Finally found a use for my little old JOHNSON.

[randlemanboater]

Sweet rig Ferm!

You will be able to sell it for what you paid for it 10 years from now.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by randlemanboater

Sweet rig Ferm!

You will be able to sell it for what you paid for it 10 years from now.

Yep, jon boats are fetching good money now that gas has gotten so expensive.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I didn't take any pics, but I got to finally get some work done on it. Got all the welds in it touched up, made a plate for my trolling motor to mount on the bow, got the trolling motor mounted, ran the wires for the trolling motor and lights, redid the carpet o nthe trailer bunks, added a 3rd bunk i nthe center to help support the floor to hopefully keep the welds from breaking in the center again, repacked the wheel bearings, new wheel seals, new tire/wheels, and got my bimini top mounted on it. I got the outboard running, but I need to clean up my mess from the welding so I can rebuild the carb replace the water pump, replace the coils(the 34 year old coils have finally gave up and are leaking the potting out), and hopefully touch up the pain on it a bit. i've been working on it al ittle here and there, but having a toddler running around sure slows down the progress.

Hopefully in the next few days I can get the engine done, and maybe by this weekend get her wet and see it sits in the water. If all is OK with the setup, I'm going to do a floor in the center(my son trips over the ribs, so it needs a smooth floor), build an extension for the front deck as the little 26" deck is awfully small, and put some carpet in it so my little guy doesn't get burned when it's out in the sun. I'll try and get some progress pics up here soon.

[bradford]

Sounds nice Ferm, looking forward to seeing it.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Here's a few pics I got of it today. I'm still not 100% done, but I wanted to run it before I put the floor in it in case I needed to move the battery or fuel tank forward. I was pleasantly surprised that it balances it very nicely even with me and my son both in the back idling along, and on plane it ran flat as could be. I was also surprised it could pull a 13 pitch prop I had, and feels like it could pull more. Being so wide really helps out with the balance, and letting this old school 35HP(flywheel rated) engine spin up. At least now I know it will work setup like this, so I can put a floor and carpet in it.

And don't criticize my paint work. I painted the engine in the dark with just a head light on(weatherman was calling for rain, and I didn't feel like waiting any longer to paint it), and I can't find an olive drab green that matches the green that tracker used.

boat with an old bimini I had stored in the shed.

My trolling motor mount, wiring, and bow light base

The outboard don't look half bad in this pic, but if I take a close up it's rough.

Battery box, fuel tank, and you can see my stern light base in the background.

And a set of LED flood lights in case I can get out to go gigging.

[phatdaddy]

make a great scallop rig also,
just need to add water & have fun

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

make a great scallop rig also,
just need to add water & have fun

I'm already chomping at the bit waiting for scallop season to get here.

[bradford]

Looks great Ferm!

Are those leds pretty bright?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by bradford

Looks great Ferm!

Are those leds pretty bright?

Yes. They are just the 18 watt versions I got on Ebay($20 a piece if you buy 8, and they will mix and match the 30 and 60 degree beam pattern for you), but they put out alot of light. I got a set on one of the mowers, and my neighbor thought aliens had landed the first time I used them. They don't project out the farthest(downfall of LED's), but within 30-40 feet they are blinding. I couldn't imagine having the 48 watt ones that are out there.

[THEFERMANATOR]

It looks like my time with my little old JOHNSON will be coming to an end. Last time out with my 2 year old, he leaned up against the hull side and got burned pretty bad, so momma said I had to do something. I had already carpeted the seats, but didn't want to go through all the hassle of adding a floor to cover the ribs, and carpeting all of it. So if I want to keep momma happy, and take us all out at the same time, I have to get a different boat. I did some work yesterday for a friend of mine, and he told me that a friend of ours was getting ready to get rid of his CAROLINA SKIFF because he hasn't used it, and his kids stopped using it as well. So I went and talked to him this morning, and he made me a deal I couldn't refuse. It's a 2005 CAROLINA SKIFF 19DLX(flat bottom model), with a 2005 HONDA 75HP carbed engine on it, aluminum trailer, re upholstered seats last year, and bimini top for $4K. The boat has less than 100 hours on it, and has seen saltwater less than 10 times in it's whole life. It needs the carbs gone through in it, new control cables, battery and a few other things from sitting, but for $4K for a like new CAROLINA SKIFF with 4 stroke power, I think I'm making out like a bandit. I know on CL others are going for $6-9K down here, so if anything I can flip it and double my money. So my little JOHNSON and TRACKEr will be up for sale here soon if anybody needs a pond jumper/skinny water boat.