Boat Conversion Project Steering/Throttle System

[personfly18]

We own a 15 foot aluminum jon boat and were looking to make it a little more user friendly. We wanted to put in a steering system and throttle box with like a console and stuff. We aren't looking to do this as like a do-it-yourself project, we we looking to leave this more to a professional. We have been looking towards Cabelas, as they said they could probly do that for $3500. Anybody have any suggestions or know any other places we could maybe do this, or is it just worth buying a new boat?

[The Quadfather]

Of course I haven't seen your 15' Jon Boat. But I would ask yourself is the J-boat as it stands now is even worth 3500.00 or just what do you think it is worth right now? Then ask yourself if it is worth a whole $3500.00 just to throw into the steering so that it is basicly a console steered boat? To me it seems like WAY to much money to put into just the steering of the boat.
You might be left with a boat that you can never come close to getting your money out of when you sell one day.

[personfly18]

Oh ya and also included in that 3500 dollar price would be a $2000 brand new motor.

[The Quadfather]

Now that's a whole different thing all together.

[medic1]

The easiest way to decide if it is worth it is to add the cost of the conversion to what you estimate the value of the boat to be. Take that amount of $ and look on craigslist. If you find a couple of boats that will fill your needs better than jon boat with a console, the conversion might not be worth it. Also, $1500 to install a steering wheel seems a little much. What motor did you decide to go with?

[spindog]

I would listen to Blackmouth and medic1, I kinda thought you were getting a bigger out board!
Those were some nice boats medic1 found rather easily. I would not use a conole for a motor
that small. Recommend putting maximum H.P. rating on your boat if you keep it- tiller!

[personfly18]

We were looking at either at either a $1800 Nissan 8 hp electric start or a $2300 Mercury 8 hp electric start.

[Blackmouth]

Oh ya and also included in that 3500 dollar price would be a $2000 brand new motor.

We were looking at either at either a $1800 Nissan 8 hp electric start or a $2300 Mercury 8 hp electric start.

No offense, but your boat is going to be a slug if you put an 8 horse on it. Whats your jon boat rated for engine wise?


I dont think an 8hp motor will even get a 15 foot jon boat on plane....

Small boats like that = max them out for the HP rating. Trust me, you will never hear someone b*tch about too much power but everyone hates a boat that cant get on plane...

[Blackmouth]

ps $1500 for a console is real expensive....

If I were you I'd spend that $3500 and put it towards a new boat OR a new motor for your current boat and keep it as a tiller setup. Tillers give you a LOT more floor space which is key on smaller boats....

[medic1]

Blackmouth is 100% right on space. I just swapped out the center console on my 18 foot Alumaweld to go with a tiller set up. The space is amazing. And 8 hp is a little weak. What is the boat rated for? I would think that a 15 or 20 would be minimum. Not knowing the condition of the boat it is hard to say but if it has a motor on it you could get at least a grand for it, maybe 1500. You can get a pretty decent boat for 4500-5000. Here are a couple that I found in a quick search.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/1602878024.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/1602419951.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/boa/1599311963.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/boa/1593954735.html

If you don't mind me asking, Why do you want a console boat over a tiller?

[personfly18]

Yeah the only concern is that the max weight of our boat is like 800 lbs and we are pushin it so something bigger than an 8 hp is risky. It is rated for a 25 hp motor though so i don't know...

[Dustin07]

I don't know... if you really like that boat then I suppose mod it out and make it work for you. But I think for the amount of money you are spending you could get a little more HP and maybe a slightly bigger boat with center console. those links medic posted are all good...

[Blackmouth]

Yeah the only concern is that the max weight of our boat is like 800 lbs and we are pushin it so something bigger than an 8 hp is risky. It is rated for a 25 hp motor though so i don't know...

If it's rated for a 25, put a 25 on it. Every small aluminum I've had I've maxed them out....

[medic1]

If it's rated for a 25, put a 25 on it

And go with a 4 stroke, there is minimal weight difference. A 20 hp Mercury 2 stroke weighs 114. A 20 hp 4 stroke Merc weighs 115.

[Blackmouth]

If it's rated for a 25, put a 25 on it

And go with a 4 stroke, there is minimal weight difference. A 20 hp Mercury 2 stroke weighs 114. A 20 hp 4 stroke Merc weighs 115.

I'm not sure where you got that info but usually 2 strokes are significantly lighter in weight

[medic1]

I thought so too and I was going to recommend that he stick with a 2 stroke for weight savings but when I looked on the mercury web site they weighed the same. The 2 stroke is an older model but it couldn't of changed that much. I would have to guess that the weight difference is when you get into a higher displacement engine.

20 hp 2 stroke
http://www.defender.com/inflatables/out ... rc_20.html
20 hp 4 stroke
http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines/ou ... _specs.php

Personfly18- do you have any pics of the boat in question?

[sickbayer]

IMO 3500 is a lotta dough for a engine and steering heck i dont think my 350 would cost that much.

[Bodofish]

IMO 3500 is a lotta dough for a engine and steering heck i dont think my 350 would cost that much.

More like twice that. 7k for the motor and then the pump. But yeah! 3500 is a bunch for a little bitty motor. Get a new boat, motor and trailer package that makes you happy and finance for as long as you want. Boat payments are small. Warranties are huge and repowering most boats is throwing money away.