I am looking at picking up an 1860 Seaark DXS SLD/ 36 Pro-Drive combo. If any of you are using the pair, I would like to hear your thoughts. Any issues with the prop hitting the transom? Any performance issues?

Edit: shortened title to get the word "combo" to fit.

Those boats are slower than normal, and I'm not exactly sure the transom will hold up very long with the Prodrive hopping around on the back of there. I would go with a Prodrive boat if you are gunna be spending that kind of money anyway.

Since conditions where this will be used dictate that the motor is the variable, I also welcome anyone with firsthand experience with a Seaark 1860 DXS and any other surface drive motor. The boat will spend as much time on the lake as the river, so I hope to move beyond educated guesses to specific experiences with this boat when it comes to not just putting on a four stroke.

Why I don't have any first hand experience with the above mentioned hull, I do have experience with hulls not designed for a MM and the short comings they have. With that said, if your just pussy footing around, don't expect to hit stumps or logs, or run it up on a dry ground hump without knowing, it will probably work fine. If you think there is a possibility of doing any of the above a hull designed for the MM you want is the best route.

I agree with these guys, heavy and not as fast but it will get the job done

You probably won't find anybody with that type of experience....because it just doesn't work for the common applications which these rigs are typically used. If you are lake/river use, you are probably better with an outboard. If shallow water is your concern in the river, you probably want to explore jet drive vs surface drive.


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A lot of us have contemplated doing what you are asking about doing, and we went against the advice you've been given (or didn't even ask) and ended up trying it. Expensive experiment, and has a lot more of a percentage to end up disappointing you than pleasing you.

Well since no one seems to have that setup I'll comment on mine that is close. I have a Seaark 1652 with a Gator Tail 35 surface drive. As the guys said it is not the fastest, I get about 23 loaded with two guys, dog and deeks. The boat does handle well and I'm happy with it so far. I like the surface drive on this boat because it can get me in some of the shallow backwater pockets on the lakes I hunt but also has decent speed to get me there. I also don't have to worry about running a outboard in the mud.


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I've seen a guy running a Seaark with a PD motor around the lake a few times. IMO hull was junk. Not made to handle the abuse of the motor and conditions.

I run a 17x48 mud runner by sea ark
37 gater tail does 30 with a light load
27 bumping 28 with a load
Have no complaints

not sure why you guys think a seaark cant handle a MM.... they are .125" hulls built like tanks. The bowfishing guys swear by seaarks and they beat the piss out of the rigs (just a little differently than a MM duck boat).

i'd have no issues running a seaark, especially if you are looking for a rig to track better over bigger water and still get performance in the shallows. Now if you are running 100% swamp and mud, a PD boat will work better with the slick bottom.

The one I saw wasn't a mud runner hull. He runs out there on pipelines and through timber and that hull is jacked.