ok i thought for sure my longtail couldve done better than this in the mud....when im on step i can go in at least 8 inches of water, yet if i go any shallower, my go-devil slows down so much that i end up stopping and cant go...it seems as if my cavitation plate is going under the mud,beacuse once i pick it up, my plate is covered in mud..why cant i go though hardly any shallow water? any help will be much apprecitated...also its a 13 h.p on a 14X38 fiberglass flat yet it is still very light..thanks

get a surface drive, or a bigger prop for you go-devil so that you can hold it half prop.

well im 15 so a surface drive wont be in my hands for a couple of years also my prop is an 8x6 so a bigger prop?

You either need a new one or a bigger one!

well got the prop at the begining of duck season and its a little worn but not to bad, so i need a new prop? could there be anything else effecting it? i took a cresent wrench to the end of my cavitation plate and bent it up to keep it in the water could that be a problem, plus its very soft mud so i dont kow if thats effecting it..

Sounds like you need to learn how to surface drive the prop. That lil motor may not have enough power to just eat mud. Next time, when you get in the shallow stuff, pop the prop up while running and run without the cavitation plate in the water. Let us know how that goes.

ok thanks, still kinna new to this so im still learning, ima try that out next time im in the shallow stuff, any thing else to know that might help?

Make sure the cavitation plate is bent just enough to keep the prop in the water. You want the plate just low enough to stop the prop from blowing out. When starting from the beginning you want to bend the plate only 1/8" at a time until you get it right.

Many factors....

#1 an 8x6 is a lot of prop for a 13HP.... an 8x5 may suit your better....
#2 is the type of mud.... sandy, wet on top, dry on top....


I can almost bet that 8x6 is loading your motor up when in water alone and when you get in thicker mud the motor may not have the Tq required to spin it to dig your way through....

An 8x6 is what they use on a brand new 16HP....

well i got my plate set right for sure, it rides just below the surface of the water and it never blows out the water, unless i hit something. i just needed help in the mud thats all..

Learn to surface drive it. FYI. The 16 hp comes with a 9x3.

well the mud is wett on top and stays wet about 10 feet down, i mainly use it in the marsh..and i dont fine the prop is too much for my motor, it seems perfect for my motor..

get off ya butt....stand up and push down on the handle,keep the cav plate out the water.
wear the kill switch,hold on.
when she starts boggin',raise er up and drop it back down some.make sure you got a long long rope wit you,you gonna get stuck bad bad.
be careful and have fun.

thanks cajun, that answer really helped me out alot

where do you normally ride? location? I can extend you a tow service if ya ever get stuck in my area...

mainly along the coast in southwest louisiana

SWLA is a big area.... lol

welll mainly around the vermilion bay are if that helps lol

that little go-devil will need a bigger prop in order for you to hold it out of the water a little bit just get a size bigger then you have maybe one for a 16 or 20 hp

I seriously doubt 1/2" more prop in the water is gonna matter in his case.

Im spinnin a 8x4 now and it doesn't load up in the mud...

I never run straight mud but when im in 2-3 in. of water I put the prop down into the mud up to the cav. plate and then when it starts movin raise the plate to the top of the water.

When I'm over a sandy bottom 6" or so I raise the prop 1/2 out of the water so it wont hit bottom and burn up. My motor turns higher RPM's and the prop doesn't have enough surface area to do a whole lot.
A 9x4 will be my next choice.

Have you considered any light mods?

amen to that one woodie!!!!!!!!!!!

as for mods, not really, do you happen to know any cheap mods that might help me out? also next season i plan on getting a 9x3 for my 13 h.p

and woodie, aint you running a 13 h.p also?

Yes, I'm runnin a 13 honda. A good deal of performance is flow. The stock muffler on small hondas are really quiet, it is also restictive...

Make you a header or some sort of high flow exhaust and get a performance air filter. Thats cheap and wont really affect reliability.

You can do a port and polish on your intake so it flows better too.
See if you can get a local shop to deck your heads about .030

you can get a cam and carb on go kart sites but by the time you have all that money spent on it you could easily retrofit it for a stock 23.

i think ima try out that new air filter and exhuast, what about taking out the rev limiter?

My bad, I left that one out!

Its a good way to sling a rod fast..

You could get away with it if you dont run WOT all the time

well i love to run it at WOT, what about the govener removal?

whats wot for you about 13mph maybe 14 with the wind behind you

yeah thats about right.

Full power is also not the best for trying to get up in mud force it under with some force and then add power if now you just making a big hole.

what you mean by stick time?

I have like 600+ hours on my two engines, he is saying to get out and run it, to use it all summer, and know how to react to the motor by next season.

I know they can break some ribs.