Need some help on what you guys think of this...

Motor: Gator tail 35hp
Boat: Prodigy 1660 or 1860
- hunt deck
- gun box
- couple other accessories but nothing too big.

I will mainly run a shallow river and some marshes. Hunting, fishing,and trapping.

What setup do you think will treat me best?

Depends on what kind of speeds you want, what the restrictions are, the number of passengers/load you'll be carrying, and the common factors like that

18' 60 " all day

That's awfully wide. Probably need two on a 60" hull. I've got an 1850 and it's no speed demon.

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18-60

cranschau I got a whole rig forsale if your intereste pm me

Trinity is over 80k

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I think 1860 is a solid setup. I have a 1854 and it's a great all around setup but the mph you loose empty is worth the mph you retain loaded.

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I have owned 2 48" boats and 1 52" boat. I will NEVER own a 48 again. Didn't realize how much I hate them til now. My next boat will be 52" minimum and likely more like 54. It's amazing what a difference 4-6" makes.

It's amazing what 4" of beam makes. Lots more room, more stability when hunting from it, better draft, and better handling(although some of that is likely due to bottom and chine config). Back end squats less with weight in the back(I run battery and fuel in the back but may have to move both up front if I don't sell my current rig first)

I second what all these guys are saying about the 18x60. I have a 1648 which at first I thought was plenty big. But when u start throwing gear in there it shrinks fast. I won't buy another for a long time just because I can't really justify it. My 1648 works, there's just no luxury of extra room

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

I hunt outta my boat 90% of the time and my 16x48 is hard enough to hide. For my application I wouldn't go bigger but for riding to camp or the blind I'd definitely go bigger.


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I like my 16x48 it works well but I only like hunting with 1 other person in the boat and for that my boat is good and also depending on who builds the boat the top rail width can vary I know the prodigy is wider than my boat they flare more and something I didn't account for so look consider that too

Do any of you guys who hunt out of your boat struggle to hide it from the ducks?

I don't have any issues with mine I just make sure that I have the proper blind material for where I am hunting. I prefer to hunt wading because I just prefer it but with the flooding this year we have way to much water so I've had to build a blind

You have to consider what type of areas/habitat you're gonna be hunting. My first 1648 was a semi-v and I was hunting mostly shallow marsh/tules. The boat was great for slicing into a tule patch and hiding but it sucked for shallow water. It had an outboard on it as that was before MM's. Then I went to an 1852 with a PD. Flat bottom, flat rake. It sucked for hiding in tules and most other things(willows, weeds, etc) because it tended to mow them down in front of me rather than slide through them. I don't think it was the size of the boat that was the problem though as I had pretty good blinds on both of them. I went back to a 1648 with an outboard because my hunting area changed from shallow marsh to flooded river. I hate the 1648. It's more "unstable," even with just two guys. It tends to lean and rock more when hunting from the boat. I can't say it's any easier to hide but I'm not sliding it into tules either. If you're gonna be sliding into tule patches, the 1648 might be just fine for you as the tules will stabilize the boat as a shooting platform. Then, it just becomes a "space" issue which I also now prefer a larger boat for.

I have a flat bow and yes it does flatten what's in front but...as long as I make sure there is plenty of whatever around me it's not a problem i hunt both flooded timber rivers swamps tidal marsh open lakes everywhere just about I hunt in and out of the boat and I have no issues with stability even with 3 guys jumping up and down and I will not go back to an outboard rig but I would however by a ribbed boat and put a mm on it as well as keep the boat I have now . The ribbed would be a fishing only boat and most likely a 25 GT on a 15' boat. The mm can do everything an outboard can but an outboard cannot do what a mm can

Maybe. But coming back to the ramp after the hunt fully loaded and into a stiff upstream current @ <10 mph sucks. Totally depends on your application. If I was strictly hunting shallow water marshes with muddy bottoms and lots of veggies it'd be a no-brainer. But there is no perfect all-around boat.

I hid my 18/56 pretty well . Just angles my blind in nice and the blind say low to keep it low profile. I used as much natural vegetation as I could.

I also don't have an issue with stashing the boat 100 yards or more away from where I'm set up