Boat build decision

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cbmoore

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Last summer I purchased an old lowe 1436 with a 15hp 4 stroke. I have been wanting to do some modifications such as adding decks, lights etc before summer time rolls around again.

I started thinking and had the idea of selling, and upgrading to a 1648 Instead to build off of it. Would it be worth it to delay the mods and upgrade boats or just stick with what I have. The boat is used mostly for fishing, Rivers smaller lakes, and on the waterways and occasional hunting.

Thanks for any input!
 
Sell the hull, save the 15 lol. That's what I'd do ha

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Most of the 16' rentals around here have 15's on them. Mine has a 35. If you're going to contract a case of "twofootitis" beware of the side effects of "fivehorseitis". Lol.
I had a 20 on my 16' and it planed easily with two adults and a kid. About 500lbs. Bigger and wider planes easier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
RiverBottomOutdoors said:
Go for the 16ft. Experience tells me that if you build out your 14ft, you'll sell it in a year or two and buy the 16 anyway.

:LOL2: :LOL2: X2 on this^^^^

If the 15 is in decent shape, I'd hang on to it though.
 
That is a personal question only you can answer. How much is a bigger boat worth to you? How much will you use it? Are you capable of handling it? Do you go out alone or with others? Bigger boats usually have bigger maintenance. Lots of questions to ask yourself.
 
Thanks for the Advice guys. My only concern is would the 15hp be enough to plane the boat with two adults and fishing gear? not having to upgrade motors would make the boat fit my budget a lot better.

Also does anyone have any experience with the Alumacraft boats with the split center seat. I really like the open floor plan of ncs models. and saw the split center seat one the other day and thought it may be a cool place to mount a fish finder. or other electronics.
 
Longer wider boat is easier to plane. When I went from 14-16, my 20 planed it easier. 15 would plane my 16' at 300lbs with 2 people easily. That's what was on it........you will always want more. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Two feet makes a big difference. The width is really what matters though. I have a 1648 and, to me, it is the narrowest a boat should be if you are going to be on any decent sized body of water. Years ago a friend of my Grandpa's invited us to stay in his trailer on Reelfoot and use his boat. Not exactly sure what the width was but it was a 16 foot jon and much more narrow than a 48. The thing was very tippy. Three of us fished out of my Grandpa's old Lowe 1648 no problem without concerns about moving too much. In this boat if one of us shifted too much everyone felt it and reacted accordingly, which caused the boat to tip in the opposite direction. So all day we tipped back and forth. Felt very much like a canoe. A wider footprint on the water is much more comfortable to be in. If you fish with kids...get a wider boat.
I can't speak specifically about the boat you mentioned with the split center seat, but I did mod mine to split the seat and it was the best thing I did. Opens things up so much and since I use the boat for duck hunting too it is so much easier to get around it in waders. I have my two deep cycle batteries in the two separate seats, which helps distribute the weight.
As far as the 15 horse on a 16 goes, my grandpa always had a 9.9 on his 1648. We fished a few lakes that had 10 horse limits, so it was often the only option. We didn't break any speed records but it got three of us to where we needed to go. He also had a 20 horse that he threw on from time to time and it felt like we were flying then! I think you will be ok on planing out, but I just about guarantee you will be looking to upgrade. When I bought my boat it had a 1971 Johnson 25 on it. It moved the boat pretty well, but it was about on it's last leg. Last year I bought a 2002 4 stroke Yamaha 25. I am hoping that it is a propeller issue, but it doesn't push the boat nearly as well. I kind of wish I had held out for a 30 or a 40 now.
 
So, Ive been looking around at a few local dealers and I have came up with two options.

1. Alumacraft 1648 mv NCS with a 25hp
2.Alumacraft 1650 FAW with a 25 hp yamaha.

both of them are within about 200 dollars of each other when all said and done and cant decide between the two. I like the welded one but its kind of a heavy boat for the 25hp. I also like the MV because it might cut waves a little better or turn better but it does give up some fishing room. Also not sure how I feel about the floors being slanted in. Just wanted to get some input on the two boats.
 
A 36" bottom to a 48" bottom is night and day difference. IMO the stability is exponentially better even though it is only 33% wider.

I would say sell the boat and keep the motor for now. Around here it seems a nice newer motor on an older hull never seems to draw a good price. People who are willing to pay a good amount for a newer used motor typically don't want an old hull to go along with it and people who don't mind the old hull can't afford the extra cost the motor adds.

Check out my boat. The link in my sig will take you to my modification page. With it rigged out as shown, my 15hp 2 stroke will push two lightweight adults about 20 mph with decent holeshot. If you got a similar boat I would try the 15hp (just make sure it's propped correctly before writing it off) and upgrade if necessary.
 
Only reason I see to keep a 1436 over something bigger is if you want it to be small enough you can throw it on a cart & move around by yourself. If you're going to be trailering it everywhere anyway why not get a bigger boat?
 

Latest posts

Top