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advantages & disadvantages

A

alumitech520

Well-known member
hello all ,first timer here. this is a very informative site . what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of an 8' wide hull other than picking the trails you ride. mostly run lake kiss & cypress as well as the marsh when we have water. been a while for me ,in the process of building anew boat. hope to be complete in the near future. hope see and meet some of you in the near future on the water or at an event. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND SAFE SLIDIN & RIDIN thanks in advance mike
 
welcome alumitech520 some of the advantages and disadvantages of an 8' wide hull other than picking the trails you ride. all you do is just make the trail wider when run it you may get bounce around a little just hang on. :shock:

What size Alumnitech do you have
 
thanks dw, i have the 13' 6" x 8 agi being built as we speak. should be picking it up sometime this week. hopefully she'll run purty good.
 
Some say that a wider hull will run the hill a little better than a narrower one..I don't know. I guess it could displace the weight a little better.

Adam
 
Gotta take it a little easier in rough water with a wider hull as it wants to bounce around instead of cut through. Not a big deal

Gotta be more careful on narrow roads when trailering
Also not a big deal.

If you are running a washout trail like the one to the east of the River on Hatchineha, don't stop in the trail! Pull out on the grass if you want to stop. On your wider hull, your chines will hit both sides of the trail and you won't be able to wiggle to break the suction that will form on the bottom. Been there, done that!

Wider will run dry better if the bottom is stiff, not flexy
 
Is there really that much differance between 7'6" and 8'? I would have neve thought 6" (in this case) would make that much differance.
 
It's really more than just 6"

Think of the additional square inches that you add by going 6" wider over most of the length of the boat.

The width isn't really that big of an issue, but the extra area helps it plane out easier, run dry better, and more stable.

Wider boats usually don't have to have as deep sides or transom either since they float higher than a narrower hull
 
well, i have a 13 X 8 air ranger and i love it. the stability of it is unreal. just the other day i had 4 guys, 2 dogs, decoys and a full tank of gas. not a problem at all. even climbed a little dike with all that. in fact, it handled absolutely like a dream!!! as far as performance, it does different with different terrain. that width will hinder you running through cane or tall bullrush. in thick saltgrass it will help you stay on top of it, while in patchy salt grass you tend to fall in it and then you have more drag. most of our trails are broken by 7'6" boats, my boat just widens a little. sometimes it'll kinda wedge in there if its tall cutgrass but its not really a problem. it still corners well too. overall, i like the 8 footers for the room, comfort and stability.
 
IF YALL REALLY TAPE YOU BOAT ! YOU WILL FIND OUT YOUR 8 FT IS 7 ,6 IN REALITY ON THE BOTTOM ! YALL 7,6 BOATS ARE ONLY 7 FT ! IF YOU DO THE MATH 96 PLUS 8 FOR TIRES ON THE TRAILOR ! IS 104 ! 102 IS THE LIMIT FOR FACTORY TRAILERS ! :D REALLT 86 BETWEEN THE FENDERS IS MOST OF THEM ! :D
 
Fatboys rite, If you measure your hull you will find that 8' is an approximate measurement depending on boat builder. Duckluvs is 8'2' across the top. mine is 8'4". some are a true 8', I was at airboat pros about 3 weeks ago and saw some boats wider than mine. I think the aulm. hulls tend to taper in towards the bottom a little bit more than the fiberglass hulls. but all "8' wide boats" are not always 8' wide. and the true running bottom varies as much as the width does at the top.
 
I drove my dad's alumitec 14x7'6". I have a palmbeach 13x7. I tell you that alumitec slides on grass and land super easy compared to my boat. But on the way back in to the camp I hit a patch of black muck that stop that boat quick and had to really stay in it to finally to get out of it, my boat hits that black muck it's just slows very little and goes through it like nothing. I guess what I am trying to say is a wider boat slides on grass alot easier because of the surface area but because of the more surface area it sucks to the black mud too. It is a double edge sword.
 
I think wider is better except, like Red said, it takes up a little more room on a narrow two lane when towing.

The difference will be subtle .... a little more stable on water and a little less weight per sq. ft. on ground, but sometimes a little can mean a lot.
My next hull will be an 8 footer.

olf
 
I love the wider hulls I believe they are better for almost everything, the only down fall I see with them is on narrow trails. The wider hulls are feel like bumper cars going down those tight little trails. Every now and then you will get wedged and you will need some power to plow thru the sides of the trail. But I love the way they ride and how low of an RPM they cruise at! They only reason I would not run one is if you run more wood and narrow trails then anything else.
 
ALUMUTEC 8 FOOTERS ! ALL FIT BETWEEN 86 INCH TRAILOR BLUNKS ! SO ABOUT 7 FT 2 IN ! THAT CAME FROM THE MAN ! I SEEN SOME THAT ARE 8 FT BUT THE WHEELS UNDER THE BOAT LIKE THE CAROLINA SKIFFS THE FAT ONES ! WE BE HARD TO DRY LOAD OR LET ME RE PHASE THAT !JUST TOO MUCH EFFORT! :D :D
 
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