Man it is a great day today!!!

[randerson52]

My brother in law bought a boat! An 18 ft Jon boat, it is 4.5 feet wide. Has no seats or motor, but has a new trailer. Sounds really good for 500 bucks. It will take some work, so can some one tell me how much seats cost???? Also, Where can I find used running outboard motors???

[bigman15]

EBAY!!

Bass pro has wise seats for 30.00ea the rest are more expensive. Outboards are not cheap especially for a relable one

This can help you guy's turn that john boat into a bass boat!

http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/Boat-project

[OKie]

Thats a huge project but it looks great!

BTW that is not mine! I have a 87 stratos I bought for 500 and spent 3000 rebuilding the motor

[keeb]

the motors in your mane problum those suckers are expessive, not to mention if u want fish finder and trollin motor.

[randerson52]

we have a fish finder(Lowrance, he got it for free) and we have a small hand operated trolling motor

You can fish out of the boat fine w/ the trolling motor till you get and outboard Heck you may not need it

[james33]

[quote author=Tm_Customs link=board=MessBoards;num=1120086619;start=0#5 date=06/29/05 at 20:24:41]BTW that is not mine! Â*I have a 87 stratos I bought for 500 and spent 3000 rebuilding the motor[/quote]
What motor is on it?

Evinrude 150xp they had bad oilers so it is better to premix. When I get the boat back friday the engine will be completley re-built like new

[randerson52]

[quote author=Tm_Customs link=board=MessBoards;num=1120086619;start=0#8 date=06/29/05 at 20:40:28]You can fish out of the boat fine w/ the trolling motor till you get and outboard Heck you may not need it[/quote]

can a 28 lb thrust or so carry this boat any?

As long as there is not current and wind. If you only gonna have a T-motor I would use a 24V system and 50+lb motor

[randerson52]

I need to find out the motors thrust.

Powerbass you dont want to run a 12v system in a boat that only use a T-motor because t-Motors likk bateries quick you dont want to get stuck out there!

24v system is 2 batteries wired together

[randerson52]

yeah, I know they go through batts like anything. We were wondering if you can wire 3 or so??

You can but 2 is good you want to buy a motor that runs off of 24v a 55lb would be great!

[macgyver]

Congrats to your brother-in-law and you too ;D As for trolling motors, the 28lb is fine, I have a 36lb thrust on my 16' loaded down, and it moves me around well all day long. You can go up in size, but remember that as you go up in lbs of thrust, your wallet gets thinner As for needing a 24 volt system, I would think that's overkill in this boat. Just take a spare battery(you have to have 2 batteries for 24 volt system anyway) and just switch if ever needed. But if you run out of juice in the 24 volt system, then you gotta have another 2 batteries as backup, and that's just way too much weight and space. Get a gel cell barttery and a good battery charger. Just remember that batteries are an exspense. You shouldn't have to replace them every year but you will be replacing them. Always charge them asap after using them. Check out BPS and Cabela's, they are making a 5hp Briggs and Stratton(I believe) that's pretty cheap. I would look around in your local papers, for a used one. Just make sure it runs before buying it. There are zillions of things you can do to make the boat more ACCESSORIZED It just takes time and money. My first suggestion would be to put down some rubber mats or get some carpeting in it. It's amazing how much noise difference it can make. You can buy seats from WalMart to Cabela's. They have brackets for either bench seats or pedestal type. I would say $20-$30 bucks is inexspensive. Have fun and enjoy.

Lizards