Very nice - what is the boat?any particular reason your going for a jon vs a v? my 12’ has a 6’ beam and is much more comfortable and stable 200# guy can walk to either side no problem and when it’s time to run it handles water much better and won’t have the annoying “bow slap” on anchor
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The Whaly is heavier than I would like. Somewhere around 200 lbs or less for the hull is where I’d like to end up.i would consider a rotomolded plastic jon boat. the polyetheylene ones are pretty good.
Whaly Boats
A Whaly boat is a versatile and sturdy vessel that serves various purposes across different water activities. Find here the purposes and advantages of a Whaly boat.www.whaly.com
local dealer is https://independentmarine.ca/
the 16 footer has bow and stern opening hatches and platforms you can stand on.
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Whaly Boats | Whaly 500R80
The Whaly 500R80 is an incredibly, double-walled robust boat manufactured from high-grade plastic (Polyethylene)www.whaly.com
The Spratley’s are in the lead, at the moment.Not much experience, but the Spratley boats look nice. They only build Jon boats - so presumably know what users want/need better than others.
no replacement for displacement but if you must go light -The Whaly is heavier than I would like. Somewhere around 200 lbs or less for the hull is where I’d like to end up.
Metal boat kits 12’ pro fish.Very nice - what is the boat?
Wonderful work.Metal boat kits 12’ pro fish.
Cut by cjm and assembled myself.
It’s built from 5/32” and is by no means light with the extra customizations normal thickness would be 1/8”
With a 20hp it moves along at 23knts top speed comfortably and 2/3 throttle is around 16-17knts. We crossed from halfmoon bay this week to Sabine channel 13nm each way , fished all day and ran back total fuel used around 11-12L.
Here’s a link to the https://metalboatkits.com/product/360-pro-12-foot-3-6m-aluminum-boat-kit/
I do build them if interested, please pmWonderful work.
Reminds me of a book by master furniture make James Krenov called “The Impractical Cabinetmaker”. It discusses the advantage the skilled amateur has over the professional when making something for personal use. The builder can take the time and use materials that would be impractical if one has to build a product to sell into a market and make a profit.
Are there any similar commercially-available boats?
I have the 10' Silver Streak Duck Boat. It is an older model but I love it. Super stable and Bomber. Big advantage of the SS compared to the Spratley and Journey is weight. SS comes in at 105lbs I think while the Sprat and J are 120 plus I believe. I can load mine in and out of the back of my pickup no problem. If you are going to trailer or get a auto boat loader then the heavier models are just as good and have a heavier gauge aluminium. All three are super stable boats and super high quality. It would come down to configuration after that. I know Journey will customize setup depending on how you want it.Hello All,
I am looking for a nicely made, stable Jon boat.
As long as the boat is less than $5,000, I am going to choose on quality, design, fit and finish, over price differences.
The welds on this Silver Streak seem a bit roughView attachment 120000
What would you recommend?
lol this must be an AI generated answer. Take a tour of any of the 1000's of stillwater lakes in the interior and ask real fishermen what they prefer and 99% will say a flat bottomed jon boat. Extremely versatile and stable if you get the right one. Way more useable space in 10' than any other option.There are different types of stability. Flat-bottomed boats have a larger initial stability (in calm water) due to the higher/steeper GZ curve than other hulls but the righting arm drops fast at small angles of heel. That means any extra weight on the sides - like hanging/retrieving gear and people netting/gaffing fish - causes the righting arm to drop fast at small angles of heel until the boat capsizes - called the "point of vanishing stability". Look it up. Really bad choice for a fishing boat - but good for a tour around the lake tho.
LOL - you defined the brackets of applicability & limits of stability for flat-bottomed boats in your own answer: "stillwater" & "lake" - as I already mentioned in my posts.lol this must be an AI generated answer. Take a tour of any of the 1000's of stillwater lakes in the interior and ask real fishermen what they prefer and 99% will say a flat bottomed jon boat. Extremely versatile and stable if you get the right one. Way more useable space in 10' than any other option.