# 14 johnsen, stay away?



## crawley15 (Jun 10, 2011)

I have learned much from this forum. One of the best. Did not know I was such a 'lurker', but I am so guilty. Love the old boat forum. Sadly many old 'glass boats should be sawn in hunks and sent to the land-fill...however; 

I am halfway done with re-furb of an old 15' tri-hull sold by Lund (Guide 315) in the mid 1970's--read Shell Lake Boat company ( Shell Lake purchased by Lund in the mid-60s) and some of those guys must have defected to the Tuffy Boat company because both (Tuffy called theirs an Esox) boats are about the same--cheesy, sloppily built little tri-hulls from which the phrase 'hull slap' no doubt orginated. It is actually more 'hull chatter'. You get the idea.

Bought my Lund off of CL with a very nice 1990 30HP Johson and nearly new trailer for like next to nothing.

Anyway, my Shell Lake is a practice boat. It was very scratched up on the bottom and had been hacked on in just about every way imaginable. It had been painted like three times. I have been sanding and glassing and filling the holes. Pics soon. (Shot bottom this morning with topside-ho ho-paint. The bottom of my boat looked like a fat lady's *&^ and that paint made her look as good as lycra spandex on a bubble butt--dang!)

(I do have one bit of advice for getting rid of the glass fibers after sanding...fire up my 235 mph Husquarnva leaf blower and evacuate the garage at full throttle. Hold your breath for thirty seconds, watch the debris cloud roll down the street and then head for the shower immediately. Ha!)

Well, anyway, I live in Kansas, and believe it or not, I have run into two different Johnsens around Kansas City. I passed on the first one. It was a tri-hull with side console. I am partial to tiller boats. 

The second boat is a 1984 fourteen v-hull (and i would have no earthly use for it here unless the sea levels return to their heights of 60 million years ago). I almost bought it, but when I read about the tricky handling characteristics of this boat...well, what would you do?

(Also, just so you know, I usually make two trips each year to the Ft Meyer area to fish. Love those snook at the causeway on the outgoing tide at night. Dang! Knucklebusters! Have caught a lot of trout, reds, macks, pomps and a baby poon or two while fishing from Dunedin to Redfish Pass to Bonito Springs. Also fished over at Jax...well, anyway, you get the picture. In another life I lived in Houston and tore up the West Bay and San Luis Pass whenever I could.)

So should I pass on the Johnsen?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Having another hull to work on would be one way to spend next winter... [smiley=happy.gif]

It'd be better than watching TV. Welcome to the forum.


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## costefishnt (Dec 11, 2006)

personally I like the johnsen skiffs, they made for very nice skiffs. If your time is free I say jump on it, fix it up and bring it to Florida to sell. 

I have run a couple johnsens that my brother had bought, and with the right set up they are hard to beat if the price is right.


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## SClay115 (May 18, 2009)

I really enjoy mine. Keep your head on your shoulders and you'll be fine. I usually run mine seated, and while there is a good amount of bow steer, if you are running in that sort of slop, it's probably time to slow down anyways. 

I usually end up making a fair amount of course corrections as I am running to try and keep myself dry, to save my kidneys, and prevent me or my passengers from getting jostled around too much. 

With that being said, the damn thing is a blast. Like all boats, it's not going to be good at everything, but when the conditions are right, and I can run the 25 out to wide open, I forget all about any of it's flaws. 

If it's a solid hull, and the price is right, I'd say go for it. If anything, like Brett said, for a project. 

Steve


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## mhinkle90 (Feb 24, 2011)

i have one as well and i love it.

like previously stated if its rough waters and pretty choppy you just gotta slow it down a bit and your fine. its an awesome project boat!


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## luckovertme (Mar 31, 2010)

i have one also and love it, i have the 15' with 25hp tiller. there is the bow steer we have all talked about but that is this boats only flaw. I run the ICW every weekend getting passed by boats in every direction and rarely do I have to sit down. I do get soaked though. price wise i wouldnt trade this boat for anything else compareable.


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## crawley15 (Jun 10, 2011)

To all who replied with opin's concerning the Johnsen 14: Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. You guys are pretty laid back and not elitist.

Living in the midwest anytime you step into someone's boat you have to marvel at all of the things there are to trip over, get snagged on and just generally confound your adventure. I am a minimalist myself--or maybe I just believe that less is often more.

I think that is why I like microskiff.com and flats skiffs in general. Clean lines, clean boats, no clutter. I am going to finish my old tri-hull and then jump on this Johnsen. I may take it to the max, trick it out and then watch my midwesternite-put-another-gew-gaw-from-bass-pro-on-my-boat-las'-nite fishing buds drool over the outcome (and of course make fun of the 25 hp). Wait 'til they see the jack plate...ho, ho there papa gerry, it ain't got no power...where's the uppy, downy switch?...why would'ya buy a jack plate with no dang power tilt and trim...yuk, yuk, hee, hee. Them boys from Florida talked you into some bad hooey, pooey. Hee, hee.

Neanderthals are not extinct. I've encountered a few of them at our local boat launch. 

Again thanks.


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