i am thinking of purchasing a new 1848 gator-tail and i would like to have a mudmotor. we dont have much mud in arkansas but i want it for shallow water and for stump protection. do the mudmotor work well on open water similar to an outboard or are they strictly for mud and shallow water. ill be using the motor 95% of the time in open water. thanks very much

They work just fine in that capacity. Not as fast as comparable outboards but no problems in open water.

Where are you at in AR. I can give you a ride in my rig if you want.


chris

Thats the main reason I got my MM. While bowfishing I'm running shallows, stumps, and lots of weeds at times. I want to get to where I'm headed, not worrying about my "outboard". Like mentioned already, they are not as fast in open water, but in the shallows you can makeup for it.

I run an 1860 through open water all the time the width gives me extra stability for flounder gigging etc. You may want to look at a wider hull for stability especially since you said you'll be bowfishing out of it.

For bowfishing my 1754 is great for 2 guys, 3 is ok but a little crowded. If, or should I say when I get another boat it will be a 1760 or a 1860. The 1754 looked huge at the dealer but really shrinks with a deck, gear and few people.

Deerhunter....i am right there with you over here in MissDelta...I bought a Phowler Extreme 1854 for exact same reasons your needing a boat. The stock extended deck is PERFECT for my bowfishing 2-3 guys....However my boat 36PD in a current (Mississippi River) with 3 guys is SLOW..10-12mph...open lakes and slough about 20mph....which gets me from point a to b

I got a 1860 with a slightly modded 35 mud buddy surface drive.exhaust and heads. I run a ways to get to some back water slues and in open deep water
with a full hunt load 3 guys 200 plus 2 labs 6 doz decoys I run around 24mph i thought that was pretty good considering its a grizzly 1860 pretty big boat basicly that would be a speed of a 25 or 30 hp outboard so basicly what ever you put on the back of da boat in a mud motor reduce the horse power about 10 and that is what you should expect in speed