TRACKER STABILITY QUESTION

[Steelman1963]

First thanks for taking time to read my post. The question I have is I have the opportunity to buy a 2008 tracker Grizzly 1448. I'm a pretty big guy 250 mostly fish with a buddy he's about 175. The question I have is how stable is this boat? I doubt that I will ever be able to buy another boat me being at my age that I am so I'm trying to be overcautious by asking how this boat is when standing. I have MS and my balance can be a little bit troublesome sometimes. I fish exclusively in small ponds there will be no gas motor on this boat, all electric no other boat traffic with any gas motors on any of the places I fish. Also I am wondering where the water line runs on this boat when fully loaded can I get by with a 36 or 42 inch shaft bow mounted trolling motor tiller style?
Thanks for any input I greatly appreciate it.

 

[bobberboy]

I have this boat with the manufactured deck on front and a homemade deck at the back with a 25hp Merc 4-stroke. Always fish with 2 people, me @ 180# and the other at 120#. I moved to this boat from a 1236 and so to me it's a world of difference between the two and makes the 1448 seem very stable in comparison. We stand on the decks when casting and find that being aware of what the other's doing really makes standing ok. I'm not all that steady on my feet anymore due to meds so I tend to be cautious anyway but I feel the boat is stable or else I wouldn't stand in it. Also, using butt seats turns you into a pretty stable tripod with your feet on the deck.

As for the TM, if you intend to be able to reach the tiller when standing you might go for the 42". I recently got rid of my much hated bow-mount 55# and got a transom mount instead. It's a Traxxis and the handle telescopes as well as tilts up from 90° to 45° making it easy to reach from a standing position (which is the reason I got that specific motor).

 

[overboard]

1448's are pretty stable, but from what you are describing I think I would look at least a 16 or maybe a 17' flat bottom boat with the widest bottom I could find. I have a 1654 FB Tracker "GRIZZLEY" and it's very stable, Lowe makes a 1655 Big River Roughneck, and some of the 17's have a 60" bottom. Depends on what you want to spend, and maybe a 16 or 17 is just too big for your application, but bigger is better in some cases. I think most would agree, a 16' boat is not too big for 2 guys and gear.
You can always buy the 1448, and if not suitable sell it. I've fished out of 1448's with 2 guys, and IMO I think you would be satisfied with it.

 

[richg99]

I concur with the above posts. I'm 250 and most anyone who fishes with me will be around 200. I recently bought a 1652 G3 and my buddies all comment on how stable it is.

I never owned a 1448, but did own a 1648. Even though it was 16 feet long, it wasn't anywhere near as stable as the 1652. A couple of inches in width makes a big difference. 4 inches as part of 48 inches is about 8 percent more width.

The best thing for you, and making your potential purchase choices easier, is that you have no need for speed. A wide boat is a slow boat, but it won't hurt you as much as a guy who wants to burn up the track with a big motor.

I'd look for a wider boat, even if it was only 14 foot. Wide is good for stability.

richg99

 

[PsychoXP18CC]

I agree, go with the widest bottom you can for a given length. Even on my 1860 mod-v we have to be somewhat mindful of moving suddenly from one side to the other. I'm 200 and my fishing buddies range from 180 up to 250. No real fear of falling overboard, but it can increase the pucker factor for a second. As others have said too, a flat bottom will be more stable than a mod-v hull. And since you aren't going to be on bigger water a flat bottom should work great.