Sorry fellas, I'm new to the whole mud motor deal. Would appreciate some direction / advice. I'm a duck hunter. Don't care about fishing / recreation.

I have a Lowe 1648 jon boat with a nissan 20hp outboard on it. This setup works good 75% of the time, other than the outboard is cold blooded and takes a long time to start for some reason. I typically hunt 3 people, dog and gear.

Here's the deal: I've had an immense attraction to mud motors for about 3 years now and continually drool over them. I want one. However, I've had several people tell me not to waste my time and money, outboards are better. Remember, like I said, most of the time the outboard runs fine, but there is the occasional time where the outboard prop is in the mud or we have to get out and push, etc. Plus, I like the idea of knowing I have a motor that could get me where I want to go, whenever I find such a place.

What I'm looking at is a 29hp Kawasaki Mud Buddy Longtail.
Questions:
Should I even bother?
Will this work well on my boat?
Would I need pods?
Will this motor swivel into the boat with standard swivel mount (16" transom with higher sidewalls)?

Thanks, guys. I appreciate any help you can provide.

You might consider just selling your rig as is, and then gettting you a true mud motor package -boat and motor. It would depend on your budget of course.

If you were to stick with the current boat, I would first want to know if it was welded or riveted-I think Lowe makes both.

If it is riveted, I wouldn't get too agressive on a mud motor. It will get you in some places that will make a mess of those rivets and cause you all kind of headaches.

Also MM's put a lot more pressure and torque on the transom, so if you keep the lowe, you will want to beef that up some.

As far as the Kawa goes, don't know from personal experience, but have heard they are good motors, but the maintaince and repair is a lot more expensive. If you can do the work yourself, then that will save you some money, but parts are still just a little more....

LT or SD seems to really be mostly about personal preference. SD are easier to drive and more like an outboard, some think LT's are easier and get you some places that SD's struggle... SD's are more expensive for sure, so if budget is a concern just go with the LT.

An LT on a regular jon boat is a great starter package and many people use them for years without ever making the leap up...

All that said, if budget dictates that the Kawa LT is the best course, go for it. It will probably be fine for you.

JUST BE AWARE, these things are highly addictive, and should be handled only in a controlled enviroment by professionals!!!

Thanks for the replys. This boat is riveted. The motor I am looking at is a longtail.

Also, define what you mean by "beef up the transom"....just weld some plates onto where the motor mounts or vertical bracing or ??

Also, I definately have a 4-5 inch difference between transom and sidewall height. If this won't allow the motor to swing into the boat that would pretty much be a dealbreaker for me....any input?

As far as swingability goes, you will have the same problem regardless of the brand I think (might be wrong on that-have had gd and mb lt 's only). Only way to know for sure is try it. It will accomodate some drop from side to middle of transom as a lot of boats have that.

What I mean by beef up the transom is you need to make it stonger. A number of different ways to do it depending on how "engineered" you want to make it. Simpliest fix I know is to put an additional brace that runs from back of boat to further up the boat (at least 12-15"). The corner braces that come standard just don't take enough pressure off the middle of the transom. You just tie it into the back of the boat and try to spread the load across the back of the transom as much as possible. You can do with everything from a 2X6 (not idea due to weight) to a piece of aluminum. Then either bolt or weld a brace to that and then either weld or bolt the other end up further in the boat. I even used a piece of EMT one time with it bent on either end to accomodate the angle and then bolted on each end. HOWEVER, that particular one was for a 13hp and don't think I would go that simple on a 29hp. Part of it depends on how strong your transom is to begin with and how much play you have in it with the motor on it. For a bigger motor one time, I put a piece of 2x2 alum across the boat at about 15" and then ran two 2x2 pieces back from that brace to a plate that I put on the transom. They were angled from towards the center of the boat to just about half way between where the motor was and the side of the boat. That was all welded in and it look nice, and was super strong. Sides of boat would have ripped off before transom would have caved in. Put a carpeted board across the top and had a little shelf so it hid all the bracing and gave me a little place to stand and also hide the gas tank and battery under.

Good luck!

Don't worry about the swiveling in the boat, you can buy the 360 degree swivel barcket and take care of that situation. Kawasaki is a good motor although liquid cooled you have more parts. Good luck on your purchase!

X2 - on what everyone else has said...

IMO - slapping the longtail on your boat will only lead to dissapointment...

A. poor performance with that hull design
B. poor performance with hull size and 3 guys
C. questions about transom height and strength
D. you will have a junked out hull in two years that no one will buy

Advise - sell that rig while it is still desirable - or - keep for what it does
well for you now....

Buy a true mudmotor hull of at least 18x48 dimensions to work well with
the 3 man loads you described.... The 35hp would be the best size engine
as 3 man with say a 29hp LT would make only 21 to 24 mph - best guess
with the larger 18x48 --- but might not make plane with a 16x48.....

im gonna agree with Giga on this subject.

X4

I run a 16 ft war eagle with a 35 hp mudbuddy. Before i bought the mudbuddy I ran a 18 hp GDLT. Both motors are great in there own way, but you can really tell a difference in preformance when you see me run vs. Giga run. His rig is made for mud, Mine is retrofitted for mud. Good Luck.

Thanks, guys. I have decided to heed your advice. Assuming the visit goes well, I should be the owner of a new 1848 gatortrax with a 29hp kawi. I know gatortrax gets some mixed reviews on here, but they seem nice to me. I am also aware that someone will think I should get a bigger motor....but, hey, at least it's a start.

I appreciate everything guys, and I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of me around here as I try to figure out the world I'm jumping into here.

I would ck out the thread from the other Newbie who just got a LT and was having some "feeling out" and struggling with the learning curve on the LT's.

If you can get with some guys who have one and run with them a little it will help you along the way I think...

Maybe get to a run...

Good luck and congrats!

welcome to the addiction.