Hey guys, I'm new to this whole deal and would like some good advice. I just bought this boat http://www.tnducks.com/cgi-local/yabb2/ ... 1296570602 and looking to make the right decision for a surface drive MM? It being a riveted boat, will I have many problems with popping rivets? Thanks for any help.

That boat will get you by fine until you are ready to get a mud hull. Not too different than mine, and a lot of ppl around here run 35 mudbuddies on hulls like that. Don't buy the bullsht that a MM will tear up that hull, it doesn't push against it any harder than a 40 horse outboard, it's what you run into or across that will mess it up. Rivets may or may not leak, but can be fixed if they do. They won't leak any more or less regardless your motor.


Whichever brand MM you choose, you should be ok from the mid 20 hp range on up. A 35 will be heavy on it, but it can be done. Only you can choose what motor is right for what you are gonna do.

Any 23hp should push that boat fine. You may be able to hang a 27 on it but a 35 would be way to heavy. As far as the rivets, it really all depends on the conditions you run. You cant expect to be able to run a lot of stump fields and have that boat hold up. But if you are easy on it and arnt bouncing off stumps you will be ok for a little while at least. You will probably end up doing what most people do, i am, and sell a ribbed hull and buy a true mud hull in the future.

When everyone talks about hitting submerged logs, stumps, etc. Are they talking about hitting them at full speed and no matter what a rivet is going to work loose or is it going 10 mph and a rivet works loose? I had an old monarch with a 35 hp evinrude and hit plenty of stumps and the rivets never popped. Whats the best way to repair a popped rivet? Thanks.

A leaking rivot can be fixed with 2 hammers & a buddy to help ya. Hold a backup on one side & hit it from the other to smash the rivot back out. Sometimes however, ya just gotta have it welded up.

I run my ribbed hull 1436 on the rivers up here that are just as bad as any stump field with my 15 hp outboard and my 20 yr old boat doesn't have a leak in it. I just take my time and try not to hit any submerged chit doing WAO.

IMO the biggest worry with rivets is rusting over time assuming you're running brackish and saltwater marshes. You'd have to be pretty mean to the boat to "pop" one.

I've been running a mudbuddy 29 hyper on my 18' Polarcraft riveted boat for years with no issues. I actually bought a new prodrive 36 last year and ran that as well with no issues. I didn't have any leaks, and I've bounced over several logs and stumps. The all weld boats are stronger and they feel more solid, but with a little care, the riveted boats are fine.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was worried that I might have bought the wrong type of hull for a mud motor. Thinking of putting the 35 la spec on it.

Ya, I'm back and forth between the right size motor to put on it. It's a tough decision considering that I have never owned a mud motor. I would just like a motor that would go at least 25 mph and not have any trouble going through the mud in TN/AR.

how long/ wide is ya boat?

15 ft long x 42 inch wide and 20 inch transom

Just saw it was a tall transom, should be ok. All this time I was thinkin it was a short.

whats the difference in weight between the 35 and 23 special?

North La Hunter has a 23 on a short transom 1442 and it can take on water fairly easy.

ive got a 23 mini lite on a 14x48 short transom and it will back wash. i dont think i could sink it but i can get about 10 gals pretty fast. i guess if i didnt get rid of the water and kept doing it i could sink it. ill bet a 35 on it it would go down the first time.

haha I hear ya man. This boat has a tall transom and an area to get rid of the backwash plus runnin dual bilge pumps. This bitch ain't sinkin haha. U know what I mean?

My last boat was a 1978 monarch 1642 rivited hull with a short transom. I had a 35 GDSD on it and didn't have any problems. Broke a couple rivets here and there but the boat was 33 yrs old! As far as the weight of the motor I just mounted my tank and battery in the front and it was fine.