I've got a 99 Nova Ultra Jon, I believe it is a 16x54 (or similar) with a Mod/Utility V bottom. It has a very slight V to it.

I've decided if I'm going to continue to boat hunt I need a new and reliable motor, and that it should be a mud motor. Most of what I hunt is rivers and marshes, and I just want something reliable and durable. I don't need to go 30 mph, but being able to have some speed ~20 with gear would be nice. Usually it's just me and the dog, maybe 1 or 2 others.

Will a longtail or a surface drive be good on this hull? I was thinking I might need to get the transom reinforced, or at least extended (rather than having the drop) and/or add pods or a hunt deck to the rear. How would one or the other handle with this hull? I know it is rather wide.

My other option would be to try and sell or trade it for a smaller flatbottom hull.

In short - sell the boat. Don't waste money modifying it to work with a mud motor. The results will be sub-par.

Evaluate your your budget and go from there. Long tails work great and are reliable. They can whip you though. Surface drives are quite more expensive and have their quirks as well.

What he said ^

How would it do with a surface drive with no modifications to the hull?

Not very good, and not very long. You'll end up hooking it pretty badly. With a big block you would probably be in in the mid to high 20's until the hooks start robbing your performance.

There are plenty of topics on this, search through google. DO NOT put pods on a that boat if you go with a SD.

Surface drives like wider boats, longtails like narrow boats. If you still think this is a good idea, make sure you get the right transom height motor for your boat. Most us on here have already learned the lesson that you seemed destined to learn. In the long run it would be wise to sell that boat before its trashed and get something that is designed to be put through the abuse of a mud motor.

Why do you need the mud motor? Vegetation and shallow water? If you aren't going to abuse the boat in stumps and rocks, you'll probably be just fine until you can afford to change to the correct hull. Do some research on the weight of the engines and ensure your transom can support it. Mud motors typically seem to be heavier than a comparable HP outboard.

Definitely match the motor to your transom height. There is a difference - same as outboards. Just do your due diligence and ask questions. Do some searching and reading here.

Here are a couple of topics to read:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=42822
http://mudmotortalk.com/mmt_v2/viewtopi ... =4&t=25725
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=65098

*advice

Poor guy just wants to be advised...