I'm building a new Gator Trax with a hunt deck. I was going to go with a tall transom. The dealer mentioned going with a short transom to save $91 from Gator Trax and $100 on the motor. On a hunt deck the transom is just a piece of Al that sticks up and a tall won't stop any more water than a short, but my thoughts are:

1. I plan on having this hull forever and if for some reason I plan on putting an outboard on it, I'd need tall.

2. Resale/trade value on the motor. More people here seem to have/want tall transom motors.

3. Be able to buy others motors which seem to be much more likely to be tall than short.

Are #2 and #3 correct? Any opinions??

Thanks

All depends on the the buyer, some need short most seem to want a tall. Its hard to prepare for the next guy and motor. I run a short transom huntdeck so my motor sits lower to the water so I can clear branches or whatever else easier. On a gatortrax the transom height isn't gonna affect any backwash because the huntdeck itself is still gonna be around 12" just gonna have a taller motor mount. You won't get any backwash on a huntdeck.

I think the tall transom is obviously the best choice. If you are buying a ~15K rig, 191 bucks shouldn't be the deciding factor between tall and short.

I recently asked this same question and decided on the short transom. If your running a lot of open water that could get rough you probably need the taller transom and sides. In my case I run the local bayou's and marshes. Rough water typically isn't a issue. I like the lower profile look of the shorter transom, sides and motor. The Huntdeck eliminates any back-splash even on a short transom.

Tall!

I say short. The boat motor package just looks better and I don't think you will have any advantage getting the tall. If you decide later that you want to add an outboard you can have it added later. You may want to mention to Kent. I thinks there Is some additional bracing (internal) that may need to be added for an outboard.

If you like the lower profile look i would go with the short transom like Po Po mudduck. His setup is going to be a sweet ass like rig once its done. With a huntdeck, short/tall transom won't matter as far as back wash, many advantages to having a hunt deck, biggest i think is keeping backwash out the boat when reversing hard, my fix to that was one of the advantages of the reverse plate.

Two words for you........Call Kent. 225-294-9991

my rig I got from gator trax has a 17" off of the hunt deck