I am trying to put together a fairly cheap rig and I'm considering a 1542 tracker Jon boat with a 16hp godevil LT. I was wondering if the transom might need to be beefed up for that engine because of strength or for proper height. If anyone has this hull or has had this hull Id like to know how it worked out for you?

Those of us who have run LT's since the last century know those riveted jons can last a while, two friends have Lowe 1648's .072 gauge, been running GD 25's for over 25 years with no problems, no washboarding of hull....depends where you run or if you are abusive. I would look at other mfg, new trackers are not so good, they've upped the weight on my 2004 grizzly plenty! A used 15/16' might be a better deal in the long run....44/48" width is also recommended. Rivets can be fixed, you can add gatorglide on bottom and transoms can be beefed up fairly easily.

James, I run that hull with a gd23, its a great combination for me. The boat runs around 20 with a hunt load. Do not buy that hull if you will be running timber, cypress knees, rocks or anything other than grass, it will fall apart fast. As far as the transom goes there is a guy in central fl. running a 31 godevil on that hull and it does fine. I have gator glide on mine and it runs extremely well. Again, great hull for running grass but that is it, do not attempt to run obstructions or it will tear or bend.

Thanks for all the input guys, I won't be running timber or rocks mostly just shallow water(mud and sand bottom)and grass.

If you are mostly soloing, the 1542 will suffice; if however, you are hunting 2-3 hunters, the 1648 would be my choice with that 16 and then when you morph to more horses, that hull can withstand a bigger block!

If you decide to go bigger than the 1542 topper, i would suggest going with something other than a 1648 tracker, due to the mod v hull. There's all weld and weld built to look at also


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Good advice, Bernie, I also suggested another brand, almost anything else is better! The new ones are heavy azz hulls! Alweld now makes some fairly light true flat bottom hull!

Thanks for the advise guys

I currently run a 1542 Alweld and I can honestly say that it is fairly light compared to some other hulls I looked at without compromising on craftsmanship


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The 1544 alweld mud hulls are pretty nice


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I was looking at the alweld boats online does anyone know about what they cost compaired to tracker?

Look on the website and find a local dealer and ask them


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I had one of those toppers in high school. Bought it brand new and hooked the hell out of it, just shallow water and vegetation. It was a 1436 and had some absurd thin aluminum. The alwelds and weldbilts are much better than trackers topper line. If price is the main concern I would look at getting a craigslist special. Have you checked out weldbilt yet?

Just checked trackers website, looks like they are .063. I think the one I had was .043? Still doesn't have as much bracing as some of the others.

Tracker n BPS suck; they could be so much better, I have the 2004 1648 version open floor plan and it has served me well but no way would i go with them again, seaark, lowe, alumacraft, g3, etc, all better and custom is what I'd get!