Flat bottom boat

[karl.d]

Guys, I am looking into getting a flat bottom boat. At this point I am leaning towards 16' modified V with a 25 horse outboard. I have not fished out of a flat bottom much, so I was wondering about a few things...

How important is transom height? I am seeing 15" and 20".. What are the advantages of a higher transom? Does that extra weight matter much?

What about those anchor systems people have that stick up in the front of the boat? What are they for, should I get one, etc?

What kind of rod holders do you guys have on your flat bottom boats? I have Bert's rod holders my big lake boat and like them a lot.. Probably get a couple of short tracks and use the holders I already have, but I am open to suggestions.

Welded vs. rivets? I'm sure welded is stronger, but is it worth the extra cost?

What about open floor vs. middle seat? Anyone use box seats?

This is all I can remember at the moment. Maybe some of you guys with nicely rigged flat bottoms can post some pics to get me started. Thanks!

[Raymond S.]

What type of fishing are you going to be doing w/ this?

We have a 14' mod-V w/ a 25h.p. Mercury.
The middle bench has been removed and the front has a casting platform. We have 6 Scotty rodholers (nothin' special) mounted 3/side. 2 on the back corners, then 2 more 4' up from there, and 2 more up from there. We purchased this boat for winter steelheading in the river. We have fished w/ 3 guys. When doing this, 1 guy sits in the back, the other sits on the casting platform up front, and the 3rd either next to him up front, or on the cooler in the middle. It is nice to have that bench removed, I can't imagine not having it that way. Of course, ours in only 14ft.
Last winter I made up an anchor similiar to what you're talking about, w/ an atv winch mounted to it. Didn't get a chance to mount it yet, we'll be doing that before this winter. Basically, what you're doing is dropping the anchor out over the front of the bow to keep you pointed upstream while fishing off the back of the boat, or the sides. I looked into buying one of these and they are pricey, so we made our own. W/ the price of steel, that's pricey too. Do a search for anchor winch, or anchor davit, you'll find alot on here.
W/ only being a 14ft. boat w/ a 25h.p. motor it moves pretty good on the water, even w/ 3 guys in it.

I really don't know the benefits of transom height, to be honest, I don't even know what mine is. Probably more towards 15" because it is pretty shallow. I will say that I have fished a couple times in the river w/ a 16ft. V-bottom and I do enjoy being able to get up and move around in our mod-v alot better. It is much more stable.
Good luck w/ your purchase, hope this helps a little.