G3 1548 FL

[Chief2]

I'm in the hunt for a jon boat. I've never owned one before. I've always fished from my canoe. But, getting older, I am liking my comforts a lot more. Hauling a canoe up and down river banks and loading/unloading from the top of my car has gotten... well, a bit old. My wife enjoys going as well, so something larger would be welcome.

I've been looking at a G3 1548 FL, and think it might be the one for me. I can't locate any reviews on this boat and was wondering if anyone here either owns one or is familiar enough with this boat to give me a report.

Thanks in advance. Any info will be appreciated.

 

[JMichael]

Lots of G3 owners on the forum so I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback as they check in.

 

[Chief2]

Well, it appears my request is going unanswered.

 

[JMichael]

Gotta have patience around here. I think most mbrs are still employed and not everyone logs on every day. I will say that from everything I've read on here about G3's, they have a good reputation.

 

[200racing]

i held off on answering because i was unsure if if my boat and the one your interested in share many hull characteristics. but if you want info you got it :mrgreen:

g3 is owned by yamaha so any new combo should have that the outboard, i love my yamaha.

my boat is 17.5 ft long i have never fooled with measured the bottom as it has a slight v all the way to the transom, it measures 64'' at the rear gunnels. with my 50 Yamaha i run 35mph solo 33mph 2 up and 30 with 3. when i checked my mpg i was getting around 5mpg. it drafts 5-6 inches.

even with the slight vee to it my hull rides like a flat bottom when chop starts showing up.

the hull are made very well made lot of bracing made of good thick aluminum.

newer models come with a transoms that cant rot. and decked models come with a lifetime warranty on the wood to the original owner and it can be transferred to the next owner

i took it down the the bare hull during my project so you can see that in the link in my sig if you want.

ill try to answer any questions you have.

 

[Chief2]

Thanks for the info.

I'm really of two minds about a jon. There are a number of freshwater lakes nearby that do not allow gasoline-powered motors. So I've considered just finding a used jon with only a trolling motor. But then there are two large impoundments and two rivers where a gas-powered motor is a must. I also have a son who lives in coastal N. Carolina that loves to fish, which causes me to think about a jon large enough for the inlets, bays, and rivers near him.

After looking at jon boats until my eyes crossed, I felt that the G3 1548 fL would be a good all-around boat for me. Their reputation seems solid, and there is a dealer reasonably close who has what seems to be a good package deal.

 

[200racing]

how big of a outboard are you thinking or are you just going to go electric only every where? probably cant go to high in horsepower before they start bolting through the transom or get to heavy to make removing a very hard task.

 

[Chief2]

how big of a outboard are you thinking or are you just going to go electric only every where? probably cant go to high in horsepower before they start bolting through the transom or get to heavy to make removing a very hard task.

The boat comes with a 25hp tillered Yamaha outboard. The dealer said he would put a 46 ftpd Motor Guide w/ foot control on front. I can see leaving the motor off most of the time since I would likely be fishing the "no gas motor" lakes most often.

 

[gillhunter]

how big of a outboard are you thinking or are you just going to go electric only every where? probably cant go to high in horsepower before they start bolting through the transom or get to heavy to make removing a very hard task.

The boat comes with a 25hp tillered Yamaha outboard. The dealer said he would put a 46 ftpd Motor Guide w/ foot control on front. I can see leaving the motor off most of the time since I would likely be fishing the "no gas motor" lakes most often.

I run my 1648 MV total electric most of the time. I would recomend at least a 55 ftpd Trolling Motor. Also you might want to check the weight of the model of Yamaha that comes with the boat. I think there is fair amount of weight difference between the 4 stroke and 2 stroke models. My 9.9 4-stroke is a little over 100lbs and it's about as much as I want to handle alone taking it on and off the boat.

Looking forward to seeing your project!

 

[oomph]

Seems as though nobody around here owns this model boat

I am actually considering it myself as an alternative to 1448 Alumacraft. Would be interested in any opinions.

 

[Johnny]

I have always had heavy wood or fiberglass deep Vee hulls
the same in aluminums . . . either Deep Vee or flat bottom all the way.

a few months ago, I purchased my first tricked out 1648 bass boat (1988 model)
with the "Modified Vee" hull and I LOVE IT !!! Very stable from side to side.
Not as smooth as the Deep Vee in heavy chop but not nearly as rough as a flat bottom.
I think it is a very good compromise of both styles.

My vote is for the MV - - - and am currently searching for a 1860 MV.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

taking a 25hp 4-stroke off is at least a two man job....stout men at that.

Love my G3 1656 CCJ.

I've looked at the 1548 FL at a dealership. Nice little boat. Vinyl floor is nice. No storage. Little tight for two grown men casting (in my opinion)...but manageable as long as you're not taking dummies with you. 25hp will probably take it to 25 - 28 on flat water with one man. Will be a very nice step up from fishing from canoe.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Also....recommend electric start on 25hp 4-stroke. I had a 25 yammy 4stroke on my old boat....heavy little sucker. Not sure if they offer electric trim on that model, but would be worth it. Tilting that sucker from inside the boat can be a bit of a pain....not bad for a youngin.

 

[Keystone]

My G3 V167T is the nicest boat I have owned. It is IMO the best built tin boat there is. But it's not a Jon. I know little about Jon boats as they are not something that would work for my kind of fishing so I pay little mind to them as far a specs ect. But it is built by G3 so I would be you will get a great boat.

 

[PsychoXP18CC]

One of my best friends has a G3 1548 with 25hp Yamaha 4s on it. He has never had any trouble with the boat at all. I've never personally been in it, when we fish together we take my XP18, but I've been around the boat a lot. It's a tough boat and works for his purposes. He fishes anything from larger open water when the weather is decent, to rivers and creeks when the fish are spawning. He accesses public land with it deer hunting, and uses it to get to his duck blind as well. The boat has gotten very little rest in the 3-4yrs he's had it, and it's as dependable as ever. His only problem was when he let it sit too long with ethanol fuel in, and had to have the carbs serviced.

He did have two separate wheel bearing episodes on the trailer, but I suspect lack of maintenance to be the problem there.

I have and Xpress, which is owned by Yamaha now too. They're another good brand to look at if you haven't already. But then again, any of the major manufacturers build decent boats now days, and you could have a rare issue with any one of them too.

 

[turbotodd]

Not a bad boat. That said, I've not fished from one...just looked at 'em and sat in one. I didn't like that there was no storage, but the one I bought (war eagle 548LDV) also doesn't have any storage, and honestly I don't miss it much. Cooler doubles as a livewell if I want it to. Mostly it's used for the anchor and stringers, and ice. The G3 isn't known as a particularly fast hull, but stable. With an F25LEHA and it's factory-installed 9 7/8x10 1/2" prop, expect mid 25 to mid 26 mph, maybe 27 on a great day.

If the F25 is an "A" model, see if you can get a "B" model (F25LEHB)-which has gas assisted tilt. It's price is only like $100 more and WELL worth it. It is almost impossible to manually tilt a long shaft F25 Yamaha without gas assist. To get PT&T, you have to upgrade to the F25LA motor, which is a remote steered motor, then add the expensive tiller kit. All said & done, you'll have nearly $5000 into it. It is, however, awesome to have, and the big tiller is nice, especially if you mount the motor on a jack plate or similar. The "B" motors (gas assist), some of the "A" motors and all of the PT&T motors have a standard BIA bolt pattern, which means removing it for an electric-only lake is going to be challenging in that you'd have to remove the bolts, lift the motor off, then plug the holes back up so they don't leak. The long shafts don't have clamps. The short shaft motors, however, do-but the short shaft motors aren't available with PT&T or gas assist.

Electric start is nice, but the Yamaha F25 starts really easy with the rope. Thank you Mr. Compression Release. The long shaft electric start model with gas assist is around 183 lbs. You won't be lifting that off very easily. Back when I was young and dumb, I used to lift the 40's on and off by myself. Roughly the same weight. Not anymore. Use a crane or fork lift now. The old back just won't let me do the stuff I used to.