Alumacraft prowler 165 weight help

Hello all,

This is my first boat, so I’m learning as I go and have many questions. I was pressed for space and had to choose a boat of this size to squeeze into my garage(4 inches to spare).

I’m adding a minn Kota terrova 80lb 24v ipilot which meant adding another battery to the stern. I put in a dual tray and spare battery for testing purposes. Added a 3 bank charger to the stern as well.

My concern is too much stern weight.
Motor 230 lbs
Batteries 147 lbs
6 ga. tank 40 lbs
Charger 19 lbs

There’s also a 20 gallon live well in the back, just in front of the battery compartment. With the live well full and just me in the boat-(170lbs)-fishing from the front, I have 8 inches of freeboard at the transom.

With the weight increase, the boat still gets on plane easily. GPS speed dropped from 35 to 34 wot. Max captivity is 965 lbs.

Should I be concerned with this amount of freeboard?

Also gear and trolling motor adds another 100 lbs. Am I pushing my weight capicity too far? Will I be able to fish with another person?

Pics of water line

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Cannot really answer your question but you could save weight by plugging the livewell like I have and use it as dry storage. IMO fish are best put right on ice-this I believe is what a lot of commercial fisherman do too. The plugged livewell is one less thing for you to remember and for the inspectors to check.
People on this site are very knowlegable and someone will give you a more direct answer. Good Luck
Oh-my new boat is probably 3x the weight of my old one and I’m still getting used to it.

What’s the motor HP and what’s the max HP of the boat?

max 60 hp…boat has a 50 hp suzuki 4 stroke

Looking at the Alumacraft site, there appears to be a storage compartment in the bow platform. What about moving the TM batteries up there?

HRG

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Mine has two storage compartments up front, but the floor is angled upward. 9 inches deep and one end and 6 at the other. I don’t see any way of getting batteries in there.

I added a third battery to my boat a few years back and my stern dropped a few inches as well. It’s never been an issue but it’s noticable…other than a few more splashes when back trolling.

Like suggested, if you can shift weight forward, go that route.

Tough. I can see why you’d be concerned and also that you really don’t have many options available to you.

gonefishing81 wrote:

Mine has two storage compartments up front, but the floor is angled upward. 9 inches deep and one end and 6 at the other. I don’t see any way of getting batteries in there.

Just a thought, many AGM batteries, like an Optima 31, can be installed on their sides, reducing the height needed.

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/bluetop-dual-purpose-deep-cycle-and-starting/d31m

HRG

I am guessing the boat is not new but new to you. I went out and look at some images of prowlers on the internet. None of the images I found showed the boats drafting as much water as the water lines in your pictures.

Did you buy the boat from a dealer or a private party?

I personally would take it over to someplace that has a truck scale and weigh the boat empty sitting on the trailer. My local county dump has a truck scale.

Find the trailer manufactures weight and subtract it from the total weight from the truck scale. Then you will have a weight that you can compare to Alumacraft’s boat weight.

My guess is that you have a couple hundred pound of water trapped under the floor. Possibly trapped in the flotation foam.

Just a thought, many AGM batteries, like an Optima 31, can be installed on their sides, reducing the height needed.

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/bluetop-dual-purpose-deep-cycle-and-starting/d31m

HRG

I didn’t know this about AGM batteries. Thanks for the info

djshannon wrote:

I am guessing the boat is not new but new to you. I went out and look at some images of prowlers on the internet. None of the images I found showed the boats drafting as much water as the water lines in your pictures.

Did you buy the boat from a dealer or a private party?

I personally would take it over to someplace that has a truck scale and weigh the boat empty sitting on the trailer. My local county dump has a truck scale.

Find the trailer manufactures weight and subtract it from the total weight from the truck scale. Then you will have a weight that you can compare to Alumacraft’s boat weight.

My guess is that you have a couple hundred pound of water trapped under the floor. Possibly trapped in the flotation foam.

It’s a 2018, purchased new from a dealer. Should I worry with this much freeboard?

Since it is new, here is a picture from the web. Does yours draft like this when in use? Your waterline say differently…

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djshannon wrote:

Since it is new, here is a picture from the web. Does yours draft like this when in use? Your waterline say differently…

Not everyone’s 8″ is the same

His looks about right. With gear and all it’s gonna lower down than what a dealer photo shows.