Hey guys I'm new around here. I'm a 20 year old college student. I live near the James River in Virginia so I'm real close to some good fishing. I decided to build a boat the summer I graduated from H.S. It's a 12-ft John Boat made from 1/4" plywood that I have covered with fiberglass and epoxy to make it sturdy. I finished the boat in the summer of 2004 and it has pretty much been sitting in my barn the past 2 years. I've had it in the water a handful of times just to make sure it was leak proof and ready to go. I feel that everything is pretty secure now and am thinking about getting a gas motor for it as well as building a trailer for it. I was thinking a 5hp motor would be about as big as I could possibly go. If you were in my shoes what would you guys do for a motor for it. Keep in mind I'm a college student on a limited budget. I will try and attach some pictures of the boat. Hopefully this will work. Thanks in advance for your input.
Don't know a thing about boat buildin but I tip my hat to ya for takein the initiative to do it. Liven where you do near such a fine body of water. I would think the area would be loaded with other boat and "MOTOR" owners. Start lookin in the papers or take a look at some bait shop bulletin boards. Ya gotta find some good runnin small motors wether gas or electric for that vessel. Get that baby powered up and enjoy the horizons it will broaden for ya. I would exercise common sense as where to fish with it and stay away from the "BIG DOGS" that I am sure are on your river. Best of luck to ya on your quest.
Nice job on the boat, check the want adds, traders post type publications, etc. I had a 9.5 hp on a 12' aluminum john for several years that worked well.
I have a small trolling motor on it right now (40ish lbs of thrust). Just looking for something with a little more umph to it. Briggs and Stratton sells a 5hp for under $800 new. Might look to pick a used one of these up. Still need to get the boat registered with the state and what not. Thanks for all the comments and compliments guys.
Thanks guys. Building a boat was a fun little experimental project that turned out a lot better than I thought. I think the grand total I spent on the boat was just over $300 for all the supplies (wood, nails, paint, epoxy, fiberglass and caulk). I still have the plans for it on my computer if anyone is interested I can e-mail them to you. As for the motor I think I'll look around for a used 2-5hp motor. Again thanks for all your comments and input I really appreciate it.
IMHO you might think about a little larger trol. motor for your boat ,even a 24v varible speed. You can pick one up off ebay for 400.00 or less and would serve your needs better than a gas motor if you get some good deep cycle batt. to go with it. Much easier to start lol
Makes me think of The Old Man and the Boy, by Robert Ruark.:smile2:
Very nice job.
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