well im hopefully runnin into some money here soon and thinkin bout gettin me a rig....ima run a custom built hull......really thinkin hard aboiut goin wit nonc j....but i want either a 1638 or a 1648......and i wana put a 36 pd on it........anyone here running something simular????im interested on what kind of speeds id have......i hunt 3 ppl at the most so ill have plenty of room but wondering with it being short if id lose anything besides steping a big load and floor space....i really dont want a longer boat just for the simplisity of being able to swing it places and such and not to sure on width cuz my flat was a 36 wide and i loved it cuz it would fit EVERYWHERE.....but is there that much diff between runin a 3 and a 48??

You've got to E X P A N D your mind....

That size hull is too small - at 16 go wide like 54 or 60 - if you are married to
the shorter hull - otherwise you will never get 3 guys to the duck hole...

There is a reason the 18 x 48 is a very popular size... It works well with loads...

Now I run a 16x48 and usually have a 2nd guy - but almost never a 3rd - so
I am happy with the smaller hull.... But my rig sux with 3 guys on board - at
least with 2 of the heavy azz guys I hunt with and my butt too.... Still can
plane and run mid 20's but mud performance is gone... Where in my old
square chine 17x42 - it actually did much better with those heavy loads, cuz
the rake got outa the water and up in the air where it belonged quicker....

Now ole Bart runs a 18x38 GD round chine and can put that thing thru a
dang needle and cut a tighter turn at WOT than I can at 1/2 throttle....

From what you posted - go longer and thinner - you will be lots happier...

If that helps....

I hunt the narrow boat and its amazing in them skinny marsh ditches. Also in timber it pays for it self.

i had a 1644 gator trax with a stock MB 35 and i had no problem getting 3 guys, dog and a hell of a hunting load on plane, did it just about everyday i hunted. i could still run 22-23 mph with that load. i loved my 16 footer just didnt carry the 4 man load like i wanted. if i didnt hunt with 4 people now i would have stayed with the 16 just a great size imo

giga how much longer????
i dont plan on having a big deck and everything will be open....i dont wana go wider bc of what mississppi boy said....i hit alot of ditches and timber
i know we hunt out of a 16 ft skiff wit a 36 in bottom wit 3 ppl all day and have pleny of room.....thats y i though of goin 16 ft wit my rig.....but i kknow a shorter rig can kill u if to short .....i just think 18 would be almost to long in the timber????? or in the back canals if i have to swing it around?????
thats why im askin......if i can get awa wit a 16 id love it.....at the longest id have a 17.......but for sure im not gunna go wider than 48 bc of the timber i hunt out of..........im just interested on what i can expect out of that rig if its all open
also what do yall thin of a split seat in the back??

I don't think you'd have any problem with the 18. I'd go at least 17 though. Just my .02. 16 is right on that edge. The bigger motor will help out somewhat, but the longer hull will run about the same empty, and carry a load a lot better.

then ill prolly go with the 17
depending on how much$$$ im able to get when i turn 18 i might send it to the dr ......ma dads buddy builds drag racin boat motors and i might tlk to him in putin some extras on it lol

I would not go any smaller than 17 x 42....

Not sure how much you weigh - but that PD is pretty heavy...

With fuel up front - and battery midship - it should balance well...

Put a moderate point on the bow to part the weeds - and you will likely
have a great running rig that bumps 30 mph solo/stock....

Make the accessories - like gun / rod boxes removable - I like to sit on a
medium sized ice chest to drive and just kick it outa the way when the
tiller action gets interesting and standing works better with my GD....

If you have a PD why would you need to swing it around ???

Brad would run FPR cross the lake and back to the dock - I seen the video - LOL


Good luck....

in order to build a boat you have to have a 20 ft sheet of alluminum so you would only be paying for the extra labor on a longer boat. mine is 17x4 and i can get anywheres with my 27 and it does 25mph light boat. i talked to rick aucoin and brian provost with pro-drive and other people and they said that 17x4 is the ideal pro-drive boat. i wouldnt go shorter than 17 but longer wouldnt hurt.

I dont know about yal, but 18 foot is alot of boat to be swing in the timber. When that stuff gets tight or the water rises and your in the branches 18 foot of boat with two foot of motor off the back is kinda a long shot isnt it. And that stuff gets skinny to i was wish marsh master hunting hogs and having that wide long boat of his was a pain when we got in the small ditches we were bouncing off of it back and forth.

i'd say atleast a 18ft and b/t 42 and 48 inches wide.

My 19x46 runs really well. I am about 370lbs and with me, 20 gals of gas and a icechest in the boat deep water it runs 26-27mph.

Also if money is a issue and your not running a lot of timber U can price the southfork and alweld huals. They are thinner and less expensive but they cant take the beating that the custom boats can.

I'd rather have a 35 hp Briggs than a 50 hp anchor in the back of the marsh --- LOL

17'x46 should fit your needs perfectly.

I run a 17 48 pd boat, I like it but would rather have wider in your case being 48 the widest would go with that. The wider the boat the better it carries a load, and faster because it floats higher less water drag in deep water.

Bootz you need to do some more homework, your numbers are waaaay off. From what I've seen here, getting through the timber has a lot more to do with stick time and skill than it does with boat length. If you've got to go through timber, your gonna have to go with the 27PD for a boat that small. Not like you can haul ass through the woods without wrecking some sht anyway.


And the stage 3 mods are a lot more than 50 hp, they're closer to 70. Stage 1 puts you in the 45-50 hp range.

maybe cuz he wanted a wider boat????

OK genius. While yes a narrower boat does sit lower in da water while just sittin der. Once you get on step da boat is on top of da water and da less surface area der is, creatin friction wit da surface of da water da faster the boat will travel. It don't matter how many boats you've sold or worked on it will not change da basic rules of physics.

And I run an 18'x54" because it carries a load well. But to prove my point. My previous boat was an 18'x42"wit a stock 35 GTR and it was just as fast as da boat I'm runnin now dat has a Stage1 GTR.


And I seriously doubt you have spent more hours in a boat than me.

you are partially right, even when on plane a narrow boat sits lower in the water depending on load. If no load then yes it will be faster considering it is wide enough for the weight at the transom. I had a 1442 with a 27pd with me and the motor it sat low in the water even on plane. You could actually feel the boat slow down when crossing deep cuts in the marsh, and no I wasn't in mud then water it was about 1 ft of water then hit a cut about 4 ft and it would slow down.

I never said I spent more hour in a boat than you genius, learn to read, I said I have drove more different boats than you will ever ride in.

No doubt. Go with the wider boat. My boat runs 28-29 all day and with a little ripple runs 30. Yesterday with two people I lost a about 1 mph. Whoever the the guy who thinks the narrow boat will always be faster needs to ride in mine. Let me know how crow tastes. Do you want it grilled or fried?

anybody else think this is starting to get interesting??

i bet my 25' x 30" will spank any boat out there

Everyone seems to have an opinion, I'm just giving some facts!

I can honestly say I'm not brand partial. I'm just saying I've got a almost stock motor (marshmellow exhaust only) and it runs those speeds and gets on plane very quick. I'm sold on the wider boat. Somene asks the question about boat size and here's the answer I'm giving. Go with the wider boat. I think you'd be happier with the performance.

get the 1744 or 46 and the mods will compensate for carryin a load in the narrow boat imo.

If we could run a 60 in. boat in the timber im sure you would see alot more of us doin it, but the way I look at it is I would rather have a boat that can get up in the stuff and lose a mph or 2 than have one so wide you wasted your money because you cant use it in the woods.