how safe are 14X36 flat jon boats?

M

michael barnes

Active member
i have the chance to get a 14x36 jon exactly like the one pictured here - http://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3142 - for cheaper than the time, materials, and trouble it would take to fix the stern of my old starcraft. but i have never been in a 14x36 and really dont know how stable and safe they are. i would be transporting 2 people and gear, about 450 lbs. motor would be 8-10 hp. such a good deal on a boat that is nearly new, i want to jump all over it, but im not sure how safe it would be. i will be using it always 50 yards or less from the shore, usually near spitting distance from land, no major chop, 1' or less, most of the time MUCH less, as i am in protected-semi open marsh. would this be the better option? thanks for any opinions.
 
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Mike, I owned and hunted with 14 footers with my son and yellow lab.and used 15 h.p.motors on them ,but only in state in- pound ment areas and St. Jones River here in DElaware.I found them to be pretty safe and stable and never had a miss hap,but hell man if the price is right go for it. If it doesnt suit you re-sell it for a profit and use the funds for what you would like .This is called stepping up we all do it. Cars ,House's boats .
 
Unless you are using it only for transport (not shooting from it) and traveling only in very sheltered waters, I would pass. In my opinion, these boats are not stable enough for two guys to be shooting from. They are also very low sided & tippy.
I would put the money in fixing you starcraft, you will have a much better boat in the long run.
 
yup. a 36 inch bottom will get you there, but its not a good shooting platform, or standing up to fish (like bass fishing). 36 inch bottom boats have LOW sides, and can be easily overloaded. on a plus side, they can be picked up and put in the back of a truck, or slide across a road or beaver dam, and paddled or poled to places you couldnt get a big boat.

You dont buy a boat for the norm. You buy it for the exception. Big water and fast weather will make you a beliver out of that, in just ONE instance.

Id say buy it. Use it. Remember where you can and can't go. Next year buy a bigger boat and start your own fleet! Everyone needs more than one. travis
 
I have used them a lot to hunt public land where we have draconian laws that prevent us from using larger craft and appropriate forms of propulsion. I've actually looked for one myself because they are so useful as a ferry in shallow water. Two guys, a dog and decoys is not an issue where I use one but we don't and wouldn't(in fact we legally can't)hunt from those little boats. If I were going into deeper water with any chance at all of chop or high wind I'd be leary. Very small boat with very little freeboard. I still like them for marshes though.
 
My first boat was a 14x36 jon and it was a tippy, unstable boat to hunt out of...more so with two guys. I was glad to sell it.
 
Michael,
I have literally put hundreds of hours into hunting with a Starcraft 1447 (36" floor). I was field testing for them for years and loved the boat but you have to also understand it's limitations. It was my primary marsh boat for my guide service. I hunted Harsens Island Public Managed WAterfowl Unit and ran a minimum of 25 hunts a season, starting when our season was 30 days long. I could take myself and two hunters, 42 decoys, blinds, guns and dog with no problem. I only hunted protected waters and had pushed the boat to its limits in the Summer to find how far I could push it. I would put one hunter out of the boat with a marsh blind and the other hunter in the boat with me. We could stand and shoot as I had long poles to stake all 4 corners of the blind as necessary. That way, it was a very stable shooting platform....without the poles, no standing. I used a 5.5 hp 1955 Johnson Seahorse most of the time as we had a limit on hp at that facility. Other times, I'd use up to a 15 hp.....ie. for Carp Shooting etc.
I once, hunting with a buddy, came out of Deckers Landing into the St. Clair River (in the dark-heading over to the Sny) and pushed out into 3 foot waves in the river. It was the scariest time I was ever in that boat and it was all I could do to get back into the marina and NOT sink us. We didn't hunt that day. :)

Here's that boat and how I prepped it for hunting. Also, my advice on your choice....go for it and know it's limitations.
Lou

Here's the boat, sanded with cleats installed for vertical blind poles.

View attachment jon01new-sand.jpg

Boat in primer (PPG epoxy primer)
View attachment jon02prime.jpg

Boat base coated in our Starcraft Camo Light Brown (#26)
View attachment jon03base.jpg

Boat reed-striped with Starcraft Camo Dark Brown (#27)
View attachment jon04stripe1.jpg

Boat ready to hunt with 2 Parachute Bags holding 42 decoys. I'd decide at the
hunting spot just how many I needed. Sometimes all, sometimes less. The blind netting came from a tennis
club (tennis netting) with strips of burlap woven through. I'd pre-dress it with some cattails and then finish
dressing in the marsh as necessary.
View attachment jonBlind02.jpg

View attachment jon01new-sand.jpg
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View attachment jon03base.jpg
View attachment jon04stripe1.jpg
View attachment jonBlind02.jpg
 
thanks every body, and thanks for the pics. so i am looking at more stability than my 17' oldtown canoe? i have used it quite a bit and am very comfortable in in, in the conditions i would be hunting. if the 1436 is an improvement over the canoe, i would be happy. thanks, mike.
 
I also built a box to clip into the front of the jon boat, resting on the front seat. This box was for the dog. That was HIS spot during the hunt. I had a thin piece of foam there for his comfort and holes in the box for drainage. I had trained him NOT to shake until he had delivered the birds to hand and then he would go up to his box and I'd give him the command to shake. I'd also command him to shake a couple extra times to be sure to have as much water out of his coat as possible to help him stay warm. Even if we were "out and about", if I gave him the shake command...he'd shake. Very handy training tool. The first article we had published in the March/April '83 issue of Gun Dog Mag. was on this dog box. The box was the perfect size to allow the dog to curl up and keep warm though able to stand/sit and see the action and mark birds. While drinking coffee, we always watched the dog as he'd hear the birds wings before we ever knew there was a bird in the area. Very cool.
Lou

View attachment jon05box1.jpg

View attachment jon05box1.jpg
 
thanks every body, and thanks for the pics. so i am looking at more stability than my 17' oldtown canoe? i have used it quite a bit and am very comfortable in in, in the conditions i would be hunting. if the 1436 is an improvement over the canoe, i would be happy. thanks, mike.
Click to expand...

Michael,
No question that the jon boat is an improvement over the canoe. I would NEVER (personally) use a canoe for duck hunting......but then, that's just me and I've spent a lot of time in a canoe for canoe races, boy scouts etc. When I was teaching (all girls parochial High School), we used to take 150 girls on a camping and canoeing trip to Hell, Michigan. Yup, I've been to Hell & Back.....5 times. ;) These girls, in canoes, was not a pretty site.....funny, but not pretty. ;) Of course, I also shot video of the canoeing, edited and showed it 3 days later at the sports banquet. Too much fun but then, that was another era. ;)

If you were happy and felt safe in your canoe, you'll be ecstatic in the jon boat.
Lou
 
even when the wind starts kicking in the places i hunt, i still feel safe in the canoe, its just so hard to get any where paddling against the wind. so it sounds like the 1436 will suit my needs just fine. thanks again, mike.
 
Michael,
Just a little follow up to the dog/dog box in the boat.
The dog had a good view of what was going on, marked birds and then went for the retrieve upon command. I didn't want him leaving ... to the shot....only to command......"back". The dog was also covered up above him to hide any movement from the birds and his black color also camo'd him against the black water of the marsh. Duke would exit through the opening in the bow curtain and return through the stern. He'd deliver the birds to hand and then go up to the box for the shake command. It was funny to watch him get ready to shake (prior to the command) and "stop" him in mid shake thought. :)
Also a pic of the dog....on watch while Gene was sleeping. I let Gene know that birds were coming...my shot would wake him. ;)
Lou

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i love jon boats and have had them in some big water. now if you dont know how to handle them it will sink you.
i have a 14ft jon and hunt out of it all the time with two guys and dog.
one thing i can tell you is allways quarter into waves and ride the waves.
 
Michael,

I bought one new in 1975 and ran a 9.9 2 stroke on it for 30 years. I fished and hunted just about everything I could with that boat. I realized in later years just how dangerous it was if I got it and me into situations where we shouldn't have been. Several times I came within a hairs breath of swamping it when the result would have likely been "good bye Petey".

If you buy it make sure you understand it's limitations.

Happiest day in my boat trading life was the day I sold that boat.
 
Come on up to Salisbury and take it for a ride. You can put my Yammie or M.M. on it.
We hunted 2 guys on the Pocomke and Wicomico a lot. On mild days with a south wind I've run the shoreline to hunt Monie Bay by myself with the dog. You just have to know what limits the boat has.
 
david, you the guy on the refuge forums with the boat for sale?
for comparison, what would be a safer boat for transporting 2 hunters, not hunting from the boat, a 1436 jon, or a four rivers or momarsh boat, the momarsh with a 5.5 hp mud motor, jon with a 8-10 hp outboard?
 
Flat water boat only. With 2 adults and any amount of gear in winter a border line death trap.

I was in the USCG for 20 years. Seemed to me that jon boats killed way more than their fair share of duck hunters.
 
Had a 12' jon same width that would tip over if you farted. I used it to fish small ponds using an electric motor or paddling. My bud had a 14x36 Delta jon that was good but very tippy wiyh any kind of load. I like some jons fine. I have a 14 X 48 crestliner with a 15 Yammie that's a great 1 or 2 man boat.

I'd spend the time and money to fix up the starcraft and worry abot a Jon boat later on.

If you must persist on the small Jon you should also invest in a Mustang survival suit.

JMO,
Harry
 
if i could get a used momarsh for cheap, would that be a safer choice, in the same conditions i described, 450 lbs of 2 hunters and gear, 3.5 yamaha? would not both be hunting from the momarsh, just using it to get there. thanks.
 
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