You totally inspired me to redo my Coleman Crawdad. I had a little pinhole in the plastic. Fixed it. Took out all the supports, stripped it down to plastic and gave it a good wash. Now I’m going to put carpeted plywood in where the plastic covers were and also a better seat. Thanks!
Its the best boat you will ever own. I've had two in my time! Put a 5 HP merc on it and the darn thing did a wheel stand first time out. Learned quick to put a 5 gallon pail full of water at the front to keep her down. You can go anywhere and more in those, hunt fish pull a kid in a tube , wish Coleman still made these in that configuration still. Best catfish boat ever , two adults and twelve year old nefew , large cooler as a seat and live well , almost unsinkable ..., dang I'm old. Never get rid of her , take care and have fun and wear a lifejacket......
Thanks I am loving this boat. Yeah I wish they kept making them. They are extremely hard to find used. It would be a sad day if something Halle Ed to mine or someone stole it. I have 2 kids (4 and 6) excited to get them out on it more often.
Great video! I also have a Coleman Crawdad…have a 4 hp 2 stroke Johnson motor and a trolling motor too. Got my seats installed , but I like your idea of putting the trolling motor in the front…
I just got mine in a trade with an old man for a couple of fishing poles, took it out this weekend and caught some fish already. Planning on keeping it light and basic because I can slide it onto the top of my van roof rack by myself but sick boat and now I've got some awesome ideas for the future
Awesome!! I love this boat. You don’t really need a lot of customizations but they are fun to do! But adding a floor is a must! If I had to advise someone how to make the Crawdad experience awesome: add a floor, get a cheap utility trailer, get a small outboard. Those 3 things changed my experience completely.
I got one late fall last year for super cheap. I think it's an 87 but looks practically new. In the process of tweaking it a bit. I hope to find a gas motor for it soon but temporarily have a 55 lb thrust trolling motor on it. Works well so far 👍
@@Skinnyriver Thanks! I have an old one from when I was a little kid. Not sure it will even fire up anymore but I will get it out in the next few weeks. I have a 1.5 and a 3.5 I believe from the early 70s. I'd prefer a 5 hp air cooled briggs and stratton but everyone seems to think they are made of gold.
Most everyone thinks their motors are made of gold lol it’s really hard to find a great deal. I just had to bite the bullet and spend a couple more $100 to get a newer one. Glad I did
I got one of the exact boats for free yesterday, the frame pipes are loose and flopping around so I need to reattach them inside the bottom of the boat
Man these were discontinued a while back. I doubt there are any. The foam really isnt needed except to keep the boat from sinking if you take on water. They don’t add stability or increase weight capacity, most people tear the foam out for more space. If you wanted to make some you could probably find some dock or pontoon foam sheets. Or use the spray expand foam
Like that wrapping paper idea and it turned out great IMHO. Just bought a crawdad $180 and its in good shape but the foam was crappy so I will clean it all up replace that foam with a cows bladder I don't 4 or 5 basketballs! PS 1:56 dude you are funny as hell!! LMAO!! thanks!
I saw you put that signage for drain plug but, the video showed you adding what I think was a small fire extinguisher, great idea by the way. Did you in fact install a drain plug? And, very nice job. Kudos 👌
Yeah, I added that drain plug when I first got the boat. Got tired of it filling up with water, even though I have a cover some water gets in there. Yeah in TN we have to have a fire extinguisher on board. I think it’s for only over 25hp motors, but I felt better with one in the boat. I’ve had a motor over heat and it smoked like crazy 😜 kinda scary
@@Skinnyriver the Crawdad is made from RAMEX material, HDPE. What adhesive / sealant did you use for the drain plug? Has the drain plug SEALANT withstood use, is it leaking, has it?
@@Skinnyriver no, didn’t get to it last year as I was occupied with the chaparral 1830 SS but I used it a lot for solo fishing at the lake. Absolutely love the boat and I hope to make the modifications this summer, i have saved the video for guidance
Awesome, 20mph is smoking in this plastic boat. I have a 6hp and can get 18. Did a speed test you can check out: th-cam.com/video/sf95FykCW90/w-d-xo.html
Honestly it’s not really square because the boat hull widens then tapers from the bow to stern. I used cardboard and wrapping paper to cut out templates then transferred that to the plywood
My hull ID is really hard to see but it is on the right side of the transom. Stand behind the boat looking at the transom and there should be an ID # stamped into the plastic at the upper right. It’s not a tag, but stamped so it’s hard to see. If you can’t find it, you can always submit a lost hull ID and they will assign you one, may cost a few extra $$.
@@Skinnyriver thanks brother, I was able to find it! Keep up the videos... Your videos were one of the deciding factors on purchasing this little "plastic bathtub"
Hey man first of all great job . I just bought one of these Jon boats yesterday and want to do kinda what you did but wanted to ask if your boat seem a little flimsy on the sides and bottom?
In the water it is pretty solid. It seems a little flimsy when you try to pick it up on land, but it’s stable in the water. Does yours still have all of the metal tubing (frame) inside? If not, you will lose some support
@@Skinnyriver thanks for the reply. Yes it still has all those support polls. Just never seen one of these so wasn’t sure if that’s how it’s supposed be or if mine was messed up
I sorry I don’t remember but I believe they were #10s 1” long. Key is to make sure they are long enough to go through the plywood and have enough threads to engage the metal. But not long enough to pierce the bottom of the boat :) lol
Sorry for the late reply. The foam does absolutely nothing for buoyancy. So you don't need to worry about stability or it adding flotation. BUT what it does do is if you flip it keeps it from sinking which also adds safety as you will be able to hang on or sit on top of the overturned boat. I wouldn't worry about it. If you are going up some crazy rivers with rapids, maybe worry about it then. But I have never once had the boat almost flip. And even if it did, its a cheap boat. Just wear your life jacket :)
Thanks man, I’m just goofing around trying to figure everything out. If you have any vid ideas, critiques, etc please shoot em over. Just trying to get better and make something someone will actually care about. Thanks for the support!
Self tapping screws into the metal tubing. Honestly I don’t think glue will work. The hull flexes a lot when you are on the water, I don’t think glue will hold.
You have to get self tapping and screw into the metal. The self tapping they hold without a nut. I drilled a small pilot hole first then screwed the screws right through the wood into the metal. You have to be real careful or you can Rick puncturing your hull (plastic).
I've been kicking around the idea of purchasing a Coleman Scanoe, but then I saw these. Pretty cool. Now I'm undecided between the two. It'd be nice to be able to single handedly maneuver these boats onto the top of truck & cap. Just wondering which of these two boats would be better on slightly bigger water.
If you are going to have to put it on top of your truck I think the Crawdad will be a headache, it weighs 131 and I think the scanoe is 85-ish? I don’t think you would be able to get the Crawdad up there by yourself. I would not have my Crawdad without my trailer. Best setup for large water would be a Crawdad and a cheap utility trailer. But if buying a trailer is not an option I would go with the scanoe. Also Crawdads do best with a small outboard (they are horrible to paddle).
@@Skinnyriver Yeah, I'm out there to enjoy myself and chill. Trolling motor all the way. Rowing / paddling is sometimes like work. Limited budget leads me to the Scanoe.
Yeah you could probably get a used scanoe and a little trolling motor for around $400. Also search for single person “square stern” canoe. You could probably find some lighter ones if it’s just you. Obviously need square stern for the trolling motor
I have this same boat and I don’t know where to start. Can you show all the measurements of the wood you cut to put on the boat and whatever else would be necessary to do what you do to it.
Man I’ll be honest, I kinda eyeballed everything. My advice is get some wrapping paper or poster paper and cut out templates on where you want the floor and wood to sit. Then when you get it where you want it you can trace the shape on the plywood and cut it out with a jig saw
@@Skinnyriver also how did you secure it all in place? Did you just put screws through the wood and into the foam? Or did you put something under to support it?
The foam won’t hold, I screwed all of the wood into the original metal support tubing. You have to get self-tapping screws and I believe I got screws that were ~1/2” longer than the plywood thickness. Sometimes it helps drilling a small pilot hole to help the screws pierce the metal tubing.... this is the most nerve wracking part!! Don’t screw through the bottom of the boat!! :)
Here is how I store mine th-cam.com/video/vjhpMZuReQo/w-d-xo.html I had bugs in mine too and had to take it to the car wash and spray it out, then I sprayed the floor with ant spray
@jon these boats get a bad rap because of other plastic boats (pelican, etc) that have a higher center of gravity and are generally less stable. I have over 100hrs on this boat and have NEVER come close to tipping it. I only had one time where I went “whoa” and that was because I had the trolling motor batter all the way to the left side and I stepped right beside it (basically all weight was in that spot). But it didn’t even come close to tipping. 2 things I would avoid with these boats: I personally wouldn’t put a high fishing deck on it, and be careful fishing with 2 larger people. If you are thinking about getting one; join the Coleman Crawdad Facebook group, there are a lot of stories about people trying to flip their and not being able to. One person even took his down some rapids and it did great!
@@Skinnyriver Thanks for the information, for the most part I will be fishing by myself so I may consider making a deck. I'm buying an 11 foot craw tommorow
Jon I think you will like it. They actually hold resale pretty good so low risk purchase. Let me know what you think after you get it on the water. Change the seats!!!! And put a floor over the metal conduit support frame!! Your toes will thank you
@@Skinnyriver I went fishing yesterday morning on it and it went very well, its pretty stable. After fishing I dont really see the benefit of a deck tbh
Check my other vid where we walk through every maintenance item for the motor th-cam.com/video/m1qcSxLACUE/w-d-xo.html
You totally inspired me to redo my Coleman Crawdad. I had a little pinhole in the plastic. Fixed it. Took out all the supports, stripped it down to plastic and gave it a good wash. Now I’m going to put carpeted plywood in where the plastic covers were and also a better seat. Thanks!
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out! These are great boats and becoming harder to come by.
Nice effort. I picked up a similar boat off the curb and need to make a rehab plan. I want to keep it light so I can throw it on my small tent camper.
Its the best boat you will ever own. I've had two in my time! Put a 5 HP merc on it and the darn thing did a wheel stand first time out. Learned quick to put a 5 gallon pail full of water at the front to keep her down. You can go anywhere and more in those, hunt fish pull a kid in a tube , wish Coleman still made these in that configuration still.
Best catfish boat ever , two adults and twelve year old nefew , large cooler as a seat and live well , almost unsinkable ..., dang I'm old. Never get rid of her , take care and have fun and wear a lifejacket......
Thanks I am loving this boat. Yeah I wish they kept making them. They are extremely hard to find used. It would be a sad day if something Halle Ed to mine or someone stole it. I have 2 kids (4 and 6) excited to get them out on it more often.
This is great to hear! I’m finishing up a complete tear down and rebuild of mine. Putting an 8hp mud motor on it 🤘🏻
Great video! I also have a Coleman Crawdad…have a 4 hp 2 stroke Johnson motor and a trolling motor too.
Got my seats installed , but I like your idea of putting the trolling motor in the front…
I just got mine in a trade with an old man for a couple of fishing poles, took it out this weekend and caught some fish already. Planning on keeping it light and basic because I can slide it onto the top of my van roof rack by myself but sick boat and now I've got some awesome ideas for the future
Awesome, love this boat. It will last forever
I like your point of view. Keeping the craft simple, keeping it light, and keeping you fishing.
Just got a old Crawdad for free today. I look forward to doing some customization on it. Thanks for the tips!
Awesome!! I love this boat. You don’t really need a lot of customizations but they are fun to do! But adding a floor is a must! If I had to advise someone how to make the Crawdad experience awesome: add a floor, get a cheap utility trailer, get a small outboard. Those 3 things changed my experience completely.
Damm good boats when they 1st came out. For the most part they stand the test of time.
Yeah it’s been great. Hoping to keep it another 10 yrs at least
I got one late fall last year for super cheap. I think it's an 87 but looks practically new. In the process of tweaking it a bit. I hope to find a gas motor for it soon but temporarily have a 55 lb thrust trolling motor on it. Works well so far 👍
Getting an outboard motor was a great purchase for me, I debated spending the money for a year, but it was worth it! Good luck
@@Skinnyriver Thanks! I have an old one from when I was a little kid. Not sure it will even fire up anymore but I will get it out in the next few weeks. I have a 1.5 and a 3.5 I believe from the early 70s. I'd prefer a 5 hp air cooled briggs and stratton but everyone seems to think they are made of gold.
Most everyone thinks their motors are made of gold lol it’s really hard to find a great deal. I just had to bite the bullet and spend a couple more $100 to get a newer one. Glad I did
I got one of the exact boats for free yesterday, the frame pipes are loose and flopping around so I need to reattach them inside the bottom of the boat
Yeah I had to do the same. Let me know how you like it
hoping you or somebody can point me in the direction to get replacement foam!
or am I stuck trying to make my own foam blocks?
Man these were discontinued a while back. I doubt there are any. The foam really isnt needed except to keep the boat from sinking if you take on water. They don’t add stability or increase weight capacity, most people tear the foam out for more space. If you wanted to make some you could probably find some dock or pontoon foam sheets. Or use the spray expand foam
Like that wrapping paper idea and it turned out great IMHO. Just bought a crawdad $180 and its in good shape but the foam was crappy so I will clean it all up replace that foam with a cows bladder I don't 4 or 5 basketballs! PS 1:56 dude you are funny as hell!! LMAO!! thanks!
I really appreciate the view! Keep me updated on how it comes along. $180 is a steal!!!
@@Skinnyriver Thanks man I agree after looking at ads I got a great deal and she is not bad shape at all :)
I saw you put that signage for drain plug but, the video showed you adding what I think was a small fire extinguisher, great idea by the way. Did you in fact install a drain plug?
And, very nice job. Kudos 👌
Yeah, I added that drain plug when I first got the boat. Got tired of it filling up with water, even though I have a cover some water gets in there. Yeah in TN we have to have a fire extinguisher on board. I think it’s for only over 25hp motors, but I felt better with one in the boat. I’ve had a motor over heat and it smoked like crazy 😜 kinda scary
@@Skinnyriver the Crawdad is made from RAMEX material, HDPE. What adhesive / sealant did you use for the drain plug? Has the drain plug SEALANT withstood use, is it leaking, has it?
I used a 2 part epoxy, it’s never leaked. But honestly a silicon sealant / adhesive would work well, I use that on my fish finder transducer
I got exactly the same boat, i am looking to make some modifications this summer. Thank you
Going through some old comments. Did you ever modify your Crawdad?
@@Skinnyriver no, didn’t get to it last year as I was occupied with the chaparral 1830 SS but I used it a lot for solo fishing at the lake. Absolutely love the boat and I hope to make the modifications this summer, i have saved the video for guidance
Good luck! Keep me updated. I guess the Chaparral is cool too :)
I have a common crowded I put a 6.5 hp Long tail mud motor on it. It goes 20mph
Awesome, 20mph is smoking in this plastic boat. I have a 6hp and can get 18. Did a speed test you can check out: th-cam.com/video/sf95FykCW90/w-d-xo.html
@@Skinnyriver Yeah I watched that one
Thanks for the views! It’s slow going when you first start a TH-cam channel, so I appreciate the views.
What were your measurements for the woodcut outs I know that's a lot or did you use a template
Honestly it’s not really square because the boat hull widens then tapers from the bow to stern. I used cardboard and wrapping paper to cut out templates then transferred that to the plywood
That boat of yours is CRYING for a SPS longtail mud motor.
Check em out !!!
Yeah I’ve always wanted one! Maybe next year
Love the video... I just picked one of these up and can't find the hull ID number anywhere, does anyone know where it might be?
My hull ID is really hard to see but it is on the right side of the transom. Stand behind the boat looking at the transom and there should be an ID # stamped into the plastic at the upper right. It’s not a tag, but stamped so it’s hard to see.
If you can’t find it, you can always submit a lost hull ID and they will assign you one, may cost a few extra $$.
@@Skinnyriver thanks brother, I was able to find it! Keep up the videos... Your videos were one of the deciding factors on purchasing this little "plastic bathtub"
Matt Moon good deal, I love it and hope you do too!!
@@mattmoon8506 I'd forgotten the reference of plastic bathtub. LOL!
Hey man first of all great job . I just bought one of these Jon boats yesterday and want to do kinda what you did but wanted to ask if your boat seem a little flimsy on the sides and bottom?
In the water it is pretty solid. It seems a little flimsy when you try to pick it up on land, but it’s stable in the water. Does yours still have all of the metal tubing (frame) inside? If not, you will lose some support
@@Skinnyriver thanks for the reply. Yes it still has all those support polls. Just never seen one of these so wasn’t sure if that’s how it’s supposed be or if mine was messed up
Let me know if you like it. Hopefully it works well for you
Hey I was wondering how u got the plywood to stay or how did u connect it to the boat
I used stainless self tapping screws into the frame of the boat
One more question what size where they
I sorry I don’t remember but I believe they were #10s 1” long. Key is to make sure they are long enough to go through the plywood and have enough threads to engage the metal. But not long enough to pierce the bottom of the boat :) lol
Hey bro I have a question regarding the foam, I also have an old crawdad, but it doesn't have foam, should I worry about that?
Sorry for the late reply. The foam does absolutely nothing for buoyancy. So you don't need to worry about stability or it adding flotation. BUT what it does do is if you flip it keeps it from sinking which also adds safety as you will be able to hang on or sit on top of the overturned boat.
I wouldn't worry about it. If you are going up some crazy rivers with rapids, maybe worry about it then. But I have never once had the boat almost flip. And even if it did, its a cheap boat. Just wear your life jacket :)
@@Skinnyriver thank you so much bro, love what your doing, I just wanted to be able to take my daughter out and have some fun
Thanks man, I’m just goofing around trying to figure everything out.
If you have any vid ideas, critiques, etc please shoot em over. Just trying to get better and make something someone will actually care about. Thanks for the support!
how did you clamp the floor board down I was going to glue mines
Self tapping screws into the metal tubing. Honestly I don’t think glue will work. The hull flexes a lot when you are on the water, I don’t think glue will hold.
@@Skinnyriver do those screw not need a nut to hold it clamped or did you just screw directly from on top of the board
You have to get self tapping and screw into the metal. The self tapping they hold without a nut.
I drilled a small pilot hole first then screwed the screws right through the wood into the metal.
You have to be real careful or you can Rick puncturing your hull (plastic).
awesome thanks in will give it a shot my poles are hallow so hopefully it will hold
Self tapping screws are design to hold in hollow tubes and sheet metal. There is a Crawdad Facebook page too. People can show you a bunch of ideas
I've been kicking around the idea of purchasing a Coleman Scanoe, but then I saw these. Pretty cool. Now I'm undecided between the two. It'd be nice to be able to single handedly maneuver these boats onto the top of truck & cap. Just wondering which of these two boats would be better on slightly bigger water.
If you are going to have to put it on top of your truck I think the Crawdad will be a headache, it weighs 131 and I think the scanoe is 85-ish? I don’t think you would be able to get the Crawdad up there by yourself. I would not have my Crawdad without my trailer.
Best setup for large water would be a Crawdad and a cheap utility trailer. But if buying a trailer is not an option I would go with the scanoe.
Also Crawdads do best with a small outboard (they are horrible to paddle).
@@Skinnyriver Yeah, I'm out there to enjoy myself and chill. Trolling motor all the way. Rowing / paddling is sometimes like work. Limited budget leads me to the Scanoe.
Yeah you could probably get a used scanoe and a little trolling motor for around $400. Also search for single person “square stern” canoe. You could probably find some lighter ones if it’s just you. Obviously need square stern for the trolling motor
@@Skinnyriver How much was that 6 hp you have?
My 6hp New is $1600-1800. I got mine used with 10 hrs for around $1000. You can find some good 4hp older ones for $500-$600
I have this same boat and I don’t know where to start. Can you show all the measurements of the wood you cut to put on the boat and whatever else would be necessary to do what you do to it.
Man I’ll be honest, I kinda eyeballed everything. My advice is get some wrapping paper or poster paper and cut out templates on where you want the floor and wood to sit. Then when you get it where you want it you can trace the shape on the plywood and cut it out with a jig saw
@@Skinnyriver also how did you secure it all in place? Did you just put screws through the wood and into the foam? Or did you put something under to support it?
The foam won’t hold, I screwed all of the wood into the original metal support tubing. You have to get self-tapping screws and I believe I got screws that were ~1/2” longer than the plywood thickness. Sometimes it helps drilling a small pilot hole to help the screws pierce the metal tubing.... this is the most nerve wracking part!! Don’t screw through the bottom of the boat!! :)
@@Skinnyriver how do you store yours? I have mine bottom up next to my pond and some bugs live in there, and I can’t get em out.
Here is how I store mine th-cam.com/video/vjhpMZuReQo/w-d-xo.html I had bugs in mine too and had to take it to the car wash and spray it out, then I sprayed the floor with ant spray
Do you know where the ID tag is located?
The hull is stamped on the back of the transom on mine
@@Skinnyriver Excellent, thank you so much!
How stable are these things?I've heard some questionable comments about there stability
@jon these boats get a bad rap because of other plastic boats (pelican, etc) that have a higher center of gravity and are generally less stable. I have over 100hrs on this boat and have NEVER come close to tipping it. I only had one time where I went “whoa” and that was because I had the trolling motor batter all the way to the left side and I stepped right beside it (basically all weight was in that spot). But it didn’t even come close to tipping. 2 things I would avoid with these boats: I personally wouldn’t put a high fishing deck on it, and be careful fishing with 2 larger people. If you are thinking about getting one; join the Coleman Crawdad Facebook group, there are a lot of stories about people trying to flip their and not being able to. One person even took his down some rapids and it did great!
@@Skinnyriver Thanks for the information, for the most part I will be fishing by myself so I may consider making a deck. I'm buying an 11 foot craw tommorow
Jon I think you will like it. They actually hold resale pretty good so low risk purchase. Let me know what you think after you get it on the water. Change the seats!!!! And put a floor over the metal conduit support frame!! Your toes will thank you
@@Skinnyriver Sounds good man I'll lyk how it goes
@@Skinnyriver I went fishing yesterday morning on it and it went very well, its pretty stable. After fishing I dont really see the benefit of a deck tbh
I got one in perfect condition I brought for 100 dollars
Nice find!!