Found a great deal on a surface drive today. Going to pick it up later. The only issue is it is a short transom motor and I have a tall transom on my boat. I was going to get a new boat next year anyways. I know the setup is not ideal, but how big of a deal would it be to trim it to work with my transom now and get me by until next year? I can weld and do everything that is needed for the modification, but is it really going to hinder me? I don't run in mud, at most its thick vegetation and normally no less than about 1 ft of water. So should I cut it, or run it until next year?

What brand motor? Both mb and gt are an easy switch to a tall transom housing.

I should've added more info, it is a Mud buddy HD

It won't run very well without cutting the transom, or switching out the housing for a tall transom. Either way will work. I wouldn't run it as is, as you'll likely hate it since it won't do its job very well.

Picked it up tonight. There was a mistake and it actually worked out well. It's already setup for my tall transom. Now can't wait to take it for a run