New to the forum here. Looking for a little help. Anything input would be appreciated.

Looking to buy a new boat, will be for hunting only (not fishing, not much joy riding).

Primarily will be hunting areas where will need to run across big water (that can get rough) to get to shallow water, some timber, mixture of mud and sand. Fair amount of vegetation. Will not be running across mile long mud flats and wont be strictly in tight timber, but would like a boat that can do both.

I have looked at about everything. I think mod V makes sense and I think 20-21" sides with the need to be in big water. The only thing I know that I want is a hunt deck. Also, I think 1650+ / 1748+ is ideal size wise for what I want to do.

Gator trax, gator tail, prodigy ect. seem to be great all purpose boats with the mod V.

I also like the Havoc MST and MSTC but haven't read many reviews about them in the mud. The SeaArk Mud Runner seems like a pretty good boat too at a reasonable cost.

Again, any thoughts appreciated.

Read through the review section, it has everything your looking for.

18x54 40 GDSD FNR

I would consider a hybrid bow but true flat with reverse chine or round chine which turn better and handle the rough water better imo. Don’t go smaller than 18x48. 18x54 would be even better for big water. If you ever hunt the spillways (we hunt the wax and run the calumet spillway a good bit), you don’t want anything smaller than 18 foot. Anything less Is damn dangerous in there

Get you an 1860 extreme series hull with a mod v front and a 40xd GTR on back. Running big water, you might want to get center console with hydraulic steering. You won’t ever have to worry about tiller torque.

Gatortail Extreme

I agree with wchauvin. 1854 is the MINIMUM I would go with based on your circumstances. You'll be safer, drier, and draft less in the shallows with an 1854 than a 16. I wider boat keeps your spray out further from you and passengers too. You're on the right track with the Mod V. What are you gonna put on the back of it?

Thanks for the feedback. I am little hesitant of an 18'+ just limiting me some in tighter spaces but certainly value safety and being dry...

I am going to hang a 37-40 GTR on the back I believe.

I think that width will limit you more than length. A longer boat will do better in rough water too.


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I looked at a 1848 gator trax today and I don't think that will be too large.

Seesaw.... did you not play on one when you were a kid?

You plus surface drive 500# on one side... Longer the boat, the better the balance.

LOL --- I was once so foolish and after 5 or 6 rigs have learned...

And you're still foolish, giga. They're using the term mod-v, but they're talking about a hybrid v. The brands he listed in his original post (gatortail, gator trax, prodigy) dont put a v on the bottom of their mud motor models by default, and only 2 of those 3 will if you ask, for quite an upcharge, but they do a v front flat bottom all the time.

#CFFITR
#GhostBoat
#Whoneedsphysicsihaveamudmotor

Russ is correct. Mod v and hybrid bow are two totally different things. As far as the boat brand matching the motor, I can agree with that to an extent. I also have seen hankos, uncle j, prodigy, timber creek (nice ass boat), gatortrax, etc, perform outstanding with mid motors of all brands.

The main thing here is do not go under 18 feet. Also, the wider, the better and the safer. Always remember that you have a responsibility to the people who love you the most to be safe. Chasing a duck isn’t worth your safety. This is even more so a reality to me because I carry a gun for a living. Safety is first, the longer and wider the boat, the better it will handle and the safer it will be. Trust us on that and you won’t be unhappy bud.

I tend to agree with much of what has been said. I would still encourage you to look at something wider than 48". Trust me, I know. I've had two of them. First time, I was clueless. Second time, just stupid. I'll never own another one that narrow though. Too unstable and too deep of a draft. Adding the extra 2' will help but probably not enough to get your ass end on step in a short distance once you have a heavy motor, battery, and fuel in back plus yourself. You really have to be honest about your applications as well. MM's are designed and work well for running very shallow water and mud/veggies. The hulls they work best on don't perform well in open water with rough conditions. I see people buy MM's all the time because they think they're cool and because they think they're the great white duckhunters. The reality is they're the great white DH's but it ain't duckhunters. Anyway, I digress. Do you REALLY need a MM or will a hull such as a Mod V with an outboard and jackplate serve you better? That's what I run now because my hunting applications changed when I moved. I can run faster, safer, and have more versatility with a regular outboard on a jackplate and really haven't lost much in terms of access to areas that guys with MM's can only go. Be honest with yourself and your desired applications so you only have to buy once rather than buy, sell, buy, sell, etc like some of us.