Hey everybody. New to forum and to mud motors in general, and need some advice. First, about what I have and where I hunt:

Used to hunt out a of an Alumacraft 1436 and mercury 9.8hp, on Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

Boat was a little too small up front for 2 adults to hunt and motor didn't cut vegetation (hydrilla/Lilly pads) very well. Stepped up to a merc 25 sea pro 2-stroke but now it's a little heavy for the 1436.

We like 14'ers because we hunt real small heads and have to conceal the boat with palm fronds and keep a low profile; we lay in the boat sideways, perpendicular to the length of the boat.

In recent years fluctuating lake levels have made Nmud motor a necessity but not every year. When the water level is normal, we prefer the speed of an outboard. When it's low, we only have aquatic vegetation to deal with. No trees or stumps.

Was about to purchase a Weldbilt 1442 with short transom, set up with a totally open layout. Then started considering hanging a mudmotor down the road, when needed.

Would a 1448 or 1542 with the same layout be better? I can get an extra transom brace installed when I order it. Not too concerned about .080 gauge aluminum of weldbilt; no trees or stumps here and we ran a .064 riveted Alumacraft forever. Would an 18 copperhead push to guys both under 200lbs, 4 doz small teal/ringneck decoys, and guns/no dog up to 22-24mph? Close? If not could it handle an HD Lite?

Really want to get a boat ordered soon and would greatly appreciate any input. Want to stay under 16' if at all possible to keep the 25 Merc over 30mph when we use it, and keep boat easy to hide.

I don't think a 18 HP will do the speed your wanting, it'll get u where u wanna go. Check out the 23 HPs vanguards you can up grade them to run like a 35, (depending on how much $ u wanna put into it) I figured if you were ordering a boat you can put a lil $ in your motor. I think DixieMM has the lightest I have one stock on my 1548 I get 23 24 MPH by myself with dog and gear over 300 lbs 21 MPH when I add a buddy. I'm not promoting them I've had trouble with mine ( all clutch related) but I've beat the sh*t outta it. Make sure if you do get one get it with power trim! Tell them specifically what your transom height is, mud motors will put alot of torque on your transom make sure it's beefed up!!!

Get the 25 GatorTail!!

PM swampnuts, he's running almost that identical rig

^^ and it does damn good too

I ran a Copperhead 18 on a 1650 for a year and really liked it. From my experience, you will get those speeds by yourself in the boat but not with a load.

OK. How about a 23 Lite on a 1542?

I'm getting about 50/50 responses on whether to run a 23 Lite vs. an 18 Copperhead when I speak to people who SELL motors, but everyone who actually uses them is telling me to get a 1652 and a 35SD, which is out of the budget, cancels out my 25 outboard, and perfectly good trailer which is for a 14-15' boat.

I have learned that Weldbilt offers a smooth bottom boat, but only in 44" or 48" widths and with a flat frnt, no V-front/flat bottom.

This is getting confusing.

1442 Flat-V
1444 Smooth/flat
1448 Flat-V
1542 Flat-v
1544 Smooth/Flat

18 Copperhead
23 HD lite

We've settled on a 1542 flat bottom with a modified V in the bow, the v isn't in the running surface at all.

I was leaning toward the 23 HD lite but I'm consistently hearing from people who owned a Mudbuddy that their customer service absolutely sucks.

Is anyone running a 1542 and a Copperhead 18?

Im not sure if you have looked into it.. and not trying to be a smart ass but, weld built boats are not what you really want if you want a mud boat. I have priced weld built for a friend before and by the time you add any decent options to one its not worth the money. My opinion is contact one of the custom builders on this forum. You can get a custom boat built the way you want, that is a true mud hull and will run shallower and perform better and last longer for less or equal to what you get the weldbuilt. TRUST ME. at least get a few quotes .. you're throwing good money down the drain with the weldbuilt. Contact uncle j custom boats or WC custom boats. I have had boats by both builders.

I hunt Lake Okeechobee also. I had Alumitech Airboats in Orlando custom build a boat for me, but I got a big boat. They will build whatever you want and will work with the mudmotor manufacturer to make sure the transom is set up correctly.

have you looked at the phowler light jon? seems to be a pretty much perfect match to the copperhead.