newbie here , dumb question

when you measure the boat , where do you measure for your width ? widest point at floor or top of sides ? i come up with an odd number at widest bottom. 51 in. ? but i do know it is a 14ft sylvan deep V.

I just went through this discussion with a number of local boat sellers.

I was considering adding a small Jon for my little pond. They'd say a boat was "four feet wide"....but...it actually was a 1432. A 1432 means that it is 14 feet long (approx) and 32 inches wide at the bottom.

For stability, it doesn't help as much to have "four feet" at the top of the gunnel/gunwhale...I needed the width at the lowest point or bottom of the boat.

So, if a boat says it is a 1432 it is 14 feet long and only 32 inches wide at the bottom. Depending on how much "flare" the gunnels have, it might be five or six inches wider/narrower depending on the model and the manufacturer.

If you check out the specs on your particular boat, you should be able to determine exactly what model you have. Of course, if it is a discontinued model, that might be more difficult. Rich

I looked at the Sylvan site for you. I couldn't find ANY current boat with a 51 inch beam.

With a Google search, I did find numerous references dating back to the mid 90's for a 14 ft Deep V Sylvan. Seemed like a well regarded hull, too. rich

richg99 said:

I was considering adding a small Jon for my little pond. They'd say a boat was "four feet wide"....but...it actually was a 1432. A 1432 means that it is 14 feet long (approx) and 32 inches wide at the bottom.

Click to expand...

That may be true in most cases, but not all. I have a Duracraft 1517 and I believe it is wider than 17 inches. lol

OK You've got me there....I should have said "many" boats are properly designated with the actual width at the bottom....Ha Ha Rich

I believe that a bottom width measurement only applies to a flat bottom john boats. For istance I have a Lowe 1236 (12' long 36" inches wide). Your boat is a deep V so you will not have a simple number because your boat is curved or angled.

the year for mine is 1983 , I measured the top and at it's widest is 61. Not a big deal , i was just curious what it would be ie:1451 or something like that. I got a great deal on it so it doesn't matter too much.