I recently picked up a 1442 Weldbilt Crawdad and I'm looking to put a longtail on the back of it for hunting some muddy and weed choked areas here in West Michigan. I've pretty much narrowed it down to a Back Water SWOMP Lite but I'm trying to figure out what size to go with.

Would the 23 be too much weight for a boat like mine? Would I be better off with just getting the kit and putting a 13hp Predator on it to save some lbs?

As for payload, I hunt alone 90+% of the time and at most with 1 other person. I tend to hunt pretty light: gun, shells, blind bag, push pole, 2 dozen or so decoys, and the previous owner put a pop-up blind on the boat that I'm planning to keep so that adds a couple pounds as well.

Any advice on what direction to go with the motor would be appreciated.

Backwater lists the lite 23 (160#) for a 1442 boat hull and up. I would call the good folks at Backwater and get some good advice as far as your needs and motor selection!

If I recall correctly, I don't think the weight increase from a 13HP to a 23HP is very much at all.

I had a 27 mudbuddy on a boat just like that.
You will be fine with a 23.