Surface Drive vs Mud Motor

J

Josh Coulter

New member
What is everyones opinion on Surface Drives vs Mud Motors in rivers with rocks with a boat without pods.
Can you run a Surface with Pods and how does it handle?
 
Have you thought about a jet drive?

My experience with longtails was limited to areas with mud, sand & shell and lots of logs.
We broke two props on logs over the course of ~10 years.
And dealing with sand and shells, my partner would always have a spare prop, he would have to switch props about 1/2 way through the season, send the worn one off to be rebuilt.
Cant image that a prop would last long around rocks without a serious prop guard.
 
I have run a ton of surface drives over the years. First one was 18 hp, second was a 40 efi, and my current one is a 55efi. The higher the power you go, the more surface the prop runs. With my current set up, my prop likes to be ~ 1/3 out of the water to be running at its fastest and easiest to handle. In turn, when im on plane, my hull runs over shallow sand spots and my prop doesnt even touch. I can feel the hull go over these spots and my prop never even touches or catches, and I feel it a lot in one of the spots I hunt. Its the only reason I have a surface drive, otherwise every other hole I hunt, I can get to with an outboard. That one hole has just been so good to me over the years, so I cant give it up and go to an outboard. Careful with this, not sure I would want to hit a rock at speed and my hull being the one that takes the impact. I hit all kinds of stuff with my prop though when idling around or half throttle. I usually have to get a new prop every year, but more from the sand I run and it just eats away the blade. I have no experience with long tails, but I dont think I would ever consider one anymore with how good the surface drives handle, and the maneuverability of getting turned around on a dime.

I too would look into a jet drive if rocks were you're primary issue and concern. You would also get that outboard torque and likely better performance. If you decide on the surface drive route, I would go as big as you can afford and have a spare prop on hand at all times. I think I have 2 extra in my boat. One from previous season, and one for big heavy loads, but in a pinch, both would get me home if I had a failure of any kind. Never had that happen, but would rather be prepared than not.
 
I don't know if this has any bearing so take this as is. I have a jetski and a Yamaha jet boat. Both jet drives and they are very particular to the depth of the water in which they run. If the depth is less than say 3', I can suck up small rocks and sand which can, and have, become lodged in the impeller. 1.5-2" rocks isn't uncommon. Usually this damages the impeller tunnel plastic liner which then requires replacing it which is several hundred bucks. Jetski is the same way. Oh, and the faster you go, the stronger the suction.

As mentioned, I do not know how these jetdrives that are being referred to work but this is something possibly to look into.
 
Last edited:
My experience with a long tail on the Potomac is that they mostly hit rocks when you are idling. There is enough flex in the shaft that you generally don't break the shaft, prop or u-joint. However, when the prop hits a rock, it stings your hand like hitting a baseball off on the handle of a bat. There is a risk of you losing control of the tiller. Once you open up the throttle and get on plane, the prop lifts high enough that it almost never hits a submerged rock that your hull doesn't hit first. You do need get smart enough to read the eddies and avoid the barely submerged rocks.

I know a couple guys who used their surface drives in the same water and didn't complain about it, but they weren't out there exclusively and could live with the trade-offs. They were also pretty proud of their surface dries and wouldn't admit any dissatisfaction to some mere plebeian with a sketchy old long tail. I think the linkage between the engine and drive shaft would help cushion the jarring from hitting rocks, but might make it easier to break a prop, linkage or shaft. I definitely would run a rock guard on any prop driven motor if I ran rocky areas more than occasionally.

Most who boat in shallow, rocky areas a lot end up running jets. Jets are heavy and handle poorly at idle and reverse, but they are made for running around shallow rocks. Pods help keep the transom from dragging with any heavy motor including jets and mud motors, but make control at idle and reverse worse still. I didn't have any, but needed them; my boat isn't made for a 200# motor. In a perfect world, you always want a boat that can sit with minimal squat with the desired motor without pods, but that often isn't realistic.

Nate
 
For a long time I ran a 16 ft alumaweld sled with a 40hp jet pump (60hp at the head 2stk oil inject set up.) I never had a lick of trouble with gravel or sand, but one time near Grays bay on the Lower Columbia, I sucked up enough marsh muck to stop the pisser from pissing. We idled it to the edge and I took my hand operated boat bailing pump, and backflushed the pisser under pressure with the extension hose. It worked and free'd the debris! It was an excellent set up on the Main river and its tributaries for all but the most sporty days.

We would sometimes run 3 guys, 3 bags of deeks, 2 dogs and everything. The guys would occasionally have to lean fwd to help us get on plane with such a heavy load, but all in all, it was one of my favorite set ups.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top