I bought a G3 1756 side console with no motor, I have searched for a jet or even a prop motor. I came across a long tail mud buddy for a good price. It has a 25 hp Honda on it. My question is will it push my boat good? I plan on catfishing the Muskingum River and doing some duck hunting this fall. In the fall ill be on wills creek where there are a lot of mud flats. But mostly in the river. My boat has a 20" transom, I'm not familiar with the mud motor any help would be appreciated. Thank you

1st, is the mud buddy a tall transom? If not you will have issues...will not run right even if u bend the cav plate.
And what is your definition of "push my boat good"?
LT are not fast.
If it were a tall transom LT u could see 15-18 MPH w 2 guys and gear

Here are the pics he sent me. He said he has a 20" transom. He has it on a 1648 war eagle going to an outboard. I just want to go back up River and make it through the shallows. High speed isn't an issue as I was considering a 9.9 OB. I just hate to spend 2000 dollars on something I won't be happy with. I have never seen one other than on YouTube but I like the idea! I guess by push my boat I mean do you think it will plane out? This is my first boat so I'm new to all of this.

He told me it was "Just shy of 8' from the block to the whale tail" I don't know how long I need? Thank you also it's a 24 hp.. I put 25 in the title
I was also told today by a guy at work that a Lt wouldn't work in a shallow river with hard bottom, now we have mud sand and rocks

I cant speak from personal experience as I have yet to actually purchase a mud motor, still running an outboard for now but I have been a long time lurker. It seems like the general consensus is that longtails seem to shine over shorttails in hard bottom and sand as well as stumps. from the conditions you described a longtail might be a good fit, although it may not run great on a 20" transom. Most Longtails are designed for a 16" transom and will blow out of the water if you run them on a 20". some guys have gotten around this by bending the cav plate but its a partial fix. there are some Longtails that are designed to run on a 20" transom but normally there in the 8' range or backwater makes a smaller version for a tall transom but there arnt a whole lot of used ones floating around yet.
long story short if the guy selling it is close to you ask if you can try it on your boat before you buy it, that way you'll know if it'll work and if you'll be happy with it, otherwise if you don't really need a mud motor keep on eye on craigslist. I don't know were you are but there is a pretty decent looking 25hp set up for controls on Denver's Craiglist for 1k that you could probably get for less

I'm in central Ohio and he wants 2000.00 for it. I would like to try one out. I did find a 60/40 jet today that I'm supposed to go look at. I'll keep looking at these Mud Motors and mabye come up with one for duck season.

That Honda will run forever. Whether or not it's perfect for your situation, dunno. Never run in pure sand and rocks.

I should add that boat is probably a bit heavy for that 24 unless it's a light jonboat, but it would work. I think you'd wind up either not liking them because it's not a perfect match, or you'll want more power and have to sell it. I suggest looking more until you find a better motor for what you're trying to do.

I'll definitely keep looking. It's not a Jon boat. It has decks in from and rear, live well and storage. Thanks for all the replies.

If it actually has an 8ft shaft then it should run ok on a tall transom boat. Most have a 6ft shaft. You will probably run 14-15 mph and not lose alot of speed under load. Worse comes to worse its not a hard job cutting down the transom to 16 inches. I dont know your finances but if thats what you can afford then it would be an ok starter rig.

The rig will probably run mid teens. Long tail won't help you much in the muskingum, it's mostly sand and you can't dig in sand. You can't beat them in vegetation and mud once you've learned to run them. They work best in silt or Marsh mud.

Good luck with your search.

P.s.
I haven't been on the muskingum in years, you are making me home sick.