Jon Boats ?

[Fishaholic2011]

Looking for a jon boat to build a carp shooting platform on. Are the 1448s stable enough to shoot off of ? The 1652s cost a lot more, is it worth it?

[aanderud]

Looking for a jon boat to build a carp shooting platform on. Are the 1448s stable enough to shoot off of ? The 1652s cost a lot more, is it worth it?

I have a 1648 jon boat. It's a polarkraft. I don't shoot carp off it but it does seem fairly stable in the river.

I would always go bigger, you almost never regret it. Even if it means buying a used boat rather than brand new. The price difference to get 16 foot versus 14 foot was at most a few hundred bucks on a used variant.

IMHO, it beats buying a new 1448 and being upset about the size later, then feeling stuck with it or having to take a big hit on it when you trade up later.

[mechanictim]

Go with the bigger boat, and even 52 inches is a little narrow, and keep the platform low. If you don't want to go bigger skip the plaform and shoot from the floor of the boat.

The higher you get the higher your center of gravity and the more easily it is to tip over. Add to the higher center of gravity that your going to be pulling against some good sized fish and the harder it is to keep balanced.

One thing you can do to add stability to any small boat is to add ballast to the bottom and keep it centered. Sand bags between 2x4 frames with a plywood floor not fastened to the frames work well and can be removed to make it easier putting the boat in water that you need to drag the boat into.