Gentlemen,

I am new to the site and looking for informed opinions. I want to upgrade from my 14 ft starcraft that I use with a 9hp beavertail & a 9.9 mercury. Here in NE Illinois I can hunt some larger lakes & some rivers. Some with shallow mud bottoms and some choked with weeds/lillypads. I would like to be able to maybe head out to the Mississippi and hunt 1-2 times also.

I would like to be able to maybe run a outboard in the summer for fishing and maybe switch to a mud motor for hunting season. I want to be able to hunt with me, 2 hunters and my chessie.

I was thinking 17-18ft, open plan, pod seating in rear, coastguard chin.....40hp outboard with T&T. maybe pick up a mudmotor later for special occasions. Boat needs to be able to take big water but also run in some shallow stuff on occasion...

I have looked at the express, GT, Phowler, etc sites...but I have no experience with these boats and there are no dealers in the area except for a War Eagle dealer... Any ideas?

Thanks, BC

Schedule a visit to Phowler in Clinton. It is only about a 2.5 hr drive from you. I think you really need to see the difference between a custom mud boat and a production mud or jon boat.

You can absolutely have a dual purpose boat. Order as many or as few boxes or other options as you like and have them install a variety of mounting points. That way you can reconfigure the boat depending on how you plan to use it.

look at the one in my signature. I'm no trying to sell it to you but it might give you some ideas on how much you can change stuff. Rev nuts are your friend...

X's on a trip to Phowler/Illowa Marine. They are a sponsor here, close to you, and can build you a custom boat to meet your wants/needs.


Sent using Morse Code from my not so smart phone.

sorry, coastguard chin (bow) is a modified V bow, not the traditional flat front.

I like the mud motors for the purpose they do but most of my time I will be able to get by with a tiller outboard. Plus they are a whole lot quieter. I just want to have the option to add a mud motor if necessary....

From the many post I read, the feeling seems to be that boats that are not designed to run mud motors, when you add them, the performance of the boat suffers.

I think this spring I will make a trip out to Clinton Iowa for a tour of Phowler Boats.
BC

lol You left me on that coastguard stuff.

I'd say there is no perfect boat that does everything perfect. I'd use the 90/10 rule and decide what I was going to primarily use the boat for most of the time. If you have the funds to keep a boat and two motors why not just have another boat? Have 2 boats and 2 motors.

You are correct in that a typical mod. V boat will have a performance loss with a mud motor.

Taking a tour is a good idea. I'd research and look at both pro drive and gator tail. After some research you will come to a conclusion that one has something you like better than the other.

When I first was looking at getting a mudboat, I had the idea of switching back and forth between an outboard. After visiting Phowler and seeing what these things can do, I just use the pro-drive all year round. The only time I can really see a need for the outboard is for really heavy loads when you don't want to sacrifice the speed. I fish all summer with my mud motor. Sometimes you do get a few looks at the launch, but I could care less.

Phowler does make a mod-v type bow, although I don't have any personal experience with it, I'm sure it runs well. If it didn't, they wouldn't make it. Paul stands behind all of his products and won't make something that sucks. I spoke with Paul recently and he told me that the new pro-drive EFI motors are pretty awesome. Here's their website: