What would be the best size surface drive for 1548 war eagle, 16" transom, torn between getting the 23hp or 25hp, but keep bouncing back to the 35hp, I feel pretty confident that it could handle the 35hp if i moved some weight around in the boat. Let me know and war eagle owners' opinions or anyones.

sport v

Hands down the sport V. Put down your deposit now, you'll receive it within the next few days!

You'd be happier with a 25 on that boat, than a 35 on that boat.

Gator tails suburu 25 would make you happy happy happy

Sport h

Haha I keep waiting for someone to ask "best mud motor" and take the joking sport v/sport h advice and then want to whip someone's ass for jumping on it

Sad part is that ? has been asked sooooo many times & turned into a 15 page "my shit's better than your shit ramble.
Funny part is that before the Sport H or Sport V were being thrown out, it was the Hurricane, & that was long before most of the guys making the jokes had heard of any of them, or MMT

In my opinion go big... I had the same size boat with a 35, battery and gas tank up front...she would move!

What if he can only afford a motor Giga? I think he will be just fine with a 23 or 25 on that boat. Granted, he's not going to haul three guys and gear 25 MPH, but I would try a 27HP. Then again, I hear the 25HP Robin is a pretty tough SOB. My opinion on the 35 is that it may be a little too heavy for the boat.

24 lbs ---- that is the weight difference between a 25 and 35 engine....

I would not hesitate to suggest an 18 or 23 LT for that hull of his....

But he asked about SDs - if he bought a 23 27 or 25 SD for that hull
he would have a combo with poor performance and low resale value....

Best advice and most bang for the buck - sell what ya got and buy
a longer hull with the 35 SD that you will be happy with the longest
that has the best resale value....

Plenty of guys here with 15-16' Jon boats with 23 sd motors. They don't run 30 mph, but they do just fine. Marsh Mule has a beat up 1548 with 23 GTR & he was running 23-24 mph stock. Lucer was same with 23 MB

Thanks for advice, one of yall hit on the head, just got money for the motor, but i plan on buying a brand new motor ,whatever it is, the boat is 2 yrs old from the showroom, really dont wana sell this boat because ill probably keep my Mercury also if i ever need it. What do you guys think about getting the 23hp sd and doing a few upgrades like the exhaust and carb , would it be worth the money to do this or just buy a little bigger like a 25hp or 27hp?

25hp GTR will make you smile...

I have a 1544 weldcraft mod v with a 35 GTR (ordered the 25, and when I got impatient because it would not come in for the start of the second split I bought the 35) only thing I wish i had was efi. Other than that the 35 works well. 3 guys loaded down it ran great. 26 in deep with 2 and gear. didn't break out the gps with 3 cause it was raining. No problems in 3-4 inches of water with all three in the boat. Get the 35 and you'll not be disapointed get the 25, and you still won't be disapointed.
Stopped dry in the mud today with 2 when I realized that I had no water in my pond, and that 35 was impressive as hell. Pushed us out, and the only complaint was from the oysters that I was chucking out 20 yards on either side of me