Having had a whole bunch of small boats and outboards over many years, I'm tempted to get a small 6.5hp LT rig for some certain situations. Direct drive kit like a Swomp Lite or such, with a Honda or clone engine. Just something I would like to have before I get too old, lol. Light year round use, nothing really hardcore. Mostly woods and small shallow bayou use, usually solo.

My main question is regarding all the small 6.5hp and under direct drive kits, what are most doing, if anything, about shaft and motor protection from hard hits from the prop? Slip clutch? Shear pins? etc etc ?

One builder uses alum props as the weak point, very cheap, super simple and easy. Considering how much stuff I hit with outboard and ss prop, not too sure about that.

Thanks...

I know godevil uses a twisted shaft. Like a torsion bar that gives when you hit shit.
I wouldn't use a shear pin. You'd be changing them on just about every trip out.


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most of the time when you are running a small longtail you aren't really pushing enough HP to mess anything up. DO NOT use a stainless prop, that's when you can actually mess up your drive shaft. The cheap aluminum props are the way to go for the low HP longtails. the blades become the sacrificial part of the engine. if you smack a rock and the skeg doesn't lift the motor, the blade can crack off so you don't bend anything internally.

Check out ppf mudmotors. They make a small longtail with a 6.5, it seems like a solid lil unit that won't set u back much at all

Aluminum prop and delrin bushings may work fine for a light duty rig, but if you plan on getting aggressive go with any of the manufactures that use threaded shafts, stainless props, and system that doesn't use plastic.

the traditional long tail design if well constructed, and most major manufacturers qualify here, are so built so as to not fail, no matter what. The thought of having to do maintenance on my long tail in many of the places that it has taken me with out failing at an in opportune moment leaves me cold. And I have sometimes been very COLD. Properly balanced, most long tails will simply recoil from striking a hard object without any problem.

Mark F. Cheney