27 Homemade Jon Boat Plans You Can DIY Easily

Jon boats feature an extremely simple design, and their flat bottom makes them suitable for use on even shallow water, so they’re a popular choice with anglers and many other inland boat users.

They’re also extremely easy to build, so to help anyone who wants to try, we’ve had a look online to see what other people have been trying – and as a result, here are 27 great DIY Jon boat plans you can have a go at recreating at home.

1. How to Build a Jon Boat – Flat Bottom Boat World

Flat-bottomed Jon boats are not only a fun and easy DIY project to tackle, but they’re also the perfect design for navigating shallow waterways. If you want to make one yourself, this plan tells you how to do it using only inexpensive materials. It gives you plenty of suggestions and options too, allowing you to build one that’s perfectly suited to both your budget and your needs.

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2. Homemade Jon Boat Build from Dooryard Fabrication

This is the first video in a series detailing a complete Jon boat build using aluminum. In the first video, you get to see how they measured and cut the hull. It’s a little lacking in explanations, but if you have the necessary skills, you’ll probably be able to work it out anyway. And to find out how the boat looked when it was finished, you can check out the rest of their videos too.

 

3. Jon Boat Plans – Boatbuildercentral.com

This pdf is the plan that explains how to put together a Jon boat kit. However, if you know what you’re doing, you could probably take this plan and make one of your own just like it without needing to buy the kit itself. It might be a challenging job, but if you’re up for trying, it could be fun to have a go.

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4. How to Build a Wooden Jon Boat at Home – Boats Answers

When it comes to buying or building a boat, you have several options. Buying can be expensive, so many people choose to build their own instead. If that’s what you decide to do, you then need to decide whether to buy a kit, buy professional plans or go full DIY – and if you’re not sure which is best for you, this blog post will help you decide.

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5. Amazing DIY Jon Boat Build – Start to Finish

In this video, this YouTuber shows off a high-quality Jon boat he made. It’s an extremely professional job, so if you’re thinking of making a boat of your own but don’t want to end up with something that looks totally DIY, this video could give you the inspiration and ideas you need. Check it out and see what you think!

 

6. Plywood Jon Boat – ThePlywood.com

As this blog mentions, many would-be boatbuilders are put off trying because, unlike lots of other woodworking jobs, building a boat requires many extra skills that some hobbyist woodworkers don’t possess. However, if you choose a simple project to start with – and you have the right plans to follow – it’s a perfectly achievable task. And if you think that sounds like something you want to try, this post teaches you everything you need to know.

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7. Jon Boat Build from Scratch

Making a metal Jon boat can be extremely simple, as this short video demonstrates. In it, this YouTuber takes us through his process for building his own boat, and as you can see, it looks like he did a great job. It’s a very basic model, but that’s all you need to allow you to get out on the water – and if that’s what you want, this could be the ideal plan to follow.

 

8. Jon Boat Design – Boatdesigns.com

If you’re not sure about building a boat from scratch, it might be a better idea to think about buying plans and a kit. That way, you can be sure that the boat you build will be everything you hoped for when you finish. If that sounds interesting, here’s a page that should be of interest since it gives you an introduction to just such a project.

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9. Building A Wooden Jon Boat In 2 Weeks!

Here’s a story we enjoyed hearing. It all started when this YouTuber suddenly found himself with two weeks to spare – so he decided to build a boat! Enterprising character that he is, he started by going online to get an idea of how his project would look, and then he just went ahead and did it. If you want to know how it went, give his video a watch, and perhaps you’ll even be able to do something similar.

 

10. Duckworks – A Lightweight Jon Boat

In this post, this blogger takes us through how he ended up making himself a simple Jon Boat. Finding that with age, he was no longer able to paddle like he once could, he decided he wanted to try a powerboat – but he also didn’t want to spend lots of money. Instead, he decided to build his own, and this tutorial will allow you to copy his ideas.

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11. Homemade Jon Boat Build

Sometimes, the best way to learn how to do something is simply watching somebody else do it rather than reading lots of complicated plans and instructions. If that sounds like the way you prefer to do things, this is a video you should find interesting since in it, this YouTuber shows us how he built his boat from scratch. It’s fun to watch as the boat takes shape, and he includes all the details you’ll need to replicate his idea at home.

 

12. Jon Boat Plan – Vintageprojects.com

This simple plan teaches you how to make a classic Jon boat that will be ideal for travelling around shallow waterways. It’s only 12ft long, but due to the flat bottom, there’s plenty of space inside, making it the perfect option for fishing or other similar activities.

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13. Homemade Wooden Jon Boat Build from Robert Heffner

In this video, we get to watch as a high-quality Jon boat takes shape, right from the beginning up to the point when it was taken out onto the water for the first time. This YouTuber offers detailed plans for this boat for sale, so if you want to make something similar, you might consider buying them and copying what he did.

 

14. One Sheet Jon Boat: 20 Steps (with Pictures) – Instructables

The boat in this plan is the result of a great story. As this DIYer tells us, in his town, there is a contest to build boats using very limited materials, mainly consisting of one sheet of plywood. The big advantage of that is that any boat you make is sure to be extremely inexpensive, and if you want to know how he did it, this tutorial gives you a clear step-by-step guide along with plenty of photos to show you what to do.

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15. Homemade Wooden Jon Boat

If you’re thinking about making a Jon boat of your own and are wondering what the job is likely to entail, this video should be of interest. In it, you get to see how the project went from beginning to end, and as you can see when it’s done, it looks like it turned out pretty well. We’re impressed!

 

16. Building a Jon Boat – Tripod.com

The plan in this post looks like the kind of thing most people with a few basic DIY skills should be able to handle without too much difficulty. As the blogger writes, he wanted to upgrade from an inflatable fishing boat but didn’t want to spend too much money – and this was the result. It’s around 7ft in length and perfect for one person to handle alone, and we can imagine he’ll now be able to spend many happy hours fishing in the boat he built.

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17. The Best Saltwater Jon Boat Build!

Jon boats are perfect for shallow inland rivers and lakes, but you can also take them out on the ocean, and that’s what this video is about. Think you might like to try? Then give the tutorial a watch!

 

18. How to Build Your Own Jon Boat – Goneoutdoors.com

At the start of this plan, we are told that a Jon boat is among the easiest of boats to build due to the flat bottom and even sides. That means just about anyone will be able to make one, and if you want to try, this plan has all the details you need.

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19. Jon Boat Casting Deck

This tutorial isn’t about building a whole Jon boat from scratch – rather, it shows us how this YouTuber added a casting deck to his existing boat. However, if you’re building a Jon boat of your own, it’s all useful info, so give it a watch and see how he did it.

 

20. Super Simple Jon Boat Floor

Here’s another video that concentrates on making one specific part of a Jon boat rather than the whole thing. This tutorial deals with making the floor, so if that’s something you need to know about, this video will be worth checking out.

 

21. DIY Cheap $60 Plywood Jon Boat!

One of the things that’s so great about Jon boats and other similar vessels is that they can be extremely inexpensive to make, allowing you to get out on the water without spending lots of money. If that sounds interesting, this video should be worth a look – because in it, you’ll learn how to make a boat for only around $60.

 

22. How to Paint a Jon Boat DIY Professionally

When you finish building your Jon boat, you still need to paint it before you can take it out on the water. That’s not always as easy a job as you might think, but in this video, you’ll learn how to do it properly to make sure your boat is ready for use and looks the part.

 

23. DIY Plywood Jon Boat

The Jon boat this YouTuber has built looks highly professional, and it’s just the kind of thing lots of people will love using for fishing or messing about on the water. Think you might like one just like it? Then give his video a watch to see how he did it.

 

24. How to Paint an Aluminum Jon Boat – Bottompaintstore.com

Here’s another post that deals with how to paint a Jon boat, this time specifically an aluminum one. When painting aluminum, you’ll need to know how to choose the right kind of paint as well as how to apply it – and this post gives you all the tips and info you’ll need when it’s your turn to try.

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25. Boating Season Extender Package – Jon Boat Build

If you have a Jon boat but you want to want to give it a little upgrade by adding a cabin, this is the video for you because, as you can see, that’s exactly what this YouTuber did with his. That way, if you’re out on the water when it starts raining, you won’t need to worry about getting wet, which is great news if you need to head out in unpredictable weather.

 

26. Pro Tips to Save You Money on Your Next Aluminum Boat Build

If you’re planning to build a boat from aluminum, you’re sure to want to know how you can save as much money as possible, and that’s what this post will tell you. Building an aluminum boat can be quite expensive, but at least with these tips, you’ll be able to keep the cost to a minimum.

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27. DIY EZ Plywood Jon Boat Build

If you’re the kind of person who likes lots of details about a project you’re going to tackle, this video should be worth a watch – because, at 50 minutes, it takes you through every aspect of the project. It looks great at the end too, so why not see if you can do something similar?

 

Plenty of plans for fun Jon boats

Jon boats can be simple and inexpensive to make, and as you can see, there’s no shortage of plans showing you how to build one.

We’ve enjoyed collecting these plans for you, so we hope you’ve enjoyed reading and watching them too. And above all, we hope we’ve helped you find the ideas you need for building a boat and getting out onto the water!