# New Guy Old Project



## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Here is the rest this is the floor and deck dry fitted.








Getting the floor ready for paint I used acid to etch the aluminum before painting with zinc chromate then just walmart enamel thinned with acetone 








Cheap HVLP gun 








The color I mixed myself didnt turn out as dark as i wanted I may repaint it


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Welcome Sir 

Keep the photos comming ...


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Forgot to mention that my friend purchased southboundchicken's mud minnow and we have put alot of hours and fish slim on that boat I will upload some picks of it later so southbound can see he is taking care of it.


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## OSWLD (Apr 20, 2008)

the jonny boat's lookin good. we just did the same thing to the floor of my cuousin's jon boat with diamond plate and it makes a world of difference not having to step on those ribs.


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## Salty_South (Feb 25, 2009)

Lookin Good!


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## kbuch312 (Feb 17, 2007)

Can you offer some comment on the garage door arrangment?


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## drewrossi (Jan 30, 2010)

> Can you offer some comment on the garage door arrangment?


I was trying to figure it out, too!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Theft deterrent device... 

You try hauling that trailer out!
Talk about confused crooks...

;D


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea the trailer tongue sticks out, its my dads boat (27 foot answer) and it doesn't fit in the shop. Im doing the work here because my HOA won't allow me to do it at my house plus he has a full machine shop in there here is a jack plate we built for my old stumpknocker


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Made this push pole awhile back ago out of alum. pipe but it is a little heavy


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## rcmay (Dec 12, 2006)

there is something very very wrong with the last picture.............get those beers on ice fast, or we'll have to call the authorities on you!


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea those beers were Heat Casualties ;D I rescued them from my cooler that was empty of ice and in the sun


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

As promised pics of southbound's Old mud minnow my friend on the platform me on the bow


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

holy chit man you guys got some big balls taking the mud out to the jetties like that  although it does look like a fairly calm day ....LOL  nice to see the mud minnow again and post some more pics so i can relive my youth will ya?  ;D


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Recipe for Sexy
1) Take one jon boat.  
2) Add a lot of diamond plate.  

However, after fishing on it all day, you are gonna get sunburns in places that have never seen sun before.  Don't go commando.
;D
Nate


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea I think I'm gonna repaint it a Flatter darker olive green.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Got it muddy today, tried out the ride and weight distribution with the decks.  I still don't have enough weight forward it wants to porpoise pretty bad at speed, got 21 mph (gps) with the 9.9 today though. caught two small reds and stingray so I guess it has been christened.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

I also made a tiller extension with ideas borrowed from you guys.  It is a fiberglass 6 dollar shovel handle from lowes a piece of 1 1/4 pvc pipe heated in boiling water then slipformed onto my tiller, then I wrapped it in camo cord from walmart and covered it with a thin coat of resin. This thing should be stronger then a bat.  I know the pics suck they are from my phone.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

aaahhh.... another camo cord user  ;D that stuff works great  i'm constantly looking for things to wrap with it  ;D


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea that idea came from you (southbound) but I liked it so much, I had to employ it.  Also since fishing your old mud minnow I cant understand why you got rid of it. I love that boat and have been trying to buy it from my friend since the first day I seen it.  I will be using a lot of the design ideas from that boat and incorporating them into my project boat.  This was my first boat, my grandfather gave it to me when I was 5 or 6 years old,  I am going to restore it and I will take pictures along the way but it will probably take a year because it is a labor of love, so I will only post these pics until it is complete.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

The Gigging lights mounted.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Test run of the lights on this boat they were previously used on my stumpknocker. Yep they work  Last nights catch


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## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

no big deal ;D nice night out


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

I will take a nice night out on the water rather than the "clubs" any-day.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

it warms my heart to know you boys are out there make great memories in the mud like i did  she's a slick little rig no doubt and i kid you not when i say that i ( the minnow) got a lot of attention from people when they saw her.... seems like everyone loves the mud :-* ;D but to me they're like children i temporarily adopt, transform then move along to another happy home to make room for another  been having the same experience with the fin & feather and just like the mud she too will move along one day to another lucky person and the cycle will continue


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Installed a locking latch to keep prying eyes of my stuff while making pit stops on the way to the ramp.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

Installed some smart tabs ( I needed something for the porpoising and the price was right), so far I am very pleased with them they make it feel like whole other boat. Zero porpoising, zero bow rise, and very quick hole-shot/planing. They basically do exactly what they advertise (not so common anymore). I have been testing with the 9.9 (21mph), tomorrow I will be putting on my 18hp merc 2 smoke (boysen reeds, soon stainless prop, 25hp carb & tuner) I will be testing it with a 13 pitch prop and try to figure out how much pitch I can run. 

























I know that they are not made for aluminum boats but I improvised with a lot of silicon.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

I finished my tiller extension and converted my Merc 18 to a 25hp got some new custom decals for the cowl and had 9.9 put on for laughs.  Now I'm getting 36mph gps on a 15 pitch prop.  I am shooting for 40+ going to play with the height a little.


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

Looks great! I like the camo on the motor. Have you had a chance to test the Samrt Tabs yet? I'd like to see how they work in this area.


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## joshuabward (Apr 3, 2010)

I have gotten quite a bit of time on the smart tabs now and I'm so happy with them I probably won't have another small boat without them. My plane time is almost nonexistent, zero bow rise and much shallower hole-shot capabilities. The most important thing they do for my boat is stop the porpoising from my 25 merc. The issues I have found with them is when you are really shallow they drag in the mud, they make a quick disconnect for this reason and I will probably get some. If you are going to the rally then you can test them for yourself. I will be there with the boat.


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