Just musing, and that doesn't cost anything, but if you could have any LT motor and hull, regardless of cost, what would it be? Because of the LT's size, a short transom hull is best. I'm thinking a 35 SLT or 35 back H2O, atop a custom "speed hull" flat bottom but pointed bow, 18x48, in .100 gauge, with slick bottom and added Steelflex or Gatorglide, open hull plan, SS top of the line muffler, modded motor to assist the gear reduction SLT, hydroturf on the floor and deck areas....any other items?

I know it's been stated before numerous times, that a .125 gauge is optimum for the bayou and the "bump'n'grind" beaver dam areas , but since I don't encounter those or mud much, the lighter .100 hull is more desirable and enough where I run. With that extra weight I'd have to get a winch, and I'd gladly trade the extra hull weight for gear. I know because my present 1648 grizzly .100 gauge is around 400#, and it is heavy enough to deal with and pole around, and yes, it plows a bit with my 27 HP, but does the job, but that is why I dream of an "ideal", true flat bottom mud hull for the LT. I checked the bottom yesterday, and the steelflex still looks very new and there is no "washboard" effect, and I've run it since 2004 (the steelflex applied back in 2007) .

Glades Ranger, Ive been thinking this over and over, do I get a Bass pro tracker 1542 topper with a 23lt and run 24 or 23 with 18x38 gd. I know the 1542 will be much faster ( and far less money). I just dont think I will need a 430# boat running hydrilla and sand. Do you see alot of gd hulls on okeechobee or is it mostly riveted boats? I have made my mind up on the 23, I like the security of pull start.

Long and narrow with round chines. I wouldn't go with anything else for a long tail

139sst, I've seen a few GD boats, and one friend sold a 1644 some years back. I've also seen GT hulls with surface drives, some Excels, but mostly rivetted hulls or all-welded hulls like my grizzly, some lowes, some xpresses, polarkrafts, etc. I think for this area, a .125 hull and heavy hulls like GD are overkill and a liability when you get stuck on the sand/marl shallows. That 23 Briggs is a good motor, and if you only hunt two that 1542 is enough but having started with a 1436, then a 1544, and now a 1648, I repeat I eventually want a 1848 for carrying capacity, better planing performance, stability, with a true flat slick bottom for the longtail. Down here I like the simplicity of the longtail and I am eagerly awaiting field reports on both the 35 SLT and the 27 SLT. quack addict is correct in long and narrow, and 44" width is the smallest I would go. I am 6'4" 235 #, and I like the safety and comfort of the bigger hull.

Glades Ranger, did you hear the bucs let go of Kellen Winslow today? At 6'4 and 235# I think you should call Greg Schiano and tell him you are available, only problem is you would miss early teal and opening day. Quack, what do you LA guys do when you beach those mud hulls on sand bars? Do they slide off the dry alot easier than it appears?

You would be amazed at how much faster and how much easier a true mudmotor hull is to slide off of a stuck, no runners to hang up.

139sst, I have never missed teal season! The only exception was a couple of hurricane years, when many areas were closed due to high water. My sport was basketball, though I have always respected football. I forgot to add that many surface drives I have seen, and there are plenty, are on heavy GT or other hulls. I was on one that got beached and the winch did not help we had to get out and drag and push and I admit though it was a little easier pushing and dragging it versus a conventional hull, the weight was formidable. Whew. Because we've had a slew of low water years, many have sold the SD's and bought blowboats. Woodiebuster is right about the smooth flat bottom and that is why I want one, excepting a .100 gauge will work and like I said, there won't be the washboard effect. BackH2O was supposed to be launching their own type of hulls but those have not materialized. Those posted videos of the prototype SLT 35 were on 1754 GT hulls and were really moving. A rivetted conventional hull with steelflex is also a good fit, though not on par with a true mud hull.

Glades Ranger, I am pretty sure you can order a weld built with a smooth bottom.

Thank you, Woodie! I will try and contact them. I wonder how their prices are? I just can't see plunking down 5-6K for a hull; I mean if I lived in bayou country it would be a different matter. I just saw a weldbilt 18' hull for over 5K! Ouch! We generally hunt out of our boats here as no permanent blinds are allowed in most areas, therefore I like a stable hull at the minimum 44-48" wide and no wider because we do cross fairly narrow trails many times in the sawgrass, as well I want the boat to do double duty fresh water fishing.

Get a 18x42 with some spud poles for stability when hunting.

call backwoods landing in mooresville al. they have prices on their website. i got my weldbilt there. i got a 1642 crawdad. i could have ordered a 1644 true flat .100 thick with a slick bottom for about the same price but would have had to wait a few weeks. the cost of a custom order isnt much higer than whats listed depending on options ive owened other crawdads and like the hull shape alot and was too impatient to wait so i went with what was available. i dont regret it one bit, its plenty strong enough for what i use it for. i figure ill be able to get at least 5 years+ out of it but i will be saving $ all the while to have a custom hull built.

10-4, daisy cutter, custom is the way to go! I forgot to mention and plug Paul Dixon, Airboats Unlimited, in Bainbridge, Ga. He builds airboats of course, but has a nice aluminum 18' LT hull, with a composite bottom, with a distinctive design. I've only seen pics, but it sure looks sweet.

Daisy Cutter, do you ever wished you had an 18x38 or is the 1642 crawdad the perfect lt hull?

what kind of speeds are you getting?

Thanks

Glades, paul makes a good boat. I used to have a 16ft seminole classic. It was a true flat and was an extremely sturdy boat. Only problem I had was it was fiberglass and I punched a couple holes in the bottom on the stumps in seminole. His aluminum hulls are great and he builds his boats for longtails. Id check them out if I were in the market.

10-4, I would prefer the aluminum over fiberglass, although those are strong as well. I find it easier to work in the hull and add accessories on the alum versus fiberglass or other materials. As I recall, the alum hull had a composite slick bottom? Not sure how that was put together. I know as well that he designed these hulls with the longtail motor in mind specifically.

Ok. I have driven and been in a few shorties and they are superior in speed, driving ease, turning, trailering, torque, and a few other specifics...they can also work as well with wider hulls (witness GD making those 1660 hulls) whereas LT's do not do so well. As much as MB gets bashed here, I hope their SLT project comes through, as I likewise applaud BackH2O with their improved LT design and product. You and I and other LT owners know why we continue to run them.

Thanks daisy for the info sounds like a very functional rig. Are the pull starts and being capable of running without a battery overrated? Do most guys run with two batteris on the big blocks?

cb, what if the stater goes out (from salt spray) while your running, couldnt that kill your battery without you even knowing it?

Sure. You could get hit by lightening too. I didn't hook the stator up before a trip to caddo last year. Ran pretty much all day long for four days straight and batt was still almost fully charged when we got back home. It takes a long time to kill a battery if all its running is the engine. Take care of your stuff and keep everything maintained. You wont have any issues man.

Just a side note, I'm almost positive my motor will run without a battery. It doesn't have any solenoids or anything hooked up though. I know for sure my kohler did when the fuel solenoid was disconnected. Dunno, maybe the coils draw some current...don't think so though. Just have to get it started. I am one of those that keeps a second battery in the boat though...

I chose the 23 over the 27 partially due to the pull start and partially to the availability of aftermarket mods if I decide I want any and I like Briggs over kohler. I only run one bat and can bow fish for 5-6 hrs running a trolling motor and qbeam and still be able to crank the engine.

You're right I didn't look very hard but I also didn't buy from the midget. I've never had any luck with kohlers. Never had one on a boat but every mower I've had with a kohlers has give me trouble

Where was your "availability of aftermarket mods" you referenced?

If you were to buy from the midget

Maybe parts would have been a better word

Doesn't really matter. The point was, you were basically saying that because BPS didn't sell parts for the motor, they weren't available... Mods for the 23 isn't really a valid reason not to buy a kohler and in all honesty, if you are going to spend money on mods, you're better off with a larger block anyway. They sell a 25 briggs that is on the same block as the 35-36. If you are modding a small motor to hunt a management area, that would be the way to go, IMO. That block is capable of creating a lot more power the rpm range that we need it than either the small kohler or the small briggs and can be done a lot more reliably. If you are modding a small motor just to mod a small motor and don't have any HP restrictions where you hunt, you are really just being kinda silly, IMO. Money is much better spent upgrading to a better platform capable of a lot more power. Been there, done that, got the t shirt, bought a big block.

Good point. I'm running an unmodded lt. I started with a 6 1/2, then got a 9 and now a 23. The 23 works for what I use it for and I plan on running it for a long time. I would eventually like to get a 35lt whenever $ permits but I'm in no hurry at the moment.

cb5331, isn't the point about modding/increasing output rpm's and HP on a motor for an LT kind of a moot point? I mean, with more rpm's you'll need a bigger/wider prop, but without gear reduction (as on a shorty surface drive) how is that possible? Like my 27 HP is rated for a 9x7 but I get more speed with a 9x6 is an example. Is the HP/rpm gain more significant, say, in Utah at high altitude, than in Florida where I am ( say 30' above sea level)?? I have never seen this articulated in plain language. I could see some improved hole shots maybe by bolting on a Q muffler on my Kohler 27, but is the $400 worth it? I am really ignorant on these points because I've never done that but there must some who have. Or is this just $400 in the pocket of the mfg. who sells it, while we get a new vroom, vroom sound??

The sound unless you plan to take things further. Might get a couple hundred more rpms.

Thank you, med. So I figure if you plunk down 2-3K in mods on an LT, it is basically wasting money, UNLESS you are doing it on a new SLT and this might realize some significant gain on that platform- but my guess this will be minimal unless they come up with another prop. I did have a 3 bladed prop on my first 18 HP Briggs GD LT and it was faster than the 2 bladed SW prop, but it was not weedless so I went back to the 2 bladed SW. I guess this is why there is not a viable 3 bladed LT prop? Thanks again, hope cb 5331 can chime in!

Me personally, I wouldn't waste my money. But that's just me. I has a 27 gdsd that I wanted more power from. After doing some searching I realized I would just be spending a lot of money. Sold it and bought a big block for not a whole lot more. The power I gained was WAY cheaper than what I would have had to spend on the 27 to get to this point. The exhaust is a starting point. It works hand in hand with further modifications but alone it won't really do much for ya.

I agree. I did some rough math on the reported cost of mods to big blocks on surface drives and it's like 1K for each 1 mph gained! I said it before, and here I am limiting myself to my LT, since I don't plan on a change to a shortie unless I physically can't swing it anymore, if the SLT design with a 27 HP gets me 24 mph with two hunters and gear, that will be "heaven". Exciting to go faster but to my thinking, alll the tinkering eventually results in more wear and tear on the motor, not to mention greater risk of accident,etc. I'm one of those drivers that actually goes the speed limit on the road so at present the longtail provides enough challenges and any user-friendly enhancements and refinements are most welcome. If you have long runs and carry lots of gear, the big block 35 is the ticket period.

10-4, cb. Your reasoning is clarified, I was just asking and deferring to your knowledge of modding motors. I have read on the mods on surface drives, just to be in the know, obviously the cost is prohibitive for me and since apparently, it does nothing for an standard LT (the jury is out on mods for a SLT design), I agree that mods are a waste of money and time...the time gained by going faster, I realize already by getting up earlier and putting to my blind in the marsh. Just for the record, daisy cutter, I had Briggs 18 Lt that was very durable though slow- the only mishap was the starter motor gear broke and I just bolted a new one on. I have had three Kohlers, two 25's and the present 27, and all have been very reliable performers.