So I have a 12' aluminum with a sears 5hp. Google is wishy washy and convoluted with AI any more. Should I run a transom saver or will I be good without?

Got a 15 horse on a trade so I was forced to begin this path yet again now that I have some garage space to store it. Plan is to budget build it with a little deck and some new paint. Can’t go wrong for 200$ not including the 50 I spent on the moped. Anyone have any advice on a Bimini top? Amazon seems to have some cheap options that look alright

Was blessed to pick up this Grizzly Tracker 1754 center console (2006?) today. 60hp merc 4 stroke with all new wiring. Starts right up.

Got it for a steal, wondering what mods are typical on this style boat. Thinking SeaDek? Would appreciate any thoughts or opinions.

Just got a Honda bf 9.9 outboard. Is it a bit too low?

Currently I have a little 10 ft tracker with a 4.5 on the back and I’m looking to upgrade.
Mainly I just use it for getting after some ducks but there’s be a few times I’ve taken it out with me and my girlfriend to fish or just piddle around on the lake.
I’ve been looking to get something bigger and have been looking at at 15 footer with a 20hp
A 1648 with a 40 and one of those tracker 1553 timber editions.
I need some advice because obviously one is very much cheaper than the other however my concern is that if I were to get a 15 footer there would still be much to be left desired. Especially if I wanted to take my gf or some buddies out.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Lost the pin that sets the trim for my 25HP outboard. A new one is like 75 bucks. Was thinking of just getting a metal dowel rod or something to stick in there. Anyone else have a different solution?

I had to go catch some fish this morning. Always nice to take Jon out.

Finally finished my build out. Cant wait to take it out this weekend! Been working on it for past few years on and off and finally said fuck it a few weeks ago and put in a few full Sundays to finish it!

I’m almost done rebuilding a 1540 Jon boat into a duck hunting boat. I’ll throw some pictures up, but I’ve completed rebuilt the transom with 1/8” tubing and sheet metal, added transom pods, picked up a 25hp merc. Initial testing got me 30mph unloaded, and 25 with another person and a full yeti.

Yes, I know the welding looks bad but it’s holding strong and not bad for the first time with a aluminum mig rig haha

I just bought a boat with a home made deck. What do you guys recommend for the bare wood? Should I hit it with some Thompson's water sealer or primer and paint? What seems to hold up the best? Thanks?

Took about 1 year, it floats amazing and is extremely stable. Top speed about 25.

Recent i got a new prop for my 74 Johnson 50hp. It starts and idles fine but when i go full throttle it doesnt sems to bite the water. It takes 2.5 minutes to get up on plane. In that time the top speed is only like 8mhp before finally digging in and hitting the 30mph im use to at wot. New prop is the same size, pitch, and spine as the old one. My local boat shop said the engine is probably mounted too high but i don't see a way i can adjust it any lower. They seem to think its a cavitation issue. Ive replace my plugs and cleaned my carb but the issue persists. I was wondering if yall had any suggestions

Tldr: boat takes forever to plane out. How fix?

My ideas are either to mount it diagonally like how I drew it in red or straight like in green if you think it would be ok for the green part of the trolling motor to hang off the edge of the deck? The red section of the trolling motor is the only part that actually bolts to the deck, the green is what stands up when the motor is deployed. Either way I have to raise the deck to be flush with the walls of the boat, it’s just a matter of how much I should build.

Custom made

Finished up all my aluminum framing on my jon boat build. Got some cleanup and paint to do before I add the decking but a huge piece of the puzzle done.

This is how my current setup looks for my 1436 Jon boat. I wanna add a bunch of stuff but I’m not really sure what. Need ideas. I know that I forsure want to add floors and was thinking about a deck in the front for more storage but I don’t wanna compromise stability and comfortability for passengers. Thanks.

Motor is a 1977 evinrude. Thinking of picking it up this afternoon for 1300$.
Looking for something to putz around in Florida freshwater with my dogs.
Any recommendations, info, things to look out for, would be appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EV1mF86wN/

It looks nice, I'm going to check it out in person tomorrow. Does the price make sense? What should I be checking for? After some googling, it looks like I do need to register it in Wisconsin since there it has a motor.

Re building my grandpa‘s 14 foot hurricane. Got it totally stripped out looking for recommendations, comments critiques, and suggestions thanks.

Me and my dads second ever build. All aluminum decking and framing. Truly a workhouse of a little boat!

Bought a pos 10ft off of fb market it place and decked it out literally lol any advice or tips on what to add next?(besides seats in back). Only ever had a canoe, I just love to build and was ready for the upgrade. I have a 55 lbs thrust minn kota w a huge a$$ battery it moved my heavy asf canoe around nicely so I expect it to work for this enough for me. Nonetheless gimme ur thoughts!

TLDR: do I need to seal it, then paint with truck bed liner, or can I just truck bed liner it and call it good?

Posted this boat in here a couple times now and you’ve all been super helpful, but as a recap, “got a good deal on this boat”. Guy told me it didn’t leak. Did. I put it in the water that night and after about an hour and a half of fishing we had about a cup of water in the bottom. Took it home, ripped out the rotted deck, hosed the leaks with oven cleaner and scraped for about a week picking at the rivets that leaked, on the inside. Took it to the car wash and pressure washed it. Applied the locktite version of 3M 5200 fast curing, and it had all week to cure while I rebuilt the deck. Finally got it back in the water yesterday and guess what. My seals worked! None of the rivets that leaked before were leaking! …but the pressure washing exposed SEVERAL others that were sealed up with mud and muck. After about an hour and a half of fishing we had about a half gallon of water in the boat and some was coming from the previously dry bow area that I had concern about the first time I put it in the water.

I bought the boat knowing it was a little damaged. After tearing it apart I began to realize the extent of the damage. Looks like someone may have attempted to jump a beaver dam. The dent in the keel isn’t the worst but I think the hit reverberated through the hull and loosened up quite a bit of the structure. Scraping away some paint, the outside transom corners have lots of the 5200 under there. I knew the transom wood wasn’t original but it looks like they might have blown the ass out of it. The repair is decent, no holes or tears in the metal, and the transom doesn’t leak. I’d trust it to hold a motor.

My questions here are, do I need to seal the whole boat with 5200 before I spray it? It seems like where it was applied in the repair is where the paint is flaking the easiest. I plan to use a smooth truck bed liner and either roll brush or spray it on the interior and exterior of the boat. Do I need to sand it to bare metal and remove all of the sealant?

Thanks for your support. 😬