Here's my new boat...it's an 1848 pointed bow bateau built by Brother Breaux in Henderson, LA. 20" sides and transom. The boat is square chined, with 2"x2" longitudinal braces in the bottom on 8" centers. More specs:

Extended front deck, but total deck length including the extension is only 4.5' to save floor space.

Pipe in each crimp down the sides for fuel & electrical lines.

Oversized drain plugs on each side of the transom

Pipe mounted in front deck for winch mount. I had him drill a hole in the pipe that I can access from the front deck hatch so I can put a pin in it if I need to. I won't use a pin for the winch mount, but I also plan on using the pipe to hold a light bar, trolling motor mount, maybe a dog ladder, and maybe a layout boat rack.

Rear driver's pod with seat base.

Motor is my 2006 PD 32, with FPR and EVT Stage 1 mods. Turning a 12x14 Hopkins cleaver.

Brother did a great job on the boat...workmanship is excellent. When he was finished with it, I had Kevin Ledford from Prodrive paint it. Kevin did a great job too.

The trailer is a Sportsman that I ordered through Black's marine in Lafayette. In order to have the trailer ready in time, I picked it up from the manufacturer in Houston on the way to pick up the boat. The trailer pulls good, and seems to be well built. It's a little more adjustable than the McClain's I've seen, so I think it will work well.

Chris (BigE) came with me to pick the boat up the weekend of February 7th. We picked the boat up, mounted the motor, and headed to Lake Fausse Point for the test run.

First of all, I was extremely impressed at how little water this boat drafts. With both of us in middle to rear of the boat, it only drafts about 3". That's what I was hoping for, since we run mostly hard bottoms.

Now for speeds:

With both of us (I weigh 170...Chris is probably 210), a cooler, and other boat stuff...31.5 to 32 in deep and shallow water. 1 person, shallow water, 32.8 to 33 mph.

Here's the pics:

More:

Good review Andy! Good looking rig! Glad you like it so far and it is performing the way you expected.

I forgot to include my thanks to Gatorpoint for getting me hooked up with Brother, and for all of his input. In appreciation of that, here's a picture of him "appreciating" Brother's handiwork...

And here's a link to some videos...for a good laugh, watch the first one...

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=627

Dang andy, it looks good!

didnt get to see it painted till now, but its a damn good looking rig

Welcome to the BBB family

Brother makes a great boat for a great price and has mad metal skills

How many RPM's you turnin at WOT wit dat 12x14 Hopkins ?

mad metal skills...no doubt. With 2 guys, 32 mph, 3370 rpms. I honestly haven't done enough running alone yet to tell you exactly what it's getting empty.

yeah, 3370 give or take a 1000.

Nice ! What boat did you have the motor on before and how did it run ?

Thanks for all of the compliments.

Had it on a 1648 tracker before:

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=238

It would hit 31.5 empty on a good day, 28 with 1 other guy and full hunting load, 27 with 2 others.

I figured this one would be a little faster. I thought the crimps on the bottom of the old hull disturbed the flow of water to the surface drive prop. I know it for sure now...there's no tiller torque on the new boat, and I was always fighting it on the old one.

Cool how a 2ft bigger boat will go 2mph faster and handle a load way better when you git a boat made for the motor.

Do you have the 12x14 wit tip curl or stright pitch for speed ?

I'm askin cuz I'm about to pull da trigga on a stage 1 on almost the same boat and It should run the same.

I bought the prop off of Stumpgrinder, and I'm not sure how he asked Hopkins to make it, but I'd describe it as having slight tip curl...especially compared to my 12x12 hopkins.

dat wheel has very little tip curl....

dat bateau looks awesome, ran into Andy & Chris at Brother's when dey showed up to mount da motor on it..... real good lookin rig. Glad y'all got to see me again. lol

Hey, guys. I see a few people talkin about Stage one and the different types of props, Hopkins, curve tip, strait tip, etc. I have a 27 p/d on a 16x50 homemade hull. Can't rememer who built it. I don't carry a load real well. Can you give me some info on the stage 1 evt and maybe what type of prop is better?

Stick wit da stock clever and call EVT for stage 1 info...

da stock 27 prop is no longer a cleaver, for now.

Andy, nice rig!

We had a pretty good time coming down to pick up the boat. On the way home we got to drop in and run Caddo. I am looking forward to the June event at Crip's. I hope to see everyone from last year. Nice boat Andy.

Nice boat. I'm satisfied with my boat Brother built me, but i love seeing new ideas that other members come up with. Good customer service, and a damne fine looking bateau he will build you.

whats included on the stage one kit? boat looks good, and how'bout ya on that top end, i need more speed!

yeah i got the exhaust kit for my 35 mud buddy and been holden off on a carb kit till the warranty is up, right now im runnin about 27mph with me and 24/25 with another guy and gear. you know when the caddo lake run is this year?

man already no cabins that weekend.....5 months out, this must be OL' BIG TIME!

That it is, check some of the other available lodging like the Uncertain inn or others listed under the Caddo forum.

will do, just hate driven to far from the put in, if you know what i mean (they just taste so good)........................