mud boat thinking

[shaeleblanc]

hey guys i have the access to a old 14ft cypress wood flat bottom boat it has a 40-42inch bottom. its a real solid boat i was thinking of restoring it some and putting an old tiller handle motor on it. but where i run it is really shallow so now i am thinking of putting a mud motor on it i would prolly put the 27 horsepower prodrive setup on it being its only 14ft that should push it to about 25 mph with a light load. so the question is how well do you think that old wood boat would hold up in the mud? i also have access to put a teflon bottom on it but thats heavy. if not then i will just do it like i planned.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: mud boat thinking

Not sure what part of the country you are from but me being up here in NJ, I have no idea what the hell a "mud motor" is.

 

[shaeleblanc]

Re: mud boat thinking

haha i figured that i live in south louisiana so to hunt deep in the marsh and swamps around here we use shallow water outboards like prodrive mudbuddy gator tail and godevil. but these are not like a godevil of the past where is really long these look just like a regular outboard drive with a v twin motor and air cooled. here is a link check it out http://www.prodriveoutboards.com/ these were actually designed and built down the road from my house and were the first of there kind. we use to do all the testing on them then the other mud motor companies caught on.

 

[goldhunter_2]

Re: mud boat thinking

a wood hull tends to be heavier then its aluminum counter parts for a mud boat so you may not preform as well as you expect but would work to some degree, personally I think the 25mph is a bit more then you'll hope to see.
Now if it is just shallow water being the reason your changing for a outboard to a mud motor there may be other choices. Like float pods and raised motor or a tunnel hull or a combination of both . I know I have run a tunnel hull with pods two guys and gear in about 1/2" of water just fine unless you stop but no problem crossing it would also cross hydrialla pretty good

 

[shaeleblanc]

Re: mud boat thinking

i know the aluminums around here that i have ran with a 14ft hull and a closed floor on a 27 prodrive run right at 25 but with a good load about 20. i am not changin from anything i just got this wood boat and was debating on putting a mudmotor or a regular outboard on it. i am sceptical about the wood boat performance on the mud also.

 

[goldhunter_2]

Re: mud boat thinking

one great thing about a wood boat s there easy to modify or add things like pods to them , jack plate is a bolt on item as well and depending on your fabrication skill you could build one so again no big expense

good luck let us know how it does

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: mud boat thinking

I would call the company and ask...... I would be afraid the extra weight would create extra drag.

 

[shaeleblanc]

Re: mud boat thinking

i think i am just going to put a regular out board on it. i need to bring this thing home and get to sanding on it. its all cypress wood. but i have to finish my party boat first