The 1442 is a good boat. I hunt & fish out of a 1440MV. It is pretty stable, I have never felt like it was ever even close tipping over. Never. I can walk around it, stand up to shoot & fish and it is stable enough. I've hunted with me & a buddy and it is crowded but works.
But it has limitations.
When it was just me hunting & fising solo, it was a great boat. Now that my son is with me, it is a little crowded and hard to move around with all the gear for two. And I hate having a middle bench in the way. Actually, hunting & fishing with another adult as opposed to a 9 year old works better, with the adult, they help with anchors, paddling, put up the blind, etc.., where as the boy is still pretty much just there to fish/watch.
If I could do over, I would get a minimum of 1448 without a middle bench, with a 1548 or 1648 being preferred.
After my experience, I am a fan of buying more boat than less. I have only rarely wished for a smaller boat (only when duck hunting & I now have a layout boat for those situations) but have many times wished for a large one.
My advice: take a buddy with you to look at the boat. Then both get in it and see how crowded it is. If it works, buy it. If not, keep looking.
