by Townsend Godsey
LOA 20', BEAM 441/2", DRAFT 51/4"
Natives of the Razorbackcountryhave developed these remarkable boats to float down their sparkling smallmouth bass rivers. You'll find shoal draft, easy building and pack horse qualities.
One of america’s most famous fishing boats—the Ozark John boat—is so inexpensive and simple to build that it brings fishing boat ownership within the reach of everyone. For no more than $50 worth of [1956] materials this serviceable and safe craft can be built with simple hand tools in a few evenings. Down in the hill country, the John boat has long been part of the region’s fishing lore. Natives swear by it and sportsmen from all over the country come to the Ozarks to ride leisurely down clear water streams where they pit their fishing skill against the black bass. Here the John boat is as native as the smallmouth bass itself. In use, a guide sits in the rear of a John boat plying a short steering paddle of sassafrass or ash. The fishermen sit at ease in canvas chairs and cast to right or left as likely bass water indicates. But fishermen who prefer to fish solo, guide with one hand and cast with the other. This takes a little practice but is a favorite way of the avid native angler in the Ozark country. This boat’s maneuverability is somewhat similar to that of a canoe with its own safety characteristics. It can be swamped and sunk in rapids if it is allowed to turn across the current but otherwise it is almost impossible to upset. The John boat can be anchored or tied to a rock or stump with a “cow” chain. In its modern version this unique river craft is 20 feet long with sides 12 inches high. Its counterpart, recently adapted to lake fishing, is 16 to 18 feet long, 14 inches high and fitted with oarloeks and oak endboards for attaching an outboard motor. A few clean pine boards, oak bats, a pair of two-inch oak pieces, a box of carriage bolts, a sack of nails and a few old iron wagon tires are the principal materials needed to make this boat.
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