Jon-boat photos from kit builders wooden boat kits

Ordered my plans early last year and finished in six months. Almost took longer to get the trailer overhauled, painted and finished. Made a couple of modifications mainly changing the height of the sides to 21" - can handle rougher water. It's 15' 8" long, 4' bottom and almost 6' width at the top. I have one waterproof compartment in the front which steps down to another compartment which I keep anchor, ropes, etc. in and it has a drain hole. I took pictures during each step of construction and the album is also rather cool to look at. Enjoy bringing it out when company comes over. They can't believe that I actually made the boat myself.

As the pictures show, my wife and three boys are enjoying our new boat!!! I bought a 18HP Nissan from Cabela's to move us to and from the fishing holes.

Thanks again,

S'Bone (click here to see Robin's Album)

"Hal Empson, the builder sent us a step by step photo journal of building his boat.
It's a most comprehensive boat building 'handbook".
(click here for Hal's comments and photos)

"I have really had a great time building the boat. Your plans were very helpful and easy to follow. I hope it is the first of many that I build and enjoy. Thanks for making the building experience so much fun."

Scotty sent us a great building story with a lot of good building comments.
(click here for Scotty's comments and photos)

Uncle John, WOW this was fun to build and the best part is I am customizing it the way I want it to be. Notice the green tool box for valuables, the front flush mount storage hatches, and "other" hardware .I painted with Sherwin-Williams "Superpaint" in high gloss, 25 year warranty, 2 coats. This paint is really tough. 3 runners on the bottom, cleats inside, and 2x10's cut to fit for auxiliary gussets make this boat strong! Also note the beefed up transom.

Joe Griner (click here to see more photos of Joe's boat)

Here is a picture of your Jon boat that I built. I opted for the 15 ft 8 in. size, it's 4 ft. wide at the bottom. As you can see I put in the third seat and the forward deck then closed it in for storage and flotation, also to get a little more rigidity. I also added four more stringers to the bottom for much needed strength. With the 25 HP. Merc. pushing her at 25 M.P.H, you can see why she needs a lot of beefing up.

The working drawings you provided were precise and easy to follow.

Yours Truly Bob Schaefer

A Tale of Two Boats. The plans look good, I almost understood them and they are liberal enough to allow one to personalize the design. But I had zero boat building skills or experience. So I did the only logical thing to overcome the learning curve, I built a canoe and johnboat at the same time. Since I decided to build two boats, that certainly qualified me as an expert, I had read both sets of plans, so, being an "expert" I took great liberties with the design of each. click here for more comments and photos