Grizzly 1648 SC

The Tracker Grizzly 1648 SC is the jon boat the segment compares everything else against. Tracker is the in-house aluminum-boat brand of Bass Pro Shops, distributed through the Bass Pro and Cabela's network plus a roster of independent dealers, and the Grizzly 1648 SC has held the rank-one position in our 2026 jon-boats guide because the package price, the standard-equipment list, and the dealer-floor accessibility all line up against the segment.

What is the Tracker Grizzly 1648 SC?

The 1648 SC is a 16-foot 1-inch all-welded aluminum jon boat with a 48-inch beam, a .100-gauge aluminum bottom, .080-gauge sides, a reinforced transom rated for outboards up to 35 horsepower, and a unitized hull-stringer-transom construction that Tracker uses across the larger Grizzly models. Capacity is rated at 4 persons, and the dry weight is around 350 pounds for the boat alone before motor and trailer.

The standard equipment list is what separates the SC from the base utility 1648. A side console (the SC designation) with throttle and steering reach forward of the transom. A 9-gallon rotomolded aerated livewell integrated into the front of the molded console. A lockable bow deck storage compartment for tackle and gear. Two pedestal seat bases. A reinforced front deck. The package as sold at the Bass Pro and Cabela's stores includes the boat, a Mercury 25-horsepower tiller-style outboard, a single-axle galvanized trailer, the gas tank, and the basic owner manual, all bundled at $11,800 to $14,500 depending on dealer location and model year.

The Tracker Promise warranty is the longest factory aluminum-boat warranty in the segment when fully invoked. What comes up across owner accounts is that the warranty does what it says when the dealer relationship is good, with mixed reports outside that case.

Who is it good for?

First-time aluminum-jon owners are the core buyer. Families whose use case is small-lake fishing, river drifting, or duck-hunting in marsh and back-water grounds are the right fit. The package price of under $14,000 new with the trailer and the outboard makes the 1648 SC the most accessible new-boat purchase in the broader fishing segment, and the dealer-floor availability through Bass Pro and Cabela's removes the friction of finding a marine specialist.

Freshwater Midwest, Southeast, and Great Lakes buyers fit the geography. Painted aluminum holds up adequately on freshwater for years of use without specialized care, and the .100-gauge bottom takes the kind of contact that a typical small-lake or river launch produces (gravel, the occasional rock, the rare submerged stump) without complaint. A friend running a Grizzly 1648 SC on the Tennessee River last fall did the dawn-to-dusk crappie-and-bream run for a long week and put up no scratches on the bottom paint that mattered.

Duck-hunting families running marsh and back-water rigs are the second profile. The 1648 platform is the right length and beam for marsh work, and the open layout adapts to camo paint, blind framing, and dog platform builds without complaint. Predawn launches on a frozen Mississippi Delta ramp last December showed the boat is easy to push off the trailer one-handed with the bow line.

Who is it not good for?

Saltwater coastal owners are the wrong buyer. The painted aluminum finish corrodes in salt and the warranty does not cover that. Buyers in the Florida bay-and-marsh geography or the Gulf Coast back-bay marsh should look at a Sea Ark or a similar saltwater-rated welded-aluminum specialist instead.

Buyers who want a fully equipped fishing platform out of the box are also the wrong fit. The 1648 SC ships with the integrated bow deck, the livewell, and the seat bases, but the casting-deck buildout for serious flats-style fishing, the trolling motor and mount, the bilge pump, the navigation lights, and the depth finder are all owner-completed work. The build-it-yourself approach is part of the value formula, and most owners are happy to do it. Buyers who want a turnkey platform should step up the price and the length.

Pricing

New 2026 Grizzly 1648 SC pricing on the bundled package (boat, Mercury 25-horsepower tiller, single-axle trailer, gas tank) is $11,800 to $14,500 depending on dealer location and model year. The boat-alone price (no motor, no trailer) is around $5,400 from Tracker, but most buyers take the package because the dealer financing math works on the bundle.

The used market goes from $5,000 at the bottom (older 2014-and-earlier hulls in rough condition without trailer) to $20,000 at the top (current-year packages with full electronics and accessory buildout). Average used pricing across the production run is around $15,600 in 2026 listings. The sweet spot for buyers is the 2019-to-2023 package with the Mercury 25-horsepower tiller, the trailer in good condition, and 200 hours or fewer, which lands in the $6,800 to $10,200 band.

Five-year depreciation is about 26 to 30 percent off new package MSRP, tighter than the broader aluminum-fishing-boat segment median. The brand demand on the freshwater-Midwest market keeps used inventory moving fast.

What works

• Used 2021 packages at $7,800 to $9,500 with trailer are the value floor in the segment. No other welded-aluminum jon in this length matches the package price.
• All-welded unitized aluminum hull with .100-gauge bottom and .080-gauge sides. The construction is shared with the larger Grizzly models.
• Semi-V bow handles 1-foot chop better than flat-bottom alternatives at the same length. The boat does not pound on a wind-blown lake.
• 48-inch beam keeps the boat stable for standing while fishing, which matters more than spec sheets suggest.
• Integrated 9-gallon rotomolded aerated livewell on the console, plus a lockable bow deck storage compartment for tackle, both part of the SC standard build.
• Tracker Promise warranty terms are the longest factory aluminum-boat warranty in the segment when honored.
• Mercury 25-horsepower tiller is the simplest and lowest-maintenance outboard in the size class. Parts and service are widely available.
• Dealer-floor accessibility through Bass Pro and Cabela's removes the friction of finding a marine specialist for a first-time buyer.

What doesn't

• Painted finish (not powder-coat) shows scrapes faster on rocky-river use, and saltwater exposure is off-limits without aftermarket treatment.
• Weld-line integrity on a small share of older hulls (notably 2000-to-2005 production) has been flagged by owners. Pre-purchase inspection of the chine and transom welds is non-negotiable on used buys.
• Customer-service responsiveness on warranty work has been described by some owners as inconsistent. The dealer relationship is the practical workaround.
• Mercury 25 horsepower may be underpowered for two adults plus full gear plus a trolling-motor battery bank. The 1648 platform takes up to 35 horsepower on the reinforced transom.
• Bilge pump, navigation lights, and trolling motor mount are all optional rather than standard. Plan on $400 to $700 in dealer-installed accessories before serious use.

Year-by-year notes

The Grizzly 1648 SC has been in production with limited spec changes through the modern era. The .100-gauge bottom and the unitized welded construction span the full production run. The integrated bow deck storage and the rotomolded console-mounted livewell are 2018-onward features that earlier hulls do not carry. The Mercury 25-horsepower tiller has been the most common engine pairing, with the 35-horsepower upgrade available throughout. The 2000-to-2005 production era has been flagged across owner accounts for hull-crack issues that later production resolved through process changes, and that era of hulls warrants more careful pre-purchase inspection. The 2018-onward hulls are the right used-market focus for buyers in 2026.

Cost of ownership

Annual recurring costs are low. Mercury 25-horsepower service follows the manufacturer's interval schedule, with an annual service kit running $80 to $150 in parts plus 1 to 1.5 hours of dealer labor. Painted-aluminum care comes down to rinsing freshwater debris off the hull, occasional touch-up paint on scrapes, and avoiding salt exposure. Trailer maintenance includes bunk inspection (marine plywood bunks rot if stored wet, replacement runs $80 to $150 in materials), bearing service every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, and tire replacement every 5 to 7 years.

Insurance for a $9,000 hull-and-trailer value runs $80 to $200 a year as a stand-alone policy, less as a rider on a homeowner package. Storage is typically driveway or garage at zero recurring cost.

A five-year hold on a 2021 used Grizzly 1648 SC bought at $8,500 with 100 hours, run at 30 to 50 hours a season on a Midwest freshwater lake or a back-water river, lands at roughly $400 to $700 a year all-in.

Best year and trim to buy

The 2020-to-2023 Grizzly 1648 SC with the Mercury 25-horsepower tiller, the integrated bow deck and console livewell, and the single-axle trailer in good condition is the right buy in 2026. Verify three things pre-purchase. First, the chine and transom weld lines are clean with no stress cracking. Second, the trailer-bunk plywood is sound (a screwdriver poke test reveals rot). Third, the painted finish shows wear consistent with the claimed hour count and use case (rocky-river boats look different from quiet-lake boats).

The 2018 and earlier hulls are the budget option for buyers willing to accept the older console arrangement and screen weld integrity carefully. The 2024-and-newer hulls are not the wrong buy, but the depreciation cost over the next two years weighs against buying at full retail.

Alternatives

The smaller cross-shop at a lower entry price is the Alumacraft 1448 Jon, which covers the same fishing-and-hunting brief at 14 feet for buyers tight on storage length or trailer towing. The direct competitor at a slightly larger length is the Lowe Jon 1652 MT, which trades roughly $1,500 in package price for two more feet of cockpit and a higher load capacity. For buyers who want a true fishing platform out of the box rather than a build-it-yourself starting point, the Crestliner 2050 Sportfish is the step-up alternative at twice the length, three times the money, and the rigging that matches.