Can anyone recommend a boat that comes with flotation?

I have been looking at a Gator-Tail Extreme 17x54, but I will be hunting in deep water as well as the shallows. The idea of being in 30 feet of water at 4:00 AM in 10 degree weather doesn't appeal to me. Also, buying two boats isn't an option.

I have seen Phowler, Gator Trax, Pro Drive (SBX), and Xpress include flotation. Can the owner of a mud boat wtih flotation chime in and offer some recommendations?

I wonder if buying a Gator-Tail with flotation will come with a capacity plate stating that it complies with safety standards, and not the plate that specifies shallow water use.

Giga is your friend:grin: Send him a pm.

A Go-Devil boat saved a good friend of mine's life down in Venice this year on New Year's Day. Old broken gas line just below the surface put a 3-4" hole in the bottom, threw him out, and filled the boat up quick! Go-Devil boat and LT submarined it's way back to a platform where some guys were working and got him to help safely.


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I am leaning towards a GT or a PD. Although the simplicity of a GD is attractive, reverse is important to me.

Aside from safety issues, I would always be worried about insurance claims if the boat sank.

Boat choice doesn't have anything to do with motor choice. Get whatever boat you want and put the motor you like on it.

GT will add floatation if you ask for it.

Actually raises a good question. If you sink a boat in deep water with a boat that is for shallow water use would your insurance cover?

Contact Pete Willet at WC Customs. I had same concerns as you regarding sinking in deep water and Pete can add the foam to your rig, and build exactly what you want for same or less than factory rigs. I also wanted 3/16" bottom and that, plus foam, moved me to a custom boat. I got mine in time to use it the last couple of weeks of the season and you can see pictures in the the boat review section. Boat is an 1854 with 35 stock GTR, hunt deck, 6' front deck. Gave up storage in the bow and hunt deck although we did get a large gun /gear box squeezed into the rear of the front deck above the fuel tanks, and put foam in the floor. Foam in the huntdeck and bow is a pour in and is completly sealed so it cannot absorb water, used styrofoam house insulation sheets in the floor that will not absorb water. Boat is a tank. but just what I need for jumping stumps in Tbend. 25 mph with me and a dog and hunting gear20-21 with same load and 2 large guys.

What if the boat came with flotation but you removed it?

That would depend on if the agent knows boats but I say that could go either way

Agree with Giga. No USCG approval/rating plate, no assurance that it should float when swamped.

It sacrifices an awful lot of space, but for some of us it is worth it.

FWIW, the foam Phowler uses doesn't seem to absorb water. I had to cut away a small piece of foam to expand my electrical panel. I weighed it, then put it under a weight in a bucket of water for a month. Then I took it out, blotted it dry and weighed it again. No difference!