# 14FT G3 Jon Boat front deck mod advice



## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

Hey All,

Bought my first boat! A used G3 V143 Outfitter with a 15hp Yahama 4-stroke tiller. 

It is pretty much good to go, but certainly looking for any advice on mods.

My most pressing mod is to build a deck up front that is a bit higher so that:
1) I can move the trolling motor battery up front and store it under the platform (both my trolling and starter motor are in the back of the boat now)
2) I can stand higher
3) I have some more dry storage

I am thinking of going to a welder to put on an aluminum deck, and put a hinge so it will open up for storage for things like life jackets. Then I would put some SeaDek (5mm?) on it, and move the trolling battery up front.

Thoughts?


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## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

Pic 2


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## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

pic 3


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## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

pic 4


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## Mike_Poczik (Jan 24, 2010)

Nice rig!! I actually would love to have it's bigger brother. One word of advice I will give ya on the front deck is first use a cooler or something else at the height at which ya want the deck to be, and fish it a few times to make sure it will be stable. Them V hulls don't like too much height on em. But I have not fished that particular hull only a similar one so ya might be fine. Also try it a couple times with the battery up there temporarily as well to make sure it does not adversely affect the ride. Ya might find some great ideas over on tinboats as well. Good luck and really nice ride.


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## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. The boat is very back heavy, so I think moving the battery up will help tremendously. I fished up there this weekend with a very large cooler upfront, so I was standing above the gunnels and it fished great. Also, all that weight from the cooler (well over 100lbs of ice), really helped get up on plane.


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## Mike_Poczik (Jan 24, 2010)

Well there ya go ya did the experiment already. I am sure some of the fabricators on here will be with ya shortly to give advise on how to deck it. And just caught that it is your first boat. Nice rig for a first, way to go.


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## johnfaris3 (Aug 12, 2009)

What would you say the draft of this boat is? I am looking at something very similar.


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## BarbourSnook (May 17, 2011)

Not sure I can tell you. Haven't been in any clear, shallow water to actually see, and havent done any dip tests of depth. PLus, I have too much weight in the back which causes issues.

All in all, it is fairly shallow, but I can't give you any numbers until I get to test it out more directly. How shallow do you want it to be?


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## Mike_Poczik (Jan 24, 2010)

Surprised you have not got any advice. Good luck on your studies of Snook. Please post any scientific finds ya make that may help understand them fully.


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## FSUfisher (Jul 16, 2007)

You don't see too many aluminum boats like that. That thing looks real nice!


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

> You don't see too many aluminum boats like that. That thing looks real nice!


 i was going to say the same  i thought i was pretty familar with g 3's till i saw this post :-/ well what you'll need to do is fab up the frame work using angled aluminum or even better might be square tubing then its just a matter of cutting and fitting the deck which be can made of aluminum or marine ply


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## btomas (Jun 29, 2010)

Looks like a fun project.  You may want to scope out this site for some ides on how to do your deck.  It has lots of pictures and very active forum members on modifying tin boats.
http://www.tinboats.net/forum/

For my own two cents, I recommend using aluminum angle for framing, I prefer using t6061 aluminum angle, but thats me. Then a deck of 3/4 marine plywood coated with a non-skid surface paint of say Evercoat Skid-No-More or Durabak.
No fancy tools or skills required, just a drill, hacksaw or sabre saw, hand rivet gun and 3/16" rivets 

Fix the first 16" or so of the deck, then have the remaining say 24" as a hinged deck for storage access.  That would leave you enough well space for passengers sitting on the middle seat.  You could also cover your bench seats with the same no-skid surface to reduce temps as well as provide no-skid benefit.

I certainly like the idea of a welded aluminum deck and SeaDek, but you are starting to get real pricey for an entry level boat.

Good Luck!


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