Boy I just wish I could dig up all them old post you made about how you ran your boat and the stuff you put it through.

Go ahead and keep beat em down brother

Now speaking the truth is beating him down..............


Yes i drove the crap out of my rig....drive stumps everyday..........Ricky told me that going slow was tearing up my boat.... ......now you say driving it hard might have been the problem

Well, I said that I wasnt getting involved in this but here goes.
As previously stated the bottom was hooked up really bad.
Was the rib structure bent upwards? Nope, so Id say that the boat was well braced. I know that the ribs were straight because they werent removed when repairing the boat. No matter what material u use to run longitudial braces with, if the plate is hooked between the braces and the braces remain straight then it was braced enough. Therefore the problem wasnt with the bracing, it was that the boat was built with a .125 bottom, loaded down and run across stumps, not logs, stumps.The bottom under the deck should have been braced diffrently perhaps, however that did not affect the way the boat ran.

I am in no way a BOAT EXPERT so my opinion is just that my opinion....

i don't think you'll ever go to de lumber yard again wit Big T

Funny u say it was not bent because Big Rick told me thats why he put 3 cross braces in it.

If im wrong cool...but im just typn what i was told.

Im not speaking for every boat ever built, everyones got there own "scenario." Im speaking of yours because your the one talking about build quality. Theres a reason army tanks arent aluminum, it gives. These boats are built to be light, not to go pounding through stumps.

I wont discuss why Rick changed a few things in his designs, not my place. But I will say its not the "200000000" pounds, more-so people on the tiller. Thats enouh of that.

Whats done is done. Like he said the problem has been fixed, so lets leave this alone.

Hey Brinkley, I was in no way trying to get a in pissin match with you but you are always complaining about something someone else did when in fact it's probably something you did. You need to listen what Kurtis just typed. Leave it a fukin alone dude.

He does not complain!!!!

Truck nuts = number one symbol of internet tough guy...


Just sayin...

MudHead #1 symbol of butt pounder..........

just saying.

You fellers that are runnin' SuperCab or 4Door Pick-Up Trucks ... how are keepin' all the BullCrap from collectin' back there? I started off with the SuperCab ... had 3 of 'em ... now I gots the 4Door and Ima tellin' you ... you wouldn't believe the crap I gots stowed back there .... it be lookin' like a FleaMarket on wheels !!!!!!

3/16" is much better than 1/8", going 1/4" next time. I haven't run boats all over the country but I will say that running Caddo Lake or most of South La ain't got chit on the oxbows on the river or flood control lakes in the ARK-LA-TX. At Caddo or the LA runs if I hit a couple logs a day it was rough. Depending on water level I'm hitting STUMPS getting out the forking launch here and an run over an easy 50-60 a day to get to where the good stuff lives. And I have come to know where most of them are at. Stumps and logs are 2 different things IMO. Bout the only other thing I can relate it to would be working the basin and running cypress knees all day. They don't give. I know nothing is bullet proof and maybe a custom Kevlar hull is the way to go. I don't consider myself as trying to tear up my rig, its just a fact of life we have to deal with. If you buy a 1/8" bottom rig in this area your either a boat lane bandit or ignorant..............

How much more weight does the 1/4" bottom add? Any of you guys ever run one? I've seen it talked about a lot, but I've not seen a boat that has it yet. Brinkleydog's is the only one I've seen thicker than 3/16.

Not 100% but I think its about 70lbs. more than 3/16".

After 10 Long Rounds, This fight goes to the judges......

about 70 lbs, if that throws off you hulls performance and draft you got other issues.

It didn't sound like enough weight to make a huge difference. I was just curious. Thanks.

I'd bet the average stock rig looses about 1 mph for every 150 or so lbs of weight added.

Yeah I wouldn't mind losin a mph or two to gain the strength. But draftin another inch or two could be a problem. Mostly run hard bottom, so when the hull is draggin it makes it tough. I would be curious also to see how much better the 1/4 holds up. I haven't seen too many complaints on the 3/16 yet.

I'll know for sure what 2 1/2 years of heavy stump runnin has done in a few weeks when I flip mine to steelflex and repaint my hull. No doubt it has held up better than past hulls but I still have some hooks. Just waiting for it to warm up a little more.

Cool, post up your findings. I'd be interested for sure.

do any of the "name brand" boats go thicker than .125 on the bottom or are the thicker bottoms mainly on the custom rigs? i have a buddy thaat has a gatortrax (not bashing GT) that hunts millwood. and i must say that they do use this boat. but looking at the bottom you would think it was made out of .40 if there is such a thing. stumps are da devil..........

I haven't been able to find one. They may build you one, but I don't think there's a production mm hull thicker that 1/8

Ok... Here goes my 2cents

#1 If you wan a shallow runnig hull, go lighter and wider
#2. If you want a tank (as stats previously) use 1\4" or thicker. Chit, build it ot of steel.. But, it will weight more, thus drawing more water, thus slowing you down. I hope this helps.

With Love,
uncle j