This idea would really apply to any small watercraft that one could use for the same thing. For instance, I am about to
sell my pedal-drive kayak this morning for $1,200. I bought it new in 2018 and have hundreds of miles of fishing in the salt with it.
For the homesteader (or survivalists/preppers too), the vast majority of the labor and manhours is going to be going into growing food. It is the single most difficult thing to obtain on your own out there. It is essential for
permaculture to become permanent.
Anyways, I am now about $600 into a 2018 Alumacraft 1436. With Jon boats that translates into 14'L x 36"W at its base but about 4'W at the top of the sides. That price is the total after buying the bare hull on FB marketplace, registering/titling/paying $10 for taxes on it AND getting my Free outboard that had not been started in about 15 years up and running like new again (myself). You can also simply row the smaller ones like this OR use a cheap trolling motor/or expensive electric outboard powered by batteries that you charge yourself via
solar.
I still have to get some $4 aluminum braising rods for a repair on the hull... and spend many hours re-painting the thing since it is covered in thick layers of paint from being used to paint the sides of ships. Probably going to drop the money to get a spanking new Aluminum trailer for a little over $1500 out the door... that will last my lifetime.
This thing is the largest size in the "unstable" category if you ask most boaters. As in, I can still get up and walk around freely all over it and use it heavily for work... and have even seen guys pulling 8' Alligators over the side without problem. However, if someone else is on board, I (a 215 lbs man) will need to either walk down the middle so the boat does not lean, or let them know I am up and about so they can brace themselves/or sit down. Obviously, it is 10x more stable than my fishing kayak was... and I could still stand and fish/paddle with it even. If you were to step up to say a 1448... stability skyrockets and the side gunnels tend to shoot up from 15" to 21".
Anyways, a micro boat this size is perfect for getting skinny AND shallow still. So shallow you can no longer paddle and have to push-pole around. It is tough
enough to jump logs on the
water. It can carry 1000 lbs of person/cargo(meat)/and gear. With the 15hp engine it is rated for... it would get up to 30mph empty and mid 20s loaded with people and gear. I will be using a 5hp... and
should get 20 to 25mpg and only be traveling 10 to 15mph depending on load. So a 3gal tank will last me forever out on the water.
If one lives in an area with loads of water like I do, this is a MAJOR tool to have in the belt. Within a 10min circle of my home I have access to and insane amount of fresh water... that turns into brackish water within a few miles... that turns into pure saltwater a few miles after that. I can set trotlines up to 300' long legally and have them fishing for me while I am back home sleeping for the night. For a $9 application you can even do up to 300' gillnets (I hate those things!). I can drop up to 3 crab pots at a time legally. I can cast-net for green shrimp during the Winter and Summer both... and am allowed to keep up to a 5gal
bucket a day (heads-on). I have an incredibly great fishery for catfish, bass, crappie, red drum, speckled seatrout, striped bass, flounder, croaker, sheepshead, flounder, Spanish mackerel, and more... that I can now reach with ease with this boat. Heck, I can even throw down bait traps or crawdad traps.
Then, there is the Hunting and Trapping aspect to
boot! (I am not doing that) In my area, I would have access (via water) that most people never travel to as an untapped resource. LOADs of flooded timber forests around here that I will be fishing.
Not to mention that I also have access to the "Intercoastal Waterway" within a few miles as well! That heads from the NE coast... All the way down to Florida... then over to Texas... without stepping foot directly into the ocean. It is a backup-mode to get around when the roads are not safe.
My son REALLY wants to go on fishing/camping trips with me. I will probably see if I can find some spots within the cypress tree river system near me, the dismal swamp/Lake Drummond near me, or one of the other 50 possible locations.
I aim to use 1/8th thick diamondplate aluminum to make flooring, and two large casting decks with storage underneath. Then I will spend a lot of time getting the paint off/prepping/painting. Adding gator glide to the bottom will epoxy/seal all rivets from water entirely. Instead of riveting in the flooring, I will be using rivnuts... so I can remove the decking at the end of each season for inspection, rinse, and adding a new application of fluid film. Since I will be in heavy salt. Fluid Film is made of lanolin from sheep's wool... and is insanely awesome for saltwater protection. All of this should be done for $1000 to $1500 in material. Then I will have a new boat that money literally cannot buy. Of course, I could just repaint it and still use it the same way! Which would probably only cost $200 to $400 in prep materials, primer, paint, and that high-end epoxy coating.
Just planting a few seeds for thought!!!
~ Marty
The picture below is not of my boat. It is a pic of the one on the Tiny Boat Nation website... showcasing one of their kits they sell to modify a 1436 Jon Boat. I will be doing my own thing for 1/3 the price.