After this season i will be selling my boat and looking to upgrade to a bigger mud hull. I have a 35 Mudbuddy and i am going to keep it and either try and find a new hull or get one built for me. I hunt 3 people and 100+ decoys in open bays and inland marshes and swamps. I want a boat i can feel comfortable in on open water but not to big to get into tight spots. I was thinking some kind of 1848 square or tapered chine bateau with 21 inch sides and a tall transom. Would this be my best bet for my type of hunting or should i be looking for a different size? Maybe a shorter wider boat?

Bigger is better, to a certain point. For what you just described, I'd get an 1860. It'll haul a load & will be plenty stable.

A buddy of mine just had a 1660 built by Alumitech Airboats in Orlando. He's happy with it. His stock 35MB pushes it fine with a load in rough open water. He might comment as he frequents this forum.

RobertB4wd has an 1860 GD with a stock 35GDSD & he runs right @ 30. Only mod he's got is a MM exhaust. With 3 ppl & a full hunt load, he can hang with an 1846 with a 35 GTR with 2 ppl & light hunt load. Check out his thread in the review section.

I dont think i can get the places i would need to with a 60 inch wide boat. The widest i would go would be a 54. I have a 50 now and it is pretty tight in some spots. Is the load carrying capability that much different between a 54 and a 48 in the same length?