Just got a 16/42 polar craft boat with open floor plan and flat bottom what size motor would be a match for this boat

A 40 merc

I got a 40 tiller i just want a longtail for hunting

23 or sell it and get a Hull better suited to run a mudmotor on. You could probably float a 27, not sure I'd put a 35 on one that short and narrow

I couldnt complain i bought the boat for 400 its in perfect shape not worried bout goin fast just need sumthin for rice fields

The 23 and the 27 are both good lil motors. Hell if you don't need much the 16 is one hell of a Lil workhorse

I grew up hunting in a 16ft alumacraft with a 18 go devil it was a nice rig im thinken about a 23

23hp, 27hp, or the 35hp all good just dependson how much you want to spend

well if your plannin on getting a new longtail why not just get a copperhead or mini hd lite. i mean the heavist motor copperhead makes isint but like 140 pounds and it will get you were you goin alot faster than a lt

^^thats not alway true. and you know it

Since this is an LT forum, I'm not going to suggest an SD....I've been using an LT ( 18, two 25's, and presently a 27MB Kohler LT) for over two decades now and as much I'd like to, I can't justify an SD for where I run. That 1642 should run fine with a 23 Briggs or 25/27 Kohler. I like the fact the 23 usually comes with a pull start along with the electric start feature, for those weak battery situations...is that polarkraft .100 gauge? I think that is plenty unless you're runing cypress swamps and beaver dams. I "upgraded" my 1648 Grizzly with Steelflex on the hull bottom. I know, these are not true mud hulls and they are never going to run as well as a mud hull (GD, GT, etc.), but they get you there and back; I know several people here in Florida who bought GD hulls, but found them too heavy- I concur.
Honestly, some people have bought mud motors and realized that their conventional outboards (faster and cheaper) took them duck hunting to almost all the same areas. Even though my LT is not ideal for bass fishing, in the off season with a front bow mount trolling motor, it works. The SD is the ticket if you have long runs, frequent bigger waters, cross thick mud, etc. Those of us who run LT's know why they have worked for years and continue to be a viable powerplant in certain areas. Like many here suggest, Sut, find a reputable dealer and many are willing to give you a test drive and make your decision easier.

Excellent post Glades Ranger!

25 hp


Edited for cb5331's sake

Elitist

Some of us don't make 20 mile runs, jump logs, dykes, and dams, and have thick ass mud to run through. There are a few of us that can do everything we need to in a jon boat with a longtail.

come on cb this whole site is a broken record when it comes to some things alway the same questions, always the same smart comments from the same people same guys always saying their gd is better then everything else you should know by now

Just saying the long ass posts trying to convince yourself you made the right choice like Giga does all the time are just fuckin annoying though. Get to the fuckin point already! He wasn't asking to be convinced he needed a longtail or a light boat. He has a light boat and wants a longtail, just asked what size.

And how was your suggestion to sell his boat and buy a better hull any better? Any time somebody asks about a motor for a ribbed bottom boat most of you guys parrot the same thing "sell that POS boat and buy a real mud boat and put a 35 GTR on it".

BTW, 3/4 of the posts on this site are irrelevant to the original topic they are posted in

that be why i gave the answer i did

There fixed it for you cb.

Selling the hull and putting the motor on a boat built for it is a good suggestion, and I didn't harp on it. Didn't even take up an entire sentence with it. Trying to convice yourself every time you post that your little light weight boat and LT was a good decision gets old. He's not even trying to convince the OP, he's trying to convince himself. Reminds me of the same shit the dynamic duo is always doing.

By the way, GTR is a fuckin piece of shit.

Not trying to convince myself of anything, my boat motor combo is all I could afford so the decision was easy for me. Digging dino turds doesn't pay custom boat and mega MM kinda money

I wasn't talking about you potatohead. Sheesh, you are fuckin slow. And rumpranger, i'm just picking at you so don't get all pissy. You do remind me of Giga though.

since when?

Thank you indawoods, that is USEFUL information, not the moronic ad hominem remarks that cb offers, but I am laughing anyway, because I have a sense of humor, hope that gets your testosterone level up cb. You don't remind me of anyone I care to meet. Paleo, I appreciate your objectivity, and I hope Sut gets a good buy and traverses his rice field adequately. Good try cb, I've never tried to earn a psychology degree on this or any other forum, but this cyber venue affords you that luxury. Yesterday I finished out the season in the glades, bagging six Aythya collaris in grand style. Back at the landing I spoke with an acquaintance who is well into his 70's, has a 1542 jon with a 23 Briggs LT, since he's retired he goes out every other day and loves his LT and never complains about it.

I think best bang for your buck is a 23 Lt

indawoods, the Go Devil site still lists the 23 LT with a "rewind starter", I guess they need to update that. On my first 25 GD LT, I bought an emergency start hub from Coco- man that was hard to do on the 25, but the one time I needed it was great. GD also recommends the 23 HP on 1542 boat hull, and up to a 1648.

ill call you out on that one you pu that motor on his boat and put a 35lt on that boat and that longtail will out run you i never took anything away from cooperhead but the guy that i know that has one up here can not out run me even when im loaded and hes not and we run the same boat.....so think what you

I think again it depends on preference
SD allow more speed and are easier to drive but more expensive

LT works for me because I get in deep bog and I don't require the speed in the areas I fish and hunt

Make up your own mind - get what you want - get what suits your needs best

And above all - read read read
Reviews, problems, capabilities... Etc

Then make a decision for what you want

his boat was brand new and when hes by him self he loves it but put any weight in it he said he hates it he felt like he got sold thinking it was going to be something it will never be in his opinion i dont know i wasnt their when he got it just a guy i started hangin with either way its a cool little motor but nothing i would buy and nothing he would buy again for a boat 16' its a 18hp

wow thanks for the help i got bout 5 good replies and id rather run a lontail anyday then a surface drive for where i hunt

found a good deal on a 23 going to look at it this week

That should be a good lil set up man. Post up some pics and a review when you get it all put together!

will do cb