Is it safe to say that the 46" wide GT boat will slide much less and handle much better than the wider GT boats when powered by the same motor and loaded with the same load?


Does the drop deck help with handling/sliding?

Yes. Somewhat.

The drop deck has nothing to do with the sliding of the boat. It's not "added" to the hull....it's part of the hull.

It is my experience that a narrower boat will slide less due to its ability to be "rolled" to the side when turning.

Damn, this site is beginning to be the wikipedia of boat terminology.


Drop deck is now referring to the transom design of a hull, not the bow.


Double bottom is actually a full floor, not two layers on the bottom.

X3

My 42 x 17 Weldbilt square chine slid like a mofo at anything
over 15 mph - no way it could keep up with my tapered chine
hull thru twisting turning bayous.... But fast going straight....

No more square chines for me....

If you want a Gator-tail boat look at the extreme!! Runs really well and will not slide!! Yesterday we had a 18x46 extreme with a stock motor was running 30's all day!!This is what the bottom looks like!!

How is the 46" measured on that boat- at the bottom or side of the step chine? Just curious.

This is a tapered chine for comparison:

side to side as you would a sq. boat!!

Why not take some 1" solid round stock, rip it in half on a table saw and weld two strips on the bottom of the hull about 6 feet long. I would think that it would help the high speed sliding but could still have the speed of a square chine boat to boot. Rounded edges shouldn't hang you up. I don't know. Just a thought.