Home Forums Fishing Freshwater 18 and 20' jon boats

I am looking into a big jon boat, but are all but impossible to find a used tiller model. Are they that good that noone sells them or are they not such a good idea to have a jon boat that big. I am using it for river fishin. Some are very shallow rivers. Anyone have one? How do you like it ?

Small Shallow rivers and 18-20 foot Jon boat?

Seems like every Jon boat I have seen that size is likely to not fit on small rivers and the few I have seen were very heavily built commercial work boats

Like LouisB, I wonder why you want that big a boat. However, the Smoker Craft looks like a good boat. Good luck, and have some safe fun. Richard.

Seems a bigger jon would be safer and easier to use when we camp. I have an Alumacraft v16. Nice boat but by the time I get 4 in the boat, poles, camp fire wood, tents, sleeping bags Etc. there is no room left. I got by with the v16 but it ain't quite enough it seems. Like the last 2 posters se it as odd to buy such a big Jon, maybe you are right, I should keep my 22 yr old boat and be happy. Also, I was wondering if an 18' jon is easier to plane than a v model boat. Lots of questions before or if I buy cause once I buy it it's mine and they won't take it back. later, ihookem.

Lotta guys and catfish guides use a skiff-type boat here, Carolina skiff is a popular brand. I really like the MayCraft, and the 1700 may be what you are thinking about.

http://www.may-craft.com/model_1700skiff.php

I have resisted dropping the hammer on the 1800. My ProCraft is still doing a good job, but, damn I want a new boat....

Biggest badasss jon boats I know of are made by Clark in Bellevue, Iowa on the Mississippi River. I've fished out of their V's, pontoons, and jons, and there isn't anything made by Lowe, Lund, or any other brand name I've seen that comes close. I have an old Lowe Lake Jon and it's like Reynolds wrap in comparison. I'm considering having them make me a V for our place up in Canada.
Give 'em a call- maybe they have something used, or could build you up one just to your liking for a lot less than you'd expect.

http://www.clarkboats.com/

note - a guy I stored my boat with near there has a 75 tiller on one of their jon boats it's a 20 or 22 footer, engine is a Honda or Merc; can't remember which. The boat flies.

Vic, up here in Wisconsin a skiff is a canoe with a square back. Never heard of what you are talking about till yesterday on thehulltruth.com. I don't tink they sell them here but they might call them something else. How much different is it than an Alumacraft v16? Levrluvr, I can look into that boat maker. I can get a Lowe 1860 for 3800 bucks and a g3 1860 for 3700. Most likely not the same class as a custom boat . I'm not sure I need anything close to that bad azz. They make a boat any way ya want and nice to see a boat maker up north this way. I'll give them a call.

Huhh, I never thought about the fact that Maycraft may not be in the market up there...oh, well.

I'm not too familiar with an Alumacraft, having just casually glanced at them as I came across them at the dock, etc., so I can't say much about the comparison other than the Alumacrafts do seem to be fairly well built.

Good luck on your search, and hope you find what you like.

Check out Alumaweld. Their sleds are really popular for running rivers up here in the PNW for salmon and steelhead. They draft in very little water and are very stable. If you're going to run shallow, run a jet.

Alumawelds are just starting out here it seems. Their prices are a bit higher than Lowe boats at Cabelas but reasonable if they are better built.

They are great boats and run in some pretty skinny water. Plus, they ride a lot better than the typical flat bottom if you want to use them in bigger water.

IMO Jon boats are good only in ponds and thin water. At 18-20' you are much better served safety wase and re-sale wise with a mod-V hull.

Unless you are running shallow water. None of the NW coastal guides (for salmon/steelhead) run modified Vs... mostly Alumiwelds, or other local welded aluminum makers...

http://www.kofflerboats.com/
http://www.duckworthboats.com/blog/?tag=jet-sled
http://www.northriverboats.com/boatmodels/scout12d
http://www.willieboats.com/new_page_1.htm

On second thought, maybe I don't have the terminology right. These have pretty shallow Vs...

I have a G3 1860 outfitter tunnel with a jet drive for running the skinny water and it works well. There are a number of boats, SeaArk, Alumacraft, Hewescraft and G3 to name a few are all popular brands here in Alaska. These boats have set up to run shallow

I have been running an 18' MonArk Jon boat for almost 30 years with an OMC 75 horse and Outboard Jet. It runs in real skinny water in very small streams and hauls a lot of weight... It planes with minimal effort even though the jet reduces HP by a bunch, especially toward the end of the life of any given adjustment.

It would take a long while to count all the moose, caribou, and bears that have ridden home in it... as well as the literal tons of salmon.

On the safety side it has been swamped a few times and if it had been bigger water it might have been a problem, but it is really at its best in just a few inches of water.

There is no better flat bottom jon than a Blazer Sport

Hand built in southern Missouri to run shallow rivers....fast!!!

http://www.blazerjetboats.com/

http://jetdoctor.net/new/gallery/1742-blazer-25hp-mercury/

They could not go where I go routinely... And if they run a jet they will suffer from all the skegs.

Skegs?

The longitudinal projections on the bottom of the boat that aid in tracking... With jets they do not allow air to escape and therefore ventilate the intake.

Also, when running jets it is important that you use the sliding for getting around... you cannot maneuver a jet in really tight turns without sliding it around turns. Skegs greatly reduce the slide. In wide open water it makes no sense for them to slide, but in wide open water jets do not make any sense. It is only the skinny water that matters.

I've owned and ran nothing but pumps my entire life

Okay, I have run pumps just since '85, but have had a USCG Master License since '94 and have run about every boat type in the range... If you have not seen what skegs do to pumps I don't know what else to say.

I think he's referring to 'strakes', which are used in multiples for steering stablility on flat bottoms. You will also see them on v-bottoms, usually near or on the chine for lift and/or deflecting spray away from the hull for a drier ride.
A skeg is the rudder-like fin protruding below the propshaft case on an outboard or I/O; on of the first things to take damage (along with the propeller) when running an prop-driven outboard in shallow water.

No, I meant skeg for the longitudinal projections on the bottom of a boat for the purpose of tracking, exactly like I said. Skegs have other definitions from use over time for various other projections, but common, long-term usage among boat builders is "skeg" for the type of folded aluminum ridge on the bottom of the boat pictured in the link.

Strakes, by definition are full length and more an artifact of building (especially in wooden boats).

Sitka- Different terms for different areas of the country, I guess. I've lived east coast, Great Lakes, and spent my summers in Canada over my 55 years, and I've never heard that term used for anything other than the projection off an outboard or I/O gearcase. That includes all of the boat builders I've known.

I have heard the word 'skag' used by diaper hangers to describe the projection of the keel just forward of the rudder.

No "skegs" in Missouri

Ribed bottoms but the center section is flat for clean water to the shoe

whatever a person wants to call it, any 'stuff' sticking down too far in skinny water on any kind of boat is going to get damaged or ripped off.

On my boats the shoe is the lowest thing

There is a big jon boat on lakelink you might want to check out.

We had a 17' Tracker which held up very well despite their reputation.

Hitting the river this week....bad low with a very dry summer

No problems for a flat bottom jon and a pump mounted high

i have a ( 2-3/4 h by 14") tapperd tunnel on my boat....nothing is below the bottom of the boat,darn near runs in morin' dew..........