Not sure how much feed back I will get on this but I have been reading and searching the internet for questions like tall transom vs short transom, v rake vs square nose, round chine vs tapered chine, tapered chine vs square chine. I have been coming up with a few good answers but it is hard to find everything I have searched for. Example "best boat options" is just way to broad and has to be narrowed down to a single word to become more effective.

This is not my first forum and I know there will be people say use the search button...I did don't worry I am not a tard, I just know eff all about mud boats and mud motors. I know everyone topic that has the VS in it is a controversial opinionated sometimes skewed view point. There is no right or wrong it is just different, most rational people will understand that and if that is what a person believes then so be it, if they back it up better, if they back it up with actual prover facts that are true and can always be recreated it someone else puts it to the same test, well there is no disputing it.

I am not looking to start arguments of Mudbuddy vs Pro Drive, or Custom boat vs Gator Trax I just want to hear what the guys that run this type of equipment day in and day out have to say. The good thing about opinions is most of them are based on personal experience and tend to have some backing to them. It is up to the reader to decide if the point backing up the opinion is worthy.

So please in helping me learn and understand what I may need to know in eventually building a boat for duck hunting chime in on something you think I may need to know that has options. there seems to be 100's that could be covered.

I am not looking for "Avery Boat blinds are the best and kick ass whoooop" compare it to another and tell me why it is better or worse please. That will just show your lack of knowledge and ability to read what this post is really about.

Thanks
Phil

I have a gator tail GTR35 and a Gator Tail boat combo. I"ve driven Prodrives and Mudbuddies. They are all reliable and functional, but for my money and conditions, Gator Tail beats them all.

Prodrive cons: not balanced over transom hence when you strike a stump it will break your hand.
Mudbuddy Cons: Service issues

We need your info on hunting conditions. Do you travel big water, mudflats,rocks,stumps,thick grass? What the normal weight loads you carry? How long is your run? Many factors go into boats design we need some details.

Your welcome.

I currently run a 36 PD on a 1848 Geaux hull with high sides (24") and tall transom. The conditions I run are normally hard sandy bottom or a combination of mud and sand with a lot of rice, catails, arrowleaf and stumps. Went with the high sides and tall transom because the lake and backwaters over here get some good size whitecaps with a NW wind over 25. I have run the 36 on 3 different hulls and I have also run a MB on 2 different hulls. The tiller torque on the MB was like hanging onto a piece of plywood when the wind picked up. Never broke my hand in the stumps either for what it's worth while running a PD, but then again I'm not a pencil pusher.

Mitch your avatar put me in a trance.. Love em titties

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^^^^^^^^^ You too

I have a 16 gdlt in a 1436 weldbuild crawdad with square chimes. I'm thinking about having huntdeck built and putting a rounded chime on deck to make it easier to pull backwards in the mud when needed. Otherwise pulling boat back in mud is like having a full 4x8sheet of plywood across the back of boat digging into mud as a anchor. Round or tapered just not square[/quote]

Anyone want to shoot in on Catwalks vs no catwalks or removable catwalks?

Thanks
Phil

You don't want the big cat walks. Mine are 5" ans are plenty big enough.
IMG_2522.JPG

As far a motor, they are all briggs motors except the 25GTR and 27 PD. The engines are very reliable. Do you want reverse? 2 offer this, GTR & PD. If you don't want reverse then GTR, PD, MB, GD, dixie, copperhead, you get the point. If you have never driven a surface drive before, they get some getting use to. The PD in my opinion is the most like a tiller handle outboard as far as driving. Some have squeeze handle throttles, some have twist grip. It really all depends on what YOU want because what is important to some, might not be shit to me.

As far as boats, its the same. What are your conditions determine what you need and what you want.

ARGuide thanks that would be great I would enjoy seeing and reading about your build. I guess as you can all see by now I started this thread looking for opinoions on what to build in a boat without starting 7 or 8 threads and getting the "use the search button" "beat like a dead horse" type replies lol.

All of your time and help is greatly appericiated I think I am pinning down at least a basic idea of what I would like and wnat would work for my conditions. Some one said one time when I was building my duck blind "its a frigging duck blind, not a grand piano" I tend to over think and be anal about things, someone else told me a boat like this can be built in a week at a full blowen fab shop? Which I find hard to believe, but if the art and science is there and all the details have been worked out I guess it is just labour.

Thanks
Phil

CJB:
"Rather than me give you a long list of pros, cons, why, why not, etc...I'll just say that I won't own another boat without them. I like the catwalks a lot and you don't lose anything by having them."

x1000

My catwalks are 8" wide. I was thinking of 4-6" but was talked into 8". Thank God! I was a little nervous because I thought that they would cut into floor space, but they don't-not one bit-because of the angle of the sides of the hull. They are the favorite feature of my boat. You can actually walk on them (unlike 4") which is great for getting around in/on the boat when the floor has a bunch of gear/people. When I hunt, people sometimes sit on them for the ride. You could run a shelf with a 1-2" lip under them and put shells, etc. there. I don't see that anyone has mentioned it yet (but maybe I missed it) , storage boxes add weight and can get in the way and you won't need them year 'round, depending on what you're doing. Most people advis that if you get them, at least make them removable using rivnuts. That way you can remove them to save weight when you don't need them or if you change your mind. Might even wait until you've had your boat for a while and figure out what you want/need in terms of storage.

Spence

Thanks for everyone who has replied, I know most of you are in full blown hunting gear now. I am getting closer to deciding what I would like in a duck rig and with a little research I happend for actually find a Pro Drive dealer here in Canada, mind you there is only one but I talked to the guy and he said they can direct ship and his price is not much higher than the US price for a 36 auto reverse. Things are looking up.

Thanks
Phil

Phil you are waaaaaaaaaaaay to polite for most of the scum on this forum it gives me faith in humanity

I run a custom gator trax and now a MB 5500 Mag. I have always had boats my entire life from 10 so I was more than familiar with what exactly I wanted for my conditions that I use a boat for. So with this knowledge is why I had my boat custom built. Like others have said on here, its all about what YOUR conditions are, and what YOU are using the boat for. Some on here don't want boxes for the weight and others like boxes for storage. I had a rear box built in as a live well for fishing in the summer. Duck season comes, plug the hole, throw ice in and it doubles as great place to put ducks and sausage. I have two more boxes for various dry storage, with seat pads on them and built my blind to accommodate sitting on that side of the boat with my gun box lid acting as a shelf. Plenty of storage in the bow deck for life jackets, legal stuff, winch, tow rope etc.

I knew I would need a motor to push that weight and boat up stream when they are letting water out of the dam so 35 HP was a min. I wanted reverse and after my research the max HP on all other stock mud motors was 35 with reverse. Until the unicorn came out, (the Sport V). So I originally put that on my boat stricly for the ability to have reverse on a motor over 35 HP. etc etc Mud buddy has taken really great care of me on the customer service side of things, and have since replaced with a 5500 mag. If your only intention with reverse is for docks or boat ramps, trolling motor or push pole is adequate.

My rig suits me. If you are going to build it, know what you want and build it for you.