would i be dissapointed with a 17x54 boat with a 36pd? im obviously gonna use this boat for duck hunting but when summertime comes around im gonna wanna go cruise on the river and the lake. is it gonna be fast enough to get me where i wanna go or is it gonna be like damn its gonnna take me forever to get from here to there? i dont know how many people on here are form sc or have been around sc but me and the family spend a lot of time on the cooper rivers and lake moultrie. just cruising up and down the river with friends and such and making a trip up threw the locks once a weekend. i might sound like a retard but i wanna ask all these questions before i make my decision on what kind of boat to get. also looking at a cc boat like a g3 or something along those lines with a bigger 4 stroke motor. but i know i will be dissapointed when duck season comes and im slamming into stumps and im trying to untangle grass from the prop. any help would be appreciated guys

Your not gonna get the speed out of a surface drive that ya will with a outboard. Decide what is more important and go from there. IMO criusing during the summer at a slower speed just gives ya time to drink more beer.

very true! i guess i just need to go to dealer up the road and tell him to take me for a ride.

That would be a good idea. I have a 1850 with a 36 Prodrive and run 29 by myself and 26 with the wife and both my boys. Hope that helps.

yea see all the reviews on here the people say i weigh 200+! i only weigh around 150-160 so maybe i will run a little faster? haha

A typical PD is gonna run +/- 28 mph lite. A well matched combo will be a runner at times and approach 30 on a good day. You will see the occassional claim of 31+ buy some running stock of all brands and most are full of chit. What kind of loads you talking about carrying? We are in the boat a couple days a week at least year round. Some long trips of 50+ miles and all day playing. I can run 30ish on a good day with a stage-1 with just me and gear but I really like cruising around 24-25 mph. I think I loose about 1mph for every 150 lbs of added weight is my questimation. I wouldn't go less than 18' and will probably go 20' on my next rig.

usually i will have atleast 2 extra people with me. cooler, and other junk. my jon boat i have now is fast. i have a 50hp yamaha on a 16ft xpress with the hyperlift hull. it will run 40mph with me in it. thats why im asking so many questions. i dont wanna go to a slower boat and feel like im dragging ass everywhere i go

Keep the outboard to throw on it during the summer time if you wanna run fast!

Get the PD boat and motor for duck season and keep the 50 hp outboard for the rest of the year like the other guys said. I have a 1848 Phowler and 36 PD and I plan on getting a 50 HP Mercury for the fishing and playing. The PD gets us around fine but I know I would use my boat more in the spring and summer with an outboard. If I was you I would keep the outboard and swap out from season to season.

I have that set up and I run the same water as you will be running. If you want to go for a ride PM me and we can get together for a ride.

"Shortest distance between two points is a straight line" which means where we are from, we can often beat the best of the bASS boats from point A to point B simply because we can run straight through the ricefields, mud, ditches, vegetation, etc. and ignore the main channel and all the bends and turns that come with it! Spend a little time doing some searching and you can often find ditches and cuts that will significantly reduce the distance you have to travel. And every time you take someone new out, you can enjoy the look of shear terror on their face when you veer off the expected route into what looks like sure disaster. If you can scare them bad enough that they dive into the dry storage to grab a life jacket, then you really are having a great day!! Just my $0.02 though...maybe I'm a bad friend.

ive got a 1754pd w a 36 pd and it will cruise right at 30 with just me. I worry a little being on big water since there is no floatation. I will probably by another boat next year with a 40 outboard on it uscg approved to fish Sabine Lake and rayburn. With the flat slick bottom on the pd, its a little uncomfortable running across the lake and a whole different ball game to steer.

Since you are dealing with stumps more than mud, I would look into a different hull with the prodrive, might be just what you are looking for.

i hear ya on that one quackquackblast. and i did go for a ride on a geaux customs boat last week with a mud buddy 7000 on it and man was that thing quick. and it turned really really good! i just cant get over not having reverse on a boat!