i am going to be driving 9 hours to pick up a used 16' with a 35hp go-devil surface drive
the motor has 32 hours on it, everything in the pics looks great.

but the help i need is what do i look for when i go and see this thing?

Hopefully you've already seen pics. Depending on age, check welds on boat (mainly transom), listen to motor for knocks, look for hooks/dents in the bottom (my 1644) had a huge dent in he ass, but it helped my boat a little with the 35 I had) leaking motor, oil level.

I'd really hope you have discussed all these things before your drive though....

i have seen many pics yes.. he sent about 30 pics in total so i think i have seen all i can..
the price seems right, its 7500.00


Boat is a 2001 16' Mirrocraft mod V.
Has pods installed
2000lb. promark winch w/ 50ft synthetic rope
Minn Kota bow mount trolling motor
12 Gal. fuel tank
10' all aluminum push pole

Motor is a late 2009 35 HP Surface drive Go-Devil with Only 32 HRS
prop is like new
Motor comes with a cover



i had a 14' with a 9hp go-devil long tail with trailer that i sold for 3000 this last week and this is my boat i am upgrading to


without seeing anything do you think thats a good price?

I'd still Jew him down!

not my style to jew a guy down.. but i will see

do you think its a average price?
comes with a trailer also
its deff a good deal for my part of the world in canada

Depends on how you wanna look at it. Depending on age of the hull, it's getting in the right ballpark.

It may not be your style to barter over a price, but to me, I'd rather keep a few bills in my pocket.

It NEVER hurts to ask a man what his bottom dollar is though. There's right and wrong ways to go about it. Everything's priced at x with intentions to bring y. Don't be a dumbass about it. If the man says its cheaper, treat yourself to a nice meal on he return trip.

talk him down. I would pay 7500 if, it was a newer, "go devil" hull. Im not fimilar with the hull your about to buy, but im assuming its .100 gauge material, which I find is crap, expecially on a mud boat. If your running mud where your at, a vbottom wont perform good as a reg flat hull. For being as old as that hull is, and what shape its in, $6,000 max. If you can post some pics.

You don't get what you don't ask for!

Always offer less and look for the counter....but be willing to walk away if it's not the price you're willing to pay.

is that a bad thing?

i have very little plans to run it in mud
i will be using it as a hunting/trapping boat

IMHO, that hull/trailer is only worth $2k tops. The motor, while it's clean & low hrs, it's a 3 yr old GDSD. At very best, $5k for motor. Just my .02

with the prices you guys are talking about you need to start sending boats to me to sell
our market for this stuff is much higher in canada.
i cant find anything like this in canada for under 10k

whats so great about a "go-devil" hull design?

The way it's braced is stronger, it's built for a GD motor, faster, performs better in almost every way.

That boat is shit for shallow water application. I'm gonna bet its a .90 hull, bracing will hook if you test it. 6k tops after seeing it....

You know more about where you will be using the boat than anyone on here, if that boat will work and its all that's available to you then buy it and enjoy. I was just saying to try and get as good of a deal as possible. Use it responsibly and you will get years of good service out of it, just test drive it before you buy it if possible, I would insist on it.

If you have already agreed to the price, and can't find anything major wrong with it, you wont have any room for negotiating once there. He knows you will be driving 9 hours and will stand his ground (if he's smart) be prepared to pay the full price. I once had a fellow drive four hours to buy a motorcyle after we had swapped many pictures and agreed on a price. He looked it over and told me he only brought X amount thinking I would come down. Knowing the trip he made, I said no, my price still stands, he made one loop around the block and somehow found the rest of the money...Look at it from his point of view.

The guys here can tell you what specifically to look for and you should be able to get the man with the boat to send you pictures in detail of certain areas as if you were there. For example, has he sent you a picture of what the bottom looks like? Good luck.

Looks like its also riveted. There is a guy on here selling a 18' go devil hull with a 35 and a better trailer for about the same price. Just saying your paying top dollar for this rig IMHO.

Were those pods added later on? If so, that may be an indication that this type of motor is not a good match for the hull.

If you drove south 9 hours, would it put you in the US?

yes i am only 11 min from the border right now

i would look at a 18 thats just getting to big for what i need..

What do you need it for?
There are people in Louisiana that can put a 20' skiff in woods so thick you would think a pirogue couldnt fit, it's all about tiller time.

those pods are a good indication he tried to band aid the motor being too heavy for the boat... Plus they cause a disturbance to the prop on a surface drive motor.
It's easy to get excited and jump into a purchase, but my advise is do it right the first time and never have to patch or upgrade boats.

Don't do it you WILL regret it. Keep looking, as woodie said its easy to get excited and want to purchase something different, but that boat
Won't perform for shit, neither will the motor on may boat, especially with pods. I assume your taking a loan out from the bank, if it's in your budget take a few extra k's out and get something built to do what your wanting to do and built for a mud motor. There are plenty of nice rigs that
Sell on here for around the same price that may be closer to you and that will work a lot better. There's also a lot of good guys who will let you test drive their boat. If your gonna put down that much cash on something, you might as well do it right.

no i have no plan on taking out a loan.
i understand it might not be the best boat in the world.
my idea of shallow water is 2-3 FEET not inches....
i have no plan to be in mud ever.
i will be using this in late fall for trapping and hunting in a river and a shallow lake 12' at the deepest.
i can see if i used it often all year then maybe i would want the best boat ever.
how many of you guys would buy a 100$ hammer? i swing a hammer all day so i find a need.. but i wont call you nuts for not buying a stileto hammer if your a odd time hammer user

Just remember, you started the thread asking for advice, and you're getting what you asked for.

You're looking at paying top dollar for a motor not built for that boat and a boat not built for that motor.

You'll probably be fine. I hunted in northern mn for several years. Running rivers and lakes full of rice shouldn't be a problem. Watch out for logs and keep it off the rocks. You won't see the same performance as a flat bottom, but performance is relative.


Sent using my bag phone

I wouldn't give more than 5k for it.

And if it was a true flat bottom with no pods it would perform alot better than a semi-v.
We aren't just talking about mud performance, the v will disturb the water to the prop and kill speed.
Also, I don't see that hull taking much abuse from ice.

If your not going to be running shallow water and trees and stumps then this setup is nice, everything in the picture comes with it? My dollar would be 6500 Given the condition of the boat, with a riveted boat your taking a gamble that they are all tight and not leaking. For the area you described this boat is not a bad choice for you. But what these guys on here are saying is true, Most all of us have had cheaper boats and seen what they hold up against, but you can guarantee that those same guys now have Boats built and braced for mud motor applications. Hey if you want it go get it, its not a outrageous price. The pods will take away from some of the performance.

some things to look for:

Start it and make damn sure it runs
Check the oil
listen for anything you think is not right
Make sure trim knob is not froze (easy fix if it is)
check Grease bowl to see if it has grease

Most of these things will hlep you determine if maintenance has been kept up.

thank you that answer helps
the most abuse i plan that boat to take is cattails.
i steer around the logs lol

so instead of full speed ahead i will slow it down over a log.
i will have a boat full to the brim with gear and dead stuff.. i dont need to go diving to find my stuff because i want to ramp some stuff

Yep, just drive like a normal person and you'll be fine. I've flat out nailed boulders in the river here and other than having to pick myself up out of the bottom of the boat there have been no ill effects. You'll get dents and dings and gouges but she'll float. And you'll be fine in ice if you use your head, I break ice in mine as long as it is reasonable thin, less than 1-1.5 inches. The mod v will help a lot in ice, a flat bottom makes it a real pain.

Some guys here forget that not everyone jumps beaver dams, run stump fields at 30 mph, and don't have thick mud.

because of the swamp grass

Good luck with the new boat . I too am living in Canada and yes the boat is worth about 2,000 to 3,000 more on this side of the line. I went to L.A to pick up a boat from Ottawa. The cheapest price on u-ship was 3,200$ for that much I had a very nice trip and got the boat my self. You will need to get 2 separate bill of Sales one for boat and motor one for the trailer. You will need to do a bunch of paper work to register the trailer in Canada . Also you can pay the tax. If you are there for long tell them to take your duty your allowed off of the taxes on the boat . Then you need to get a safety on the trailer to get the plates. Just a lot of b.s. and more moneys for the man. I would put new barrings on the trailer or at least take a grease gun with you and a spare tire.most of these guys on here have no clue what its like up here and you will do fine in that boat. If you are running a loaded down boat I would go with a bigger motor. With all the traps and stuff I think you would have a hard time to plane out. Also if you are running ice you need to get on top of it or you can't make any turns as the edge gets caught on the sides. This is when the only thing that matters is horse power. I took over a year and a half to find the boat i wanted.you might find that you may half to pay a bit more as any good deals are gone the next day. So you may need to pay what other guys will pass on. For the price range your in I would think it will be hard to find a good boat and motor. Also what ever motor you go with get any small parts or switches,belts,ect that might need to be replaced as it takes weeks to get parts shipped down here. Each surface drive motor have there own parts for the out drive. I know the season is too short too sit around with no boat. One nice thing is you dont worrie about the motor freezing any more these things work great in the cold weather.good luck.