I put 3 400 watt hps's on mne and it works great! really depends on what kind of genny you wil be using though!!!

 

with a 1448 id stay as low as you can.....but 3 400 watters will do...

 

If u raise it just be careful. It can be done and has but it depends how many ppl you fish if you want a raised deck or not.

 

I have a 1448 with 6 150 HPS' In my opinion you should stick with a flush deck. The higher you go the more tippy the boat will become. A 1448 isn't the most stable to begin with. I built a flush deck and I really like it. It's made from 1" 16gauge square tubing. The 400's would be great but I would do a remote ballist box if you go with those to take the weight off of the front of the boat. Also not a bad idea if you get the 150's that have caps.

Here are some pictures of my boat.

 

I like your deck. Any idea what that steel frame weighs? I'm thinking of doing the same thing with a 1648 that I bought last fall.

 

The frame of the deck without the lights or plywood is probably under 70lbs. I could lift in on and off by myself while I was doing my build. However it is way over built. I put the braces in closer than they need to be. With the plywood, lights, and wiring it got heavier than I had hoped but it's not that bad. I could haved saved a lot of weight by not overbuilding the frame and using a different decking material but all in all I really like it.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Creek runner that is a good looking setup. I think we are going to stay with the deck we have and not elevate. I do believe we are going to try and run 6-150 watt hps lights to try and get more overall water coverage. We we build it if I can figure out how to put pictures on here I will post them up. Thanks again.