Looking into ordering a new rig from them with 35 or possibly 37 efi sd.
Does anyone have any input on running the round chine boats as opposed to the SD with the tapered chine?
Am I just going to lose speed and gain turning ability with the round chine or does the tapered chine turn just as well?
Cornering ability is pretty important where I run is the reason I'm asking this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In 3 feet of water or more the tapered chine turns very well but
still not as sharply as the round chine does.... Where the big assets
of the round chine are most appreciated is in water 12" or less....

I very shallow water at speed the tapered slides but the round
chine will still turn sharply and go where you point it...

When running tight twisty bayous nothing works as well as the
round chine...

Yes a GD 1848 is 2 or 3 mph faster than a GD 1844 - but for the
reasons listed above I made the switch from tapered to round...

However - do not consider the 1644 for the 35 or 37 GDSD as it
is too short to properly balance the heavy SDs....

Which hulls are you considering ???

A bigger 1860 or 1856 --- or just adding the GDSD to your 1844
(it will become a completely different rig going from LT to GDSD)

rounded chine is gonna turn better, id be willing to bet they are almost identical in speed on the same hull. id go round over a tapered any day if you have the choice.

1856 - round chine available in short or tall transom - of those 3 - this would be my favorite

1854 - tapered with high sides and tall transom - does not do well on windy days and
too wide for timber and tight places - this would be my least favorite - also slowest

1848 - basically just like your old hull - I like this hull but not as well as the 1844

Just my 2 cents - you should test drive em - where are you located ???

FYI - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=61076

Based on what you're saying, I would get the widest round chine boat you're comfortable with. I can take my 1860 (75" beam) in places I ran my 1548 Longtail boat with little issue. I love the load carrying capacity and overall speed of my tapered chine boat, I wish I could have gotten the same boat in a 62" round chine, maybe next time

Will the tapered chine slide off stuff like the round does? I can high center my boat now on land and get it back in the water alone in only seconds.
Also is the surface drive hull a one piece like the round chine,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another question, since GDs website is so archaic. Are there dealers? How can I locate one near me?
Or do I have to go to La for the boat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PM sent...

I can't imagine spending my the money to go from the 18x44 to the 48, considering you already own the 44. I've driven the 18x44 with the 35 GDSD. Motor had heads, carb and exhaust. I have no idea of speeds but it drove like a dream. It jumped on plane with 3 guys all over 200, a big lab and your usual hunting load. I would say it ran faster than my boat empty. I run a 16x48, with 23 and it will bump 24 when empty. That's a lot of weight for such a skinny boat. If I had to buy another hull it would probably be a 18x44. It's lighter than my 16x48 but yet can haul the load, plus most the ponds I hunt are usually isolated land locked ponds and or broken marsh that is usually through narrow bayous/ditches that are tidal and maybe 5 feet wide. Great for narrow boat/rounded chine.

I will certainly be slapping a 37 on my 16x48 at the end of summer. It's nice having this little boat, easy to pull, hide, launch/load, etc. I hunt by myself majority of time. If I'm not usually in a buddy's big boat. The 18x44 is like best of both worlds. I can't imagine going to the 18+ and 48+. I also hate hunting with more than 3 guys in a group. Therefore big boat is just unnecessary cost.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh and by the way Giga- my old high school principal owns a godevil boat and my brother is friends with his son. So I've arranged a test drive of his 1860 with 35 sd. At least I can get a feel for the motor and the taper chine although I doubt I'll buy the 1860 unless that boat is just awesome for some reason.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine will haul a 14yd dump truck full of wet sand in deep water, up stream in a 30mph headwind 25mph at half throttle.

Seriously though, I wouldn't trade the carrying capacity of this hull for anything narrower. If you were closer you could come run mine with the 37 SD and Gator Glide.

Yep, if they made a 62 or 64" round chine boat, that's what would be sitting at my house right now lol. Same width as the GatorTrax GatorHide I believe. But I do enjoy the little bit of extra top end speed I get with the hard chine. With some stick time I've gotten good enough with it to make it cut hard enough to throw people off a tube behind it lol. Seriously though. I love this 60" boat. I had reservations at first about not being able to fit places but I've not had that issue yet. It handles a little chop well and is extremely stable. I can walk all over the poling platform in deep water and never feel like I'm the least bit tippy. This weekend we fished flooded grass flats on the lake with me on the front deck running the trolling motor, my pregnant wife fishing next to me and my brother (we're both ~250) on the platform casting and never got in each other's way or felt unbalanced. I even had the canopy up with my daughter sitting in the floor with a coloring book

My 16x54 is a taper chine. It's fast and has a shallow draft, but it slides like crazy, make for a fun ride once you learn how to control the slide


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Nothing performs like the GatorTail Extreme Series boats ,don't shit yourself

glad you're happy with what you have but I'm pretty sure that's not what this thread is about or what the OP asked about.

I with ya flint, I gonna order a godevil boat soon and there a lot of mixed reviews about the chines, ive had a gatortrax with the round chines and thought it set alittle deeper in the water than I liked , not sure if the tapered would be the same or not. There no body around me to go test drive one or a dealer that has a demo boat. Im thinking 1860 but but I don't want my motor to struggle with that big boat. More mods might be in the future for my motor.

I've been on the fence with the chine debate for a while. I think that it has more to do with width than it being a round vs. tapered chine. A narrower boat is going to lay over more and allow you to turn. My 1860, despite having tapered chines, requires a decent amount of practice to get it to lay over and turn hard. Otherwise it slides like nobody's business, even in deep water. The narrower boats i've ridden in don't seem to have as much of a problem laying an edge and turning.

Stock 35's push the 1860 at around 25mph, btw.

They ugly ass shit also

I had a 1644 with a modded 32Pd.Dam thing ran like a raped ape and took corners like it was on rails.

Had a 36pd on a 1644 and in shallow water I hated it. Motor was just too heavy. It did turn good tho.

I would think that a rounded chine would "drift" more on turns that a tapered chine. I have a fairly square chine on my 1648 LOWE and it still gets a little squirrely if I turn to tight at full throttle, I would think that with a more round chine angle it would slide even more.

can someone explain how this works please?

Well I searched high and low for a fair deal on a used boat and almost gave up. Finally found the boat I'm getting this week. It's an 1860 with a 35 sd. Loved the GDSD it handled exactly how I thought it would. Kind of a cross between a LT And an SD. The way that tapered chine slides is actually pretty fun to me and not anywhere near the nightmare I thought it was going to be. Got up to 25 mph with 3 men in it. Can't wait to pick it up later this week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You'll love it... Load it up and it keeps running.

You're exactly right on what driving the GDSD feels like. Coming from a LT myself, it's a Caddy. A lot of people view it as a dinosaur or POS or whatever, when in reality, it doesn't need it with the way it's designed. The trim rarely ever needs to be moved.

I wish I could figure out how to get the videos posted I took this weekend on my GoPro... I realize mine is the fuel injected version but in no way is it underpowered. On that big of a boat. I never run empty either.

Got her home. Can't wait to get out there on Saturday. The next two dAys are gonna drag by. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1436395863.571730.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats, I have the 16x60 and at times wish I had the room of 18x60. The slide is controllable.... until the water blowss out, then it gets difficult. They all are gonna slide, but the GD chine slides more than more PD chine did. However, after some tiller time you learn how to deal with it