After reading on these forums for a while it seems that most people say that length of the boat is more important for the preformance of a surface drive motor than the width. I've been looking for a boat for my 23 GD SD and was reading on go devils web site when I came across this "Surface Drive Boats are designed with maximum bottom surface area which creates more hydrostatic lift on the hull and thus allows the surface drive engines to perform at their best." Wouldn't a wider boat give more "bottom surface area" therefor helping the motor preform better? Or am I just confused

It depends on what you plan on using it for and where you will use it.

If you already own a GDSD I would call Go-Devil and talk to Warren Coco himself. That man does know his boats and motors and will talk to you until you can't stand it any more. He will tell you what you need and what you should do. Before you call you need to be able to answer some questions. We know you have a GDSD23 and are looking for a boat.

1. What will you use this boat for?
2 what will you put in your boat?
3 How much people and gear do you really plan on hauling?
4 Where do you plan to go? marsh? Timber? Open water? Deep water? How far? 1/2 mile? 20 miles?
5 Do you fish? Hunt? Trap? whatever

Think up every possible scenario you can come up with and tell him. And be realistic and don't sugar coat the truth on what your plans are.

My wife tells me that width is far more important than length which is a good thing because my,,,,,,,,,,,,,oh,,,,,,uh,,,,,,,,nevermind .

I had a feeling this might go south fast

i agree with dpd. CALL WARREN!!! He is a super cool dude that really knows what he is talking about. He will be able to tell you what will perform the best with your motor...

Tell him Shafer sent ya!

Width is good....but length will help you balance your boat. A balanced boat will ride higher when on step.

The surface drive boats have a tapered chine - which creates
more lift than the round chine - however with enough horsepower comes enough
speed for excelent performance in the round chine design too....

The best performance with the 23 GDSD which I have seen is on the
18ft Go Devil Duck Skiff - their narrowest version...

Sam III - has one with 23 GDSD and some pics of it are in the Wallisville threads...

length vs. girth = ....






forget it...




it will neva be!

depends on the chines of the boat

Square chines have a true width bottom such as 48 bottom on a square chine...whereas round chines may have a 48" flat peice across the bottom but technically you're anywhere from 2-6" wider due to the rounded peice of metal for the chine

Or it could be measured from where the round chine actual starts up the side (at the and of the arc) so if you have a 50" wide bottom you may technically only have a 42-46" wide bottom then calculate the extra 2-4" on both sides to equal 50" total

Hope that makes sense I know what I'm tryin to say much easier to show than explain in words

So Yes surface area makes the most difference but if you have a 2-6" arch at either side of that flat peice you're gonna sit lower in the water no matter what


FLAT Surface area = how much draft/freeboard the boat has
Length = more of load carrying abilities

purdy sure you need a lil bit of both. can't do a whole lot with one and not the other.... but ya might need to ask someone else if ya need help with yo boat.

Call Warren Coco. He suggested my boat and nailed it. It works great. Remember, he's been in the business for years...