(accidentally posted this in the Duck Blind forum as well, I will delete it from there)

I've been looking for a used surface drive rig to use for the upcoming duck hunting season here in SW FL, primarily on Lake Okeechobee and a little bit down in the glades when the water is up. I have had pretty much zero luck thus far finding anything at all and today I found an ad for a boat available locally that looks interesting but completely different than what I was wanting.

It is a "used Go-Devil Duck Skiff Hunting boat, 2007 18' x 36" with Vanguard 23 hp Long Tail Go-Devil year 2010"

My question is, what kind of performance would you expect form an 18" x 36" with a 23 hp longtail? To me it sounds like a rig that would probably get around pretty well in the shallow, hard bottom of lake O and carry a load pretty well?

I would think so but as narrow as it is would be a Lil tricky if hunting with more than 2 people

Yeah, I could see that being an issue. Do you think it would haul 3 guys to the hunting spot if need be? What kind of speed could I expect with 2 guys and some gear?

I have only been able to find 3 different boats down here in the price range that I am interested in, not a whole lot of options. One is a 14x48 Grizzly with Mud Buddy 23 Hyper Drive, next is a 16 x 52 Polar skiff with 23 Longtail and the last one is this 18' x 36" GD with 23 LT. Of this bunch I think the GD duck skiff might be the best fit for my needs. Any opinions on any of these rigs would be greatly appreciated, hunting season is quickly approaching and I would like to have something to at least get me through the year!

Maybe giga will chime in. He runs a 1838 I think. He has a 35sd but should be able to give you info regarding performance.

I run a 17*38 with a 23lt. top end speed about 20mph but where this boat will excel is in the shallow and narrow waterways. Hunting more than three people will be tough but is possible. 36" is pretty narrow for some people but I'm a light guy about 170lbs and have no probllem with standing on one side of the boat and not feeling like its gonna role on me. However being that narrow while turning around at a moderate speed will drive the back outside corner close to the water line if not under water. If you never owned a boat with round chines it will take some time to get used to driving it especially at low speeds. There is no edge for the boat to ride on while turning so it just kinda pushes sideways. At high speeds ( relatively speaking) the boat will track better than any square chine boat.

Does it have a bench or split seats?

Looks like it just has one bench across the center, I'll post a couple pics here in a minute.

How do these little rigs handle vegetation?

Yeah, I am wondering how well this little rig will get around in the veggies out at the lake and down in the glades, sounds like it should do pretty well. I haven't really seen what Okeechobee has to offer aside from what we were able to bully our way through in the outboard powered duck boat. I'm sure it will handle that stuff without a problem. I am looking forward to getting out there to do some scouting and seeing what the boat will do!

How thick are y'alls veggies?

The only time I really fight my lt is on thick mats of grass that float on top.

Wow, great video! Pretty impressive. Have you seen the 'texasbackwaters' videos on youtube? I would like to know what that rig was, just says go-devil rig. It runs through some unbelievably thick stuff!!!

From what I have seen that little boat should have no problem running where we need it to go. It should open up some really cool new terrain for us down here! I have been all over the salt (work in the boat business) but am pretty new to swamp riding. I'm excited to get out and ride around in it some.

I'm going to look at the boat tomorrow, what should I look for? (The motor is a 2010 and has about a year of warranty remaining) It seems like every other thread on the longtail forum here is about props. What should I look for in regards to the prop?

Just got a message that the guy decided not to sell the boat , guess it was not meant to be. Too bad, I think that little boat would have served me well this year.

Oh well, I started out thinking a bigger boat with a SD is what I was after, maybe that is what I will end up with after all. Thanks for all who chimed in to help me out, maybe he will change his mind again.