Have had a 14 foot jon boat for 25 years , but kids have out grown it. Lots of weeds and shallow where we hunt and fish. 4 people between 120lbs and 200 lbs most of the time. Leaning towards a 1860/1872 gator trax with hunt deck and mud buddy 4500. Don't really care about my top end speed , just want to get on a plane. 20/25 mph with the load would be fine. On rare days I might put a total of 6 people in the boat. Would it plane out with that load of people ? Am trying to stay away from 2 motors. Would the 4500 mb be the one to get if I wanted to do the power mods? Thanks.

It should work. Be pushin er with 6 and other equipment but if that ain't yer normal then it'll be fine.

4 people would be normal . On rare ocassion I would put 6. Am happy to know it would get on a plane with 6 though. How much hp do the black death motors have? Thanks.

Not sure if the 4500 would work very well. You might need something hotter.

HD 5500 and a 18x60

And unless you really like the MB frame for some reason, don't let engine mods sucker you in.
You can get those parts on any 35 Briggs.

Don't really have my heart set on mud buddy or gator trax. That's just what they had at bp , that I could look at. What would you guys recommend ? I thought the 4500 mud buddy was as most hp as I could get , with mods.

We will be fishing the St Johns river in Florida , 99 percent of the time. Thanks.

Use the search feature at the top of the page below the MMT banner, it will answer alot of questions.

Have you ever looked at a gator tail rig? You can do the same mods to a gator tail and have just as much power

You can look up mud buddy on you tube, a while back I seen a vid with a mud buddy getting on plane with 12 people in a boat.

For sure use the search and do some reading. Go to the review forum. You can look at different rigs. Speeds will be listed and most list the motor mods that were done. You might also look into a custom built boat.......and a gatortail that has reverse. Like was said above, any motor can be modded for more power. Just depends on your back pocket.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23988

Call and ask for Scot Staley at Alumitech Airboats in Orlando. Then call Calens Engine Service in Louisianna for the GTR 35 (he can do all the motor mods and gaurantee them) and have it shipped directly to Alumitech. Tell them Brian Barrett sent you. I love my rig. With engine mods it would really be a beast. I had mine on the St. John's when the shad were running near Baxter Point in the Loughman Lake area

35 gtr man, cant go wrong. you might not be looking for something with reverse but im possitive you'll thank me later! I can run 5 people in my 15/48 including 7 gallons of gas and ice chest, only because I had to, and still got on step running 26-27. I do have a cam which makes a hell of difference from stock, but its something to keep in mind.

Thanks for the help .