anyone run a swomp 35 on like a 17x50 gator trax hunt deck boat or something similar. theres a guy in the boats for sale section that can build boats and he does an awesome job or a good price. he just sold a 17/54 he built with a trailer for 5000. i talked to him he said he could build me a 17/50 for same price maybe a little less. id really like to put a swomp 35 or 37 efi on it just wondering if its enough motor for a boat thats all .125 welded. it would have gunbox, drivers box and catwalks. if you go to the boats for sale section you will see it viewtopic.php?f=62&t=61027

If you go down a thread you can see the boat I had built for a 35 SWOMP. Didn't work out. It performed ok, I think the tall transom may have been its downfall. Backwater recommends a tall transom for the LS motors, mine was 19". Motor just did not perform up to expectations. With a fresh prop best speed I ever saw was 23. After lots of adjustment and playing with it and talking with the guys at backwater we never could get it right. It got the job done but was far from perfect.

There's someone on here, his name escapes me, but he runs a 1848 alumitech with a 35 swomp and likes it a lot.

That would be Stu! Great rig. I'd love something in .090, like the hull I bought from Alumweld (now Xpress) a 1544 that was great with a 25 LT, except in 1844 or 1848 would be much better with a big block 35. It was an all-welded hull and remarkably strong, survived a direct hit across the gunwales from a speeding bass boat. Don't need space-reducing gun boxes or bench seats, give me an open floor plan to fish, duck hunt, and dance! I'll have to go custom because all the big-name mfg.'s are either too thin (.072) or too heavy (.125), or have only tall transoms in an 18' hull, I've been driving short transom hulls for 26 years and works fine. Don't have beaver dams, cypress swamp, or debris-filled fields to traverse! Where that magic mfg. be?

I'd really like to know if stu's was tall or short transom. I believe that was the big downfall on mine. Longtails just aren't meant to run on a tall transom. That and my boat is pretty heavy.

I believe it was short transom, but I'm sure he can confirm that. I agree that a "standard" length LT (72") was designed to run on a short transom, starting with GoDevil's original LT. The BackH20 Ss or 59" drive is adjustable for both high/short transom, but according to the operators, the short transom seems best overall. I run smaller waters so a high transom is not needed and you learn after a number of years to use common sense. For the reasons I stated, a heavy hull is not required for me and, in my area, a riveted boat works just fine and is lighter...the 395# of my Grizzly is too heavy in my estimation; used to be the 1848 riveted boats when they were made (Lowe, Seaark, and others) was around 400# which would be great. Nowadays they are all 1860 heavy azz hulls, ok for surface drives but a liability for an LT. The "washboarding" so many comment on about ribbed hulls I have never experienced, but have seen in pics. A riveted boat can be fixed if a rivet leaks or breaks. Gatortrax's newer Marsh series of low profile boat hulls is a good direction, the 1850 looks like it could be equipped with an LT but I like a higher gunwale for chop since I occasionally hit a big lake.

I can give you an answer in a few weeks. Im getting a 1748 prodigy with a 35 swomp. I am going with a 16" transom. Just waiting for the boat to get finished. First true mud boat.

awesome man. did you go with swomp ss or ls? does your prodigy have a huntdeck? those prdoigy boats are nice, a buddy of mine just picked one up with a black death mud buddy all brand new. thing is sweeeeett
just too rich for my blood lol

Mich mud runner, how do these "glorified lawnmower" engines hold up in the Michigan cold temperatures? We hardly get any freezing temps down here but I did experience "icing" and the motor bogged down when it was in the 20's and windy...what type of oil do you run? Does the grease in the tube ever seize up? I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, the last year I was there, '69, my father bought a Jacobsen snow blower and I earned some bucks doing the driveways along the street I lived on. I believe that was a 2 cycle motor then. I am curious to see how a longtail can be driven with a hunt deck. The prodigy does look like a fine hull!

Cool. So although the hunt deck might not free up that much room, it is drivable and affords one a step in/out area, dog rest, extra flotation, reduces backwash...might have to get one on my next hull.

Is it possible to upgrade the motor on a longtail? Possibly like the stage 1 kits for surface drives? has anyone done it? DId it help alot?

I suppose you won't need much Gatorglide or Frogspit of steelflex with all that ice- you are already sliding! Actually, the heavier/beefier Prodigy hull may turn you into a real icebreaker!! Going to to be a sweet combo. I wish we had geese here, that is a lot of meat for the table! Do you get any ringers early in the season?