John Boats

David Sparks Ph.D.

I called Chonley Chan from Sportsman's Warehouse and asked for a recommendation for a small boat that I could take into challenging conditions. "We sell 12 to 14 foot John boats. These boats are going to average anything from 10 to 14 foot long and they are flat bottomed so you can take these boats into very shallow areas. They are not rated for too much weight so you can't have too many people or too much gear but for a 14 foot boat that we have here in stock it is rated for up to a 15 hp motor so you can get it going pretty well. They are not welded, they are riveted so they are very sturdy and you can beat them up pretty well. I have had a few guys by them and they have put a pretty decent amount of gear in them and they have actually exceeded the capacity. They have been holding up pretty well so far so they are tough votes. They have the Coleman's sticker on them but they are built by Lowe still so that says something about them. You can beat these up day after day and not expect them to have any leaks. You can take these and run them up streams and fish for salmon with them. I have seen a lot of guys take these up streams as wide as the boat is and shallower than a couple of inches with jet motors on them and run up there. They haven't had any issues. The reason why these are so reliable is that you can beat them up and hit them on the rocks and not expect them to dent. I have a buddy who has a 16 foot version and uses a 40 horsepower motor. He's able to get into some very shallow water with it.