# Boy you guys are gonna get sick of me



## jasonr

Just bought my first little fishing boat :fishing:

Found a great deal on a 14' Jon boat and trailer and decided to jump on it. Boat and trailer only so Im sure Ill have some questions once I start getting it ready for the summer


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## drawinout

Congrats! Now you just have to buy some power.


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## RuddeDogg

Hey congrats on the new purchase. Best of luck.


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## jasonr

Thanks guys. Im excited 

Yep next up is a motor. Thats gonna be the expensive part haha. I was thinking about getting one of these and using it as my all around motor untill I can get a small outboard.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s...1_98208_225001000_225000000_225001000_225-1-0


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## katfish

that push that jon around purdy darn good


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## jasonr

katfish said:


> that push that jon around purdy darn good


You think so? 

I figured aslong as I could move around on a few lakes areound here for a day on a battery I would be happy  I just dont know if a trolling motor is ok to use to move the boat from one spot to another all day without it burning up the motor or if I could use it as the "main" means of movement.


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## Out Sick

If you look around and dig a little you can find a 5hp or something for not much more than that. I saw a 9.9 at Boatersworld before the sale for $850. It was like a nissan or tohatsu or something like that and they had smaller ones too. The 5hp was probably half that. By the time you buy that trolling motor and two marine grade deep cycle batteries you'll be a the price a small gas engine. If youre planning on being in the salt , wait and save your money for a gas. You'll be much happier, the current around here depending on where your fishing will give that trolling motor hell. You definatley need 2 batteries or you may be doing the ol' anchor toss or flaggin somebody down! Easy going with a followihng tide and terribly slow going against it. If you can wait and get the gas you'll be able to cover allot more ground too. That being said, nice boat! I'm sure you'll enjoy it 

Ben


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## Out Sick

Yeah, 55lbs will push you all over that lake no sweat all day. I used a 32lb as the only motor on my John for 10 years. Just get a couple batteries and your fine.


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## jasonr

Sweet thanks guys. 

Ben, would it be ok to get a trolling motor for now since Ill just be in lakes where tides wont be a problem and then get a OB down the road? Ill prob just be in lake smith or whitehurst for now anyway. No saltwater for me in the jon.

Just gotta get this baby on the water


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## jasonr

Oh and here come a few dumb questions. 

I dont need to get a boaters license for a jon boat do I? Just register the trailer and boat? Where do I register them, DMV?


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## drawinout

Jasonr, if you plan on sticking to little lakes and whatnot, the trolling motor will definitely push you around all day... My first boat when I was a kid was a 14' stumpknocker, and I had a 32lb or 36lb thrust trolling motor on it. I lived on the perquimanns river, and I beat the hell out of that river with a trolling motor on my little 14' fiberglass stumpknocker!! There were days I had to have put over 10 miles on it with a single marine battery.. The trolling motor had an indicator on top of it that told me roughly how much juice I had left in the battery, so I just kept an eye on that. You won't be moving very fast, but you can definitely cover a little distance with it. You will have to charge the battery after each use, or at least I did.. When I was 12yo, that marine battery was kind of heavy to carry from the house to the boat every day!! All we had was a charger in the garage to recharge the battery with....Like Out Sick said, you're going to want something gas powered for saltwater.. Personally, I'd try to find an "affordable" gas outboard for it, but a trolling motor would be fine for some lakes and rivers. Good luck man!!!! I hope you and your son catch a bunch of fish in your boat..


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## BigDaddy

jasonr said:


> Oh and here come a few dumb questions.
> 
> I dont need to get a boaters license for a jon boat do I? Just register the trailer and boat? Where do I register them, DMV?


You will need to register the boat with the VA Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries and the trailer with DMV....I had to do the same thing a few months ago...good luck with the boat!!


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## Mark G

BigDaddy said:


> You will need to register the boat with the VA Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries and the trailer with DMV....I had to do the same thing a few months ago...good luck with the boat!!


Not sure if this has changed, you might not need to register a boat that isn't equipped with an outboard motor, but a trailer will need the license plate from DMV. Canoes and Kayaks don't need to be registered, and as long as the john boat doesn't have an outboard, it should fall into the same category.

Not sure if there is even such a thing as a "Boater's license". But you might consider a boater safety course, if this is your first time out.

You should have some minimum safety equipment, which is covered in boaters course. At a minimum make sure you have an emergency paddle-- just in case you run low on battery power for a trolling motor, also of course life jackets, and a whistle (for emergencies) are generally required on all boats--- some type of lighting if you plan to be on the water after dark,etc.

I doubt that you will burn a trolling motor out, as long as it's sized correctly-- you will deplete batteries tho, a spare is nice-- but anything that adds extra weight in the boat will make the motor work harder, and deplete that battery that much faster, so don't overload the boat, with unnecessary items.

Good Luck


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## OBX Jay

Boat needs to be registered and TITLED. See FAQ #3. Good luck and enjoy the boat!

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating/registration/faq.asp


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## jhmorgan

Dont you need a different permit to fish those lakes though? Im prettty sure, regardless of trolling motor/kayak/canoe, you need a Norfolk Resevoir permit or whatever they are called. Skunkape, chime in on this one!


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## Out Sick

jasonr said:


> Sweet thanks guys.
> 
> Ben, would it be ok to get a trolling motor for now since Ill just be in lakes where tides wont be a problem and then get a OB down the road? Ill prob just be in lake smith or whitehurst for now anyway. No saltwater for me in the jon.
> 
> Just gotta get this baby on the water


Yeah J, you'll be flying all over the lakes with that thing. My points above are just food for thought man. But you kow as soon as you see threads like we killed the puppy drum up to 30" in the lynhaven river yesterday! Trout in the elizabeth river are hitting! Owls creek is on Fire! Caugth 120 striper in the light line of HRBT last night! etc , etc, etc. your gonna want to be there. If it was me I'd skip the lakes all together. There's alot of places you can fish salt with that boat and get allot more species. I'd spend my time in lynahven catchin flounder, spot, pups, specks, striper, the whole gammut, etc. I fished freshwater for 18 years or so and loved it. But its hard to go back to beating the banks for 5lbers. If it was me, I'd get a good anchor, bow light, and stern, and just be on the lookout for a cheap gas motor. I'm talking 3-5 hp, that could even be a knockoff. Just take care of it, and it would be fine. If your planning on hanging out in the lakes then have fun, jon boats are great. No mainenance!!! I just have a feeling after one night of busting up the pups in the back of the river and you might change your mind.  Good luck buddy and be safe out there. I'll be out tomarrow as well running around the Nansemond river for some :fishing: and :beer:

Ben


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## jasonr

WOW! Thanks for all the help guys! I owe everyone on here a beer or two 

Funny you mention the saltwater again Ben. Coming home from work today, Newport News to Norfolk, I saw a guy in a jon fishing under the northbound bridge right by Willoughby haha.

Is a Jon boat ok in salt water though? Wouldnt the salt eat away at the aluminum or at the very least the rivits?


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## Out Sick

Well you may get some people on here tell you its really bad or something but as long as you don't keep in the water, your golden. Just give it a rinse when you get home. I see guys at the HRBT in em all the time slaying fish. There are lots of places you see guys in jon's. Just ne carefull check the wind, etc. You'll be there one day. I garuantee it. lol. I can't wait to get outts here today. Me and Virginia Boy 1 are headed out to slay some catfish tonight, then the Nansemond tomarrow. And with such good weather, plenty of :beer:


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## jasonr

Yea your right about me wanting to get out there but I just didnt think a jon was safe enough to be in the bay. I def wouldnt take it out the CBBT but right around the HRBT would be cool with me.

I was talking to my dad about it and he said we should throw a few thick coats of primer on it and a few coats of paint and that should protect it against the salt. Hes a gov. painted and can get the same primer they use on all the navy ships. I think that should be good enough for my little dingy


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## ledweightII

jasonr said:


> WOW! Thanks for all the help guys! I owe everyone on here a beer or two
> 
> Funny you mention the saltwater again Ben. Coming home from work today, Newport News to Norfolk, I saw a guy in a jon fishing under the northbound bridge right by Willoughby haha.
> 
> Is a Jon boat ok in salt water though? Wouldnt the salt eat away at the aluminum or at the very least the rivits?


 shouldnt be..overtime it may develop oxidation in spots where the seams come together or from battery acid. the first sign would be oxidation. aluminum has a protective coating that is part of the metal when heat treated. you dont want to sand this off if there are no signs of corrosion. the only spot on aluminum boats that may not have that coating is where the metal was cut, the edges may not be protected but there should be sealant and primer there. the protective coating may be @ 1/32 or 1/64th deep from the heat treatment. navy fighters get this kind of corrosion all the time on the lower part of the aircraft. as long as you rinse out the saltwater off it may never be a problem. been using an aluminum boat in saltwater for a few yrs with no problems. if you are going to paint it just use a red scotch brite pad to ruffin' up the smooth surface. try to keep the factory primer in place, i think sometimes they may bake the primer on or use the powder coat type of primer..i dont know if 'alodine' can be purchased in any stores but that is what we use to restore aluminum coating on aircraft sheetmetal when were doing repairs. as i was told awhile back always ride upstream in case of motor failure...definitely two batteries...


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## jasonr

Thanks led.

So I get a phone call tonight from the owners wife and there is a small problem. The boat came from MD and was never transfered into his name or registered in VA. He went to do that today so he could sell it to me but they will not accept the MD registration because the original owner had crossed something out and changed it on the registation.

Well according to her, it will take about 2-3 weeks for them to get the boat registered to them before they can sell it to me 

I asked if I could atleast pick it up so I could start working on it and getting it ready BUT he doesnt want me to take it now because he is affraid I will put it in the water without a registration. 

   Great start to my weekend


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## jasonr

Just got a call and I dont know what to think of it.

She called me back and said that her husband went to Walmart and they were able to print him out a temp. registration, good for 30 days and the new registration would be in the mail to them.

Is this even possible?


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## Out Sick

He's afraid you will put it in the water w/o a reg?  Your kidding right? I thought he was trying to sell it? Sorry to hear that, but there is good news. Just tell the guy/wife not to worry about it and you'll take care of it. Here's how- I bought my first jon from a buddy that found it in the woods by this guys house with grass growing in it. The guy was our neighbor and just gave it to him. He didn't really fish so I bought in 7th grade for $7 and Iron Maiden's Life after Death double cassette Album.  Yeah, what a deal. Anyway, I needed to register it so I called VDGIF and told them that my grandad left it to me and I have no title. They sent me a form to fill out, signed it, and three weeks later I had it registered. Done deal.  Good luck with it. And yes, the temporary is possible. They give you a carbon copy until it shows up.


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## jasonr

Out Sick said:


> He's afraid you will put it in the water w/o a reg?  Your kidding right? I thought he was trying to sell it? Sorry to hear that, but there is good news. Just tell the guy/wife not to worry about it and you'll take care of it. Here's how- I bought my first jon from a buddy that found it in the woods by this guys house with grass growing in it. The guy was our neighbor and just gave it to him. He didn't really fish so I bought in 7th grade for $7 and Iron Maiden's Life after Death double cassette Album.  Yeah, what a deal. Anyway, I needed to register it so I called VDGIF and told them that my grandad left it to me and I have no title. They sent me a form to fill out, signed it, and three weeks later I had it registered. Done deal.  Good luck with it. *And yes, the temporary is possible. They give you a carbon copy until it shows up.*


But from Walmart? haha Its kinda sounding fishy to me. Get it? Fishy. Yea bad joke :redface:


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## Out Sick

jasonr said:


> But from Walmart? haha Its kinda sounding fishy to me. Get it? Fishy. Yea bad joke :redface:


C'mon man. Anything's possible at Walmart.  Saw your post on the Va board after I wrote that so it looks like you got it sorted out. Everything a go for tomarrow?


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## jasonr

yea just looking for a ride haha


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## jasonr

Well I got her home today.

First thing I did was remove all the old lettering and numbering then washed her up really quick. Also pulled all the old wire and lighting off since I will be redoing that.



















Next weekend we will be sanding, priming and painting!

Not too bad for $250 huh?


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## jasonr

Need another opinion from you experts.

I just found a guy selling a 1998 mercury 8hp outboard, gas tank, and hose for $350. He said he ran it last week and he says "it's running ok. Has a little idle hesitation but starts right back up and runs fine WOT. The carb might need a little clean up."

Whaddaya think?


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## Out Sick

Sounds like a carb cleaning is all it needs. They aren't cheap though. I got a tech in suffolk that will do it real cheap if needed. I got a 90hp 2 stroke with 3 carbs, they are usually $125 each to clean. He did all three for a $175. But you could probably run it in a trashcan filled with water or something and spray to carb cleaner in it. Tell him its gonna cost you $75 to get the carb cleaned and get him down some and then try to do it yourself is my suggestion. Thats what you need though, you'll be really moving with an 8hp!

Ben


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## jasonr

Thats kinda what I was thinking too Ben. Ill see if I can get it for $300.


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## ledweightII

do yourself a favor..buy the book for about 30.00. buy the carb. kit for @30 and the gallon can of parts cleaner with the basket [email protected] do it yourself. the ears for running the motor @12.00 which you'll need anyways. and plan on getting the water impeller before the season gets going good. [email protected], you'll also need the get the special socket to take the prop. off @40.00....i have rebuilt the carb. on mercury's, evenrude, chrysler..its not hard. just replace the gaskets. follow the manual and you'll be fine. i bought my chrysler, when i hooked the ears up to the motor it wouldnt spew out water..so i took it to a mech...300.00 later, i found out i didnt have enough water pressure going to the ears...never been back..vauable leasson.
oh, and go ahead and change the oil in the foot..if its milky the lower unit seal may be worn and allowing water into the foot. change the oil. mine had that problem. i just checked the foot more often and kept changing the 90weight gear oil in the foot till i took the time to change the O-ring in the foot. replace the spark plugs. and your on the water.. i see where you took the numbers off. a lot of times the DNR gives you the same numbers, they just give you a new decal with the state registration. walmart used to have temp. registration forms that were good for 30days. i think thats changed here in ga. it all done online or at their office. 
there are forums all about working on boat motors. i have gotten help from iboats


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## jasonr

ledweightII said:


> do yourself a favor..buy the book for about 30.00. buy the carb. kit for @30 and the gallon can of parts cleaner with the basket [email protected] do it yourself. the ears for running the motor @12.00 which you'll need anyways. and plan on getting the water impeller before the season gets going good. [email protected], you'll also need the get the special socket to take the prop. off @40.00....i have rebuilt the carb. on mercury's, evenrude, chrysler..its not hard. just replace the gaskets. follow the manual and you'll be fine. i bought my chrysler, when i hooked the ears up to the motor it wouldnt spew out water..so i took it to a mech...300.00 later, i found out i didnt have enough water pressure going to the ears...never been back..vauable leasson.
> oh, and go ahead and change the oil in the foot..if its milky the lower unit seal may be worn and allowing water into the foot. change the oil. mine had that problem. i just checked the foot more often and kept changing the 90weight gear oil in the foot till i took the time to change the O-ring in the foot. replace the spark plugs. and your on the water.. i see where you took the numbers off. a lot of times the DNR gives you the same numbers, they just give you a new decal with the state registration. walmart used to have temp. registration forms that were good for 30days. i think thats changed here in ga. it all done online or at their office.
> there are forums all about working on boat motors. i have gotten help from iboats



Sweet thanks for all the advice guys. 

I took the numbers off since the whole thing is getting painted anyway. The numbers were from MD so Im pretty sure I wouldnt be getting the same ones this time around. As for the registration, that is exactally how they are getting me. The seller had to go to Wally World and get a temp reg.


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## eaglesfanguy

Get the gas motor...
craigslist . com


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## jasonr

Im gonna bump this back up since the boat is now coming allong a little. Painted the trailer black yesterday and thought I was going to die in the heat. picked up some pain for the boat today and will be spraying that on next weekend or one night this week if it ever cools off and decides not to rain on me. 

Ill have pics next weekend of the completed project. 

Picking up a 2007 5hp Merc tomorrow after work. Got a great deal on it fron Craigslist ofcourse haha. Gotta find me a trolling motor though also. The trolling motor does lead me to a question though.

If Ill be fishing this in the Crab Creek area will I have to dump the money into a saltwater trolling motoer or can I get by with a freshwater?


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## Tonyfish

I just read this whole thread a couple of minutes ago and it reminds me of this past two months of me finding, buying and finally taking my fishing kayak out, fun times! Good luck with everything man and if you need a first mate out there at crab creek i'm down!

BTW when you go out to crab creek that will be the first time you've taken the boat on the water right?


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## jasonr

Yea havent used it yet. Ill prob end up using it around my house first to check everything out.


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