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 Might be buying my first surface drive 

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 Might be buying my first surface drive 
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Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:54 pm
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Location: Central WI
Post Might be buying my first surface drive
Hey yall! I'm looking at buying a 35HP Prodrive for my 2060 Polarcraft that I have setup for bowfishing. I'm looking for a motor that can push me up shallower rivers and lakes with thick weeds. I don't drive in muck or anywhere my boat will get hung up usually so there wont be a ton of drag on the boat when I'm driving. Just getting it to drive up rivers and places my troller just sucks at doing. I was wondering if that motor will fit the bill for a bigger boat and what I'd like it to do?

The motor has power trim and auto reverse on it and the guy selling it says he's replaced all of the prop seals, but he doesn't have the hours listed on the motor. He's asking 4750 for it. Is that a decent price for that motor? Also is there anything when I'm looking at a surface drive that I should check for quality purposes?


Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:20 pm
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Location: Summerville, SC
Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
Your probably not going to have enough power to push your entire set up on plane. You've got a big boat as it is and when you add in the extra weight of the bow fishing deck lights generator/batteries it's really going to bog you down. If you are just creeping along it will push it fine but i doubt it will plane out.


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Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:29 am
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
Huge boat and a polarcraft is not made for a mud motor. A single motor will move it, but barely. Overall, you will not be pleased with the performance, or lack thereof.


Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:48 am
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Location: Idaho
Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
You didn't say which PolarCraft and I'm not seeing a 2060 hull on their website. None of their hulls are really designed to be "mud" hulls. Sounds like you're not going to be pushing the limits in the way of performance for what a MM can do though. If you found someone to mount it right and shim the transom for the motor properly, it would likely push it. You'd be pretty unhappy with the performance though as it would be slowwwww and not carry a load well. Have you considered adding a hydraulic jack plate to your current set-up?

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Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:22 am
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Location: Central WI
Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
You wont find it on Polar crafts website its a 67' haha. It's a true flat bottom jon I'll link my some photos below. Planing on this boat really isn't much of a priority because I don't need to go fast from point A to B. Also couldn't I just add float pods to assist that? This is just to push me up up shallower areas where my outboard would drag and my troller might struggle goin up current or get caught in weeds. The transom on the boat is junk and I'm planning on removing and replacing the entire transom. So if I could optimize it for a MM I would.

http://s1174.photobucket.com/user/njschieb/library/Boat


Mon Oct 02, 2017 1:38 pm
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Location: Summerville, SC
Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
No pods won't help you would need motor work but if your not worried about trying to plane it out it will be fine once you fix the transom the PD weighs 350+


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Mon Oct 02, 2017 4:22 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
Ok I have a couple questions

1. What do you mean by motor work? Like engine upgrades like stroking and exhaust or something completely different?

2. Wont flot pods at least help keep the stern out of the water more?

3. Even though I wont achieve plane with a this MM I'll still have power to push me if I were to get stuck?

Also for reference here's the motors I'm looking at
https://stcloud.craigslist.org/boa/6311273111.html
https://peoria.craigslist.org/boa/6298138401.html


Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:06 pm
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Post Might be buying my first surface drive
1. Motor work = head work, performance carb & exhaust and upgraded cam. Which equals a better load carrying ability.

2. You need power to push the boat up and out of the water. Greater surface area will help to distribute the weight but with a bow fishing set up the majority of the weight is on the bow. And contrary to what some will argue pods do hurt performance of a surface drive as well as trying to rotate the foot on the pro drive with less room.

3. Don't know it has many variables. I know what a pro-drive is capable of in the right hands and it's amazing what it will do in reverse but I have seen them stuck. It really ends up being on you. Will it pull? like a stuck pig. Ultimately it Depends on you and how you got it stuck to begin with.

4. The motor in Peoria already has some upgrades. Neither have hours listed but the mikuni carb and exhaust gets my vote for the buy. All it needs is some head work and it will have a stage 1 build.

All that being said do some more research in here. Use the search method and read through the pages and pages worth of good information. This and these topics have been covered many times over by guys with loads more experience than the majority of us. Make your decision based on good info as well


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Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:33 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
If planing isn't a priority, I'm confused. Just how shallow is this area you're trying to go into? If the boat bogs down and can't get on step, you're defeating the purpose of a MM as I doubt you'd get any shallower than you already do with an outboard. By the time you rebuild your transom and do all the other things you're thinking about, my bet is that you end up VERY disappointed in your decision. Also, pods don't work with PD's. There's not enough room to swing the lower unit around for reverse. Do a search. That one's been proven on here before.

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Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:39 am
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
I have a 2015 18x54 prodrive boat with the PD 37 rigged up for bow fishing. With Lights, 1 6 gallon gas tank, small ice chest with beer and ice and 1 110 to 120 icechest 1/4 filled with ice for fish and small Honda generator and 4 people my boat struggles to get on step. In deep water it will not plane out. If I get in shallow water I can get it to plane but it takes a while and top speed will average 19mph shallow water and in deep water will slow to around 15mph. I am happy with 19 mph with that type of load but I have to really fight and get in the perfect water depth to get it there. My advice to you would be to put duels and be done with it. Of course it will cost more now but will def make your trips more pleasurable. I didn't buy the boat with intentions of using it for bowfishing so it is what it is for now. I am planning to eventually put duels on mine but for now it will have to work. Hope it all works out and please keep us posted on your decision.


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Wed Oct 04, 2017 7:10 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH6WJc_mxWY

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Refurbishing a Prodrive


Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:14 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive

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Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:28 am
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive


Thu Oct 05, 2017 11:51 am
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
My mind wasn't already made up. That's why I came here to ask questions because I don't know much about the surface drives and thought it'd be helpful to ask. After you're responses I'll just keep my 40 horse johnson tiller


Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:46 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive

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Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:47 pm
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Post Re: Might be buying my first surface drive
Smart move. You'll be happier in the end. A MM is great in certain applications on the right hull but putting one on the wrong hull or thinking you'll get the same speed and load-carrying with one as you do with an outboard usually leads to disappointment.

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Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:57 am
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