Lowe 1648 Jon Boats For Sale

The Lowe 1648 jon boat is a 16-foot riveted aluminum flat-bottom built for shallow-water fishing, duck hunting and electric-only rigs. The hull weighs about 275 pounds, which makes it among the lightest 16-foot aluminum boats on the market, tied with a comparable Crestliner model. Despite the 1648 designation, the gunnels flare out to roughly 70 inches across the beam, and the center benches run almost 65 inches wide, so there is real room to walk and stand once it is built out. The Coast Guard plate rates it for a maximum of 30 horsepower. Newer boats are offered in the Aura/Aurora trim and carry a 10-year hull warranty.

Performance depends heavily on the outboard. With a 25-horsepower four-stroke on the back, the boat runs about 24 to 26 mph, and distributing weight across three people costs essentially no speed. A 25 is plenty of engine and sips fuel. A smaller Yamaha 9.9 four-stroke pulls the same hull only to about 15 to 19 mph, while a Suzuki or Tohatsu 9.9 flashed to the 20-horsepower ECU can push close to 30 to 31 mph. The front is a true flat bottom that tapers up sharply at the bow, which is what makes it fast over flat water, but it does not cut chop or boat wake well and the 1648 can feel tippy with two people on one side.

The transom is a full-size 20-inch transom with a riveted transducer puck so electronics can be mounted without drilling more holes. The hull is held together with 10 ribs carrying 38 rivets each, plus rivets along the floor seams and through the benches, which adds up to well over 500 penetrations on a new boat. That construction keeps weight and price down but is the part owners weigh most carefully, since a riveted hull can develop a leak over time, often at a hard-to-reach rivet.

Standard equipment includes a stock live well set into a center bench, though its pan is riveted straight through the bottom of the hull and it has no built-in fill, so keeping fish alive typically means swapping in a tournament-style live well with pump and recirculation. Stock storage is limited, and the way the bow tapers up leaves only about eight or nine inches of depth under a flat front deck unless you extend the deck rearward. The boat accepts a bow-mounted trolling motor; a 45-pound Minn Kota or similar is enough to sneak within about 30 feet of crappie, and heavier setups like a Garmin Force with a 57-inch shaft fit but run long for this hull. Newer hulls use sprayed-in flotation foam in the rear benches rather than the older Styrofoam blocks.

The 1648 is a popular base for full bass-boat conversions, with owners adding front-deck extensions, port and starboard storage hatches, beaver-tail pods on the transom, raised seating and wired console hubs. The square, wide bow gives plenty of room to step in and out when beaching. When you find a Lowe 1648 jon boat for sale, the Lowe 1648 jon boat price runs close to comparable welded aluminum models, so the trade is weight and speed against the long-term durability of a welded hull. Buyers should check the corners and motor-mount hardware for proper sealing and washers, since those are common spots for water intrusion on this rig.