Stump-Jumper mud motors

Ed L.

Ed L.

Well-known member
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Does anyone have any experience with Stomp-Jumper mud motors? Now that I have a pup to hunt with I need something besides a kayak on those days I hunt alone. I've been thinking of something simple that even I can build for the smallish marshes in our area. After seeing John H. Halls pond box I think that's a boat I could build with some descent results. I haven't found any plans for one so I started laying out the boat on my cad system last night. We'll see how it comes together.
 
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You mean stump jumper by Bill's Engineering?

I have one and have ran it on a BBIII. It has a serious amount of low end torque and will push the heavy boat through muck as long as the prop has something to bite into.

Like all long tails it should be ran on a flat bottom boat rather than a semi-displacement hull like a sneak boat.

It weighs 65 pounds full and is reasonably light for a 7hp motor, but there are lighter ones now for smaller boats.

Orion outboards has a gear reduced long tail for mo-marsh style boats that is 2hp or 3hp and less than 60 pounds. they are sold through four rivers and they have several videos up of them in use on their boats.

There are only a few issues I have read about for the Stump Jumpers. One is that Bill has the motors drop shipped by an wholesaler. Some times they send the wrong style of motor in the EX series and the kill switch wiring harness does not match up. The wholesaler also tells Bill that Subaru does not make an EX motor with a charging system. Subaru website and Northern Tool along with other on-line motor sellers do sell the EX motors with charging systems. So the motor wholesaler that Bill uses might have some issues.

My one issue is that the twist grip throttle sucks for me. I find that when I am working the boat out of the muck and walking the prop along the bottom having to twist and grip the throttle takes a huge toll on my arm and hand. I changed last summer to a Backwater Performance System finger grip throttle system for a Mud Buddy. Due to a left arm injury I have yet to use it, but in the yard testing it worked great. I do not recommend this item unless you like to grind on stuff to make things fit. Mud Buddy uses a smaller diameter tube for their tiller handles and you have to do a lot of work to get it to fit a Stump Jumper tiller. Better off cost and time wise to use a BMX brake lever system. It will fit the larger diameter tiller tube better.
 
You mean stump jumper by Bill's Engineering?

It weighs 65 pounds full and is reasonably light for a 7hp motor, but there are lighter ones now for smaller boats.
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Yep...that's the one. Orions have some nice reviews but a bit pricey using a Lifan and even more so with a Kohler. Although Lifans are cheap and available through Harbor freight when a replacement is needed. Bill's Engineering is much closer to me than Four Rivers. The Subaru Robin has good reviews and the price is right. Also with shipping costs what they are today free shipping is very attractive. I have wondered about the twist grip. Nice on an outboard but like you mention not condusive to working the motor in the muck. The Rickshaw motor I had also uses the BMX brake handle setup and I liked that. I would probably replace the twistgrip as you mentioned. Nice to know about the engine. I keep that in mind. I don't know what the pond box dimensions are but the boat I'm laying out is basiclly an 11x42 flat bottom so I think the 7 hp should be just about right.
 
Ed,

I bought a Stump Jumper last summer and ran it on my MoMarsh DP. Great motor! That said, the DP is a 13' long 48" wide boat that weighs about 100 pounds and that 7 HP motor was way too much power for that boat. With the motor mounted high and with a lot of torque, I saw myself getting into trouble. I was nervous every time I drove it. So, I sold it and went with a 55 ft-lbs MinKota trolling motor. The 11' boat you've described would be way too small for that motor, IMHO. 65 pounds up high in a small boat with a high torque engine can flip and sink a boat in an instant. I'd recommend a 14' flat-bottom jon boat for that kind of engine. I know others run them, and that's their choice. But I'd never recommend overpowering a small boat.
 
David,

Thanks for the insight. Perhaps the 2hp orion is more in line for this boat. I like the idea of the nosieless option of an electric motor but I'd like to avoid the weight of a battery and the space issue. I'll have to give this some more thought.
 
I hunt from a DP 75% of the time. My current set up is a 55lb thrust Minn Kota and the biggest battery I could buy. Works fine and the silence is great.
That said, I am shopping for a 3hp Lightwin so I can lose the battery weight and add a little umph for going upstream. I hunt moving water almost exclusively.
If that can't be accomplished in time for next season, I am going to go to 2 small batteries. This way I can at least put "half" the weight up front.

My two pennies :)
 
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I also have one. Like others have said, it has a lot of power for only a 7hp engine. I have mine on a 10ft sears aluminum boat. I've had 3 guys, a dog, all the gear in the boat all the while breaking 3/8ths ice with it. this was in a backwater area where we launched over a guardrail off a road.

The twist throttle needs to go immediately too. If you've never driven a long tail before I would say get rid of it before you even launch the boat. I also put a BPS throttle on mine. I've also got a 27hp mud buddy longtail.

I almost bought a copperhead but could not justify the price for one. I'm sure they are nice but 2500$ for a 6.5 hp is a pretty good chunk of change.

I have some pics but I don't know how to resize them on the ipad. I can email them though if you want.

Rob
 
I would not go the electric trolling motor and battery route Ed. I used this set up before I built my first mini mud motor. For my use, there way too many drawbacks.

1. The weight of the battery.
2. The life of the battery in cold weather hunting.
3. The depth of water the trolling motor required to be useful. I believe it was close to 1.5 feet to run well.
4. When the water got shallow, I had to turn the motor off and somehow raise it, get out of the boat, drag the boat upstream, put the motor back down and start up again. Going up shallow streams, and having to do this many times, it plain and simply sucked.
5. Plastic prop (although you can replace with a Young's prop as you know).
6. Speed. The 55 lb electric I used could not get the boat going very fast. Made for long rides in the morning.

I still can't believe that someone other than Rickshaw hasn't come up with a lightweight small mud motor. Maybe a 2-3 hp unit that weighs in around 30 pounds or so. I've got to believe it possible. Mine weighs in under 15 lbs and the rickshaw around 20lbs isn't it?

Can always go with these guys.

http://www.longtailboatsps.com/

He posted quite a bit on the Boat Design Forum page about the mini longtail. His kit was quite interesting and dirt cheap. He used quality parts. Only downfall was shipping from Thailand. I don't think he put much effort into determining shipping rates as I ship stuff over there all the time for 1/20 what he was quoting.

Mark W
 
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Mark,

Here is a 2hp Orion on a Four Rivers boat. I couldn't find the weight on the Orion site but reported weight on another site is 55lbs. I've thought about calling Bills Engineering and find out if he's tried a smaller motor like a 4 hp Briggs. I know they sell a frame kit and maybe I can down size the motor a bit. Or maybe govern the 7 hp. Like you I'd like to stay away from batteries and cables especially this year. I hope to get the dog used to being in a boat though the summer but puppies are puppies whether they are 2 months old or 12 months old. She's very excitable.

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I have the 6.5 mudbuddy on my 4rivers and am very happy with it. The Kohler pull start has never failed me even in very cold conditions, it is a beast.
 
You can put a smaller motor on the stump jumper frame. All the mounting holes are on a face plate that bolts to the back of the motor. Its a standard pattern for this specific sized motor across the industry, but a smaller motor may need to have additional holes drilled in the plate. You will need to make sure that the motor shaft will fit the fitting on the drive shaft. Its a common size so that should not be a issue.

The other issue is that you may need to grind down the top of one of the oil drain plugs to get it to fit between the tiller handle mount and the motor. A smaller motor may end up above this part of the frame and not present an issue.

The prop is pretty large so you may need at least a 4hp motor to get the most out of it without bogging the motor down.
 
The Stumper-Jumper website says one of the motors that fits the frame is the 5.5 hp Briggs Vanguard. I know there is a 3.5 hp I/C engine but will have to research to see if there is something in between. Definitley something to think about.
 
Don't listen to these guys about putting a smaller engine on the frame. You want as much power as you can safely fit. A mud motor needs that power on tap when you come up to an obstacle like a beaver dam or log jam, a patch of thick grass or brush, and muddy shallow water. I would not go any smaller then the 7 hp. You just need the right boat and practice driving it. Get it before the summer months to learn to drive it.

Good luck, maybe you can post those pics I emailed you Ed.

Rob
 
Thanks for the input. Lots to think about. Here are your photos Rob....

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