Gents,
Here's my situation and I'm looking for opinions on what to do.

I have a 23 hp mud buddy LT. Ends up everything on it is fine after a car wreck except the muffler is dented bad, and the air intake on top is dented. Those parts should be easy to replace and aside from that the actual rig is still in great condition. It has low hours and runs great.

My boat was totaled so I'm looking at buying a 1652 mod-v with a side console and a 1993 mercury mariner 50hp. I'm getting it at a good deal so I will have around 400$ after insurance money for any work on it I plan to do. Budget is tight, so here is the issue:

I hunt coastal marshes with bad mud, oysters, etc. most guys around me use an outboard with pods to get around but I wanted the mud motor route. The new boat isn't ideal, but with the situation, is what it is. The boat also has wood floors, carpet etc (all crap I don't need or want).

What should I do?

Sell the LT and add pods for the 50hp?

Keep LT and fix it but run likely very slow?

Or would y'all think I could sell both motors and get a bigger mud motor? I live in NC so finding mud motors here is tough.

Sell both and get a surface drive is a great option. Otherwise you could keep both and put the long tail on when you need it, but that would be a pain.

I imagine I couldn't get more than 2100 for both motors. Maybe my estimate is wrong but I can't find any SD's close to that cost