i am unfamiliar with all mud motors, but espeically with Scavengers. there is a 2010, 28 HP honda for sale. i will not be using it too hard. i can currently get around with an outboard motor. some mud, and some grass, but not bad. i've been looking at used surface drives, but they are way more expensive that what i can pick this one up for. maybe this is not worth anything though. i'm not concerned with the engine. i just don't have any experience with this particular set up. not looking so much for opinions, but experiens and/or knowledge is appreciated.

I had a 24hp Scavenger for a little more than a year, here's the lowdown-


- The handle is awkward, I converted mine to a tiller handle and squeeze throttle.

- The skeg/cavitation plate is a big salad fork, don't expect it to perform in heavy grass at all.

- The prop design doesn't bite into mud like a standard bladed prop, it tends to bounce off of it or resist it and ride up.

- The prop design is however a champ at taking hard hits, if you have a rocky bottom or a lot of stumps, it will do great, I doubt you will break it.

- The belt driven design means your belts will stretch eventually and need shimming or replacing, and the backwards facing motor means you have the muffler in your face. This also puts the choke on the back of the motor where you can't see it. I learned not to get burnt when choking it, but you'll probably wanna move the choke to the handle or something.

- All in all, it's a tough bastard, just kind of awkward to operate and not a huge performer in grassy/muddy/shallow conditions. It did push my 1651 polarkraft about 18mph empty, and 13-15 with a 2 man hunting load.

The Scavengers are cheap built, poorly designed motors. Mine didn't have the exhaust in my face but within a few hours I had to replace the belts. The prop (and motor itself) is backwards so if you want to use the key you have to lean over the motor, and forget an aftermarket prop because it spins right instead of left. Oh, and as DMD said the cavitation plate and prop attract more vegetation than they repel. They are slow, awkward setups, and the only good thing about them is they are inexpensive. I personally would never buy another one of these nor would I encourage anyone else to do the same.

I run a 13hp honda scavenger on a 1440 lowe, i run it in mainly rocky shallow rivers and its been a great motor for me in that situation. Ive ran it in mud and heavy veg and it does not perform all that well but ive learned what i can go in and what to stay out of. Overall its a good motor, i bought it for trapping and smallmouth fishing and its got me to places an outboard cant during low water

Thanks guys. I think I've moved on from the scavenger. Doesn't sound like it's gonna suit my needs very well.