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Author Topic: Boats  (Read 1468 times)
Austesus
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« on: January 01, 2020, 11:50:41 am »

Who on here is hunting out of a boat? I’m going to be hunting the river a lot more and have buddy’s that can take me but I’m thinking about getting my own boat. I currently have a 2019 seadoo RXT300 fully loaded, so I’m thinking about either selling it or trading it in to get a boat. I payed 21k for it and still owe around 16k. I think my payment would be slightly cheaper with a boat. Been looking at some stuff online and I don’t want anything longer than a 17ft, possibly a 16ft. And want something between a 44-55” width. I like the gator trax boats a lot but nowhere close to me sells them. I want to look at some stuff in person before I make a decision. My buddy that hunts all this area said he uses a 1456 Lowes welded boat with a Suzuki 40hp outboard. I was looking at mud motors, then looked at outboards after he told me that and thought I could save money that way but it looks like there really isn’t a price difference, and I don’t care about going fast so I’m leaning more towards the mud motors.

This would be a deep and wide river with a decent current, and I would be going primarily in the deep guts, and in some tight creeks. We hunted yesterday and I went in a tight creek in my buddy’s 1438 boat and had to maneuver through some fallen logs and hanging vines and branches in the water. I would like to be able to go through fairly shallow water also. My buddy with the 40hp Suzuki puts that boat through hell, but I figure a mud motor might be a little more suited to the abuse. My only concern with that is having a load of 3-4 people, 5-6 dogs, and 4-5 pigs in the boat and still being able to get back up river to the landing without struggling in the current. And I want a boat strong enough to get over some logs and hit some stuff and not get damaged (slow speeds).

Any of you guys using boats in similar situations? What are y’all using for it? Thanks in advance


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Cajun
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« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2020, 01:23:02 pm »

Most of our winter hunting is done out of boats and there is no perfect boat for waterways. Where we hunt in the marsh I use  a 17’ flatboat with a Susuki 115. We travel big waterways where we hunt but ideally a mud boat is the way to go to get thru shallow cuts when the tide is out.  My boat is really to big for the smaller rivers. 14-15’ boats can really get you through some of the creeks that flow off the river. My boat with dog boxes.


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Austesus
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« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2020, 04:08:37 pm »

Thanks Cajun, that basically cancels out the 17 foot for me. I don’t know anyone running anything bigger than a 16ft so wasn’t sure how it would do. My main concern would be turning around and maneuvering in tight stuff. The river is just how I’m getting to the hunting spots. The few people around here that hunt the river hunt the river itself and the banks. My mentor kills more pigs than anyone in that area and it’s because he actually goes back in the guts and creeks and gets away from the main river and gets to where the pigs aren’t pressured.

I originally was looking at the godevil 1636 but after using my buddies boat yesterday it was way too skinny to be comfortable. I want something more stable, if I have a strong boat I wouldn’t mind it being wider because I would just go slow and plow through the tighter stuff. Rubbing up against logs and over them won’t bother me. I want something with a decent sized platform on the front to clip the dogs to as well. The dog boxes are neat, I haven’t seen them like that before


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Thrailkille1989
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« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2020, 05:04:56 pm »




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Thrailkille1989
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« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2020, 05:08:09 pm »




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Thrailkille1989
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« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2020, 05:08:38 pm »

16x52


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Quick23
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« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2020, 06:40:51 pm »

I’m running a 16/48 with a 40 Yamaha jet drive gets me where i need to be it’s gets a hard on for shallow water
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Austesus
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« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2020, 07:09:44 pm »

16x52


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How do you like that size? For tighter stuff?


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Austesus
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« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2020, 07:10:16 pm »

I’m running a 16/48 with a 40 Yamaha jet drive gets me where i need to be it’s gets a hard on for shallow water

Can you post a few pictures of your setup?


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« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2020, 07:11:44 pm »

I have to take some it’s just a regular ol flatbottom  16/48 with a jet drive motor


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Reuben
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« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2020, 07:45:27 pm »

I had an 18 ft. deep and wide with tunnel hull with 115 Yamaha...all the bells and whistles...it was good for the deeper bays and bigger rivers...supposed to have been good for shallow bays...sometimes it was too big to handle...

My only suggestion is to buy a tough boat and keep it light and just big enough to get the job done...maneuvering and going over logs and shallow bay’s you’ll be glad you kept it reasonably easy to handle...
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Austesus
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« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2020, 09:54:47 am »

That’s basically what I was thinking Reuben. I doubt I’ll ever take it to big water like a lake, so speed really isn’t a concern as long as I’m not fighting the current when I’m loaded. I want something wide enough to be stable and short enough to turn in tight areas and get turned around. I’m not trying to run in actual mud like the duck hunters, but I wanna be able to get in small shallow stuff without the worry of destroying an outboard. My buddy donnie said his 40hp Suzuki does it all and he thinks mud motors are over rated, but he’s also been driving boats his whole life and is getting close to 60 years old. Lot more experience than me so I’m sure that has a lot to do with him being able to make the outboard work. I’m going to look at Lowcountry boats now, they’re local here in Columbia and build boats to order so I’m gonna look at options and figure out a price. On the phone they recommended a 1754 or 1854 for carrying a load like I want, but to me that just seems too long for that tight stuff


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Thrailkille1989
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« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2020, 08:12:39 pm »

1652 is perfect for me iv hunted and fished the Sabine River my whole life I put my boat places most people wouldn’t believe


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Austesus
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« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2020, 11:10:28 am »

When I went and talked to one of the owners of lowcountry boats yesterday I sat down with him and built the boat I want, they don’t have much choice on sizes. I finally decided on their Swampfox model 1754 with a modified V hull so I can weave through tighter stuff. It will have a large hunt deck on the front, the rear hunt deck behind the transom, catwalks down both sides, handrails down both sides the full length of the boat, rear storage boxes at the back of the boat at the end of the catwalks for seats, a grab bar, hydro turf on all the surfaces, and a gator tail 40XD surface drive mud motor. The boat is longer than I want but I figure with a strong boat and a strong mud motor I can kinda force it through tighter stuff than an outboard because I won’t worry about breaking it. Now I’m just waiting on the dealership to let me know what kind of trade in deal they can work me for my jet ski. The boats are built to order and will take 6-8 weeks. One plus is that customer service should be great since they build them 20 minutes from me. Here is a picture of almost the same setup that is on their Facebook page...


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boatrunner
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« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2020, 01:45:03 pm »

call me about you boat, I hunt out of a boat 98% of the time 281-682-2332
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Cajun
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« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2020, 06:50:15 pm »

That's a good looking boat. I think you will like it.
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Bayou Cajun Plotts
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Reuben
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« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2020, 08:43:56 pm »

That's a good looking boat. I think you will like it.

I agree...also looks like it can take a beating if needed...
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Training dogs is not about quantity, it's more about timing, the right situations, and proper guidance...After that it's up to the dog...
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Reuben
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« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2020, 08:08:06 pm »

Austesus...I went hunting on a homemade boat the other day and it was a very nice boat...something it had on it that I think would be very useable on your new boat...up at the front he had a hand rail so two could ride standing up if we chose to do so...this way we could see further in the marsh and flats...

The rails were made out of round tubing about 3/4” in diameter...
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Training dogs is not about quantity, it's more about timing, the right situations, and proper guidance...After that it's up to the dog...
A hunting dog is born not made...
Austesus
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« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2020, 10:34:40 am »

I like that idea Reuben. I’m sure my hunting partner would like that. I got a call from the dealership this morning. They had said that they could work a trade in for me, but this morning they said they could only offer me $10k for my jet ski (I paid $21k brand new over the summer) and since I still owe $15k on it I would have to put $4500 down to get the boat. That’s a big nogo for me, so I’m trying to sell the jet ski my self now so that I can get myself a boat


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Reuben
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« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2020, 07:24:10 pm »

Good luck on selling the jet ski...I YouTubed the gator tail and I think it is a great choice...makes me want to buy one as well...lol

I might look around for a used one with the same motor you are looking to buy...
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Training dogs is not about quantity, it's more about timing, the right situations, and proper guidance...After that it's up to the dog...
A hunting dog is born not made...
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