MM Brand: Prodrive
Horsepower: 36
Boat Brand: Uncle J Custom Boats
Boat Size: 18' x 54" x 24" Sides
Boat Layout: Center Console with 5' Fish Deck
Speeds | Shallow Water: 27 mph bumping 28 @ 4000 RPM
Speeds | Deep Water: 25 mph bumping 26 @ 3950 RPM
08/2013 Speeds | Deep Water with Worn Prop: 25 mph @ 4300 RPM (See Video viewtopic.php?f=18&t=44070 )
12/2013 Speeds | Deep Water with new Prop: 27-28 mph @ 4050 RPM (See Video viewtopic.php?f=18&t=48083&p=637308#p637308 )
Total Boat Load With Gear Etc: 1,600 pounds...breaks down like this...weighed the boat, motor, two batteries, trolling motor, 16 gallons of fuel and all the "things and knick-knacks" in the boat (tool box, life jackets, flare kit, throwable, etc.) using a load cell suspended from an overhead crane. 1,380 pounds. I'm at the 185'ish mark. Add ice chest, fishing poles, tackle box...rounded it off to 1,600 pounds total weight.
(See this topic on the weight viewtopic.php?f=4&t=46759)
Deep Water Conditions Tested In: Deep bay water, light chop, light winds
Shallow Water Conditions Tested In: Shallow, sandy bottom river, light current, no winds.
Initial Deep Water Boat Loading: One person – 190 lbs., 16 gallons of fuel, two batteries, MinnKota Riptide trolling motor, one pod w/seat, one pedestal w/seat, military surplus ammunition box holding a small mixture of the essential bare minimum tools, marine fire extinguisher, two life jackets, flare kit, push pole(why?)….and 20 pounds of marine grade 6 gauge wiring!(not really that heavy…but heavy!)
Shallow Water Boat Loading: Same as above.
Comments:
This review will read more like a long story (or short novel!) I am going to break it down into several posts which will encompass three parts:
Part 1 – The Design
Part 2 – The Construction
Part 3 – The Sea Trials
PART 1 – THE DESIGN
This endeavor began around the beginning of the year...and BTW...THANKS!! to all the folks that answered my questions (the ones newbies are still asking before they figure out how to use the "Search" feature) and answering my questions even when I posted them in the wrong forum!
As I was saying, this began around the beginning of the year. I had a concept of what I "thought" I wanted in a boat. 18+' x 54", 1/8" sides, 3/16" bottom, center console, performance crimps, extended fishing deck, hybrid vee, pointed bow and sport deck.
Leonardo, I am not; but, I grabbed a pencil and lots of paper and used the skills I could remember from my Catholic School 6th grade art class. Here is what that looked like:
TG Boat Build Sketches_Page_1.jpg
TG Boat Build Sketches_Page_2.jpg
TG Boat Build Sketches_Page_3.jpg
Yeah…I was a little crazy about courtesy lighting…and no, I’m not scared of the dark. Looking at the sketches, I think I made the transition from papyrus scrolls, ink wells and turkey quills to paper and pencil pretty well!
But it was something I could give Jason to get a quote going. Now all this time in the interim, I had been texting Jason several times a day and blowing up his email inbox with questions galore. I have this “attention to detail” personality characteristic (FLAW!). Although he never came out and said it…actually, my brother was the one that suggested it to me…but, I had the feeling Jason thought I wasn’t serious and I was just “window shopping” and wasting his time. So, I called him and basically said point blank, “What do I need to do to convince you I am serious about getting a boat built and that I am serious about wanting you to build it?” I needed a price because I really had no idea of what I was getting into price-wise other than what was on the Prodrive and Gator Trax websites. “What kind of deposit do you need to get me a price and get me in your build cue?” So, he said he would get me a quote in a couple days. To help him out, I combined all my text questions, email questions, pictures, drawings, wants, thoughts, notes, etc. into one document and sent it to him. I think this made things a little easier on him…even though it was still 12 pages of “stuff!” 
Like I said, I have this “attention to details” DNA wiring flaw.
Jason was still backed up and had not caught up. Talk about getting antsy! But, I’m giving credit to the Good Lord for even having a plan for me with my boat build! Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I go to Grand Isle and borrow my brother’s 18 x 60 Prodrive X-Series Center Console. I was quite surprised at how well the boat handled the Caminada Bay chop. I kept the throttle cornered and the boat seemed to just ride the wave tops, never dipping into them. Don’t get me wrong…it was still rough…especially Monday morning when a “cool” front had passed through leaving a stout North wind in its wake. But, I never really got that anticipated bow “slap.” That bow slap was the whole point of wanting the hybrid vee. Now, I had to make another decision…do I really want/need the hybrid vee? After all, flat bottoms all the way up are the mud boat standard…and probably for a reason. But, the hybrid sure “looked” good. Alright…one more call to Jason. He knocked off just enough money from the quote to help me decide to go flat all the way up! Dangit! “The Build, Revision 3” was drawn up:
that I just knew would work…and when I “know” something will work…well, you know. Jason had an alternative solution that he felt he could make work. Bless their hearts; Jason and Heath tried their darnedest to do this in all the ways I suggested and it just was not going to work! They ended up doing what Jason had suggested doing in the first place to remedy the situation! I probably lost a day of production and Jason lost a day of paying labor for my experiment. But, Jason took it in full stride stating, “I know now if somebody wants this done in the future, I am charging an extra day of labor to get it done!” So, when you see the fuel fill cap located on the fish deck instead of through the catwalk and the pop rivets in the fuel storage bulkhead….DON’T ASK!!! 