Project - 14' Tin Boat

[The Fisherman Guy]

Picked up this 14ft Aluminum from Ian at Marlon Recreational Products in Stony Plain back in February. Was going to sell it and buy a 16ft Jet, but decided against it and instead am going to work it into a compact fishing boat.




The Marlon Jon's have impressive specifications:

Bow Type: Flat Bow
Transom: 15"
Length: 14.27'
Beam: 63"
Bottom Width: 55"
Max Depth: 17"
Transom Height: 15"
Ribs: 5
Seats: 3
Max Persons: 4
Approx Hull Wt: 198 Lbs.
Max Wt: 1320Lbs.
Max HP: 20 HP
Hull Gauge: 0.0785"

Marlon designed this boat for hunters and fishermen, with a hefty carrying capacity and designed to be the most stable jon boat in its class on the market.

[The Fisherman Guy]

First task was to remove the blue protective plastic from the interior of the boat. Unfortunately, the boat was left in the sun last year and the UV has baked the vinyl onto the boat, making it very difficult to remove by hand. I fired up the Hotsy pressure washer, and blasted approximately 95% of it off, the rest I hope Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) will take care of. WD40, Goo-Gone, and Alcohol did not work.

A good friend gave me a gallon of Wetlander bottom coating for Christmas, that I elected to coat the bottom of this boat with. Wetlander is pretty amazing stuff, it effectively reduces the friction coefficient of any boat and increases the durability against rocks and scratches.

Wetlander Website

I prepped the bottom of the boat with a paint removal wheel and cordless drill. By adding texture to the new aluminum, the product should adhere quite well.

Here is the bottom of the boat after grinding:



Once the entire bottom of the boat had a rough texture, I wiped down the boat completely with an Acetone rag to remove filings, dirt and any residue. I taped off the bottom with masking tape and prepared for priming.

I mixed up the Wetlander primer and rolled it on, it goes on like thick paint, and was easy to work with. There was some "fish eye" separation, as was expected according to the instructions. Once the primer cured, I lightly sanded the bottom of the boat with 220 grit sand paper, again to increase adhesion.

Here is the primed, and partially sanded bottom of the boat:

[The Fisherman Guy]

After sanding the primed bottom, I wiped the boat down to remove filings and prepared to apply the Wetlander top coat.

I applied the top coat in multiple layers, it dries to the touch relatively quickly, but takes several days to cure. Not wanting to fiddle with the tape after the product cured, I removed the tape once the product was dry to the touch.

Wetlander comes in several different colors, I was given OD Green. Here is the final coat and finished bottom:





Next up I am going to reinforce the bow tow ring with aluminum plate, and flip the boat over to begin decking.

Once that is done; Rod holders, fish finder, seats and accessories will be installed. I will keep this thread up with the project progress.

[Hunter Trav]

Looking good man, can't wait to see the finished product...

[Willowtrail]

Looking awesome. You have a great spot to mount a power drive ipilot on the bow.

I got a Facebook notification yesterday that I started my project boat 4 years ago. It was a lot of fun. Enjoy your project and get a bunch of pictures.

Have fun

[calgarygringo]

I have the fibreglass tri hull special that rides well in the Alberta hurricanes . Saying that I have been off work and fishing all month down south in the open lakes off shore. I keep thinking that if I had a tinny or flat bottom that I could launch in these small lakes it would be way better than shore fishing.
How do you or anyone reading this thread find these flat boats do on these southern lakes when things get nasty. I have a 5 hp and 15 hp in the small category and spare trailer so no problem to get ther and launch if we can armstrong it. Usually have a partner so as long as I can get it in the water and put the engine on then the rest is just catching the fish. It would open fishing posiibilities more and have been thinking of the same for a secondary fishing unit.

[Kingfisher]

Great looking project. Looks like your on your way to having a pretty nice little rig there.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Thank you gents! It has been fun so far.

I will mainly use this boat in rivers, where waves aren't really a problem. But I did have my last jon boat, a 14ft Crestliner, inadvertently stuck in 2-3ft whitecaps with a passenger on Upper Arrow Lake last spring. Surprisingly, it handled the waves quite well - but definitely not recommended for big, potentially windy lakes.

Nice thing about a smaller boat, as you mentioned Ken, it can be launched almost anywhere. You are welcome to borrow it and try it out when I am not using it this summer, you know where to find me!

[Red Bullets]

Excellent boat. With a small short leg jet you could scoot up or down a few Alberta rivers nicely. Or put one of those motors with the straight long shaft prop.

[calgarygringo]

Thanks Gibson just been doing a lot of shore fishing lately while most are closed. I keep thinking since these lake shave no boat launches a tinny would be even more awesome to fish. We can't complain as we have been catching them non stop but I do like the boat fishing better but my big fibre glass boat will not work by hand launch at these places. Keep thinking a tinner to add to my toy collection would be great right now with my 5 hp or 15 hp trolling motors on them. Use the big boat for stabilility in the hurricanes but always a concern if smaller. Would almost like to try a tinner day and see if a hand launch and work these small lakes with a tinner would fill the gap until I can get the real fishing machine in the water. Just trying to keep having fun fishing while everyone else is sitting on shore.

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

Thank you gents! It has been fun so far.

I will mainly use this boat in rivers, where waves aren't really a problem. But I did have my last jon boat, a 14ft Crestliner, inadvertently stuck in 2-3ft whitecaps with a passenger on Upper Arrow Lake last spring. Surprisingly, it handled the waves quite well - but definitely not recommended for big, potentially windy lakes.

Nice thing about a smaller boat, as you mentioned Ken, it can be launched almost anywhere. You are welcome to borrow it and try it out when I am not using it this summer, you know where to find me!

[BobLoblaw]

Looking good, Gibbler!
Need a co-pilot for testing?

[Dale S]

Looking good so far. Are you going to have it ready for opening day.

[Forest Techer]

Beautiful job on the underside. I love project threads.

Did it add much for weight? Would be cool to do an aluminum canoe.

[The Fisherman Guy]

I will definitely need some buddies to fill some seats Bob!

Yes Dago, I hope to have it ready for opening day. I hope to see you there!

Forest Teacher, I couldn't find a weight of the Wetlander product. I would estimate it added approximately 6-7lbs total weight to the boat with the primer and top coat.

[adogwiththumbs]

Nice job. That's going to be a fantastic multipurpose boat.

[Fishslayer99]

Awesome job, keep us updated curious to see the progress!

[AppleJax]

Great build your doing! I have a 12 foot marlon jon on order right now and I'm planning on doing some work to it too. Thinking a casting deck and floor. keep us posted on the build!

AJ

[trickysix]

subbed!!!

[The Fisherman Guy]

Today was spent working on the boat. I removed the remaining amount of blue protective vinyl with a plastic scraper and MEK, it was a bugger to get off.

Whatever happens, don't leave that stuff in the sun to bake on and become brittle. Glad this step is finished.



I have the deck vinyl on order, should be here Monday. I ordered it from Annette at Sew Wut just off Blackfoot trail. Before I am ready for vinyl, I need to build the floor.

Using 5/8 plywood, I cut two pieces to fit between the benches in the front and middle of the boat. Once they were cut to fit, they were sanded along the edges to round them for the vinyl.

Here is a test fit of the floor.


I coated the plywood in Thompsons Water seal. It's not the best product for this purpose, but I had 5L of it left over from another project, so it's what I used.

Tomorrow, I will begin on the rear casting platform at the stern.

[Dale S]

6 days left.

[The Fisherman Guy]

lol yeah, time's a tickin'!

[Dale S]

The rivers are lower than usual. Your going to give the boat a good test.

[DiabeticKripple]

looks good gibson!

[EZM]

I'm sure you thought of this ..... but remember to cut the plywood inserts loose enough to leave room for the vinyl ..... once you wrap it it could end up increasing the dimensions well over 1/8" and maybe more where you fold the corners over the material twice.

Looks like a nice job so far .... keep us posted ..... nice work.

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by The Fisherman Guy

I have the deck vinyl on order, should be here Monday. I ordered it from Annette at Sew Wut just off Blackfoot trail. Before I am ready for vinyl, I need to build the floor.

Is different from the stuff they sell at the hardware stores? I bought mine at Home Depot and found it to be good quality and wear resistant.

Great work/project, keep us updated.

[harryones]

If you are looking for ideas for your build then I would recommend this site.
http://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3156

Guys are great and full of helpful suggestions.

[The Fisherman Guy]

Originally Posted by EZM

I'm sure you thought of this ..... but remember to cut the plywood inserts loose enough to leave room for the vinyl ..... once you wrap it it could end up increasing the dimensions well over 1/8" and maybe more where you fold the corners over the material twice.

Looks like a nice job so far .... keep us posted ..... nice work.

You bet EZM, judging by the photos, it looks like my cuts aren't that straight or have left enough room for vinyl I took the sander to all the corners and edges to round them off. Turns out the seats aren't linear. The wood is straight, but the benches aren't. The picture was taken at a bit of an angle, so there is approximately 1/4" of spacing to accommodate the vinyl.

I installed the vinyl last night, proved to me how upholsterers definitely have skills to do it right. Got it done, with some expert help.

Originally Posted by harryones

If you are looking for ideas for your build then I would recommend this site.
http://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3156

Guys are great and full of helpful suggestions.

That is an awesome site, thanks for posting Harryones. I learned of it a couple years ago, and have been following it ever since. The have a great resource of builds on there that gave me some great ideas. For this build, I am keeping it simple - that way in the future, I can build upward with ease if I choose.

I will post another update later today with pictures, the project is almost complete!