Boat for the Delaware River "Gap Area"

[Mark P]

I have been pondering getting another boat for hunting on the Delaware River. The Gap area mostly. I have several sneak boxes but this would be to take 2 other friends out. There 25 years older than I am, my thinking is a boat with a few comforts like a collapsible blind, cushioned seats, heat and that flashy oven set up might get them to spend a little more time hunting.

Seems like a few of the boats I have looked at are long shaft and I am thinking this might be a problem due to the water level changes often. Does anyone have experience in this area with the set up I want.

 

[Scott Farris]

Mark, I'm not sure I understand your long shaft comment. The difference between long & short shafts are the transoms they are designed to fit. Both length motors are designed to stick down into the water the same amount below the transom. Your list of features indicate a fairly large craft and the added hight of a long shaft transom is still lower than the pop up blind. It will still hide okay and be significantly safer than a cut down transom to fit a short shaft.

If you are really worried about shallow water then you shouldn't be looking at a short shaft you should be looking for a tunnel hull and jack plate or a jet sled like Steve Sutton's. Hitch uses a mud motor style outboard on his floating palace. So many choices. Have fun shopping!

Scott

 

[Dennis Smith]

Mark
You should understand the load limits of the boat that you want to use. If want a three person capacity and equipment, you need a large displacement hull that will float high in the water. A large 16 foot hull will move along well with 25 hp motor. This will also depends on the hull design. When I use my 16ft deep vee boat for shallow water conditions, I use a 15 hp motor. I reduce the load to just what is essential for the day. I carry a load of 10 dozen decoys and I can wade it through shallow water that you can wade a 12ft boat through. The long shaft motor is good because you need a high transom on the boat and it has more free-board in a following sea. Understand the type of rough weather conditions you can encounter and do not overload your boat.


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