I'm just like you guys. Avid fisherman and hunter. Mostly bowhunting deer and and elk. My buddy took me on the river several years ago. I never forgot what he ran. A mud buddy! Up here in Montana, I had never seen one before. We went everywhere we wanted to go. If you run a regular prop on the Missouri River you are asking for trouble. Most guys run a jet but a jet has it's limitations. Reduction in power, weeds in the impeller etc. Anyway, IMO his setup was just the ticket for the river. I just couldn't afford one at the time. (Kid's college etc.) Fast forward to now, I mostly fish out of my kayak and fish a lot of places boats can't get to. I do pretty good. I also fish the river but ususally it's just to paddle across to get to a good hole. Sometimes we float whole sections of the river but that involves shuttling two vehicles etc. Basically it's a PIA but you do what you gotta do. Last weekend we floated down to some good holes and had a great day. We then paddled UP river back to the truck. It was lengthly tireing process. There's gotta be a better way. Well there is. It's called a BOAT! I never forgot that day in my friends boat. It was just the ticket. So my question is Where do I start? I can't afford 20G's for a new one. My budget isn't even close to that. 5-7G's tops. That means a used boat. I'm OK w/ that. Hardly anyone around here runs them so My chances are slim in finding a used one. Do I buy a used boat and put a used motor on it? What size? What size boat? What kind of boat? I have lots of questions but since there are no dealers around here to ask them, my research led me here. All I know is that there are lots of fishing holes and hunting spots that are only accessible by boat and i want to get to them. The Missouri River here is full of rocks and weeds. Where do i start?

Their all over the place down in the south. If you want a used one your more then likely going to have to drive south. If not then new one shiped to you is about the only other option, and thats anywhere from 15-20k

I dont see why you wouldn't be able to find some in Arkansas, plenty of guys use them to run the flooded timber. As far what size, you'll need to think about what all you plan to do with it. Long and wide drafts the least (18'x60"). Long period (18') offsets the weight of the motor and helps with draft if you dont want the width... But, if you need or want to stay small like a 16', you might be better off with a long tail versus a surface drive, especially on a rocky river bottom.

Where you at on the mighty mo? And I can go places a jet can't go with a mud motor. That is why I switched.

I ended up going new but a piece of advice that I think was very valuable that was given to me was: if your budget will allow, go ahead and save money on a used boat but do your best to get a new (or damn close to it) motor because all boats have issues and you don't want to end up stranded by a tired motor

Well I had a good chat w/ my friend finally. He's now running a jet but he only had positive things to say about his Mud Buddy especially fuel economy and their durability overall. Now it's figuring out what size boat, what kind of boat, what size motor, etc and figuring out a way to stay within my budget. Decisions, decisions!

A lot of people disagree with this method but I'm happy im doing it so want to throw it out there...look into financing a new rig. It totally depends on personal preference and how different people budget and manage money but why shell out all that cash when you can slap down a down payment of a couple Gs and make a payment? Others will say its a toy its silly to finance it BUT just trying to think outside the box in case its something you didn't consider. For me, I financed at super low interest over 12 years and will pay my rig off in 5 or less but at least if some unforeseen expenses come up I can just make a regular payment for a bit, still got the cash saved to take care of whatever it is and don't have to sell the boat. All about what works for you for sure, just a different option

Buy my boat and put a 23 long tail go devil on it. Looking at 8k total.

The HD and the mini don't have a history of cracking lower units, nor do their longtails. I get the hate for the sport V, and get the desire to bash mb, but give the man some accurate facts and suggest what you do like. Incomplete information in this case is the same as lying to him, and I never expected that out of you, pintail...

Yea, I'm sure it was a lack of maintenance that made the steel crack.

I just enjoy stirring sometimes, figured I'd do it to someone that would take it well.

And cb, I have seen that on a forum here and there, but have never seen it be an issue from experience. I am curious as to the why he's had those issues, and wonder if there's even a fix for it. Cracking steel isn't exactly an easy thing to do with the way the load is distributed through the housing. It's not like there's enough design difference between their housing and gt or gd or copperhead that would make the mb more susceptible. Shaft, bearing surface (whether a bushing or actual bearing) at both ends, cap, and a gear and prop.
Oh well, cb foils my argument with an example. Damn you lol

I haven't seen it on a gd or gt, but several mb's. Want to say barnes had the same issue with his, on 3 different lowers IIRC..

Go away lol

Just a little info to make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations.

Any mud motor will not play nice with sand. If you stick it on a sand bar with an inch of water over it, the motor will not push it off. You'll burn up your prop sitting there digging a hole, but you're pretty much going to have to get out and push a 1000 lb boat off of sandpaper.

No propped motor will deal well with rocks. This may seem obvious, but some people think that because mud motors are tough that you can run over gravel and rocks and not hurt it. Don't forget that although it's a pretty stout prop, you can and will destroy it popping it off rocks and chunks of concrete.

These motors are significantly underpowered. Making sure that you size the boat correctly to what you're planning on using it for is key to get the most out of these motors. If you over load a boat or the boat doesn't allow you to distribute weight correctly, you may never get it to plane off.

If you want reverse, you're looking at 2 tried and true options. Gator Tail and Pro Drive. Same powerhead as the Mud Buddy, different frame.

That's just a couple things I figured I'd clarify as I read through this thread.

Lol

Not sure if you can do it but spend a little time to see if you can find a Gatortail, Pro Drive, and Mud Buddy to run yourself. (Or just GT and PD if youre wanting reverse). Lots of guys in the MM world are very helpful, I ended up going to LA to both manufactures before I decided to cut a big check, but you may be able to find some local guys to take you for a test ride. For me, i decided to buy a Prodigy and when i was looking into them the owner gave me some contacts of customers in my area. if you decide to consider new, a custom builder or two may be able to help you in the same manner. Otherwise, try on here and/or some local sportsman or waterfowl forums. I found the hands on experience VERY helpful, I just about had my mind made up on a Pro Drive but after driving both i went Gatortail. Nothing against Pro Drive AT ALL, liked both companies and motors it was just a personal preference thing when I spent some time running them

MC13, That's good advice. I hadn't considered that. There must be some guys here locally because I saw a guy pulling one on Friday. I also know there are at least two others.. Hopefully I can get a hold of them somehow. I've had some helpful PM's on here but haven't had chance to contact them yet. I will today though.

If you're going to be out away from much support, you shouldn't overlook a GoDevil Surface Drive. Much more economical and much less to go wrong when you don't need it to. Seeing where you want to stay budget-wise, it may be a better fit for you.

I made the switch from a Longtail to the GD and have loved it. The "lack of" power trim is not a shortcoming at all, I have only made minor adjustments to mine since I got it set where I want it to run. The 'quick trim' allows me to dig more if I need to without messing with how I have my trim set. The direct drive is also not a disadvantage by any means. The motor is balanced very well and easy to handle on some of the very long runs I've already made with mine. There's even a ProDrive owner floating around here that's spent the day in my rig that turned out to be pretty impressed by it I could have bought any of them out there and decided that what I bought would be the best all around setup for where I ran and what I wanted to do. It didn't hurt that it was a good bit less expensive than the others, even brand new

I'm not telling you what you should or shouldn't buy but, for where you're going to be, Id want as few possible complications as I could get. You should consider a GoDevil.

Just had a lengthly discussion w/ my friend. I just wanted to know why he switched from a MM to a jet. 1st, he got a 18' boat w/ 200hp jet for 3900$. Screaming deal that he couldn't pass up. He had to put some money into it to get it running but still a pretty good deal. He wanted the extra speed to reduce his running time . 2nd the hull is a tunnel so he drafts less. Unintentionally he went in 4" of water and never touched the bottom. 2 valid points but he also said he burns 3 times as much fuel and the motor blew up last year so he actually has 8-9G's into it. Both have their Pros and cons. I have much to learn.