Man, confuse the $#%^ out of me. Maybe I need to clarify the way I fish. I do fish a couple bigger rivers, Skagit and Fraser. But I also spend quite a bit of time on some fairly small rivers, Nooksack and Sauk. Both of these smaller rivers is where I would be extremely nervous about having an 18 foot boat in case I had to turn around quickly, you just would not be able to do it. These two rivers get some pretty tight spots in them that at times might funnel down to only a eight foot wide slot before they open up again. An 18 footer would really be a challenge getting it through. If all I was doing was running rivers like the Cowlitz it would be a no brainer to get the bigger boat but that isn’t the case for me. I probably should have put that in my original post. I did check out the Alumaweld Brochure and the boat will handle a 115/80 pump but it’s a hell of a lot of weight, 357 lbs., plus with just me in the boat I’m not sure how that would work. Also, the new Merc’s come with a four-blade stainless steel impeller as standard equipment. At any rate any suggestions with this new information about the type of rivers I fish would still be very welcomed! I have until July 26 to make any changes before I’m locked in.