Mud motor, jet, long tail, pro-drive, others - school me

[skunked again]

Pros and cons ? I'm ignorant to all of them. Time and place for each ?

[Spectrum]

Hello, my brother has I believe a 18 hp Koehler surface drive on a 16 foot Carolina Skiff, it will go almost anywhere, has had issues with clutch several times. You have to get motor to certain rpm for it to engage. It’s like riding your lawn tractor across the lake with the motor noise. Doesn’t go anywhere fast but will get you almost anywhere you need to go. To combat the rpm issue with the clutch he installed a manual switch to engage at low rpm to just Idle around. At full power it’s a little tiring to hold throttle and the tiller handle due to vibration and motor torque. Still a fun boat for short trips and getting where others dream about.

[Micanopy]

Depends on where you want to go. Each engine type has advantages and disadvantages. For example, jets are great for shallow rocky rivers, but weed infested lakes not so much. If you are new to boating, I highly recommend that you spend time at the boat ramps where you plan to fish. Show up early in the morning and sit in your truck and sip coffee and see what kinds of boats are showing up. This will clue you as to what you should get. Also carefully consider the locations that are further away that you might want to take the boat.

I considered surface drive motors and thought that one would allow me to explore some cool spots. In the end the reliability and versatility of an outboard won me over. Now when I want to get into a shallow area I use the trolling motor. Mine took my 20 foot boat through a very shallow and skinny creek with logs like it was nothing. Of course the boat doesn’t draw a foot of water though.

Bear in mind that once you decide on an engine, you pair the boat to match. Surface drives for example like skinny short boats with flat bottoms. I viewed some of the Gatortail models nearby and that style of boat just didn’t thrill me at all. Duck hunters love them though. Then there is the issue of who would I call when it all goes bad way back in the swamp. I mean being pulled out by an airboat cannot be a joy. LOL

Take your time and consider everything that pertains to your locale. Good luck.

[Ketchn]

mud motors look totally hilarious is you are operating one .
jet drives look like you are buck rogers if you are operating one .
and in the end unless you have a very specific reason to own one it might be best to look at more conventional motors .

[Hp942]

I have ran prop and jet boats for years and for many of those I had one of each. When I got back into boating a couple years ago I bought one with a bigger jet. I sometimes fish rocky shallow rivers, but mainly my local lake, which can be tough to run at winter pool and many of props and lower units are now fish shelters in the bottom of the lake. I like my jet, but if running shallow is not needed then go with a prop. They do tend to suck a few weeds in or leaves in the fall. For my fishing style now and not wanting to own two boats, it works great for me. There is a learning curve to drive one, you have little steering control a low speeds and loading in the wind or heavy current takes practice.

[GreenLine]

Surface Drive motors are usually air cooled 4 stroke and can access shallow ,weedy waters that cause problems for typical outboard motors.
Pro drive brand has gear drive, also has a full power reverse option.
The cons - slower than outboards, louder,
Heavier, most brands only go up to 40hp


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[LadyBear]

Currently own Jet and Prop, have seen the surface drives they are loud but they seem to do their job. If I were limited to one boat would have a motor mounted on some type of jack plate then have both the jet and prop lower units, the reason for the jack plate is the jet runs about 5" higher than when in prop. I had a 25 merc could swap lower unit drives in about 15-20 minutes. As mentioned above the jet is swell, but a pia in grass, weeds or leaves.

[tcounty]

I had a long tail several years back on a 14’ boat we used to get to some really good duck holes in Arkansas. That thing was a beast. I could run up little ditches and beaver runs, go over beaver dams, through buck brush. Only bad thing was after 10 minutes to get through all that I felt like I had been fighting two midgets. Long tails will work you over.

I’d like to have a 15/42 surface drive boat and a 23 jp Copperhead motor. It wouldn’t be great for small rivers and backwater.


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[Johnny rebel]

Fishing south Louisiana I’ve used a pro drive with gator trap boat for 10 years. Use it for duck hunting and fishing. Take care of the motor i5ll take care of you. I blew my power head at 1200 hours. In the marsh and mud I’d recommend the pro drive as the full power reverse feature is awesome. If I was using the boat in deeper water or in timber I would recommend the gator trail engine. The instant reverse isn’t as strong but it is instant. It makes maneuvering easier.

Mud motors have their place. A 37 hp pro drive is about the equivalent to a 30 hp outboard.

if you don’t need it get an outboard.