Jons boat

[petie]

My boy and me are going to be building Jons boat pretty soon. The plans call for 1/2" and 1/4" plywood. I figured the weight difference which is only about 75 lbs if I use all 3/4". The reason I wanted to use all 3/4 is because we plan on bowfishing out of it and we get into some pretty rough stuff rock,stick ups etc. It will be launched and always carried on a trailer. Does any one see any reason other than weight not to use 3/4?

[lewisboats]

Good luck bending that. Use what the designer spec'd out. 1/2" is plenty tough enough unless you like to ram onto sharp rocks at 20 mph on a frequent basis. Most designers are a little optimistic about weight and most (85-90%) come out over the specified weight even when built and rigged per the design. Adding an additional 75+ lbs may put the boat over the max weight with what you wish to carry along and would require you to leave some of your gear or use an overladen boat...just as dangerous as bashing a hole in it.