How fast will my trolling motor take me?

Need help fixing up 1971 14' jon boat (lights, building compartments, trolling motor, etc) ?

• i just bought a 14' jon boat (the boat that is used as my picture) it was made in 1971 along with the motor ( a johnson 9.5 hp) I want to fix the boat up real nice but I am extremely inexperienced with boats so please take note when answering this I am inexperienced with most terms as well. First of all, i want to put lights on the boat so i can take it out at night. how could i put some good running lights or a spotlight on it, and what lights do i need to have for it to be legal (in texas) . i also want to put a 30lb thrust trolilng motor on the bow. what kind of battery should i use to power the trolling motor, also, can i power the lights from that same battery or do i need a seperate power source? i am also trying to paint the boat, probably a dark green color, what are the steps in painting this? lastly, i want to build a support frame in the front to cover with a piece of plywood and cover than in carpet, so i can use it as storage compartment underneath but also attach a chair on it, and i would also like to attach a second chair in the back. please take in mind I am a college student and looking for the very most inexpensive ways to do all of this. any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you all!

• Answer:

  If you're doing fishing at night, It's Green/Red in arrangement of right/left in the front of the boat. The back of the boat should be White. Most important is what lake or pond will you be using at. Certain body of water will restrict you into certain type of HP motor. A lot of reservoir don't allow gas motor. If you put a Trolling Motor it will be fine. For Trolling Motor, go with Marine Battery. You can get that at Walmart or go to Autozone etc.. I think Walmart carries a 900+ amp hour now. It's last pretty long, but it's pretty heavy. Make sure your boat can handle the weight. Talking about weight, you were going to add something to the front. Make sure it's not too heavy too. Homedepot has some plastic wood material that would not rot. Their color are white and they come in all sort of shape. You can try that, but it's a bit more expensive. If your in a budget, just go with wood deck and paint it with water seal.