fishing on inland lakes. Something small enough that I could go out by myself, and fit it in my small garage, and something light enough that I could haul it with a more fuel efficient vehicle than the pickup I have now.
I decided a 14′ aluminum jon boat would meet my needs. I wanted to have casting decks in it, so I got the widest I could find to help with stability, a Lowe 1448T, 48″ wide at the bottom with a 70″ beam. I was hoping to get one used to cut costs a bit, but that’s not a very common boat, so after searching Craig’s List and e-Bay for a month, I bit the bullet and ordered one new from my local fishing/boating store at the end of May.
As luck would have it, the flooding we had in the midwest delayed the shipment of the boat until the beginning of July. Yea, ironic that a boat can’t be delivered due to flooding. In the meantime, I found a motor for it on Craig’s List and a trailer as well.
The motor is a 1989 25hp Mercury long shaft. The boat is rated for 25hp, and I got the tall transom, so this motor should be a perfect match. The motor included the remote shifter/throttle as I plan on having a console in this boat instead of piloting it from the back with a tiller.
The trailer was setup with rollers for a v-hull boat. It’s wider than most trailers meant for smaller boats, 60″ between the fenders, so it would easily hold my boat. Electrical worked, tires were good, and all around it appears to be a good, sturdy trailer.
I’ve been out on the boat a few times now, I’ll start including posts with pictures on what I’ve done to get it to where it is now, and will continue documenting the modifications that I make, as I plan on making this a sort of “Ultimate Bass Boat”. Stay tuned, and feel free to ask questions if you’re interested!
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