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[island boy]

thinking of buying a journey jon boat. looking for some pros or cons. never had that type of boat before so looking for some input. thanks.

[firstlight]

Do a search on FlyBC.
Is a few Journey owners on there.

[redside1]

and if you are on Facebook, ask on the Stillwaters group. Lots of owners so many opinions on jon boats there.

[island boy]

thanks guys,

[Spawn Sack]

I have one. Bought I think 3 years ago? IMO best john boat out there. Just has a hand built feel that has to be experienced. I have the longer of the two models, 11'6" I think? I was between a Journey and a Spratley. Glad I went Journey, although nothing wrong with a Spratley of course.

Only cons would be if you want any custom welding done like I did, need to drive to Kamloops to get that all sorted out, then back to Chilliwack. Then once built back to Kamloops to pick it up. I also think I had to wait 6 months for it. Kelly who builds them does one at a time. Also, like the Spratley, it is heavy. I used a powered loader to get mine on the roof of my truck, I would NOT want to lift it, I think it's 180lbs dry. I have mine set up for trolling and fly fishing. It is obviously more of a fly purposed boat but I've had no issues using it for trolling. I run downriggers off each side with no issues. My 8hp Yammy 4 stroke will plane the boat with 2 adults, 2 dogs + gear. Although sometimes it does struggle a bit and I have to shift my weight forward to pop up on plane. The transom will take up to a 15hp which would haul butt.

I don't think I'd ever sell this boat unless I became physically incapable of using it.

I also looked at the Marlons which are decent, but for me wayyyy too lightly built. Felt not much thicker than tin foil. Would be fine IMO if kept at a dock and never run up on shore. The Journeys are built like tanks, SOLID all welded boats. Also looked at Lowe and similar riveted boats. Not a fan, felt like I was in a tippy bathtub.

[island boy]

thanks for your opinion. ive decided to go with the journey.i like the idea of being full welded. as for the weight, i'll have it on a trailer. good to hear that you can troll with it as i have some friends that only fish that way. thanks again.

[DragonSpeed]

I am expecting to take delivery of mine in the next week or so!  I purchased the 10 footer.  Will be hauling it in the 6.5' back of the pickup.

Looking forward to getting on the water with it.  Ordered back in November.

[island boy]

they said if i order now i could have it by november.not really an issue as i have a boat now.anybody looking for a princecraft ungave in november?

[Spawn Sack]

thanks for your opinion. ive decided to go with the journey.i like the idea of being full welded. as for the weight, i'll have it on a trailer. good to hear that you can troll with it as i have some friends that only fish that way. thanks again.

Great decision! You don't see many of these for sale for good reason, because ppl who buy them typically love them and keep them. Took me a few previous 12ft boats to figure out exactly what I wanted. A Spratley would have been great too but I like the floor plan of the Journey's a lot better.

A few things I had Kelly do to my Journey that I'd recommend:

-On the rear, middle, and front bench seat I paid extra $ to have an extra aluminum channel piece welded to the edge of the bench seat. This allows me to slide the seat back/forth along the bench and put it wherever I like. Works well for balancing the boat out. Wife can move her seat at the bow a bit to either side from where she normally has it, and sometimes I take my seat at the stern and put it on the middle bench and sit/cast from it while anchored. If you get the seat base welded to a specific spot that is fine, but if you decide you want it moved a hair you can not.

-At the bow and stern I had about 2 feet of channel aluminum (3 inch I think?) welded on right about where you'd want to put rod holders. This way I don't need to drill into the boat to mount anything, and the channel bar just works well for drilling and mounting stuff to. I have a standard Scotty female end on each bar that take any Scotty rod holder. I also have mounted to the channel bar the mount for Scotty manual downriggers.

-Bow and stern plate welded on for Scotty anchor pullers.

I that's the extrent of extra fab work I had done, might have been an extra $500? I think it was worth very penny. IMO it is the perfect small lake trout boat and will do larger lakes as long as the chop is not too bad. Like all flat bottom boats it will porpoise in chop and the person in the bow will get soaked.

[island boy]

wow.thanks.i got a bit of time to figure out some things.some great suggestions.thanks again.

[jettabambino]

Great decision! You don't see many of these for sale for good reason, because ppl who buy them typically love them and keep them. Took me a few previous 12ft boats to figure out exactly what I wanted. A Spratley would have been great too but I like the floor plan of the Journey's a lot better.

A few things I had Kelly do to my Journey that I'd recommend:

-On the rear, middle, and front bench seat I paid extra $ to have an extra aluminum channel piece welded to the edge of the bench seat. This allows me to slide the seat back/forth along the bench and put it wherever I like. Works well for balancing the boat out. Wife can move her seat at the bow a bit to either side from where she normally has it, and sometimes I take my seat at the stern and put it on the middle bench and sit/cast from it while anchored. If you get the seat base welded to a specific spot that is fine, but if you decide you want it moved a hair you can not.

-At the bow and stern I had about 2 feet of channel aluminum (3 inch I think?) welded on right about where you'd want to put rod holders. This way I don't need to drill into the boat to mount anything, and the channel bar just works well for drilling and mounting stuff to. I have a standard Scotty female end on each bar that take any Scotty rod holder. I also have mounted to the channel bar the mount for Scotty manual downriggers.

-Bow and stern plate welded on for Scotty anchor pullers.

I that's the extrent of extra fab work I had done, might have been an extra $500? I think it was worth very penny. IMO it is the perfect small lake trout boat and will do larger lakes as long as the chop is not too bad. Like all flat bottom boats it will porpoise in chop and the person in the bow will get soaked.

do you have pics of these.  I am looking to do the same on my spratley but the welder wanted a sample

[Spawn Sack]

do you have pics of these.  I am looking to do the same on my spratley but the welder wanted a sample

Shoot me an email to kcp@alumni.sfu.ca
I find pics a pain to post on this site.
I'll need to dig through my lake pics on my PC but I know I have some pics

My advice would also be to BUY the Scotty or whatever brand of accessories first, before you get the fab work done. Then you can kind of sit in the boat, hold the mount up to where you think you'd like it, play around with the placement, etc. Then when your guys welds stuff on, you'll know it's at the right spot and right height. At least that is what I did and it worked for me.

[jettabambino]

done.  and order placed today for the mounts and anchor locks

[DragonSpeed]

Just picked mine up yesterday.  Plan to "water test" it on Tuesday

[island boy]

let us know how it went. still got a while to go until i get mine.