I'm putting together my first boat with a surface drive motor and have heard some people say that a mod-vee hull (like Grizzly, G3, etc) are not ideal for mud motors. My question is what makes these hulls unsuitable for SD motors? I hunt gators in Florida and fish in skinny water with lots of vegetation but won't be (intentionally) jumping logs.... and we generally don't have rocks around here.

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Ribs down the bottom of the boat hurt performance. The horizontal bracing causes hooks in a mm application. .100 5052 is to weak of aluminum to run with a mm. A mod-v causes a signifigant loss in performance, especially if the hull has any deadrise. Transom angles are usually off for a mm. But it you do it, it will go and it will be ok, Its just not ideal. If you are buying all new I would highly suggest going with a mud hull. I have had both, and the difference is night and day..

1754 tracker, 35 Mb medium weight bowfishing deck. 2 guys ok, 3 guys it wouldn't plane out. Averge size guys too. Reciently sold it and got a used phowler 1860. One test drive with another guy in the boat and I can't figured why I put up with the tracker so long. Learn from my fiancial mistake and get the right boat the first time.

Thanks for all of the input. The strakes at the bottom, the thinner hull and the deadrise were all things I was wondering about. Additonal questions I have before I committ: Has anyone considered putting slick bottom paint on their hulls? It's very common on airboats in my area (which run dry ground). I'm looking at a center console boat, any negatives with console? Eighth inch hulls (0.125") are a decent amount heavier than the thinner hulls I WAS considering, does a 35hp MM have a problem getting those boats (1860) out of the water?

birdseye06, I could not afford a true mud hull so I went with the 1648 grizzly myself, presently powered by a 27 MB LT, and while not ideal, it gets the job done. I recommend steelflex (Fasco corp, Hialeah, Fl.) for the bottom, regardless what you get. In most areas of Florida, we don't have much mud accretion but hard bottom and shallow water and the longtail is still viable, though a surface drive is better for your intended 18' hull. A good friend has driven a MB 35 Hyper surface drive for five years now, on an ancient SeaNymph 1652 rivetted hull. Only last year did he see any damage to the transom and he's getting that beefed up. It worked fine. Like you said, we don't have the mud, beaver dams, cypress bayou environment, and I find the .125 gauge hulls a liability because of the weight. I am also looking to go to an 18' hull but .100 is enough for me. I do see the Phowler line as more affordable, the others are way out of sight as to cost. Like Barroll said, the conventional hulls ares not ideal but work good enough IMO. That said, if I could save up, it would be for a Phowler or true mud hull no question about that.

Florida here too with a tracker. Mine was actually a bass tracker 1648 I converted with a 27 lt. Wouldn't trade it for what I use it for. Obviously I wouldn't mind having a mud hull but didn't have extra 4$k

SwampThing, I had to retrieve three shortails last season, including my good friend's, and this has been the third time in as many seasons, due to failure with his surface drive (Briggs 35 MB Hyper). With more complexity you get more chances for things to go wrong. I like the simplicity of the LT- but I am not simple minded. We've gotten stuck in that Hyper real bad, where I would have turned back earlier with the LT. In that beached condition on a sand bar, reverse or a winch would have been useless. We had to drag that sucker out- if it had been a .125 mud hull, we would still be dragging it. In these parts, the mud hull does not need to be standard equipment. I know in fact, that a conventional ouboard on a regular jon hull can get into most duck hunting areas down here, provided you do a couple of things to prevent a clogged intake. When it gets real shallow, an airboat is the only option and I've gotten stuck real bad on those. Elsewhere, I could justify plunking down 5-6K on a mud hull and that much again on a surface drive but I like my economical slow ride on the LT.

Yeh for here my tracker with slick bottom does all I need it too.

Im in florida also,my crew all have trackers for the most part, and they all have ripped holes in there boats because of the place we hunt , mostly salt water areas , as for the lake those trackers are just fine , i had a 1542 tracker , and sold it to get a gatortraxs 1.25 ya it might be overkill but it's a mudhull for motor and it's tough as nails. If you want the most out of a mudmotor save and get a mudhull.

Had a 27 PD on a 1648 Tracker Grizzly, it would plane out with two people and no gear. Put a hunting load in it and it was a dog. Sold the PD and went back to a 40 hp outboard for a few years. This year I got a used 1848 GTB with a 36 PD. First time out put 4 people in the boat and she popped right up. Wow what a difference. This is my third mud motor, but only the first strapped to a boat made for it. Take everyone's advice on here. If you want your speeds and performance get a mud hull. You will thank everyone later. I made the mistake twice. I guess third time is a charm!

Good luck.

I agree, BabBowtie. I will never buy another tracker product. For me it was a question of economy and easing through a second marriage. That 1848GTB sounds ideal- how much does that hull weigh? I like the 48" width, I can understand if you bowfish or hunt gators, the 60" width is needed probably for safety, carrying capacity, stability, etc. I've looked on the GT site and they have 40" . 46", 54"widths-- I am probably wrong and you have a Gatortrax boat? My grizzly is a 2004 and I will keep it a few more seasons until the cookie jar is full and then I can set my sights on the marketplace,

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