Reed's 1542 Alumacraft Swamp Sled.

Ictalurus · Post by **Ictalurus** » 17 Mar 2011, 09:07

Looks sharp

Running in the mids 30's

That must feel like your flying in a 1542!

cmatthews_jm · Post by **cmatthews_jm** » 17 Mar 2011, 13:35

Nice looking boat man, I hope I can get mine to performing like that. And looking like that too :p

fatherfire89 · Post by **fatherfire89** » 17 Mar 2011, 14:53

Heck ya man. Looks great

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 18 Mar 2011, 08:35

Thanks guys!

I got the console painted last night and ordered some custom numbers from vinyl Images (site sponsor plug).

I am leaving work early today to pick up another 2 inch ball hitch and some cheap wal-mart numbers to temporarily put on till the good ones get here and then take her for a test drive. Cant wait to see how she does.

My wife took the SUV this morn so I am gonna use my honda civic si to tow and put in. lol. It has a hitch and a reciever that I use for a bike rack, and is rated for 1500lbs trailer so I should be good. the tounge weight is nothing with this boat and trailer. I will take a pic when I get it all hooked up it should look pretty funny hooked to my car.

Here is a pic with the console painted. The paint wasn't quite dry yet but it looks pretty good. Im happy with it anyway.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 18 Mar 2011, 21:01

i got to take it out today for a 3 hours. The boat ran great and handled better than any flatbottom I have ever had. The weight of the decks and flooring helped to make it stable and it does not slide at all, it leans in the turns, and grabs like V hull.

It hopped up on plane just fine with 2 guys but I would prefer it to get on plane a little faster, but without power tilt and trim and it set in the current position it was pretty good. The top speed howerver was a lot faster than I thought it was going to be. I got it to full speed and then backed off about a 1/4 throttle and she cruised real nice. I did not have a gps with me so Im not sure but It felt like what my mech said was right somewhere around 34-36 at top speed. Cruising speed felt like about 26 or so. I also did a lot of slow speed cruising (no wake speed) through the forest. It only burnt 3 1/2
gallons of fuel in almost 4 hours of continuos use.

I got it back in the woods pretty far before I hit bottom and had to hop out into the creek and lift the boat off some mud and sand. Then about another 1/2 mile I hit a log and motor kicked up. By this time the creek was just wide enough for me to turn the boat around and bounce over the log again. Glad I live in F I was only going idle speed for about 3 miles when I was deep in the woods. l am glad I live in Florida it was around 80 and sunny. Water temp is still too cool for me to want to go swimming but there were several girls in bikini's on boats and at some of the beaches several were swimming.

A trolling motor is a must for me to really get back in the woods. The Creek goes another 4-5 miles from where I turned around it also opens up again in several spots.

I saw several turtles and squirrels but no alligators or manatee today. I was more out on the water just getting a feel for the boat and putting it through the paces. Had a great time and cant wait to take it out again. I do have a few pics to post in little while.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 18 Mar 2011, 21:23

Here's a couple shots of Black Creek in North FL where I live. And one of my friend Marcus driving. He had never been on a boat much less drove one. He liked it!

jasper60103 · Post by **jasper60103** » 18 Mar 2011, 22:56

Awesome mod and sounds like you had fun today.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 19 Mar 2011, 21:42

Although it was great I did notice that it sat a little lower in the back than I would have liked. So today I removed the rear deck completely. I then used the little hatch that was attached on hinges to cover the gas tank area, to make a cover that just covers the opening. I secured it down to the boat with 4 strips of self adhesive Velcro. Now when I need to access the transom/gas tank area all I have to do is pull it up.

After I removed all the wood I weighed it.....In all, I'm 32lbs lighter.

Next I think Im going to rebuild the bench/storage area that my seats are mounted to with 19/32nds plywood instead of the 2x6's that its currently build with. That should be another considerable drop in weight.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 21 Mar 2011, 10:47

Here is what the back deck looks like now without 32lbs of wood on it.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 24 Mar 2011, 11:03

I hooked it up to the Civic last night, towed it to the boat ramp and went for about an hour ride and pulled it back out.

Its a pretty steep boat ramp and I didn't have any trouble at all. Didn't even know it was back there.

Ictalurus · Post by **Ictalurus** » 24 Mar 2011, 14:14

Hey Reed, just noticed this, do the bunks on the trailer reach the transom of your boat. Haven't seen a pic on the trailer until now and it looks a little short.

St.Johnsriver · Post by **St.Johnsriver** » 24 Mar 2011, 16:01

Looks good man.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 24 Mar 2011, 21:47

Ictalurus wrote:Hey Reed, just noticed this, do the bunks on the trailer reach the transom of your boat. Haven't seen a pic on the trailer until now and it looks a little short.

Not quite, They are a little short. About 14 inches from the back of the hull. It doesn't seem to affect anything, so im not worried about it. I am able to sit in it and drive it off the trailer no problem. I wouldn't sit in it without the trailer attached to the ball though. The boat and trailer both would tip up on me. I can get in the boat when its in the yard as long as I don't go too far behind the wheel base. But it wouldn't matter if the bunks when all the way or not, it wold still tip on me.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 24 Mar 2011, 21:52

The trailer is really for a 14 ft boat. But I couldn't pass it up for $350.00 (NO TAX) New tires and wheels, new bunks, new carpet, new lights an wiring, and its a drive on. I can live with it being a little short.

reedjj · Post by **reedjj** » 24 Mar 2011, 22:01

Took it out today for the first time alone (kinda). Very easy to launch and recover. I got deeper in the woods than I have ever been. I got about 2 miles past where I got hung up last time. I saw some wild turkeys and about a million turtles and 1 Manatee! Im not from Fl so seeing the manatee was a first for me.

Only hit a few logs at idle speed that barely kicked my motor up, and I only ran aground once lol. My best friend and spotter up front wasn't doing his job!