Buying a Bare Hull

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MrGiggles

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I have been looking for an upgrade from my Alumacraft F7. The boat does fantastic for what it is but the lakes in this area are large and choppy, and the flat rear of the Alumacraft beats me to death on even the slightest chop.

I'm interested in the Tracker Heritage, but it also has a fairly shallow dead rise (6* in the rear), which is better than my F7, but I think it will still pound pretty bad. I'm not crazy about financing it either.

Since I already have my boat set up with everything I want, there's really no need to buy a boat that's already outfitted (I will end up changing a lot of things anyway), I can just swap everything over and not have to buy it twice.

I'd like a ~16ft Mod or Deep V, tiller or side console, with a live well and decks. Weight is a concern, as I have to pull it out of the water with a 2wd, for a few months anyway.

I've been keeping an eye on CL but have not seen much.

Do any manufacturers sell bare hulls, if they do, is it even worth it?
 
I bought a new boat that was a bare hull made by Blazer jet boats. I doubt the manufacturer even builds boats along the line of what you are looking for. I got exactly what I was looking for and did not have to compromise by buying something that was right for someone else. Very worth it for me.
 
If ride in chop is a concern, then stay away from flat bottom or Mod-v hulls completely. Neither design will handle chop without beating you to death. Deep-v or the like will always ride better. That being said, I went to a center console boat specifically so I can stand and run the boat, absorbing the pounding from the boat with my knees instead of my spine. Definitely an issue after you've had two discs replaced.

As for bare hulls, that might be more difficult to find, new, in anything but a flat bottom or mod-v.
 
I bought my alumacraft 1648 mod v Sierra aa a bare hull. Nothing on it once so ever. That's half the fun, they're like the boating version of s Jeep Wrangler. You can cut in hatches as you please and if you want you can buy a storage box/ livewell from ak mccallum or directly from alumacraft.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Something like this would fit the bill pretty nicely. And I have a 25 Johnson that would work well on it.

https://www.trackerboats.com/boat/?boat=3939

I'll have to do some more looking. There isn't nearly as much of a selection for Deep vs, and they are a lot more expensive.

Could someone explain the difference between a Semi-V and Mod-V if there is one?
 
I've heard good things about the Blazers but they're for skinny water and you're talking deep water. I'd just keep my eyes peeled on CL and some other sites for a deal if there is such a thing. Do you want aluminum or will you take a glass boat? Are you settled on side console or CC? Center console usually keeps you dryer. Lots of options and lots to think about. What kink of budget you working with?
 
eshaw said:
I've heard good things about the Blazers but they're for skinny water and you're talking deep water. I'd just keep my eyes peeled on CL and some other sites for a deal if there is such a thing. Do you want aluminum or will you take a glass boat? Are you settled on side console or CC? Center console usually keeps you dryer. Lots of options and lots to think about. What kink of budget you working with?
Click to expand...

I don't have anything against glass but weight is a concern. I'd like to keep the whole rig around 1500lbs.

In the size of boat I'm looking at I think side console or tiller are the only options. I'd rather have a tiller for simplicity and balance.

I don't do a lot of open water fishing, but it is necessary to cross it sometimes. I've had that Alumacraft through some big waves, and I've only ever gotten sprayed if there was a strong wind blowing perpendicular.

As far as budget goes, if much more than 3,000 I would have to finance.

I'm really liking the Grizzly 1648 for 3100 OTD. Although it still only has a 7* dead rise, but it's a lot better than the 0* of my Alumacraft.
 
Check out the SeaArk vee jon models. Might be a little bigger than you want but they have a reputation of building nice all-welded boats and the vee jons have a 15* deadrise.
 
I bought a used boat, swapped all the existing items from my old boat I liked to it and sold the old boat as a package. not counting labor it was a wash and I got a better boat. my bare 14' full might have brought $300 with the trailer, the motor 6-8, depending (it was an 01 Johnson 8hp.) so I kept it together, took the seats I had bought new the year prior and swapped them for the worn out ones, took my helix 5 off and put the 90's eagle on my old one, a few more odds and ends and I sold it "ready to fish" for $1500. the things like seats and depthfinder sold him.....
 
PBRMINER said:
I bought a used boat, swapped all the existing items from my old boat I liked to it and sold the old boat as a package. not counting labor it was a wash and I got a better boat. my bare 14' full might have brought $300 with the trailer, the motor 6-8, depending (it was an 01 Johnson 8hp.) so I kept it together, took the seats I had bought new the year prior and swapped them for the worn out ones, took my helix 5 off and put the 90's eagle on my old one, a few more odds and ends and I sold it "ready to fish" for $1500. the things like seats and depthfinder sold him.....
Click to expand...

That's sort of what I'm thinking.

I can buy the Grizzly hull, find a used trailer, stick my 25 and trolling motor on it, then sell the Alumacraft as a package with a 9.8 Merc that I have laying around.
 
Grizzly doesn't ride any better than any other, if that's what your're after. The tracker line, for the most part, are mass-produced, meaning they're after volume more than anything else-and it shows in build quality. Someone's gonna say a grizzly is a great boat-and it is, but there are better hulls out there. Way better. If it were me, and ride quality mattered, I'd certainly give war eagle a look. Having run several brands, types, etc, the war eagle is by far the best ride of them all. It may not be the fastest, but you can't beat the ride-and that's a well known characteristic among jon boat enthusiasts. Talk to a dealer and tell 'em you want a bare hull. Some models come standard with low decks or whatever, but for the most part, they'll build it however you want. IF that dealer you're talking to don't wanna mess with a custom rig, call war eagle directly and discuss it with them. You can't purchase directly from them, but you can, however, spec out what you want, which you'd give to a dealer and have them order it the way you want it.

Many aluminum hulls are mass produced, meaning you're stuck with what's on the dealer lot. Some will give you more options and will talk to you about what you expect out of it. This particular geographical area is riddled with jon boat manufacturers. Waco, Ambush, Edge, Ranger, Titan (havoc), SeaArk, Weld Craft, Xpress, Team Ward (war eagle and Duracraft), ExCel, Weldbilt. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, most of those major brands I have run in the past. Speed oriented duck boats are Ambush, edge, havoc, and they are fast duck boats-and not much more. Best all-around, war eagle. Ranger is a good one too but they're top notch in price and quality, don't have much experience with custom hulls from them. Duracraft is War-Eagle's cheaper line and while they ride decent, they aren't a real war eagle, so keep that in mind. I'm especially fond of the 1548's and 1544's. I actually broke down and bought a NEW 1548 I liked it so much, and that's rare for me to buy anything new! By time I put the trolling motor on it, battery, LED's, running lights, seats, etc, I have about $4000 into it including the trailer and it's LED lighting. The motor was free; actually it paid me a little. It came on a $900 Grumman 1542, then I painted the boat with 9 cans of OD green, matched the trailer, and sold the boat, trailer, bow-mounted trolling motor for $2300 and kept the motor.
 
turbotodd said:
Grizzly doesn't ride any better than any other, if that's what your're after. The tracker line, for the most part, are mass-produced, meaning they're after volume more than anything else-and it shows in build quality. Someone's gonna say a grizzly is a great boat-and it is, but there are better hulls out there. Way better. If it were me, and ride quality mattered, I'd certainly give war eagle a look. Having run several brands, types, etc, the war eagle is by far the best ride of them all. It may not be the fastest, but you can't beat the ride-and that's a well known characteristic among jon boat enthusiasts. Talk to a dealer and tell 'em you want a bare hull. Some models come standard with low decks or whatever, but for the most part, they'll build it however you want. IF that dealer you're talking to don't wanna mess with a custom rig, call war eagle directly and discuss it with them. You can't purchase directly from them, but you can, however, spec out what you want, which you'd give to a dealer and have them order it the way you want it.

Many aluminum hulls are mass produced, meaning you're stuck with what's on the dealer lot. Some will give you more options and will talk to you about what you expect out of it. This particular geographical area is riddled with jon boat manufacturers. Waco, Ambush, Edge, Ranger, Titan (havoc), SeaArk, Weld Craft, Xpress, Team Ward (war eagle and Duracraft), ExCel, Weldbilt. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, most of those major brands I have run in the past. Speed oriented duck boats are Ambush, edge, havoc, and they are fast duck boats-and not much more. Best all-around, war eagle. Ranger is a good one too but they're top notch in price and quality, don't have much experience with custom hulls from them. Duracraft is War-Eagle's cheaper line and while they ride decent, they aren't a real war eagle, so keep that in mind. I'm especially fond of the 1548's and 1544's. I actually broke down and bought a NEW 1548 I liked it so much, and that's rare for me to buy anything new! By time I put the trolling motor on it, battery, LED's, running lights, seats, etc, I have about $4000 into it including the trailer and it's LED lighting. The motor was free; actually it paid me a little. It came on a $900 Grumman 1542, then I painted the boat with 9 cans of OD green, matched the trailer, and sold the boat, trailer, bow-mounted trolling motor for $2300 and kept the motor.
Click to expand...

It looks like the Grizzly isn't going to happen.

I've made arrangements to buy a 17' Tracker Deep V. I've been in it on the water and it has a great ride, owner has had it since new, it's been a great boat for him. It's got a 60hp Johnson.
 
THAT was quick! Ha Ha Sounds like you found what you were looking for. As far as a Deep V versus a Mod V, I know that the Deeper V will cut the waves much better.

I have a 1756 Lowe VT. Not exactly sure where it sits in the world of V's as there isn't a lot of deadrise apparent at the stern. Yet, she cuts waves much better than my 1652 G3. Each boat fishes in different waters during Summer and Winter, so it works for me.
 

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