BowFishing Country banner
21 - 40 of 42 Posts
Not the way it,s sitting the rear axel is a torsion axel when you are sitting on a bump sometimes it is not touching. the pipes extend below the bottom of the boat about 5 inches so you get to use all of their floating ability my horse power is not quite enough to get up totally on the pipes when wide open if I could it would really boggy kinda like a tri-hull. other than the hull the pipes and the pods are the only floatation we have shouldn,t sink.
Couple of other points iput 14 inch walk ways from the deck to the back and I split the side rail with them 1/2 inside the other half outside the boat should have put the walkway all outside over the pipes would have given a lot more room inside the boat. the fan is a 6 blade now we double stacked it and put side panels from the deck to the back the boat now has about 34 inch sides.
 
The engine is 1978 85 hp merc. just guessing between 25 to 28 mph. with 3 people really need a more modern motor 115 to 125 hp. but don,t know if the old bottom would handle it this was and old boat we had for years really was kinda beat up. If you scrounge for materials and I already had the trailers took 2 and made one already had some alum. and the seats did all the work myself already had the 85 horse merc. still I put about 6800 dollars into it. The pipes were between 12 and 15 dollars per running foot and the shipping from Nebraska was almost as much as the cost of the pipes.
 
Actually now that I have some experience with the pipes think I like that way better it adds a margin of safety and balance!
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
UPDATE: sorry there are a lot of unanswered questions, I haven't been on for awhile due to my senior trip to DC and New York City. Never seen so many yuppies in one place :laugh:

Anyway, since I've posted I've added hydro turf to the deck and floor, added Bigfoot switches for the lights and troller, and most of all, covered it with a lot of blood! I'll get some pics of my current setup when I get home. I absolutely love the hydro turf, spent 8 hours standing on it yesterday, and never got aches in my back the whole time!

There have been some questions about the cost, truth is I really don't know, but I estimate after my new troller, all the material, 4 spools of wire, and a bottle of argon for my welder, I'm in it for about 1300 bucks.

I posted earlier about the stability, and honestly, it just took deck time for me to get used to it. Putting the weight of 2 batteries and a full fuel tank in the back really helped bring the a$$ end down in the water, and it feels just as stable as it used to.

All in all, I love this boat, and have no regrets on doing anything that I did with it. If there are any more questions I'd be happy to answer! Thanks!
 
I just built a 1648 this year myself, looks identical to your hull. I have to say I love it. Favorite boat thus far. I see your from southern Indiana too I live on the Ohio river roughly 45-55 minutes south of Patoka lake. I got 5 batteries and 6 gal fuel in back of mine adding beavertail pods this coming weekend.



 
I just built a 1648 this year myself, looks identical to your hull. I have to say I love it. Favorite boat thus far. I see your from southern Indiana too I live on the Ohio river roughly 45-55 minutes south of Patoka lake. I got 5 batteries and 6 gal fuel in back of mine adding beavertail pods this coming weekend.

View attachment 188249

View attachment 188257
good job on the boat like that deck!!
 
21 - 40 of 42 Posts