I hunt hard dirt bottom. Anywhere from 4 foot or more, to as little as 6 inches. No problem with an outboard in the deeper depths, but LOTS of weeds/grasses in the middle depths, to shallows make an outboard frustrating. No mud, to speak of...at least not the "boggy" type mud I see on videos.

I'm looking at purchasing a complete rig. A 1648 rig, with a older (could be first generation maybe?) 23 hp Gatortail. It appears to be a flat bottom (no mod v front) jon boat.

Keeping in mind my environment of vegetation mostly, is the rig suitable? Also, any issues with the first Gator tails? This seems to be an older model.

Thanks!

got any pictures?

Here is one...about the only one I have.

Does the Lu bracing look like this? Just tryin to get an idea of how old it is

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1382648245.212626.jpg

Here is the best picture I can provide

What kinda load are you carrying?

1 to 3 guys and gear. 3 normally, with a 700-800 lb load. Perhaps 4 on rare occasions...very rare.

Your gonna want more power....

sent from the former Republic of Texas.

Luv2cmwork, your first sentence tells me you need a longtail. Shallow water and hard bottom is longtail territory.

That rig will be a turd with the mentioned load, gunna want a 35 hp on a 18' hull

Bite the bullet now and save some money in the end

Well..I think you guys talked me out of it. The rig is a several hours away and I'm concerned the Gator Tail motor isn't particular good in weeds and less so on hard bottom.

I think I'll stick with the outboard for awhile. Maybe a SD is a poor choice for me.

Thanks for your replies.

I should have added, I only motor about 1.5 miles at the very most..usually less than a mile. Speed isn't an issue, but getting there is. Sometimes, it's hard to find the deep channel and I thought the GT would "make a path" through the vegetation.

We've hunted 4 out of 1652 with a 25 horse outboard with speeds of 17 mph. I thought the 23 would get me at least 14 with 2...maybe 3 guys plus gear.

I'm currently running a 9.9 outboard on a 1652 and it works, but a little slow and I struggle with the vegetation.

I just wondered how the GT would compare, but I'm still hearing that it wouldn't be that much of an advantage with the hard bottom and heavy vegetation. Is that about right?