"Chris" wrote in message
...
I have an opportunity to buy a 14' Lowe Jon boat with a 15 hp motor
and have a few questions, since I don't know much about boats.

***Hopefully, they float. They WILL cost you money. They will break down
at the least opportune moment. They won't get used nearly as much as you
want them to be. Whatever one you get, it won't be big enough. They never
have enough storage. They're a great place to spend time with friends and
family. Does that help? :-)

Does anybody have any experience with these jon boats?

***Some experience. But much more in a v hulled bass boat.

How stable are they in lakes and rivers?

***You give the length, but not the beam (width) of the boat. The more beam
you have, the more stable it will be. But, in comparision to a vee hull
boat of similar dimensions, the jon will be less tippy. Rivers is the
environment they were designed for. Jons typically draft little water,
allowing you to get into places where a vee hull boat would ground.

Are they a decent boat?

***As long as you don't expect too much in performance and ride, they're
great. That hull design that allows you to travel skinny water comes at a
price. That price is ride and handling. If you get into some windy, wave
tossed water, you're going to experience "Jon Boat Slap". That's the
pounding of the hull on the waves. Where a vee will "cut" the waves, the
jon boat will pound on them. But, tons of fish have been caught in them,
and countless hours of fishing, duck hunting and other related activities
have been logged in jon boats.

Anything else you want to add.

***I say, if the boat is in decent shape, the motor runs good, and it makes
you happy, buy it. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it sounds like a
decent rig.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

Thanks in advance,
Chris