Mud motor question

J

Jim Miller

Member
Hey guys
I have a 16' Polarkraft modified V with a 30hp Johnson. I love the boat as is.
However, i've been really thinking about a Mudbuddy or Go-Devil 35. The short drives- not longtails.
Reason is the Georgia coast has 8' tides.
When that tide goes out you are in 6" of water. It's a bummer when you can see rafts of ducks but can't get to them with a regular outboard.
My question is this. How are Modified V's with mud motors? All the web pages show the motors with flat/slick bottomed boats. I want to stay with the v to cut thru the chop.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
Jim Miller
 
I think there is a reason you see them on flat bottom boats.."draft"...at least at the bow is needed to skim over mud and stuff. I think a V bottom would just wedge when it hits any kind of dirt.
 
If you are not looking at running in the mud and want to stick to running in water you may be OK with a short tail. If you have a dealer nearby ask if they have a demo unit that they will stick on your boat for a test run.

Mudbuddy has a open water boat similar to a Devlin Scaup or MLB Gunship and they run a shorttail on that.

If you have enough water to float your boat you may want to look into a jackplate and one of those cavitation plates like the shallow blaster. I have a Black Brant 3 and run my 25HP Nissan in water down to 10 inches deep these days with a manual jackplate lift. I move slow but I still move. I do have a cavitation problem when on step and am thinking of a plate for next year.
 
The Delta Waterfowl show in our area (Mi.) is the 28th of July..and it's on the Kalamazoo river which allows all the mud motor guys to have their product on the water...Come on up to the cool weather and try them out.
 
I have a 27hp Pro-Drive on a 1752 LegendCraft Mod-V. I can go everywhere my brothers 1754 Excel flat can go. He runs with a 35hp Hypersport.

Dsc00427.jpg


muddin1.jpg

 
It'll work just fine Jim. This is a 1756 Xpress MV w/ all kinds of "stuff". The hull has multiple chines and will do fine in 6-8 inches of water. A little slow goin in hard bottom, rough on the prop too, but it works fine. 42HP MBHS.

Motored right up on this spot.

010607-04.jpg


Hitch
 
Personally, I would stay away from Mud Buddy. They have had more problems than people realize. Their customer service department is very good however. Pick something with neutral, you will not regret it. MB has neutral and Go-Devil does not. I own a 31 Gator-Tail made in Louisiana, just down the street from Pro-Drive, the pioneer in the short tail industry. I have neutral, power tilt and trim. I run on a 1648 MV Alumacraft and it performs extremely well on my hull. Reverse is another thing you may want to consider. Pro-Drive and Gator-Tail are the only two offering reverse at this time. Pro-Drive offers whats called 'FPR', or, full power reverse, wherein, you have to crank the lower unit 180 degrees to use reverse. The Gator-Tail has an instant reverse system using a clutch type set-up. As far as boats go, Excel is offering all MV models for this year and a square front proto. Fowler Custom boats is also MV front and they are specifically made for MM's. So, you should be good to go as far as the MV goes. As everyone says in the MM world, get as much HP as you can afford, you'll need it. All short tail MM's are belt driven with the exception of Pro-Drive, they are gear driven. Speeds aren't going to be the greatest with a mud motor, but with your rig and a 35 you could see 30+ give or take. I run about 27 empty with mine, which is good but I wish I would have nabbed a 35 with reverse.

If you need more info, go to:
www.mudmotortalk.com
www.refugeforums.com
www.mudbuddy.com
www.godevil.com
www.prodriveoutboards.com
www.gator-tail.com
 
Definatly go with the 35/36. I just got rid of a 1648 with a 29 Kawasaki hyper, 2 people and gear it ran ok, put a third in there it was a dog.

This just happened to show up on my door step friday.
1760 Phatbouy Phowler Extreme, 36 Pro-Drive with FPR
DCP_2923.jpg

DCP_2925.jpg

 
Hoe do you like the Phowler boat? Or haven't you ridden in it yet? I like your set-up, although you should have waited a month or so, KP is getting ready to release the Hydro t/t. Sooner than later, I want to order a MasterFowler made in MN.
 
I run a 35GTR (Gator-tail) on a 1756 G3. I've had it out on Ontario and Oneida in what I would consider a heavy chop ,2-3ft, and some white caps and was glad I had a Mod-V. We don't have a ton of mud flats, but we've got alot of weeds and alot of shallow water with mud and silt bottoms. My boat seems to be a pretty good combination for where I am and where I hunt. It's nice being able to get in and out of places other boats never will. The one thing my boat does do is porpose with just me in it, but that should get fixed when I finish arranging my boat this month. If you already own the boat I would get ahold of a dealer and let them put a motor on the back of your boat to try it out. I flew to Louisiana to test drive some motors, and was glad I did. It might take you a little out of your way to drive someplace to test out different motors on your boat, but it'll be worth it to make sure you've got what you want with a big purchase like that.
478305.jpg

Tough to tell, but it is a Mod-V
462181.jpg

462964.jpg

 
Hoe do you like the Phowler boat? Or haven't you ridden in it yet? I like your set-up, although you should have waited a month or so, KP is getting ready to release the Hydro t/t. Sooner than later, I want to order a MasterFowler made in MN.
Click to expand...

It will be going in the water monday afternoon. I wanted a totally open set-up and the box will go once I get a MB splash decoy bag to store all my crap in, the gun box seems to take up way too much useable space. Once I get the motor broken in I am going to but on a permanent blind skinned out with aluminum and covered in fastgrass.
I know about the new T&T that is why I got the manual for now, when all the bugs are worked out I will go that route.
 
Hank,
That step on the back of the boat looks great, does it fold up, or is it welded out like that? I'm trying to figure out what to do for a dog step/platform.
 
Aaron, it folds up flat with the transom. It was PW's (at MMT) design and is slick as can be, welded right to the transom. I can put all my weight on it and no problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top