I actually have two questions. First i am looking to buy a 1654 or 1754 PD with the 36 vanguard and was wondering if anyone knows if they get up on plain alright starting out in deep water. Where the ramps are on the lake i hunt its deep water and have to cross about anywhere from 10 to 20 mins of lake before getting to the marsh area. Just want to make sure it would be fine for that and if i use it for fishing and other stuff. Second question does anybody know how many people either the 16 or 17 ft boats are allowd to hold. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

You won't have any problem plaining unless you horribly load the boat down

my 1754 used to get on plane really good, but now with the paddle it takes a lil more work. like takem said depends on how much weight is in the boat. mine with 4 people (2 were rather large) could still get on plane and run bout 20-22. with 3 people could still run 26-28.

Go 18' or more for load carrying and big water.

i have a 1654 with a PD36 fpr i had to add some weight to the front so i built a deck and now it jumps right out of the water with out skipping a beat thats with about 765lbs (3 men 215 250 and 300) we ran a steady 22mph GPS deep and shallow me by myself (250) i run 25.7mph gps i will be going to a 17' or 18' first chance.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful i will probably go with the 17 or 18.
I didnt want to drop 10 to 15k and not be happy with the rig. Thanks again.

A few other people i talked to said the 17 would be alright with normally 2 people (about 500 lbs) and anywhere from 4 to 7 dozen decoys, dog and fuel and hunting gear. They just said with more dekes it gets a little tight on room.

getting on plane in shallow water is the problem....dead decaying cane in the mud will build up on skeg. The skeg angle is all wrong and its due to the angle of the shaft. Thats 2-3 " of water and bottomless mud and a thatch of cane in it. once there was 4-5" in that pond I had no trouble. As for getting on plane in deep water, it jumps up.

Well I run a 1436 tracker Jon boat now with a 2.5 hp 4 stroke. So anything over 14 ft and about 5 mph if I'm lucky is going to be great. I like the 17 and 18. Just a tough decision. I think the 17 will be a little easier to hide because I will hunt out of it with a blind. Then again what's one more ft. Does the 18 run any slower than the 17 or are they about the same. And my load is usually 500 to 800 maybe sometimes 900.

17 will be slightly faster empty but the 18 will be faster than 17 with a load