allegiance21

Ok. Here's my situation. I need a mud motor to get down and back upstream on a river that I navigate for deer hunting (i know this is the waterfowl hunting forum but you guys probably know more about this). I willbe getting a 16.5 or 17.5 ft. flat bottom boat. I'm looking at getting a 27 hp mud motor for it. I will be transporting 3, (possibly 4 guys if there's room) and quite a bit of camping equipment and gear. I would like to be able to get back upstream at at least 10 mph. The river is mostly deep enough for a regular outboard, but there are sand bars that we run into and get stuck on occasionally, which iswhy i now want a mud motor. I like that the surface drives are faster, but they are expensive. The long tail mud motors price is a little more appealing. I have no experience with any outboard, so ease of operation might be a factor. However, I feel i could probably get used to whatever i bought. Would a long tail motor be sufficient for my use, or should i just splurge for the surface drive if it would be better suited for me in the long run? Oh, and this will be my only boat, so i will be using this for fishing in my local lakes. If a surface drive could be used for this also, that might be the way to go.

Quackcephus

A surface drive would better serve all your boat needs (fishing)... I ran a longtail for years & now I have a surface drive.

lax

For outboard style of operation in a surface drivetheProdrive is as close as you can get. Sandis going to grindthe prop down on all of the makes and models. Check out some of the duck hunting forums you usually can find a used motor in good conditionfor a fair price. Also if you have dealers nearby go and test drive a few brands then make your choice.

Peck1524

My Dad has a mud buddy on his 17 foot flat bottom and has no problem hauling as many as 6 guys up the Potomac here in Maryland. Not sure on the horsepower, but I must say I was suprised at the power it had.