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Looking for a decent cheap jon boat. Lowe and Lund both have a tiller style 14 footer for $3000 or so.

Any reason I would go one direction or the other?

I’d find something welded myself. And one or both of those you listed may be, IDK. I just know I’ve never had a riveted boat that didn’t leak.

Hmm. Ok. Makes sense. Or maybe I should be in the used market to begin with

Definitely let someone else take the initial big hit on depreciation.

Lowe and Lund probably shouldn't be used in the same sentence. A whole lot of people in this part of the world are using Lund boats from the 60's and 70's. I've never seen a Lowe boat more than 20 years old. There could well be some but Lund is the standard in aluminum boats.

See a lot of Lowe, Tracker, and PolarKraft jons around here. Sylvans used to be pretty prevalent, but I don't see them much anymore. Alwelds are really nice, but they're also pretty salty.

I'm running a 1236 Tracker jon I picked up new in 2017. I would have liked a Lowe because they're a few inches wider, but I wasn't gonna pay double the price for 4" of beam. I've got no complaints so far; use it 50-75 days a year and it hasn't sprung any leaks yet, despite running into tons of crap on the super skinny creeks and rivers around here. Now that I said that, I'll probably spring a leak soon 🙄

I agree with TheKid that in the long run, welded is the way to go, though. Eventually, almost all riveted boats start to leak.

I have a pair of Jon’s for different types of River guiding. Both are Alumacraft modified V all welded.
One with a 15” transom the other a 20”.
I got a great deal so I grabbed them, I have had riveted Jon’s in the past that did great. Up here we are careful to store them dry when the fall wet weather hits so freezing water doesn’t loosen rivets

Whichever type you get the modified V hull makes a huge difference in fuel used, quicker navigation reaction, and speed particularly on rivers where I use them.

Alumacraft for me for the deal, I think most top line manufacturers like Lund, Alumaweld, etc are all built well and comparable.
Good luck.
Osky

I would look for a polar craft used for a Jon boat my first one was a 1964 and my last one was a 1973 solid as heck

That’s a great idea but around here we hardly ever see used jons
People just keep them and seldom sell them

Last fall we got luck my Son in Law was offered a G3 14ft and grabbed it at a fail price with a 15 Yamaha

I pulled into a dealer I call on and there was a 14 ft Grizzly
And I grabbed it it had a 9.9 Merc and really wanted more
I put a 23hp Go Devil on it and have a 20 Merc on order

But it’s really fun with the long tail and it’s tailor made for some of the areas around here

Hank

I bought an Alumacraft 1436(riveted) in 1976 and have been using it continuously hunting, fishing, bowfishing and in the early years running traplines. You can always upgrade it to fit your needs.

2000 upgraded with decking (2004 OWF 1st place Motorized division)



2021 upgrade with pods and surface drive

What type of fishing?


I use a lightweight riveted John boat for creek fishing.
Makes it easy to drag over trees/ logs and across shallow spots.

That boat is older than i am. It leaks some. I’ve patched it with marine JB weld.


If i did more River or lake fishing, I’d like a big / wide all welded bait.

Just small lakes and low-speed trolling and casting. I know a 12 foot Jon was too small when we had one.

Thinking more like 14.