boat stability

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bigmofodad

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What's the difference in stability between a jon boat with a 42 in beam and a 48 in beam. Any help would be appreciated.
 
There's a lot of variables, but given that both the 42 and 48 are identical hull shape and design, and similar weights, there is a difference however it's not night & day.
 
You're using the term "Beam" and speaking about jon boats (typically flat bottomed boats). Flat bottomed boats width is measured at the base of the transom, so a 1442 will be 42" wide along the base of the floor. The beam measurement is the widest point from the top of one gunwale to the other perpendicular to the keel line - for instance a 1436 flat bottom boat has a 57" beam - but would be considered to be 36" wide.

Utility boats are measured at the beam and are sometimes referred to as jons but are measured according to their beam width. So you can find a 1457 utility offered by Lowe right now - but it isn't 57" wide at the base of the transom.

If you're talking about flat bottom boats the difference in stability will have a lot to do with the length of the boat. The difference in stability between a 1442 and a 1448 won't be nearly as extreme as it would be between a 1242 and a 1248. Also, sometimes as you get into wider boats you start getting into designs with higher sides, so you can easily get into an apples an oranges comparison if you're not looking at all the dimensions all the time.

It isn't quite as bad as women's clothing sizes, but its far more convoluted than it ought to be.
 
bigmofodad said:
What's the difference in stability between a jon boat with a 42 in beam and a 48 in beam. Any help would be appreciated.

You will be able to tell, get the 48".
 
Since stability is the discussion and a 1436 was described; can ya'll give me a good description of the actual stability...I'm modding my 2013 Alumacraft 1436lt right now. My fwd deck will be flush with front seat and I don't want to look like I'm on the dance floor on the water lol. Thanks in advanceIMG_5824.JPG
 
I have the same alumacraft 1436LT - I set my front deck level to the top of the middle bench & at my heaviest early last year I was 245lbs & when I would stand on it the water came up the sides roughly to the bottom of the stamped rib in the side. It wasn't nerve racking, but if you're on busy water with a lot of boat wakes you will need to retreat to the back of the boat on occasion to get the bow up.
 
There is a noticeable difference between 42" and 48" bottom boats. There is a night and day difference between 48" and 36". I came to this opinion by bowfishing (mostly with 2 people standing) from all 3 sizes (1436, 1442, 1448)
 

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