New here, and love the site. Definitely been bitten by the mod bug!!
I know the obvious answer to this question is bigger is better. But my case may be a bit different. A little background first. Recently moved to a sub-division that has river (Potomac) access, SWEET!!! Between dams 4 and 5 in case anyone is familiar with the area. Sold my Dads old 12' jon boat and trolling motor he gave me right before we moved. It was a rickety mess, but floated and I've even fished out of it with 3 guys on occasion, LOL. So I'm now looking for a decent 14 or 16' boat to mod out similiar to what dixie_boyles did to his 14 footer.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12178&start=0
I like the open space in his mod and i think it would work perfect for me as I plan to duck hunt and do a lot of catfishing on the potomac with mine. I hated having to deal with the middle seat on my old 12 footer.
Now, my dilemma is I'm 6'8" 250lbs and would be fishing and hunting most of the time with another person. So even with just a floored boat and no deck, stability is a big concern for me. Especially if I'm going to be night fishing or duck hunting when the water temp. is in the 30's or 40's. So a bigger boat would obviously give me more stability. BUT, the area of the Potomac I'll be running around in can get rather shallow. Also, my sub-divisions "boat ramp" is just a dirt slope, no concrete. I can easily back down to the waters edge and pull out my '07 F-150 without a problem in 4-wheel drive. Add a boat and trailer and I have no idea. So I guess my question is how much of a difference, weight wise, stability wise and ability to traverse shallow waters am I looking at between say 1438 and a 1642.
Sorry for the long post, just trying to give you guys a decent picture of what I'm trying to accomplish. THANKS!!!
I know the obvious answer to this question is bigger is better. But my case may be a bit different. A little background first. Recently moved to a sub-division that has river (Potomac) access, SWEET!!! Between dams 4 and 5 in case anyone is familiar with the area. Sold my Dads old 12' jon boat and trolling motor he gave me right before we moved. It was a rickety mess, but floated and I've even fished out of it with 3 guys on occasion, LOL. So I'm now looking for a decent 14 or 16' boat to mod out similiar to what dixie_boyles did to his 14 footer.
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12178&start=0
I like the open space in his mod and i think it would work perfect for me as I plan to duck hunt and do a lot of catfishing on the potomac with mine. I hated having to deal with the middle seat on my old 12 footer.
Now, my dilemma is I'm 6'8" 250lbs and would be fishing and hunting most of the time with another person. So even with just a floored boat and no deck, stability is a big concern for me. Especially if I'm going to be night fishing or duck hunting when the water temp. is in the 30's or 40's. So a bigger boat would obviously give me more stability. BUT, the area of the Potomac I'll be running around in can get rather shallow. Also, my sub-divisions "boat ramp" is just a dirt slope, no concrete. I can easily back down to the waters edge and pull out my '07 F-150 without a problem in 4-wheel drive. Add a boat and trailer and I have no idea. So I guess my question is how much of a difference, weight wise, stability wise and ability to traverse shallow waters am I looking at between say 1438 and a 1642.
Sorry for the long post, just trying to give you guys a decent picture of what I'm trying to accomplish. THANKS!!!