Looking to purchase a new surface drive for my War Eagle 648LDV. Before you say anything, I don't run much mud or logs or cypress so calm down. I need the motor primarily for shallow (2'-3') water with vegetation growing up to the surface. Just wondering how the motor would push my boat with 2-3 guys 200lbs + gear (decoys, guns, etc). I was looking to get a GTR25 originally, but the wait time on getting the motor is putting me well into duck season without any break-in time ....

I think you'll wish you had more hp for the third guy, but with 2 and gear, it would prob be fine. Prob won't be anything to write home about though. Someone has prob run a similar setup, search the site and see what you dig up. People have put a lot of time into posting info and answering questions here. That same or a similar question has been asked at least once, I bet.

For those about to tear this guy a new one about the mod V, he's not trying to run in 6" of water, so give him a break

Any 23 will be slow with that load.

that v front is gonna fukk you. It will dig and plow you probably see 18-20 mph with a light load 15-17 with 2 guys and will plow less than 10 with 3. It will be dissappointing after you spend 4-5K on a mud motor for it to perform like shit. A flat front boat will perform better. Your best off selling your whole rig and get set up right if you can afford to. I did the same as you with a 1448 and wanted to sell my boat after the first 2 hrs I had it. I have a 1744 smooth bottom w/ flat front now that runs circles around what I had before its a great size boat for a 23.

^^^^ yep. What he said

The v front is less of an issue than the v bottom for what he's wanting. The front isnt going to affect his load carrying nearly what the 8* hull will. Typically having a v front on a flat bottom will result in less surface area on the bottom, which reduces lift at low speeds when compared to the same length hull from same manufacturer, but rake length can be adjusted to get the bottom surface area back. There are many vfronts that have flat bottoms that run excellent due to the way they shove water to the side when under load, and that reduces the "plow" effect because the water doesnt sit in front of the boat. Your speed assessments are prob correct, but are due to the bottom not being flat, not the v front.

I just don't run enough mud to justify a flat bottom boat. But at the same time, the surface drive will really improve my hunting season, as I like to get back into heavy vegetation area for ducks. I'm not all that concerned with speed to be honest. My buddy has a copperhead 23 that he is going to let me throw on my boat to see how it pushes it before I decide to purchase.

My boat was a flat bottom with a v front just like watt tail.some mud boats have a better rake with a less severe v. A 16 ft boat will help but i know with 2 guys and gear no dog and blind I was doing 12-13 mph and another guy who had a 23 gator tail with same boat as me just 16' was 3 to 4 mph faster by himself with gear. Will it work...yes. but if you sell your rig now and buy something that will work better you save money in the long run and be much happier

Also, a guy I hunt with pretty frequently has a similar rig. 1542 Modified V with a copperhead 23 and last year opening day we had 4 guys+Blind+gear and were doing about 15-20 in 3'-5' of water....

Id like to see a video of that

Alright so maybe it was closer to 10-15 lol. But like I said, speed doesn't matter to me. And I'm not worried about tearing up my hull because I'm not running in logs or deep mud. Just shallow vegetation primarily. Would a 35hp go devil make a difference in terms of carrying a load and planing out?

very much so a 16' hull can handle a 35hp and if your regular load has more than 2 people and gear most the time a 35 is a better bet. Only reason I went with a 23 was I had a 14' boat seeing as the 14' boat work like shit I wish I would have waited to get a longer hull and a 35. Get the most HP you can afford!

Thanks for the input man. What do you think about the go devils? Or what other 35hp are around 5,000. Was looking at a GT but I talked to bubba down there and he informed me that the 2015 models will be built from here on out and they are out of my budget and won't be available for 4-8 weeks. Looking for something between $5,000 and $6,000.

Go devils are simple no frills no clutch power trim reverse but reliable well built motors. you get what you pay for either look for a used surface drive in your area or buy the go devil. Stay away from Dixie MM and sport v's. I have a MB HD and I like it my buddy had a 35 go devil that he liked until an F250 took it out while trailering it. I would go with GD, GT, MB or Prodrive but the prodive might be a little heavy on the transom for your boat in the 36hp model it may purpoise more than the others listed.

I think I am going to go with the GD 35hp. The PD is great but its a heavy SOB and would like my transom to last. I don't NEED power trim and reverse would rarely be used...I will let you know how the rig works out !

The 35 will be much better. Even the 27 would work better than that 23. Hauled 3 and gear around in a 1546 flat with at 27 w/o power trim this season a few times. Ran good. Hp is your friend.