Best size small river boat

[lucescoflathead]

I have a 1468LW Polar Kraft. I like it. I fish the Allegheny and Kiski Rivers. I have 9.9 Evinrude 2 stroke on it. It's good for two adults or me and 2 of my kids. The only change I want to make is to switch to a 25 Hp 2 stroke Evinrude.

[bigcats.]

i had a 24 ft seaark 72 inch bottom with an outboard jet. you would not believe where i can go with that boat. it floats in 4 inches of water. i already took it in to creek where i had to 3 point turn to get out of. i just traded that in on a 22 ft seaark predator. 45+ mph in 4 inches of water.

[south point]

Hello from Washigton, MO. a good boat ya got there, your gonna love our rivers. is that boat a prop or jet? if its a prop, your gonna wanna be very careful on rivers like the meremec and the gasconade, they have some really shallow spots. I'm not saying it can't be done, just be careful. thats a perfect boat for the missouri river. big enough for the main river but small enough to get into really skinny water.
no matter where ya go, watch for flying carp once the water warms up to about 50!

[4Low]

I also recommend and 1648 or 1650. A 25 or 30hp is plenty for that type of rig. I had my 1650 with a 30hp out on the lower Mississippi plenty of times and was happy with the performance. Top speed loaded with 2 people was 28mph...Tohatsu (which is Nissan) motor. High sides for that river is pretty much a necessity. When comparing a 1542 to a 1648 in the yard there doesn't seem to be much difference...much bigger diffeence in room and stability out on the water though....Just my 2 cents

REMOVE THESE ADS
BECOME A LEVEL 2

[poisonpits]

nice rig and big enough for any thing.just remember to take extra gas for it.dont wanna get cought down river and run out.my first boat was an extra wide monarc with 25 and i took it ever where including the gulf of mexico.eye on the weather and just go fish.

[gramps50]

Hello from Washigton, MO. a good boat ya got there, your gonna love our rivers. is that boat a prop or jet? if its a prop, your gonna wanna be very careful on rivers like the meremec and the gasconade, they have some really shallow spots. I'm not saying it can't be done, just be careful. thats a perfect boat for the missouri river. big enough for the main river but small enough to get into really skinny water.
no matter where ya go, watch for flying carp once the water warms up to about 50!

It's a prop. Yea I have been having a ball just riding around looking at stuff. The second time out I hit what I think was a concret slab that was under the water with no sign of being there. Pretty much did the prop in. ;-( I have had it in about a foot & a half of water, going slow and putzing around.

The other day I changed some stuff like moving the anchor to the front and put the gas tank in the back in the anchors place. Threw off the whole balance of the boat, just didn't feel right, it was real windy so I just loaded back on the trailer and went home. It's all a learning process as this is my 1st boat.

[gramps50]

I also recommend and 1648 or 1650. A 25 or 30hp is plenty for that type of rig. I had my 1650 with a 30hp out on the lower Mississippi plenty of times and was happy with the performance. Top speed loaded with 2 people was 28mph...Tohatsu (which is Nissan) motor. High sides for that river is pretty much a necessity. When comparing a 1542 to a 1648 in the yard there doesn't seem to be much difference...much bigger diffeence in room and stability out on the water though....Just my 2 cents

With just me and a full tank of gas mine does 24.5, that's with the trim pin all the way down so I'm going to try it in the middle hole and see how it preforms and handles..

When I started comparing the 14' & the 16" I discovered a 1648 weighed #15 more than a 1448. Part of my concern was weight as I have a Sonoma with a 4 cylinder/automatic. Much to my surprize it pulls the boat fine and I haven't had any issues get it to pull the boat out of the water.

[DANZIG]

Thanks for all the excellent advice and knowledge & opinions. Yesterday I was able to purchase a 1985 Polar Kraft 6151 with a 20 HP Mercury. We took it on a 15 mile test drive shake down run. Being my first boat we had a lot to learn. All total we ened up being out on the river for about 3 hours.

Attachment 172780 Attachment 172781

Just a suggestion. Looking at pic 1 made my back hurt,, you might want to think about springing for a tiller extention.

[Fishsmoke]

Just a suggestion. Looking at pic 1 made my back hurt,, you might want to think about springing for a tiller extention.

LOL. My tiller extension on my last boat was a wiffle ball bat held on the throttle arm by two hose clamps. Worked great for years. Cost me zero. Found the bat in the woods and the hose clamps came off an old dead washing machine. Can you say Redneck?

[gramps50]

LOL. My tiller extension on my last boat was a wiffle ball bat held on the throttle arm by two hose clamps. Worked great for years. Cost me zero. Found the bat in the woods and the hose clamps came off an old dead washing machine. Can you say Redneck?

I'll keep that in mind if I decide that the tiler needs exdending. Not sure where the comment came from I have put about 40+ miles on it and not had any back issues. The one picture is when It was 1st taken off the trailer and the rear seat wasn't mounted yet.