I need a little help guys. I live in south Texas where it's a mix of mud and sand. I'm looking for a 18 foot boat with a surface drive motor with reverse. I would like a mod v hull but still be able to get super shallow. I'm looking to keep it under 20k with trailer out the door. Is that possible? What would you guys suggest. I'm new to the game.

My setup is everything you're describing with the exception of reverse and a mod-V front. Mine does have a pointed bow, but the rake is flat just like the rest of the bottom. I have chased fish into some very shallow places. Others with this same hull will probably agree it drafts very little water and runs very flat allowing you to access those spots you're wanting to get to. No surface drive motor is going to like any kind of sand or very hard bottom but if you know the territory and take your time, you can get pretty well anywhere there's water.

The pic below is my boat with hunting gear for two people and about two dos decoys. Not a big load but probably a little more weight than you'd carry on a normal fishing trip. I didn't exactly measure it but it's floating in much less than a foot of water and drafting probably 5" when running on step you can see the line of Gator Glide on the bottom almost all the way back and it's only about 3" up the sides.

Can't get two pics to attach to one post but here's one on step, in only a couple inches of water with soft mud bottom. Also, your sub $20K goal is very easily done with a brand new GoDevil boat and motor on a trailer. You'd have several thousand left over. I'm sure you've heard the chatter about the GDSD possibly getting reverse and yes, it's in the works. There is no release date yet and no price tag so I don't know that I'd base any purchase on that. I would highly recommend the EFI engine on whatever you get.

Most of the brand packages (boat hull/motor combo) you can get out the door with a very nice rig for plenty under 20k, like the pro drive and gator tail packages. I would say the same for custom builders as well, but most of the time all you see with custom boats that folks buy are decked to the gills with every bell and whistle you can imagine. I have seen where uncle J has offered some great deals on boat builds from time to time.

These men all speak the truth. I'd go with a wider hull as well, ~60" bottom, makes it really stable to walk about on and will help with draft. Can't argue with the 1860 go-devil. The damn thing seems to float in 3" of water. I've got a GTR on mine so I have reverse and it works great.

Thanks guys. Right now I'm looking at the gator tail extremes and maybe a custom boat by uncle J. I normally fish in waters 6' and below down here. I want to use this boat to get in the back bays.