I currently run a longtail (MB 27hp Kohler) on a 1448 on rivers and along the coast with hard packed sand and gravel bottoms. There is no soft mud in any of the areas I hunt. I would love to move up to a larger boat for next season- say 1854 with a surface drive (I really like the gatorTails) but am concerned that the larger prop on a SD motor won't work well in my areas. I have a 9 inch prop on the longtail and can cross shallow sandbars and oyster beds by holding the motor half out and running it like a surface drive. It can give you a workout but I have been amazed at how shallow I can run- literally 2-3 inches and if I hold it just right the prop hasn't had major wear at all. Almost all the spots I go have several hundred yards of conditions like this and I have chosen such places to hunt on purpose as mud motors of any type are fairly rare in my area and this way I can get away from all the skybusters and actually use my decoys. I read several posts where people have commented that in many areas with hard bottom (such as the Florida coast) a lot of people who get surface drives are disappointed. With a 10-12 inch prop on a surface drive, do you need at least 5-6 inches of water to get going or can you trim them up and only have a few inches of prop in the water and still get the boat up on plane. I don't want to dump a bunch of money to find out I can't get to any of my spots. Advise from guys actually using surface drives out there would be appreciated

from experiance SD suck in sand and dont take off good unless you can get the prop all the way in the water and it bites then trim up. id stick to your LT!

Stick to the Lt. I would look for a beavertail predator for your replacement! Will get your ass there quicker, and look/sound awesome!!!!

I moved up to sd 2 years ago. Theyre cool and all, but for your situation, not as practical.

You may run a SD through all that, but you will be pushing if you stop.

Stick with the lt you have, you get used to the fight.

What do u think I the 1448 with the 27?

You are not going to win any races with a longtail to begin with. With the 1448 and a 27hp kohler I get about 19-20 just me and the dog (that's with the full blind still on and maybe a tailwind). With decoys, another person in the boat and full hunting load, I get about 15mph. However, what I lose in speed, I get back in in shallow water performance. I had an extra large pair of pods welded to the back- there is only about 8 inches between them and at just the right speed they act like a tunnel hull on my old bay boat and create a column of water behind the boat that I can run the longtail prop in. Right above planing speed this little crest of water peaks and is probably 4-6 inches above the surrounding water- this is what lets me run a hard bottom in 2-3 inches. Just DON"T STOP!. The other advantage is that I usually hunt from my boat and the 48" hull is really stable compared to other jons I have had. I can literally stand on the gunnel on one side and the boat only tips a few inches. Standing up to shoot out of the blind I built on it-it is rock steady for follow up shots.

If your boat isn't...It may help by just getting a slick bottom boat. if you are in 2-4 inched of water in a 1448 with a load you are most likely dragging the bottom and those ribs aren't helping. and surface drive or longtail won't matter if you stop on a sandbar that shallow. but the slick bottom will help the cause. Thats why I have a SD and a LT for whatever situation.