Just strapped a 36hp Pro Drive on my 1652 Sea Ark today. Hittin the marsh on friday, see what it does. Anybody have anything close to this, and how does yours run?

Flat bottom or semi v hull?

Mod V

It will work, just not to its full potential.
You would be happier if you saved up and bought a mudmotor hull later on.

What is the difference between the hulls? Is it flat vs mod v? We do hunt lake island blinds also, and travel across lakes, thats why i thought the mod v would be better? Only the second duck boat Ive owned, still learnin.

The mud boat hull are slick bottom hulls. You can still get a Semi v or Flat front. Its also a thicker alluminum on the bottoms and braced better inside. The slick bottom doesnt drag in the mud and water like the ribs sticking down on the bottom of you Sea Ark. Alot easier to push outta the mud also. Their are probally alot of other good reasons that the guys on here know alot more then me. Im still learnin too

One thing I always think about when people respond like this is that maybe a true mud boat is not the best hull for all applications. No question mud hulls prolly run better with a surface drive motor, but not everyone runs the kind of slop that the surface drive manufacturers show on their videos. Where I hunt it runs all the way from soupy mud to big waves. When I get stuck in the mud I wish I had a true mud hull, but when I hit the big rollers I'm glad to have a keel and v-hull a whole lot more. An outboard is best for running the bigger water but comes up way short when you hit the shallows. Mud motor can be the best compromise depending on situation.
Pretty much everyone could have a different need, something to consider when providing suggestions.

I agree shooter. I have a regular G3 semi v as well. Because what your talking about is exactly what we run up here in Wiscosnin. The big mississippi river with some shallow flats in it. I would like to buy a mud boat hull but what I have works just fine for now. I know I would see and increase in speed with the slick bottom hull and it would be nice back in the marsh, but i agree I dont think just cause you have a MM you need a mm hull as well.

Fowl Habbit, That was mmy inexperienced thoughts when i bought the boat and motor. We hunt horicon marsh, sheboygan marsh, lake winnebago, and lake sinnissippi mostly. I guess i will find out tommorrow and this weekend. Thanks for all the input. Let you guys know how it goes.

You would be surprised how well a flat mudboat will do in bigger water...In fact last season we hunted Lake Michigan with 2-3ft waves with 1848 Geaux and a MB 5000. Trimmer down and watch what your doing you'll be ok.....we ended up one short of a 3 man limit LOL...When we order our boats, we add high sides, say minimum of 20in......and of course tall transoms. I'm on my 3rd boat in 5years and let me tell ya, better to invest in a true mud hull if you can....MM will work on mod-v's just not the best combo's.....

THE MORE YOU LOAD DOWN THE BOAT,THE MORE THAT SEMI V GONNA AFFECT PERFORMANCE.
LITE BOAT,YOU GONNA BE OK.

Well first test run this mornin. 3 guys, 2 dogs, 3 dozen decs and gear. Got passed in the ditch by a
Hyperdrive on the way out. Got us to our spot,shot 3 woodie drakes and a 3 curl greenhead. Not bad for the weather conditions. Ran the mud and shallows good. Figured out where to run the trim and hit 19.5 mph.

Second run was with my son, one dog, and myself sat. mornin. Definitely better performance and speed with one less person and one less dog. Topped out at 25 mph. I will be satisfied with that for now i guess.

Its gonna get you where you need to go and back thats what matters. You will have to play around with load placement to get more out of it. You will be surprised on what moving just a gas tank or something can do.

One thing i did notice tho was the motor really pulled hard to the right. It was a stuggle to keep it pushed away from me to run straight. My shoulder is still killing me. Prodrive rep says they have started moving the motor one inch off center of the transom and usually takes care of it. Anybody else heard this at all?

I would try moving the weight around in the boat a little before moving the motor. If you don't get it leveled out right, it can make some serious tiller torque. If that doesn't help than yeah, you may need to move it a little off center.

Sell that shit and buy a boat designed for the engine!

You can run that hull, but correct me if I am wrong after you actually run it and load it down. You will get great speeds alone, most likely 25-28 mph, add a second man and you will run around 22-23 with no load, add your gear, blinds, decoys and dog and you will be in the teens, add a third man and his gear and you will be at 8 mph plowing water.

Surface drive need boats that are long, have lots of running surface and will plane easy, the semi-vees are not the best match. Any of the good mudboats out there will run rough water as well, if not better then any semi-vee on the market, if you don't agree, just come to my shop, we will take them both out on a 30 mph windy day on the river and I will make a believer out of you.

The boat you have will work, just don't have to high of expectations for it.

PW