thinking about getting a 23hp copperhead

looking at a 1648 or 1652

im open to other options


currently have a 1548 with 18hp, love the light weight rig, but thinking about upgrading

check out the gator trax rouges. 1538 with a huntdeck (16'8" overall length) would run good with a 23. i cant tell you for sure how the copperhead performs with GT boats but the guys ive seen running a MB or gatortail on them seem to like that setup pretty well.

i would like to have a huntdeck and a foront deck to fish from, 48"-60" long. where i hunt you have to hunt from the boat. currently i have my duck boat and a 1754 grizzly... wanting to sell both and just have a duckboat w/mm i can fish from


im use to hunting out of 48' boats.. wondering how stable the 38 with would be

I run a 23copperhead on a 1648 lowe mod v. Not the optimal hull but a hull none the less. Runs fine for what I do. Im very happy with copperhead, great customer service and the motor seems very high quality for what it is. A lightweight custom mud hull would surely run better numbers and haul a load better than my lowe. Im not a fan of long front decks, mostly because I fish in rough waters, but also because they take up the little space you have in a 14-16ft jon

http://m.youtube.com/results?q=23hp%20m ... 0mini&sm=3

This is what ya need...

X2 on the gator trax


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I have a 16' rogue with a hunt deck so its 17'6" total length. Its surprisingly stable for a 38" boat. I just have a standard short bow deck and I had a person standing up there bow fishing and I was standing on my half box in the back poling along this spring and did not feel tippy at all. I'm sure Gator Trax would make the bow deck removable for you too if you wanted the room of a wide open boat for hunting season. Definitely get the 18" sides on it. I took my half box out and like it a lot better. More room to move around in the small boat. Just bring a small cooler if you need a seat for long runs/dry storage. That way you can move it around if its getting in the way.

I run a 24hp longtail on mine and it works great for what I need it for. I'm sure it would run great with a 23 surface drive. I know that's what Gator Trax recommends for it.

Another thing to consider is your average load. If its usually just you and 1 other guy plus gear and you don't need to get across big water much a rogue will be fine. If you regularly take 2 or 3 other guys I wouldn't even look at a 23 and rogue. Just step up to a 35 and 17' or 18' by 44" or 50" because you will be disappointed in performance.

currently i run a 18hp copperhead on a 1548 weldilt crawdad.
I would feel if i dropped down to a skinner boat it would be unstable compaired to the 48"

boat 2014 1548 weldbilt crawdad
motor 2012 18hp copperhead

boat 290lbs
motor 140lbs

gas 20lbs
battery 30lbs
mis gear 80lbs

one person (220lbs) [350lbs total] 22-23mph
two people (420lbs) [550lbs total] 17-18mph
three people (680lbs)[810lbs total] 16mph

*this was in deep water 10-14 feet with a 2 year old prop


i figured with a 23 and 16' boat id see better preformance than i do with my 18 and 15'
maybe not so much on my top end speed but when carrying 3 people. for the most part i just hunt two people, with an occasional 3rd

search for threads on here about instagator or cotton mouth boats the cotton mouths have got some really goo reviews and performance with the little copperhead motors

wehre are the instagator hulls made?
what gage do they use on the bottom?

i like the one i saw in a youtube video, looks to have a 4-5' front deck with huntdeck and an open floor plan

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KgHkkQdE0FQ

If im not mistaken jays from texas, not sure what part.

damn, i live in alabama... thats a haul

Jay lives close to houston, I'm in illinois and have one ordered he made one that got 32 mph with a 25 gtr. and that same boat ran 23 w 6 guys in it. he light hulls jay makes are all .100 but he can do whatever you want. google search "instagator boats MMT" and you will find a lot. Also there are some good threads on cotton mouth boats made by i think "thirdtimesacharm" here on MMT

Get the 1652. Im not sure what the fascination is with narrow boats. They have their uses, but downsizing without a need to (timber, narrow ditches, etc) seems to be counterproductive. A 48" would be fine, but the 52 will handle a bit more weight, be more stable, and sit higher in the water (which means itll hop up on plane a bit easier). Keep it light (thinnest hull you can get away with, unless you need the .125 or 3/16 because of where you run, .100 would be my suggestion. Deck wont hurt, get what you want. Removable if you want it. Dont add a bunch of extra stuff or you'll wish you had more engine. All that being said, if you want a 38" bottom, roll on with ya bad self.

I run a 1744 which has a less than 2 sqft difference in area inside the boat from a 1648 even less depending on how much the hull narrows at the bow. The reason I rather have an extra foot vs 4" on the width is because the longer hull balances the motor better along with the ability to stack gear along the length. When stacking gear such as large bulky decoy bags that take up the full width of the boat weather its 44" or 48" the length is better. My stock 23 would do 18-19 with 2 man hunt load (6-700lb) and now does around 25 with that same load with stage 2. 2 man fishing load was 20-21 stock. The 44" bottom isn't much more tippy than the 48" I had. I would say its about the perfect size for the 23. Anything around 1840, 16-1844, 1648, 1746 no shorter than 16' ect will perform pretty good with a 23, go too wide and your definitely going to want mods.

How do I know what gage aluminum I need? I don't run much mud. Mostly shallow water and grass. I occasionally smack a stump if I'm in a new area. And jump very few dams. .100 is the lightest Id want to go for sure. But do I need a .125? Il have either a 23 or 25 surface drive, so I wount be hitting anything going 30mph.

I think .100 would be fine, but most here will recommend .125

I have .100 when I get a new boat it will be 3/16. I find the occasional stump and rock but mostly run veggies and bottomless muck. Ive got dent from slowly rolling over stump as in less than 10 mph. I would take a 1 or 2 mph loss for the added strength. Why not have a battleship do it once do it right. Now that I have the motor and boat to do it im exploring and hunting areas I didn't go before and now I find more stumps and rocks. Just my 2 cents