Sun Dolphin 12-ft Jon Boat
4.4
5
7
7
No plywood in transom
Great boat but do not follow the instructions in the owners manual on how to mount a fishfinder. According to the manual there is plywood located in the transom to mount a fishfinder but after drilling two holes in the back of the boat we found there is no plywood. We contacted the company and were told this is an error in the owners manual. They would send us the plugs or we could return the boat as it is a warranty issue.
August 16, 2012
Good for small lakes and rivers
Would be nice if the front and centre areas could be drained of water. Other than that its a great little boat, very stable and goes pretty good with a 6hp evinrude or the 30lb minn kota.
July 6, 2012
review update
Bought a Minkota 30/30, its a perfect for it if your mounting on the rear of this boat . Plenty of power for this light boat.
The Minnkota 30/30 can also be used on the bow , you have to carefully follow instructions posted online in which you remove a screw and rotate the head 180 degrees and to remember which way you rotated so when you rotate back you do it in the reverse so you dont damage any internal wiring .
On light waters the 30/30 is fine on the bow mount but on rough waters a longer 38 shaft is needed and even then its not a good idea to mount a trolling motor at the front bow on rough waters with this boat as the weight and leverage of the motor will cause waves to splash into the boat, bow mount trolling with this boat is only good on calm waters.
Mounting a trolling motor on the rear is best for this boat and is only really necessary in the front if you have a gas outboard already on the back in which then you have the trolling on the front when trolling but then would remove if you are going high speeds with a gas outboard as the vibrations and water hit could be enough to dislodge the trolling off the front when going at high speeds.
The 6.5 feet oars for 29.99 are the match for this boat if you want to do a double stroke from the middle using oarlocks in the provided sockets , you will have to buy the oarlocks. I mount my Garmin fish finder sonar to the trolling motor with the trolling motor mount provided by garmin although you could carefullly mount a sonor to to provided loacations on the rear corner lower stern, it has to be done carefully in the location provided using some form of sealent although me myself i would not risk it . What i really like about this boat is that after use it cleans easily with a hose and looks like new again , that plastic really cleans easily .
March 31, 2012
Great Boat for the Price
I bought thiis boat last season at sale price. Great boat for the type of fishing we do on small lakes and ponds. Very sturdy wiith lots of interior shelving on seats and sidewalls. Floor is ribbed to protect shoes from gettting wet from water. Stern and bow are perfect for mounting trolling motor. Plan on upgrading to 2hp motor. Would be niice to mount removable swivel seats. Lots of room for 12ft boat. This boat holds well over its rating in weight for people and gear. Easy to move over land with Two people.
January 2, 2012
inner lining of boat came filled with water
so we emptied it using the provided plastic hole with plastic screw in plug which we wonder how many times we can do that before it get stripped.
After we take it out on the lake (very very stable) we notice it has water inside the lining again. May have to take it back to the store. Came here to see other reviews and there was no other complaints of water entering the inside of the boat so we may have a dud.
July 25, 2011
great boat
great boat, very stable on the lake with 2 people lots of room for your gear, very good design . Lots of places to put your accessories and hold them . rod holders are firm . The plastic is quite solid and durable. Looks nice too. It has handles for carrying but they could have been better. easy to wash . cup holders are great , nice sturdy floor . The floatation foam d built in the hull gives great stability . We are really enjoying this boat . looking forward to getting a trolling motor for it as it has a nice mount built into for it .
July 20, 2011
12 foot Jon Boat
Great product. Easily carried by 2 adults. We (two adults over 220 lb each) use a 50 lb. thrust trolling motor on the lakes but it moves very easily at a setting of about 1/2 the first notch. I fitted swivel seats and regularly use it for 5-6 hours at a time. Easy to clean and quite resilient and durable. It also fits into the back of my Honda Odyssey (it's only 4 foot beam) and is easy to load and unload.
Very good buy.
June 27, 2009
