Can I do it, without re-inventing the wheel?

I rebuilt the bearings, etc. on a 13 hp Mudbuddy LT and hopped up the 13 hp Honda that came with it, but it's just not enough to drive my 14x42 john boat with it's heavy plywood casting deck and frame.

I remember asking parts guy at MB about possibility of attaching the HF 22 hp motor to that frame and he was less than enthusiastic about the concept. Didn't say "no" but didn't give me an "ok, it might work", or " you would need to do this to make it work:....".

So, I'm throwing it out there to you guys. I got a basically rebuilt and repainted Mudbuddy lt frame and want to put a HF 22 hp Predator on it. What do I need to do?

I would think that this would not be that hard to do. Depending mainly on the difference in shaft ht from the 13 to the 22.

If the shaft ht is lower on your 22 then you can probably get away with putting spacers under the motor until the u joint is aligned properly.

If it is higher then you probably have more work ahead of you. If it were me i would cut the welds that attach the drive shaft housing to the frame, adjust to the correct angle and re weld.

post some pics of the frame..

I know the 16 is a direct swap. Same shaft height, just Google it

Sent from...wait, Where am I?

Thanks to both of you for helping.

I went to harbor freight, today and measured the shaft center height at 5 1/4" from the base, which is the same height as their 13 hp, which should be the same as my honda 13. Gonna try and find the honda site to confirm ( I could take off my u-joint shroud and measure, but I'll try the computer, first.)

Bolt holes on both predators line up and I bet they're the same as my honda. In fact, the Predator 22 has a secondary, wider set of bolt holes, too.

Man, I'm getting the itch to almost double my hp for @ $610, after coupon and taxes.
That's before I subtract whatever I could get for my honda. It's been recently modded, with governor removed, muffler traded for header pipe and mini muffler, which can be unscrewed. It's also got a bigger carb jet, stronger valve springs, gas tank removed and pulse pump added with fitting for external fuel tank. Help me do the math and justify this deal:

What do you think I could get for the slightly souped up honda 13?

From what I could tell, if I pull the trigger, I'll be adding an additional 40 lbs of weight to the stern, but I could just move my starting battery up front and offset that bit. Course, I would need to be carefull about stopping too quickly. The rig will ride on a 14x42 jon boat, with re-inforced transom.

Comments?

I would not be hesitant to run a 22hp on that size of boat... I run a 16hp on a 1436 and most of the times wish it had more nuts... As for the weight, youre on the right track on thinking about moving the battery, also another thing to consider would be moving your gas tank as well... I wouldnt be too worried about the thing trying to swamp when you come to a stop until you try it!

(need some feedback on this part of my question:)

Since I really want to justify getting the Predator 22 hp,
What kind of $$$ do you think I could get for the slightly souped up honda 13?

It's recently had the governor removed. Installed a bigger carb jet, stronger valve springs; gas tank removed and pulse pump added with fitting for external fuel tank. I swapped an almost new oem replacement muffler with a header pipe and screw on mini muffler. Custom air and oil breather filters. Runs Great! How much $$$ should I be looking at?