Abernathys Marine has a great selection of Gator Trax boats available and for order to fit your boating needs. Gator Trax boats such as the 2015 Gator Trax Hybrid model 1850 and the 2015 Gator Trax Model 1750 are great selections you can get here at Abernathys! Here is more information along with some commonly asked questions on why you should choose a Gator Trax including info on the details such as construction and performance of the Gator Trax line of boats! Call or come by for more details on our selection and what we can do to help you get the Gator Trax thats just right for you. Gator Trax: Gator Trax builds high-quality, shallow water boats so that you can maneuver with ease through whatever water you want to take on. Our custom built aluminum boats feature a standard design with additional layouts and accessories that fit your needs.Our boats blow the traditional flat boats out of the water, thanks to the thickness of the aluminum hull and our longitudinal bracing system. Rounded chines, angled transoms, smooth bottoms and airboat style rakes are design standards in Gator Trax boats. We provide engineering perfection to meet the demands of hunters, fishers and whoever else wants to hit muddy waters on an excellent boat. Beyond these standards, we offer customizable options for each buyer’s specifications.Gator Trax builds each custom hull at the time it’s ordered and we provide a lifetime warranty to our custom built boats. FAQ on our Custom Boats Q. How much are your boats? A. Thats a loaded question! While we do offer pre-packaged models for display at some of our dealers, you are not bound by their design. You will find that we do things a little different here at Gator Trax. We dont limit you to floor plans or layouts that you dont want or need. If none of the packages meet your specific needs, you can choose a size hull that you are comfortable with, then design the rest of the hull to your specifications! We can customize your hull anyway you want! Q: I see you use Extruded Metal Bracing in your boats....what is extruded metal and why is it important? A. Extruding a piece of metal simply means it was pushed through and squirted out of a die to form a specific shape. In our case, we buy extruded aluminum that forms shapes specific to our build process that enhances strength as well as fit and finish. Q: With a slick bottom and soft chines, wont my Gator Trax hull slide if used with an outboard or a surface drive? A: NO! The US Coast Guard actually allows soft chine, smooth bottom boats a higher horsepower rating than the traditional square chine, flat boat with crimps on the bottom. Why? Because the soft chine digs into the water and grabs it, causing it to dig in during the turn and keeping it from sliding. The traditional flat will slide long before our hull ever will! Q: Why do your hulls not have crimps on the bottom, and wont that help to keep you from sliding? A: First, refer to the above question. Second, the crimps on traditional flats are just that, crimps. They are not keels. They are on hulls that lack the rigidity and strength to stand on their own. The aluminum is just too thin to not be doubled over every so often to add strength. In short, they are for strength, not performance. Gator Trax hulls are made of .125 aluminum and have longitudinal runners on the inside of the hull. This keeps your bottom free of crimps that hang on logs, banks, stumps, etc. Q: Why dont you build a standard model shorter than 15 feet? A: Surface area. We have found that a boat shorter than 15 feet, when loaded heavily, will draft an unacceptable amount of water for effective shallow water operation. The more surface area you have in contact with the water, (not to exceed extremes) the less water you will draft. We recommend the 16 footer be as short as you go. However, if you are in need of a shorter hull, for whatever the reason, we will build it. Q. Why are those two braces on top of the floor on all Gator Trax boats? A- Gator Trax uses a longitudinal bracing system. All of the braces that ACTUALLY TOUCH THE BOTTOM OF THE HULL run lengthways, “with the grain of the water” if you will. They run the FULL length of the hull from bow to stern UNITERRUPTED. No brace that crosses the boat in a Gator Trax touches the bottom. This is to prevent dents. Because there are no cross braces touching the bottom, any underwater obstruction (rocks, logs, stumps)that hits the bottom of the hull can now flex the hull between the longitudinal ribs and pop out at the transom without ever contacting a cross brace, which is where the dent would most likely occur. This is basically a dent prevention bracing system, another true shallow water feature, not found in traditional hulls. That being said, the Gator Trax one piece hull is pulled up and held together in the front by the deck, in the back by the transom, and mid-ship by these braces. Placing them below the false floor will not only give the boat two places to “catch dents”, but would also give our current longitudinal braces, (which are one solid piece), two interrupted weak spots. Q: What size boat should I buy and what motor should I pair it up with? A: Great Question! It is one we deal with here several times a day. To properly answer that, you must ask yourself a few questions. First, how many hunters will I REALISTICALLY hunt with on an average trip? Two, three, more? The heaviest part of your load will be hunters so this is important to answer honestly. If you will have two in the boat, 16ft is fine, three in the boat, you need 17ft minimum. More? You need 18ft minimum. Length is the key if you stay narrow. If you go with a wider hull, length is not as critical. Second, how far do I run from the landing to my hunting spot ON AN AVERAGE DAY? This, combined with the answer to the first question, will dictate your motor choice. If you run with a heavy load or your runs are long, say more than 5 or 6 miles, you will need one of the larger Hyperdrive Sports like the 35hp or 45hp. Anything less will not give you the performance you need. If you have a light load or your run is short, 1-3 miles or so, you can scale back a bit to a smaller motor. Remember, we NEVER recommend smaller than the 23hp Hyperdrive for any application with our hulls unless you have our duck skiff. A good rule of thumb is to purchase the largest mud motor you can afford, because that will be the one you wish you had purchased at some point! Third, will I use this hull to hunt out of with a blind or as a transport vessel from the landing to a permanent blind? If you are going to hunt from the boat, or even fish from this boat, you will want an open floor plan of some kind. Our open hull, walk through bench, or a combo of the two will be best. If you will use the boat to transport hunters to a permanent blind then get out to hunt, the center bench will work great as a bench for your passengers to sit on while running. And, since you are not hunting or fishing out of the boat, the bench will not be in the way for your application. If you will answer the above 3 questions as they pertain to your real situations, you will have a great starting point on boat size, hull layout and design, and motor choice. We offer this suggestion; Build this hull for what you will be doing 90% of the time, then live with the other 10%. Q. Does a round chine hull draft more water than a square chine hull? A. Yes. But not several inches of draft as many of our competitors would have you believe. If you are comparing two exact same boats, (example; 50 bottom to 50 bottom), and both boats weigh the same, then the difference is LESS THAN 1/4. The difference is so insignificant that giving up the superior handling and performance of a rounded chine is certainly not worth the 1/4 of draft! Q: Can exterior flotation pods help the performance of my boat? A: That depends. If you have a short boat, (less than 16ft), yes. It will create more surface area and make up for the lack of true bottom on your hull. Or, if you plan to use an outboard frequently, it will improve your shallow water take off. (Hole shot). If you have a hull that is 16-20ft, and exclusively use a mud motor, pods will be of little advantage. Q: Wont a hull with full flotation float better and draft less water than one without? A: NO! It will draft MORE water! Why? Because it has the same surface area as the hull without flotation, but is weighs more. The flotation in a boat only becomes a factor when you attempt to force it under the water level. (when the boat becomes swamped) Then, and only then, will the flotation become buoyant and keep your hull from sinking. Try this. Take a 5-gallon bucket and seal it shut with a lid. Throw it in the water and mark where it floats. Now, take another one and fill it full of flotation foam. When you mark that one, it will float LOWER in the water because it is heavier. Now, poke a hole in both buckets. One will sink, and the other will float. That is the value of flotation. Dont worry, we build both models to suit your needs!
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 19:47:00 +0000
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