i know its been done before.
anyone have any experience doing it,how was the performance....ect?
did she do ok in the mud?

i know i wont get sd performance,ive done it back in the 90's with a 3 hp leg and 5 hp motor.wasnt fast but plowed along in shallow water at 7-8 mph.

my option are a 19 hp briggs and a 40 merc leg with power trim.
or a 9.9 zuki leg,with 13 kohler.
id like to go the 40 merc route and eventually put a 40 plus hp engine on there.

any thoughts?

a running 95 40 merc



9.9 zuki with locked power head

whats up with the pink brass knuckles attached to your bike??

Depends on what you doing with it. I had one

Shit I'd just run that 40 merc on a good tunnel hull boat with a jack plate.

just doing fishing in the marsh,nothing extreme,maybe dig alittle.not looking to ride over mud flats.

I made several and they do well in shallows, it will run an inch of water as long as you dont slow down after that youll have to idle it till you get to a couple of inches more of water, but you dont have to worry about it not pumping. my biggest one was 40 mariner lower unit with 24hp briggs ran 29mph @ 3800 rpm on 1542 alweld hull with one man 28mph with 2 men. that was with stock prop, if you go with a bigger engine on that lower unit you may have to add pitch. like a 32 or 36, a 27 would prob not make enough difference. these bigger hp engines will break the bolt through the shaft connection, so you will need to pull the crankshaft from the outboard and cut the ring with the spline, i brought mine to a buddy at a machine shop and he drilled a luve joy coupling and pressed the spline into it and also tapped it for the set sres and welded to the love joy, sounds like an over kill but i was breaking high strenght steel bolts every time i would hit a stump.

thats my plan....chop the original crank shaft and install a coupling.not overkill at all.a set screw will be a weak link,gonna make it beefy...lol.

and someone commented about installing the 40 merc on a tunnel and going with it,i already have a 40 mariner magnum on a 17 ft hull....i want a mud motor build.....i cant stand a tunnel in mud.

Been thinking about a hybrid myself lately, just for the hell of it, to see if it would work. Was thinking about a 3/16 plate coming off the cavitation plate with a sketch set up with bushings. Use a 3/4 shaft with one end larger to slide over the splines of the outboard shaft. Run a short shaft outboard leg on a tall transom and go to town. Think a 40 hp lower unit could handle it?

dead thread...lol
I picked up a good 26 hp bottom shaft.and that mercs bushings were shot,so using the leg is pretty much out.upper bushings aren't produced anymore.i been hunting used ones for 10 mths.....nothing yet.i sold the 40 merc,but picked up a 35 merc....same problem.
so now im thinking lower unit through the hull.
run a 4260 electronic gov,big exhaust and carb work.

Id run it like an outboard set up.26hp ontop a 35hp prop should do great just stay out of the mudflats that have less than zero water.We rode our lil 25-40hp 2 stroke outboards thru pure mud flats many times for short burst.........just don't slow down.

we would run the 25 mariner just like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOfwqncnY4

maybe this will help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MFc5U7pkNE

yea those were the days,The Mariner was my favorite in the mud.Glad you found some vids.I've been in less water with my 70 Yamaha than any mudboat I've ever owned.

I like the Merc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPxOZUfzks8

as long as you have short spurts of water 2 stroke outboards do alright.What I like about Merc/Yamaha and tohatsu is that the water outlet is a rubber hose that can be re routed to see the outlet stream so you can monitor the flow.

just gutted the running 35 merc,gotta cut the crank to reuse the splined output.also have a machinist making the 4 bushings that are discontinued.
so hopefully in a few weeks I can have this beast together.

Keep us updated with pics.I sold a vtwin 26 to a guy that made racing mowers,he installed a lite weight flywheel and picked up a lot more rpm.He was un beatable in his class for a couple months.He also has a carb for each cylinder.

im thinking 2 small carbs,electric rev limiter,exhaust work.
I don't want lighter fly wheel though,loose torque that way.less rotating mass.

getting the bushings made soon.

Slow progress
Over the past 6 mths ive collected a few parts.
A 96 pro 50 yamaha in nice shape with hole in the block,some steel,coupling material.
Pulled the 26hp off a mower,choped the 50 crankshaft for the splined stub.getting 2 peoce couplings made within 2 weeks.
Installed yamaha on my 17 ft aluminium hull.
Hopefully in less than a mth ill be riding.my 17ft is pretty heavy,70 johnson pushed her 32 mph with 1 person,31 mph with 2 adults and 2 kids.
So im expecting a sliw boat...lol

Built the motor adapter plate today,next is shift linkage....and wait for the coupling to be made.
Im at the mercy of a machine shop.
Gonna use yamaha control box,cables and harness.

Ive done my building right,shaft centers ar 0.008ths off center....not bad at all.
Thank you bud light...lol.
I can lossen all mounting bolts and adjust for that difference.....then tighten down.
I probally coulda dropped motor 1 in lower easily though.

Shift linkage done.
Heres whats left
-throttle hookup
-water pump removal on lower unit
-exhaust
-tie in yamaha control harness to the 26
-install yamaha electric choke
-painfull wait for coupling to be made
-switch over to mercury power trim relays/solenoids (cheaper to replace when they go out)

What are you doing about the fact that that engine spins left ways and your prop needs to spin right ways? You could technically run in reverse for foward but im pretty sure the reverse gear/clutch dog is nowhere near as strong as the foward gear?

But the prop on backwards?

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

.

When this gets done and you go run it take a video. I'm curious to see how this thing turns out

Nice ! Attempted this in high school as an Ag shop project.. Shift linkage stopped me from completing it.. I got aggravated and handed it off to someone else lol

I do a few vids,tryin to locate a used cheap jackplate.....that would help alot in shallow.

Keep in mind.....i know this is a mud motor forum,and this technically
Is a basic style of mud motor.
Im not tryin to compete or beat a sd in the shallows.
I like to build,and experiment.
Simply trying something different .
I like being the underdog.
Bottom line...its going to work,the 26 does the same thing as the 50 2 stroke did....turn a prop.
Less rpms....but more torque....and aircooled.
We all know a 40hp on jackplate can run almost anywhere a sd can run.....problem is cooling.
Ive ran my mariner across 75-100 yards of mudflat plenty times.
Just had to pick my mudflats wisely.....gotta know your motors limit and when you need that cooling water back.

I have $800 total invested in my entire rig sofar......do most of us really need to drop 14k on a rig....no....we want to.
If i can atleast play in 1ft of water without any issues....ill be happy i didnt invest alot to get there.
I read people complaining about tearin up lower unit,then complaining about the manufacture,shady craftsmanship,poor quality...ect......your running a prop over 4k rpm in a area littered with stumps.....and expect your rig to not break.
Not pointing out anyone in particular...just my observation.
If i tear it up....my rig will be cheap to fix,parts are everywhere.
And its a tried and tested platform thats been around for awhile.

My buddy has a older gatortail,i replaced the 35 with mods on it a few years ago...i posted a build.
About every 30 hours the bearings and shaft tears up.
Greesed every run.
Cost him about $500 everytime.
Bad machine in the shallows.

Im familliar with myd motors

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34211

Not much of an update,deleted the water pump,machinist says coupling should be done tomorrow.
Hopin to be testin this weekend

just traced it and tested it.
Red power into box,black grd,brown to solenoid signal,white to kill,blue to choke.
Trim wires are seperate.red power in,blue trim up,green trim down.
The other wires arent needed at this time.
I may go mount the control box in the boat,swap over cables from old control box to new box.

I think the motor red to battery/charge,black to kill.

I'd probably change that oil and filter while yer at it.... Looks like the filter that was on it when Sears put the mower together

I was thinking the same....its rusty and dented...both not good for a filter.
I have a new one in the garage somewhere.
Its a breakdown waitin to happen.
The husqvarna mower had 400 hrs on it...original engine....probally original oil and filter.bought it off some shady people for $150

Coupling done,may swap different set screws.