Hi everyone...new to the forum here and I would like to say, this place is awesome! I like seeing everyone's different approaches to chasing waterfowl. With that being said and not writing a novel here, I'm looking at purchasing a duck boat for next year to increasing my opportunities from my usual field and walk-in pothole spots. I would be using the boat on a large cattail marsh (Horicon Marsh in WI) and a few of the local lakes, ranging from 6" depth to 10' or so. I would also like to use it for fishing a few of these smaller lakes. I've been leaning towards a 16' boat for the room to have a buddy or 2 come along.

What would you guys recommend for a boat as well as a motor? I know there is a wide variety of factors that take place in deciding on what to get, so I'm basically just looking for some direction.

Thanks,
Paul

Look bud everyone on here will tell you the same stuff "if it ain't prodigy it ain't shit" if it's not a gator tail you ain't shit lmao go look at gator trax or go devil or whatever suits what you do look up reviews on google go look at custom builders go look go ask go drive em then you find the one you like from YOUR own experiences and you can show up to the mud run and have everyone badmouth your non gator tail and prodigy and you can say fuk em and crack a beer lol

16 foot is a mistake...

18 foot is what you need for 3 man hunts...

A MM is twice as heavy as any other outboard and you need the length
to balance the rig and get proper shallow water performance...

Whichever you choose for GOD sakes put GatorGlide on the bottom or it's junk!

Gigafowl is right I have a 16 ft with a 35 gtr and it not nearly heavy enough on the front I wouldn't go with any less than 17ft length and no less than 54 wide

I would highly recommend against the 16' boat if your wanting to have 3 people in it. I had a 16 footer and would occasionally have three guys in it and things were crowded. I now have a 1750 and things are not much better but i jump a lot of dyke roads so need to stay as small as possible, otherwise i would probably have an 1860 or so. if you won't be having to get out of the boat and push it around too much by yourself i would suggest to go as big as possible, i think most guys on here would agree with me for what you stated you are wanting to do. As far as motors go, I've owned GoDevil, Mud Buddy, and now own a GatorTail. The Go Devil and Mud Buddy were both long tails. I just got the GatorTail about a month ago, have 17hrs on it now and it is really an awesome motor. I would recommend it to anyone. They have just a couple of features about them that i really like that the others don't offer standard, which is nice. This is just my experiences and thoughts on things after owning a boat or two and passing on the lessons learned.

You don't need an 18ft boat to haul a three man load comfortably. Does it do better in the majority of cases? Yes. But not because you put three people and their gear in it. It's because the boats empty already have a person's worth of weight that isn't always necessary. Then, we add a bunch of extra weight in crap we know we don't need but have room for so why not.
A 1546 xpress Jon with a 27 mini will haul a 3 man load fine in very shallow water and last many years doing it. An 1854 with a 35 will as well. Big difference in price, but not very much in speed or capabilities.

A 1654 will be fine, just make sure and run your weight up front, and don't add a bunch of extras that just add weight unless it's something you want or need. Will a 17 or 18 carry 3 better than the 16? Yeah, in many cases, it will. Does that mean a 16 wont? Nope. Depending on the setup, it's able carry 3 better with the same motor. Notice those 4 words, though: depending on the setup. If you do that right, no one will ever believe you, but you can get something that does as well with that load as an 18ft setup. Add a 4th person and gear, and that could change quickly.

The right setup matters a lot more than those 1 or 2 feet you're being encouraged to get.

I run a 16' boat and regularly have 3 guys (2+ me) and good bit of gear but we wade mostly and the boat is just transport to the hole but when I do hunt out the boat it's ok not as cramped as you may think and I haul the load fine just get a 35-37 and ride out...but get a wider bottom that's the only thing i wish I had mines 48 get at least a 54

I have a 1648 Alumacraft, powered by a MB surfacedrive, boat is rated for 5 people, and have had that many in boat. Hauls load pretty good. Use boat primarily for back and forth transportation to blind. Use it on the Mississippi fishing and hunting, and in a Shallow river for duck hunting. 16' Jons are the norm up here. Lite and fast also.

Also if and I mean if you are running anything narrow with trees get at least a duck bill for a pointed bow I run the crap outta mine where I go and will be adding a pointed bow after season ends flat no good in trees

If you are in the market for a true duck boat and plan to run a MM, then look at any of the mudboat builders. Listen to the better ones, tell them what you need the boat to do and they will, if being honest, tell you the best set-up for the your needs. Do your homework and get the right boat the first time, it might stretch your budget but getting it right on the first try will save you in the long run with a boat that will last a lifetime and perform the way you need it to.

PW

Good advice but If you want to run a heavy load with an 18' boat I would recommend modifying your motor a bit. A stock motor just wont cut it if you are carrying heavy loads in deep water.

In the grand scheme of things to me there's nothing wrong with getting what you can afford first.... i know eventually I'll go from a 16 to an 18. I needed a boat and I don't have a job where I can pay for a larger boat. And I didn't wanna wait 4-6 years to be able to afford one.

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

More room is good I do like the fact that I can say hey man got no room for ya lol