Help with new shallow water boat suggestions

[MudDucker]

Definitely turn off the sound on the clip. Looks like a boat with a mudmotor over in the Louisiana or Texas marshes. A far different environment from ours. You can get real shallow with a mudmotor and mud boat, but you better know where the rocks and hard bars are or you gonna have trouble with a capital T.

[SHOWBOAT]

Definitely turn off the sound on the clip. Looks like a boat with a mudmotor over in the Louisiana or Texas marshes. A far different environment from ours. You can get real shallow with a mudmotor and mud boat, but you better know where the rocks and hard bars are or you gonna have trouble with a capital T.

Nuces Bay. Not a mud motor. 150 Honda with regular foot. In his post he says he can't run over about 10 mph in those conditions without overheating. He is working on protecting his intellectual property rights in a prop he designed prior to sharing the details of the prop.

[Rhettley]

How does the motor manage to suck up enough water to stay cool without sucking up all that muck?

I don't care how he came to use the rap lyrics, I think it's a serious mistake if he's trying to market this.

[SHOWBOAT]

How does the motor manage to suck up enough water to stay cool without sucking up all that muck?

I can't say for sure; doesn't look healthy for a motor from my perspective.

He describes the consistency as more of a chocolate malt than hard mud. Claims as long he goes under 10mph it give time for the "water" to flow into the tunnel and cool his Honda. No low water intake or other mods to the stock motor. Sounds like the prop is pretty intersting though. It still wouldn't work in Taylor County b/c of the had bottom, and I believe aluminumn is the way to go there, but appears to be a nice set-up for TX. I sometimes think about selling my Xpress and buying a larger bay boat, but I can't give up my ride to limestone creeks in search of redfish.

[Rhettley]

I wonder if the prop is so hard it won't break or elastic enough to bend and flex back when it strikes something? If it's too hard it seems like the lower unit gears are going to be what gives out. I'd much rather replace a prop... I tried a composite prop on my Tracker for duck hunting when I lived in TX. It was a 4 blade and performed great until I found a cattle fence a farmer had extended when the water was low. I was way back in a creek and it basically ate the prop down to the hub but did no damage to the motor. Fortunately I had an old bent aluminum spare prop so I got out and changed it to get back home.

[SHOWBOAT]

I wonder if the prop is so hard it won't break or elastic enough to bend and flex back when it strikes something? If it's too hard it seems like the lower unit gears are going to be what gives out. I'd much rather replace a prop... I tried a composite prop on my Tracker for duck hunting when I lived in TX. It was a 4 blade and performed great until I found a cattle fence a farmer had extended when the water was low. I was way back in a creek and it basically ate the prop down to the hub but did no damage to the motor. Fortunately I had an old bent aluminum spare prop so I got out and changed it to get back home.

I think the propriety qualities apply to lack of water rather than strength. Indications are that it may be a two blade prop. They run some crazy props in TX; almost like two props back to back. No idea what top end on this boat may be.

[Badbagger]

Two more options for a tunnel hull all welded which is my next build after just finishing up this one. Personally, I'm going with a prop tunnel. I've read of too many issues with jet O/Bs and the consensus seems to be stay away from them. Then again, this IS the internet and EVERYTHING thing you read has GOT to be TRUE right lol ?

I'll be looking at:

SeaArk
and..........http://www.boatrightmarine.com/Home.aspx

http://www.southforkboats.com/boats.htm

[APE]

I fish around the Suwannee river, cedar key, steinhatchie area. Already have a rebuild 24' proline that gets me most places. But it won't get me in the really shallow water and far back in the saltwater creeks. Especially on low tide flows in winter. So I am considering a second boat. I usually fish withatleast one other and most of the time there are 4 on us in the boat. So I am thinking I want something around 20' in length and 8' in beam. I am not worried about rough water as I will always be in close with this boat. But I do want to be able to get up on plane and run in very shallow water and be able to drift and pole or use trolling motor in very shallow water so I can get back to the deep holes in the creeks. I have been looking at something like a Micro Draft or the XF20. But I am concerned that running at medium speed through a creek on very low water and hitting an oyster bar with this boat could leave me stranded. So I am also considering something like an Alweld 2070 with an pocket tunnel. But these seem to draft a little deeper from my research and it seems to me that while the microdraft might still float some with a hole, aluminum will sink, although it would take a lot more to put a hole in The aluminum boat. What are your thoughts?

I know that this post is over 1 year old but I wanted to let you know that the Micro Draft boat is a great choice for the Suwannee area, I have been running one for the past 3 years in Suwannee and the oyster bars are a concern and rocks are not good either but the boat is very well suited for the area. I have ran it with 3 people and loaded with gear across the muddy areas when the crab traps were sticking out of the water about half way and it will slide across the slick mud pockets without any issues. The bottom of my boat is painted with a paint that they put on the bottom of the airboat hulls called Frog Spit and it is slick and very tough, I can only see minor surface scratches in the paint. The fiberglass over the wooden hull is very durable and it flexes to allow it to travel over short sections of oyster bars without it digging into the oyster bar and the wooden core allows for it to float and run very shallow like 6 inches loaded and 8 inches sitting still. If you want to catch a ride give me a call 352-258-8253 Adam.

[TallyFish]

For the handy fisherman/boat builder: http://www.glen-l.com/designs/special/scooter.html

[Bonecracker]

The 16 footer skiff has peaked my interest for true shallow water fishing for some time!

http://www.saltmarshskiffs.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/SaltMarshSkiffs

[Redbelly]

That Kevlar skiff would be pretty good in the 16' size.

[MudDucker]

Definitely turn off the sound on the clip. Looks like a boat with a mudmotor over in the Louisiana or Texas marshes. A far different environment from ours. You can get real shallow with a mudmotor and mud boat, but you better know where the rocks and hard bars are or you gonna have trouble with a capital T.

Nuces Bay. Not a mud motor. 150 Honda with regular foot. In his post he says he can't run over about 10 mph in those conditions without overheating. He is working on protecting his intellectual property rights in a prop he designed prior to sharing the details of the prop.

I didn't see a motor in the clip, but I would have to see an outboard doing that. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless I was in a boat with a mudmotor or an airboat.