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New Boat Build-Tracker Grizzly 1648


chefchris
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figured I'd finally post up the new boat after spending most of the season in it. these are the main parts/build 

tracker grizzly 1648 

tohatsu 9.9 4 stroke 

minn kota 70ln 24v TM 

Lowrance 9" Hook 2 reveal triple shot fish finder in front 

Lowrance 7" Hook 2 reveal fish finder in the rear 

Power Pole Micro Pole w/ 8' pole 

Millennium Marine Chairs front and rear with added elite pro cup/storage holder

3 Duracell batteries, 2 for the TM, 1 for fish finders, power pole & lighting 

minn kota on board charger 

 

This boat has been everything and some much more than I ever hoped. After 3 failed attempts at purchasing a hull (g3, alumacraft and Lund) due to supply chain issues, shortages and companies over selling stock, I pulled the trigger on the tracker grizzly from bass pro. Took 4 months for it to arrive but wasn't in a rush so wasn't a huge deal. tried to be a budget friendly build as much as possible without cutting corners. I decided to not go full tiny boat nation build off the rip as I wanted to see how the boat fished, what I needed vs what I wanted and no reason building something that's overkill, the goal was to have a simple effective fun boat at the end of the day. Also wanted a boat i could handle alone as i fish alone a lot and at night. 

After doing a lot of motor research I went with the tohatsu 9.9 4 stroke from Cumberland motorsports, which was like $700 cheaper than my local shop which quoted me 3 month lead time, ordered it from Cumberland and had it in 4 days. went with the 9.9 cause the majority of places in RI, MA and CT where I fish have a 10hp limit or a 10 mph speed limit, boat does 7.5 mpg fully geared up with two guys, cooler, gear etc. It might not seem fast but I'm use to being electric only in my crawdad doing like 2.5. one of my ponds went from a 35 minute boat ride across the lake to a 6 minute boat ride, motor has been awesome. also while doing my research i found out the a 9.8 is a maxed out 8hp motor, where the 9.9 is detuned 17 or 25 hp depending on the brand and with a new breather plate/control box you can essentially have a 17hp in a 9.9hp body. 

up front I did a 70lb minn kota maxxum trolling motor, 24 volt set up, the motor will do 3-3.5 mpg on 90% with the boat fully loaded, i fish a lot of electric only places and haven't come close to killing the batteries 

the power pole micro with the 8' pole is probably the best I've spent for anything boating related, i can anchor is 5-6' of water, blowing 25mph and the boat is locked in, no more puling anchors in the spring, getting water, mud, weeds in the boat. its amazing and i cant say enough good things about it 

fish finders, always been a Lowrance fan, up front got a 9" hook 2 reveal with the mapping/log capabilities with side scan, down imaging, side imaging and gps and the rear got the 7" version without the side scan, both are great units for the $$$ 

for seats I took the advice of seb and few guys and went with millennium marine seats then added the elite pro cup holder and storage holder, which holds an iPhone great. the seats are amazing, breathable mesh, super wide, no swamp azz, I also picked up the millennium leaning seat with adjustable angle seat bracket, haven't used it that much but nice to have options 

the boat fishes great with two guys, throwing 8-8'6 rods, holds plenty of gear, storage up front is decent size, the hatch is on the smaller side but internally it holds a lot. 

my main gripes with the boat are minor, but its a pain to wire as the whole boat is sealed, super well built it only has a 1.5" square tube running front to back to run wires, so it can be tight after running the TM wires, power/ground for accessories etc., I didn't want all kinds of wires loose and running along the sides. the other gripe is the front deck is a little short, it really needs to be like 18" longer, I'm use to it now and I usually sit/stand as I move around and fish, but its not one of those decks you can take a couple steps back to really lean into a fish like i see a lot of guys doing, but I've never been able to do that so again not a huge concern. 

all and all I'm super happy with the boat, design, layout and how well it fishes, ill probably add some stuff this winter, light weight, easy to tow, easy to launch and handle solo, cleans up super easy, some soapy water and scrub brush and hose. got to take the girl and step son out one day this summer and he got to drive the boat around which he had a blast doing ( i know the kill switch is still on the motor! quickly changed that once i saw it) 

still need to figure out a rod holder solution. 

enjoy some pics

and all in (literally kept a spread sheet of everything down to nuts and bolts total cost was $13,212.00 (including trailer and ALL parts/pieces) 

any questions about the build, parts, pricing, feedback etc ask away 

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tracker 1.jpg

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tracker dylan2.jpg

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Outstanding setup for sure. No unnecessary bells and whistles, just straight up form and function. I like it brother. 
**Especially that Power Pole setup.  

Edited by Mossyback Angler
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1 hour ago, FishDr said:

Very sweet setup! I was wondering if the front deck has some kind of no-slip coating so that you have good grip on wet days.

The whole boat has a textured top coat on all the flat surfaces. Works great. Rough enough to stop you from slipping but still smooth enough to be bare foot in the boat 

I actually purchased the knock sea deck like I used on the crawdad and I can’t use it due to the texture unless I want to use some sort of glue/epoxy 

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  • 1 year later...

@chefchris hey there!  i know this is an old post, but just got a 1648 jon myself.  i've been trying to how to run wires from front to back, when i came across your post here.  you say "super well built it only has a 1.5" square tube running front to back to run wires,".  what is this 1.5" square tube you're speaking of?  where is it?  is it something official with the grizzly for running wires?  i ask because i've seen a couple posts/videos where people have fished wires through the bottom of the boat, but that's below the bilge line.  what you're referencing sounds like it'd be above the bilge line, which i'd much prefer. 

anyway, if you wouldn't mind sharing what you know about it, i'd really appreciate it!  thx!

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