I have zero exposure to mud motors and have new found interest in them. I am new to this site and have found lots of info but haven't had much luck with the search feature to find what I want. I am looking for some advice as to what a good all around boat/ motor combination would be. I currently have a 16foot Lowe with the coast guard hull I think it is 48" wide on the floor. It has an old and heavy 50 hp Merc on it. I drafts deeper than I care for unless you are on plane then which it is fine. Bad part, the smaller rivers I typically run are loaded with brush and shallow water. Sometimes it is just not practical to stay at the higher speeds to plane it out. I am looking for some suggestions to make the best package I can. I just am not sure what these motors are capable of seeing that the bigger ones are rated at 27 and maybe 35 HP. I want to achieve a shallow draft with good over all weight carrying capacity and speed at least 20-25 mph. I won't have any mud flats to run in but not uncommon for places in the river to be 12 inches in places and I want to be able to get up to shore and take off again. What can turn shorter? Long tail or surface drive. Which one will get better speed from equivilant hp ratings. Anything have reverse or are they all forward only. Recomendation to just replace my motor or start over with a wider boat. All input is appreciated and my appologies for some of these questions as they are from a complete novice in this format.

Speed/turning/reverse = surface drive. But if you have alot of hard ground you drive over or stumps to cross, long tail is your best bet. Long tails don't seem to drop off as much when loaded down as the surface drives do but can be tricky to manuver in tight winding places. Nothing a little tiller time and some upper body strength won't fix though

Where are you located?

Northern IL. Is having a location on your profile a rule like it is on one of the other forums I frequent?

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It helps us profile you and generally judge you by common stereotypes we hold for your region. But not required, no.[/quote]


haha good thing you aint from DC

How close are you to Chicago.

tunnel hull jet drive....

12 inches of water is nothing for a mud motor/boat, is your bottom sand or mud or rocks? is sand mud buddy and gatortail do the best, for reverse, gator tail has reverse, prodrive has full power reverse where the skeg turns around, mudbuddy has nuetral and drive, godevil has no clutch and no reverse. if i were you i would start over and get a new boat along with the motor, tell us more like the bottom, your loads, how long you run and if there are stumps you hit often

Is your old Merc 50hp a 2 stroke , or 4?
Merc 50hp on a Lowe 16X48 should be a fast boat.

You bring up a good question- ultimate mud hull? This should be qualified, and since you posted this on the Longtail Talk forum, it is a good question as to what would make the best mud hull for a longtail motor. I've never had a "true mud hull", both with the three GD LT's or the present 27 HP MB LT, but only used jon boat hulls, first rivetted, and now an all-welded one, but none specifically made for an LT. Obviously, GoDevil should be the first type considered since they introduced the first mass-marketed LT in the U.S. market. I don't have any experience with one but have noticed that both acquaintances who had one (1644, 1844) upgraded from LT's to surface drive motors with greater horsepower. They seem too heavy for my use but no doubt the true flat bottom is a best match. The second and third mfg. fits for LT's that come to mind are the Gatortrax and the Phowler hulls. I am sure there are others. A variation on selection is of course, the size of motor and any variables such as horspower restrictions. My 27 HP kohler is a fine motor since I usually hunt alone or two hunters with gear at most. I would be glad to hear of any other candidates. Even though conventional jon boats are not ideal, they do work well enough with LT's, unlike their poor performance in general with surface drive motors.

What is the poor performance of a surface drive/jon boat combo? Some of the videos I have watched apper that the surface drives push the boat very flat or level in the water. With my outboard, I am getting all of the boat off the water except for maybe th back 3-4 feet. Does this have something to do with it?

I don't know much about sd but your outboard will be trimmed to lift the nose up, a long tail is not trimmed the boat will ride as you load it.

If you live 2 hrs from chicago your an hour or more from me. If you want to go for run in my rig send me a PM. Im running a 1848 custom from BW with a 35 BW SS.

1748/1746 mud hull with 35 hp surface drive