About a year ago I purchased my first jon boat, and now I wonder how I ever lived without it. I am a firm believer that everyman should own at least 3-boats, one for the creeks, one for the harbor and jetties, and one for offshore, unfortunately my wife is still not convinced. I found myself using my jon boat so much over the last year, on average 2-times per week, that I recently upgraded and bought a heavy duty all-welded 100-gauge aluminum boat.
I purchased just a basic boat with a casting platform up front and single bench seat, and then rigged it out myself with a gun/storage box, rod rack, quick release swivel seats, and navigation lights. The boat was just missing one more item, a floor. The ribs on this boat stuck up almost 3-inches off the hull creating a non-stop obstacle when walking around in the boat, and with the floor painted camouflage it was going to be hot in the summer sun. The manufacturer offered a drop in floor insert made of aluminum and painted camouflage to match the boat for around $400. While the insert was a nice option, I thought it was a little pricy, and knew it would be just as hot as the hull. I thought about several different ideas for a floor, including starboard, marine grade plywood, and synthetic decking. All of these items were heavy and some were quite expensive, not to mention they were going to be difficult to cut for an exact fit. I even did some research on the intranet to see what all materials were available and to see if there were any other articles on what other folks had done.
I ended up coming up with the following idea and it has worked excellent. I purchased (2) 3/4 –inch 4’X8’ pieces of Styrofoam and some 2’X2’ interlocking heavy duty foam anti-fatigue mats from Lowes ®. Note: The Styrofoam comes in several different thickness and you will want to purchase the proper combination to level the jon boat bottom with the top of the ribs. The Styrofoam was available over by the insulation and retails for less than $10 per sheet, and the anti-fati