Surface drives

Rossja

Rossja

Active member
I've never seen it, but has anyone ever had a surface drive mud motor mounted on a sneakbox? There are a lot of small connecting ditches I kayak hunt, but even my smallest sneakbox could easily get stuck with changing tides, silt, and mud (have even got kayak stuck, and mud was too soft to stand on). I was thinking if I were to mount a surface drive mud motor (maybe 7hp) on a sneakbox it could potentially be a game changer. Unlike a long tail it would still cross open water with no problem and could drive the boat right up in ditches only the kayak currently gets to.


Thoughts, photos? And yes, I am aware if would give some traditional guys a heart attack
 
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I have a fiberglass barnegat bay with displacement hull. No way to tell that I know of how much weight my transom will hold, it appears mud motors are about twice the weight of 2 stroke johnson outboard. I believe mine was rated for 6hp but I have a 9.9 on it. Again not much data, I don't even know who built it.

Someone messaged me and I think I found an answer as far an expensive new welded sneakbox goes. Phowler makes a sneakbox type boat they advertise for use with surface drive.
 
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I?ve never seen a mud motor of any kind on a displacement hull but I can?t imagine it working very well at all
 
Noted, thanks. Maybe I'll save up and get something new and all decked out the way I want it. I have 2 older traditional style boats now, barnegat and south bay. I know one thing I dont like how the wide john boat syles stand out, and I primarily hunt solo. Just thinking outside the box, and wondering why I never see those drives around South Jersey despite the mud, solt/sand bars, underwater obstacles, etc
 
Most of the mud motors I see sit really tall above the transom. Wouldn't that negate what I thought was the sneakbox's most valuable feature? Its lowness?
 
Gordon Bartlett said:
Most of the mud motors I see sit really tall above the transom. Wouldn't that negate what I thought was the sneakbox's most valuable feature? Its lowness?
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Good point, still less obvious than johnboat with a scissor blind. For me best part of hunting out of sneakbox is driving bow up into tall phrag or grass and hunting over stern. With a quality surface drive you get reverse, so reverse in that's all
 
I think all mud motors suffer from salt water rusting them quickly. I built a log tail for my Sneakbox but it's only a ten foot box and i can take my motor off in a few seconds. Im still testing my motor but its for tide ponds.
 
Josh Schwenger said:
I think all mud motors suffer from salt water rusting them quickly. I built a log tail for my Sneakbox but it's only a ten foot box and i can take my motor off in a few seconds. Im still testing my motor but its for tide ponds.
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That would explain their use being primarily inland waterways and flooded timber.

I'm really liking the look and construction of the Phowler aluminum sneak boats, I'm going to try and see one in person before buying though. For now the traditional sneakbox and old Johnson will do just fine.
 
P Taylor said:
Phowler, County Line, or the EBADS by Four Rivers are some slick looking rigs.
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That EBADS looks awesome, half price of phowler, looks like it`s plastic.

Edit: it is fiberglass
 
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When i built mine i used stainless for my bearing housings but i think aluminum would be great. I'm getting 12 miles per hour unloaded in my 12 foot aluminum. I think a sneakbox could easily get 10 mph. I know that seams slow but some places i hunt i can only drive so fast in the dark and when i get close i switch to a push pole anyway. I run short distances (3/4-2 miles) so honestly i don't think it will add much travel time except on the way home. My main issue with a mud motor is how loud they are I'm not sure how many ducks it spooks that won't return. I idle into my marsh the past few years maybe a waste of time if the ducks are roosting 5 miles away.
 
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