Guys,
I have a Gator Trax 1854 with a hunt deck that i would like to consider a trade on a square chine boat (gator tail, or custom boat). I hunt mainly the Alabama river & make pretty long runs trying to aviod the idots that hunt the same area. Ive been reading on this & other forums where the square chine boats carry loads better along with speed. This is my second round chine mud boat with the first being a Go devil & can say that they have there purpose (stumps, turning, ect) just trying to get alittle more load carrying & speed. I normally hunt me & a buddy and somethimes 3 including me on my boat now & it really boggs down the boat.
I use the boat for duck hunting, gator hunting and fishing also & am really considering a little bit shorter boat but with a hunt deck also.

The motor i am running right now is a 35 GTR that is stock & I have thought about doing a liitle work to it for load carrying also.

Any help or opinions would be much appreciated.
Thanks Ryan

If you're just looking to trade it try posting in the boat classfieds section and add some pics. It'll help you get a lot more hits. Good luck.

i could not see a square chine boat really making that much of a difference. You do much better doing performance mods to your motor (cam, heads, etc). My last boat was a square chine and my current boat is a round chine.

Thats what has me puzzled between the two square or roound, Im wondering if a foot of boat would make more improvement over what the bottom is.

That 1854 HD is a damn big boat. With the way GT adds the 20" HD to the boat's length, instead of incorporating it into the stated length, you end up with a boat appx. 2' longer than a 1854 from another builder, regardless of chine type. That's a pretty good load for a stock motor when loaded with guys. It would probably never be a speed demon, but modding that motor would definitely help with your load carrying ability. Overall, depending on funds, I'd say either get a smaller boat or a bigger motor (mods), or both if you can swing it.