First off ive been duck hunting forever and have had long shaft mud motors but this was my first short shaft motor/flat bottom setup i have owned. I bought seperate and used because it was much cheeper that way and now i am going to be doing modicications to boat to customize it to my liking. I do all marsh hunting no timber so here's a list of questions i could use to be answered by experts of the field and usage like yourselves rather than a showroom salesman lol.

1st: Want to weld on Hunt deck onto 1648 thinking 16" off transom would be ideal? Main reason for this is space in boat and also weight of motor (35hp hd sport mud buddy). 1 concern i have been told to consider is how the water flows off bottom of boat or something not sure about this...

2nd: is a 35hp mud buddy ok for this size boat?

3rd: The mud buddy motor was on a short 15" transom boat before this are there any adjustments i need to make manually or is it just in the trim that i set at when running in the water?

Thanks again and I chose a completely raw boat for the reasoning of being able to customize it and keep it light and so i can figure out what i like and dislike. So any suggestions or ideas are welcome. I'll post some before and after pictures when shes all done.

I have a 36 Prodrive on a 16x48. The Prodrive is heavier than the mudbuddy.
I personally wouldn't weld a hunt deck on, just because the slightest bit of angle either way, can affect the performance of the boat. If the motor is made for a short transom, make sure yours is also a short transom. 16" or so

I think adding a hunt deck is a bad idea that is a lot of stress putting all that weight on the welds first off your starting with dirty alum .How thick is the hull? I sure people do it but I wouldn't .

What brand of boat is your 1648? What type of bracing does it have


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its a 1990 alumacraft rivited. with 2 braces on transom so middle portion could be cut down but i dont know

Hears how I braced the transom on my 1648 Alumacraft tall transom. Running a moded MB45.