iam looking to buy a new mud motor. never owed or even been in a boat with one on it. need all the help i can get. short, long, hp,? what engine is the best? its going on a 14ft boat. do run some open deep rivers to get where iam going. hope to hear some good info. thanks

If you are going to stay with the 14ft boat go with a 23 longtail for the savings on weight or you could get one of the mudbuddys minis.

thanks a long tailis lighter.are mud buddies the best for the money?

gdsd 18 hp on my friends 18ft flat 22-24mph

ok, I have a 14ft hews craft, river runer. semi v. Its a good strong hull, and well built boat. Its 64"wide at the transum What is the best motor for this boat. Its rated for a 30 hp out board

Red,

When guys say they have a 16x48 - the 48 is the width

of the BOTTOM - not the BEAM - or top width. Also the

two common transom heights ar 15" and 20".

So what size is your rig and transom ?

OK, I'll try and be serious on this post. Surface drives perform better on longer boats 18' ussually gives the best performance. If you really want to get the max out of what ever you buy I would recommend gettin a boat hull made for theese motors long tail or surface drive. However if you are set that you want to keep this boat I would recomend a go-devil long tail between 16 and 23 horse power.

15" transom high ,48" bottom of boat at back

I ran a 9HP longtail on a 14X36 and 16X48 both with low transom 15-17. It did much better on the 16.

A 14X48 like yours would do fine with a 9HP-18HP. A 23 may be a bit much. 16X48 and 23HP are a good match. The a short tail mini or a long tail would be my suggestion.

Too much motor will make you ride too low in the water for deep/big water. In the swamp it is not a a big deal but a little less speed for more free board is a good trade.

Mud motors are heavy bitches.

Just for reference the Briggs 14 and 16 engines weigh 72 lbs, the 18 weighs 74 lbs and the 23 weighs in at 77 lbs.

If a 5 lb difference in block weight is a big issue, you definitely need a different hull.

Red,

To summarize - you have a 14x48 w/15" transom and a semi-V rated for

30hp and you - "run some open deep rivers to get where iam going"



So whatever you buy make sure it is designed for the 15" transom, the
real deciding factors will likely be - budget & target speeds at load.

In that hull the 23hp is about max. If you go bigger it will be better
later should you get a bigger boat. 16 hp and down will struggle or
fail to push the boat on plane with 2 man loads. 20hp will get you
going 13 to 18mph with that load. 23 hp will get you going 16 to 21mph.

The longtail is a simpler design to maintain and props last longer too.

Longtail - more pure torque, is 1to2mph slower, and harder to turn at speed
Surface - a tad less torque, easier to steer at speed, more maintenance


In the end it is always a compromise to choose - pick what suits you
and your needs best.

red head,

This is indeed a small world. I, too am in North Idaho and I previously owned a 14' Hewescraft River Runner with 35 HP Evinrude outboard. I bought the boat from a guy that owned it for 20 years. He happens to be the Mudbuddy dealer up here in the Panhandle. He is a hunting partner and good friend of mine. In fact, when my Prodrive motor needs work (I recently converted it from short to tall transom operation) we do it in his shop.

The 14' River Runner is a classic boat. I see them periodically on craigslist and contemplate picking one up just to have as a little fishing rig with an outboard. Your issues with that boat, if you put a mud motor on it, will be twofold. First, I'll be about the 6th person on this thread to say that mud motors are heavy s.o.b.s, especially the short tail ones. You would have to look at a "Lite" model (Mudbuddy makes one) or go with a longtail to keep the weight down. Second, that boat is, I think, .080 aluminum. That is not very thick. Shallow water boats are most frequently constructed of .100 or .125 thickness aluminum. If you get into the spirit of going where you previously could not before, you will bang that hull up pretty good and you'll hook it, eventually robbing speed. It all depends on what you would like to do. Are you just buying this motor to be able to power through milfoil, or do you want to pick your way through the rocky Clark Fork Delta when Avista drops the level 11' (like we do )? Or bust ice in Cougar Bay? If it's the latter two activities, I think a true mud boat is ultimately in your future.

If you want to ride in a mud motor boat, mine is sitting on Hayden Lake right now. I have a Prodrive short tail on a Phowler hull. I have been running mud motors on every boatable hunting area in North Idaho since 2004 and I can tell you that there is no punishment a boat of this caliber will not handle.

I'm sure my buddy can also run you around in his Mudbuddy / Excel rig.

PM me if you would like to pick my brain further on the subject.