# Motor size on brand new tracker grizzly 1448 or 1648



## Jwenzeljr (Feb 25, 2020)

I’m going to be purchasing a 2020 tracker grizzley either 1448 or 1648. I have a brand new 20 hp to tohatsu 10hp I converted to a 20hp in garage. The question is will a 20hp plane 2 guys and a 20 gal livewell (live well will be a mod). so 550-600 lbs plus batteries and motor? The 14 weighs like 550lb and the 16 625lb. I do t need speed just gotta plane like a not plow water for a half mile before it gets up goes.


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## turbotodd (Feb 25, 2020)

No.

I have had a 20hp on a 1448 Lowe which is a little lighter weight and a more efficient hull than the grizzly is; with two of us and little gear, 3 gal of fuel and a small battery, it would NOT plane. With just one of us, yeah it'd plane off but was still slow. Whatever the max HP rating is on the hull, run the maximum. You can back off the throttle to slow down but you can't make a motor that is already wide open and underpowered make more power. 1648 should be 40hp rating I think arent they? 

After looking at the spec, I see the 1448 has a max hp of 25 and a dry weight of 560lb+. That is a HEAVY pig. Mine is an over-built war eagle 1548 that weighs in at 350 lbs including the floor and low deck. I run a 25 on it and am happy with that. 30mph is plenty for me. With 2 of us and all the gear that she has to take we still plane off just fine and top out in the mid 20's. I have a 40 and might play with it once I get it fixed; not expecting more than maybe 35mph out of it.


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## jasper60103 (Feb 27, 2020)

I went with a 30hp on my 1648 tracker grizzly, tiller model. This is my first new boat and very pleased. 
Its built like a tank in my opinion. The 30hp is plenty motor for me. I would give your 20hp before deciding.
Your call. 
Good luck. 
Jasper 

2018 Tracker Grizzly 1648 Jon

Additional Specs

Length:16' 1"
Beam: 72"
Bottom width: 48"
Max. recommended HP: 40 HP
Max. person capacity: 4 persons
Max. person weight: 555 lbs.
Max. weight capacity : 1055 lbs.
Interior depth: 16"
Transom height: 21"
Deadrise: 7 degrees
Hull material: 0.1 5052 marine alloy
Average weight: 587 lbs.
Average package weight: 1209 lbs.
Package height: 5' 4"
Package width: 5' 11"
Towing length: 20' 5"
Storage length: 19' 9"

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## wmk0002 (Feb 28, 2020)

Jwenzeljr said:


> I’m going to be purchasing a 2020 tracker grizzley either 1448 or 1648. I have a brand new 20 hp to tohatsu 10hp I converted to a 20hp in garage. The question is will a 20hp plane 2 guys and a 20 gal livewell (live well will be a mod). so 550-600 lbs plus batteries and motor? The 14 weighs like 550lb and the 16 625lb. I do t need speed just gotta plane like a not plow water for a half mile before it gets up goes.



Care to share any info on this 10 to 20 hp conversion? I thought mods to the new 4 strokes were pretty difficult. Did you swap the ECU or something?


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## wmk0002 (Feb 28, 2020)

turbotodd said:


> No.
> 
> I have had a 20hp on a 1448 Lowe which is a little lighter weight and a more efficient hull than the grizzly is; with two of us and little gear, 3 gal of fuel and a small battery, it would NOT plane. With just one of us, yeah it'd plane off but was still slow. Whatever the max HP rating is on the hull, run the maximum. You can back off the throttle to slow down but you can't make a motor that is already wide open and underpowered make more power. 1648 should be 40hp rating I think arent they?
> 
> After looking at the spec, I see the 1448 has a max hp of 25 and a dry weight of 560lb+. That is a HEAVY pig. Mine is an over-built war eagle 1548 that weighs in at 350 lbs including the floor and low deck. I run a 25 on it and am happy with that. 30mph is plenty for me. With 2 of us and all the gear that she has to take we still plane off just fine and top out in the mid 20's. I have a 40 and might play with it once I get it fixed; not expecting more than maybe 35mph out of it.



Todd, have ever posted pictures of your War Eagle? I'd like to see your setup if you ever get a chance.


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## jethro (Feb 28, 2020)

My rule of thumb is at least 75% or more of max HP rating.


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## Jwenzeljr (Feb 29, 2020)

Wmk0002. Swapped Ecu pulled restrictot plate. Boom 20hp. To convert the 9.9 to 15 it takes a 15 Ecu and 15 plate. The 20 doesn’t have one


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## jasper60103 (Feb 29, 2020)

There's a YouTube of a 2017 tracker grizzly 1754. It's being pushed with a 15 hp 2 stroke motor. 
Claims to be getting 18 mph in a empty boat with driver only. 

https://youtu.be/fqbgkCHRCZ8


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## turbotodd (Mar 1, 2020)

wmk0002 said:


> turbotodd said:
> 
> 
> > No.
> ...



Long time ago, yeah. Not in a while though. Might get a minute to go to the lake tomorrow; I'll see if I can snap a pic or two.


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## turbotodd (Mar 3, 2020)

here you go. It got dirty yesterday. Had a returning client/old friend that wanted to go fishing; so I took her-and her little dog. Coffee got spilled twice, dog pooped on the floor, but we got through it and got PLENTY of fish slime in it. Spent the evening pressure washing it; looks almost new again (temporarily).

Just a 1548 war eagle, or more specifically 548LDV is the actual model number.

It had a 15hp yamaha on it at one point. It planed, with one person. GF went with me, nope...just plows water. With just me and a real light load (no fish or ice in the cooler, no tackle to speak of, no bait, etc) I saw 23mph out of it. The 25 only runs about 29 and change on calm water with no current-same conditions and same lake as the 15hp test. Just threw it on there to run it since I was selling it. Wanted to make sure it was good to go (and it was). The big diference was time to plane. The 25 is about 3 seconds; the 15 about 12. 12 seconds to plane seems like an eternity but it did it which was surprising. Keep in mind that the boat is rated for 40hp. War eagle did a fine job designing the hull to be as versatile as they could get it to be yet still perform well. It rides WAY better than "ANY" other aluminum jon that I've been in/on. Tested a 2372 War eagle today (150 yamaha) and it rides exactly the same, just bigger more stable and considerably faster. Guy is using that one to load a 4 wheeler into the front of it to take to an island on the arkansas river down south somewhere.


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## wmk0002 (Mar 4, 2020)

Jwenzeljr said:


> Wmk0002. Swapped Ecu pulled restrictot plate. Boom 20hp. To convert the 9.9 to 15 it takes a 15 Ecu and 15 plate. The 20 doesn’t have one



That doesn't sound bad at all. How did you acquire the ECU? I imagine the OEM ones are crazy expensive.


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## wmk0002 (Mar 4, 2020)

turbotodd said:


> here you go. It got dirty yesterday. Had a returning client/old friend that wanted to go fishing; so I took her-and her little dog. Coffee got spilled twice, dog pooped on the floor, but we got through it and got PLENTY of fish slime in it. Spent the evening pressure washing it; looks almost new again (temporarily).



Good looking boat! Thanks for sharing.


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## Jwenzeljr (Mar 6, 2020)

Wmk. It was like 800 I think. Got it from dealer. U just plug and play


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## turbotodd (Mar 7, 2020)

Quick vid...I took this last year. I think about July if I remember right. Thought you guys might find it interesting. 25hp 4 stroke yamaha, was full throttle about 31mph (downriver) at the beginning, then eased up off the throttle back to idle by the end. Camera picked up a ton of wind noise.

By the way if yall have a deck on the boat like mine, and it's aluminum, hydroturf is the "hot" ticket. The temp of the deck before hydroturf (just painted aluminum) out in the sun was warm enough to partially melt the soles of my shoes. After? I can walk around barefooted which I prefer to do. That sheet was like $80; it was a scrap piece that just worked out to almost the exact same color as the boat's paint and was about 1/4" too wide at the widest part. Small amount of trimming and it was in. Self-stick too. I'm tickled with it! OH one nice thing about it is with a bare floor, when you drop a split shot weight or a pair of pliers or whatever, the sound is amplified. On those waters (in the vid), the water clarity is pretty clear, and you can watch the fish swim around or swim off. If you look close you can see the bottom through the fog particularly on the starboard side. That was roughly 2 foot depth. Before hydroturf, I could drop the pliers and watch fish swim away from the boat. After, it's not nearly as bad. Just pressure wash it out, if it's really nasty, soap and water with a brush. It IS expensive, but it is also VERY good stuff. My dad wants to hydroturf his whole boat now after seeing mine.

https://imgur.com/CTFcZS1


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## nccatfisher (Mar 8, 2020)

I have a 25 on a 1448 Grizzly and it could stand more without any problem.


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## wmk0002 (Mar 9, 2020)

turbotodd said:


> Quick vid...I took this last year. I think about July if I remember right. Thought you guys might find it interesting. 25hp 4 stroke yamaha, was full throttle about 31mph (downriver) at the beginning, then eased up off the throttle back to idle by the end. Camera picked up a ton of wind noise.
> 
> By the way if yall have a deck on the boat like mine, and it's aluminum, hydroturf is the "hot" ticket. The temp of the deck before hydroturf (just painted aluminum) out in the sun was warm enough to partially melt the soles of my shoes. After? I can walk around barefooted which I prefer to do. That sheet was like $80; it was a scrap piece that just worked out to almost the exact same color as the boat's paint and was about 1/4" too wide at the widest part. Small amount of trimming and it was in. Self-stick too. I'm tickled with it! OH one nice thing about it is with a bare floor, when you drop a split shot weight or a pair of pliers or whatever, the sound is amplified. On those waters (in the vid), the water clarity is pretty clear, and you can watch the fish swim around or swim off. If you look close you can see the bottom through the fog particularly on the starboard side. That was roughly 2 foot depth. Before hydroturf, I could drop the pliers and watch fish swim away from the boat. After, it's not nearly as bad. Just pressure wash it out, if it's really nasty, soap and water with a brush. It IS expensive, but it is also VERY good stuff. My dad wants to hydroturf his whole boat now after seeing mine.
> 
> https://imgur.com/CTFcZS1



That's quiet!


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