1552 ?

[chevyrulz]

thanks

 

[hipster dufus]

i dont have any pics. or i cant upload. the split rear bench u see in the pics on the other post. it has a 48 in front deck with an extension. i have a plastic hatch. the new ones have an aluminum, which is better in my opinion. if u place ur floor mounted seat bases in the middle it is uncomfortable ,offset them to one side. i made a plywood deck with a seat base that straddles the rear benches for standing and fishing on. i offset the seat base to run the tiller. i have a remote ptt/t switch velcroe3d to the side of the right bench. u need a remote pt/t. the newr motors have the controls on the tiller. go to backwoods landing facebook page u can see my boat it is the one from monroe ga. go with 100 gage.i have a 55lb minn koya iam ambivalent about. it works. they wired my tm to the front storage area. the battery sits in there.i carpeted the decks, nothing fancy. it has a left side rear storage u can have plumbed for a livewell. if u get the lite package u get a 12v outlet. iam considering a bow mount hand control in the future, it takes up less room on the deck.i also bought it with a 20 in transom. let me know if i can help. where r u located?

 

[jonboatboy]

My next jon will prolly be a Weldbuilt. They look like tanks and you can order the anyway you want to. I got a hold of a great 9.8 mercury for my 1232 jon and after buying a bigger boat it doesn't get used but I would like to get a Weldbuilt 1436 or 1440 for the river and joy riding.

 

[oomph]

I am also looking into a Weldbilt boat and in the process of making the same decisions about my build.
Currently, I am using a 1436, and I need more room for gear and a 3rd person. A 1552 really isn't much bigger. (although it is more stable)

I was considering the 1652, but I recently spoke with Andy at Backwoods Landing and he steered me towards the 1752 instead. He claims it's better balanced and displaces water better in shallow water, which is what I primarily plan on using the boat in.

I am also trying to decide between a traditional bench seat or a split bench setup.

I noticed one build that looked interesting, it had a 4th seat in the rear of the boat, I assume for tiller duty. I do like the bonus of the added storage.

Hipster, did you offset all your seats to one side?

Another option is instead of doing the split bench seat is to go with a rear bench and the rear deck hatch option. You can configure the rear bench with multiple seat bases, so you can move the seat position if needed.

 

[chevyrulz]

the bonus of the added storage.

you can have storage in the rear bench same as you can get in the split rear bench.

a 1552 is worlds bigger than a 1436 when you're sitting in one in the duck blind.

the 1752 is great, except that it takes more power for the same speed, meaning you must carry more gas, costing more money, giving you more capacity for people/gear, but your paying for it with money, weight, draft, maneuverability, and hiding the boat itself in the blind.

I also want the smallest & lightest possible boat for moving around in my gravel the driveway on the trailer or pushing it back to the river because the tide went out on me.

It all depends on what you're trying to do. In the bay, the more boat the merrier except for the gas bill. In the timber, the less boat the better. I like to hunt a mix of everything, plus I fish. So for me, the 1552 is the perfect compromise between big water capability, small water accessibility, payload capacity, & purchase/operating cost. The major downfall to my 1436 was that bringing a 3rd passenger was sketchy, & a 4th downright unsafe. Even fishing/hunting 2 people you had to be careful because a 36" floor is not the most stable platform. Its flat bottom also didn't like rough water, although it took it like a champ. In rough water, length is your friend for sure.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

chevyrulz » Tue Jun 10, 2014 11:09 am[/url]"]

hotshotinn » Yesterday, 20:07[/url]"]Why a 1552 over a 1652 ?

mostly trivial stuff & personal preference, here's all the reasons I can think of:

less money

less weight (more speed, shallower draft, easier to move trailer in the driveway, easier to move if run aground or tide goes out)

less length (easier hide in the duck blind, more maneuverable on the trailer)

15' & below are exempt from certain regulations in certain states, namely Arkansas doesn't require a throwable on vessels under 16' (page 51 here https://www.boat-ed.com/assets/pdf/handbook/ar_handbook_entire.pdf)

lastly, everyone's got a 1652, but when's the last time you saw a 1552?

In my state of Illinois some of the public hunting areas require a 16' boat.

 

[chevyrulz]

I wonder why your state would legislate a boat's length? Very strange, but great to know. Thank you!

 

[turbotodd]

I think Havoc and perhaps Edge make a 1556. They are both fairly fast hulls-for a jon. Longitudinal ribs as opposed to the standard transverse ribs. Little stronger design. I've not ridden in a Havoc yet. Been in some 1550 Edge boats and don't care for them-but that is personal preference. I might like the 1556 better.

 

[chevyrulz]

1556?! i gotta see that

 

[turbotodd]

https://www.edgeduckboats.com/index.html

They are considered one of the faster hulls available at this time. Havoc is pretty close too, and may be a better boat for fishing? I don't have any experience with Havoc https://www.havocboats.com/

I looked at a BUNCH of boats when I bought mine. Weldbilt is cheap. They are slow. The ribs are tall, so if you put a floor in it, you lose about 5 or 6" of space. Or if you don't put a floor in, you are tripping of them. They also have more strakes than mine does, and all those ribs tend to suck the boat down against the water slowing it down.

Have you looked at War Eagle? No 1550 available, but I'm HIGHLY impressed with my 1548. Rides awesome for a tin boat. And built like a tank. The original "duck boat". I use mine for fishing; shallow draft, turns on a dime, rides great, dry ride, stable, nothing I don't like about it. They do have a 'new' 1544 available now which is their faster hull. Rigged one recently with a 25 yamaha; owner says it's almost as fast as the Edge boat that was stolen from him. He had some problems with the Edge, to my knowledge it was some cracking in a couple welds. Factory took care of it; but all it takes is one weld to crack and you're questioning the integrity of the entire boat, and the integrity of the company when such a small thing happens. Never had a single problem with mine and occasionally I use it pretty hard. One nice thing about War Eagle is that they are truly custom boats. You want an off-the-wall option, most of the time they'll accommodate you. https://www.wareagleboats.com

 

[chevyrulz]

bought a 1546, price & weight won me over, pics in my signature