EP. 1 - Getting Started | Jon Boat to Bass Boat | Tracker 1236 

I'm glad to hear that and thank you!

I respectfully disagree that this ruined it. This boat was meant to replace my kayak which when fully loaded was also very difficult to lift. This is better. Sure, it's a bit heavier, but with way more storage, the ability to walk around and it's much more comfortable to fish off of. I also do have a 16 foot bass tracker. They're for different things.

@@derekmcjonboat then u made id lighter then it looks, most of these become too heavy after adding decking and stuff, I use my 1236 bare (ive got some comfort seats and livescope and some rodholders).. fish off it with 2 or 3 people most of the time. Most waters i fish i have to carry it in (over fences and stuff).I show up with a bigger boat if possible though. But having acces to these waters is what makes the 1236 the best thing to have.

Yeah that makes sense if you need it to be super portable. In that case, this is definitely not a solution for you. In my case, pretty much everywhere I'm going to put it has some type of access I can get close to with my truck, so I don't need to be able to lift it over my head or anything. I designed it for my specific use case - to be a one-person boat with tons of storage that I can use in all the same places I used my kayak. Biggest benefit is there's no setup or takedown like I had to do with my kayak. I just drop it in, start the motor and I'm catching fish. All my rods stay right in the lockers, all my tackle in the hatches - it's ready to go at all times. Like I said in the reply to your other comment, had I known I'd have to trailer it, I likely would've gone with a 16ft from the start, but only because I was on the fence about that anyway and that would've slightly tipped the scale toward the bigger boat. I still enjoy the end product and it came out pretty much exactly how I had hoped. BTW, for reference the finished weight is 330 lbs without motor, batteries and gear. Starting weight was 139.8lbs for the bare hull. So it's now too heavy to move around comfortably but not by a whole lot. With a mid mount dolly and some creative ramp solutions, I could have still put it in the back of the truck, but I decided it wasn't worth it and went with the trailer instead.

@@derekmcjonboat That makes a lot of sense though. the boat is probably a lot more stable with all the added weight (thats like a extra person in the boat). I usually bring a 10 gallon bucket to have like a counterweight if i need it.. Ive got mine on a non boat trailer, just smack it on there put 1 strap on it and im done. I have some loose stuff on there like the trolling motor/battery seats and stuff but thats like a 5 minute setup. Have caught all my pb''s on the jon though, cant beat fishin where noone else dares to fish.. If i go on big waters there is all kinds of guides and other fisherman around.. so hard to find a really big fish when there is pressure like that.

Absolutely. My PBs have also come from the less populated lakes. Or the upper Niagara River which this boat *definitely* cannot do safely.

I think it was a Milwaukee brand metal blade. Something like 14 TPI maybe? All the rivets for the framing were 3/16", with some 1/8" for the smaller non structural stuff.