I could hardly wait for the jon boats second coat of paint to dry. My first John boat was almost complete. Two days of cutting, fitting, planing, nailing, sanding and finally painting, had paid off. The Jon boat was ready for the river.
Bob and I mounted the Johnboat on top of my car, canoe style, and we headed for the river. The first thought that went through our minds the second the Jonboat hit the water was, "who's going to wind up in the drink first"? That question was quickly answered when Bob jumped from the muddy bank into the John boat. He struck dead center on the sole like a gymnast off the parallel bars. For a split second, all vitals stopped. He stood perfectly still waiting for the inevitable. It never came. The Jon boat held together in defiance, barely bobbing in the current. A smile broke on our faces as we realized the John boats' strength, we had us a river boat.
This is my testament to a great river boat. I've done nothing to beef up the John boats design. I built the traditional Jon boat design 25 years ago and, I present those details to boat builders.
The John boat is very simple to construct as a build your own wooden boat suitable for use as a dinghy or, properly fitted with the right boat accessories, as a bass boat. The materials given are for a 12 foot John boat. Finished L.O.A. will be slightly less and it includes:
4 - 4' x 8' x 3/8" plywood (I used Douglas Fir, exterior)
2 - 1" x 8" x 8' Boards
1 - 2" x 10" x 8' Board
8 - 1" x 2" x 8' furring strips
2 - 1" x 4" x 8' furring strips
2 - tubes Liquid Nails (or epoxy but, joints must be tight)
I used 2" ring-shanked galvanized nails. Screws may be used but, the way these nails are used, screws can't match for strength (I'll explain later).
Lay out and cut the plywood sheets as the plans show in Fig. 1.
The doublers over the butt joints are cut from the 1/2" plywood as well. Epoxy glue should be used here for maximum strength.
Take your time with this step because this is the strength of the John boat. A sloppy job here can mean disaster later on.
Cut and fit the 1 x 2 doublers (chines) as in Fig. 2. Don't forget to glue with Liquid Nail or epoxy. Examine Fig. 2 and pay particular attention to the nailing process. This joint has remarkable strength. My John boat never leaked in spite of the punishment we put it through. Keep in mind when you set the hook to hold a bucking iron or hammer on the head end of the nail, for brace, or you will loosen the joint. Fig. 2 shows the port side. You need to make a mirror image of this assembly for the starboard side.
Keep in mind that these dimensions are not hard and fast. You can add or subtract from them as you please. This is your John boat. The boat design and placement of the forms will determine the fairing or flare the bow takes on, for example:
can you see where I'm going with this? Experiment with different widths at the forward form to get the flare you want at the bow. You can do this by making three or four forms of varying widths and pitch. I used planks from an old pallet to make the forms, make sure they are strong. I settled for two forms of equal width spaced 39" at the base with a 10 degree pitch:
Refer to fig. 5:
One screw in each form to hold in position. Snug the screw, these are pivot points. The sawhorses act as strongbacks. The next step is to shape the hull:
The transom and the bow are cut from the 2 x 10 and are the only pieces with
any complexity. They both have 2 compound miters (FIG. 6B) but, don't let
that bother you. Get a miter guage and take your time to get the joints as
tight as possible. The easiest way to proceed is to put in a square stern and
pull the bow. I pulled the sides to a width that I liked and measured
carefully to get the dimensions.
The next step is to plane the sides to accept the bottom. I used a
block plane, a belt sander works fine too. Lay a board at least 10" wide
across the sides to guide you:
Lay a plywood sheet on the frame and tack in place at the
bow and where the sheet ends. Mark this spot so you can put a 1 x 4 nailer
under this joint and at the 4' mark. Butt the other sheet to the first and
tack that one in place. Take a pencil and trace the outline of the boat
adding an eight inch to be planed off after gluing and nailing (screws may be
better here). Install the nailers. Cut the sheets, glue, apply sheets and
finish.
The next thing to do here is to add the runners:
If there is something else you would like to do to the hull: seal, tape the seams with fiberglass tape, etc., now is a good time. If you want this boat to last for years, glass the entire hull, it is worth it.
Now it's time to flip your John boat. Do not remove the forms until you get some bracing installed. Fig. 9 shows how I completed my John boat. This is the point where I turn the helm over to your creativity. The one thing that makes a masterpiece a masters' piece is the uniqueness that its' creator instills in it, have fun.