Duck boat and motor issue

[beer and nuts]

We have a 14 foot heavy duty flat bottom with fasgrass all around it. We are loooking to go with something different so we can get into shallow/muddy areas. We have thought about a go-devil but I think the motor/handle would stick to far into the boat casuing us to lose much needed room/space. Obvious this would be the best overall choice but any thoughts on the space issue. Also what about a jet motor. Is there such a thing as a 20-30 hp jet motor and I would think that the mud would be a problem for intake??? Looking for thoughts and others idea that they might use or have seen. Thanks.

[michiduck]

I hunt out of 14' flat bottom with a go-devil and the space thing you mentioned will be a factor...you really can have anything etween the back and middle seat as the operator must stand and move side to side to steer the boat and a decoy bag or anything like that would get in the way and could cause problems as at times you will move almost the whole width of the boat to make a sharp turn or anything of that nature...

But i must admit it is the cats pajamas for those shallow mucky areas...if the boat will float it will push it.

And if you are looking at the mud motors look at the mud buddy...only advantage it has over the go devil is that it swings 180 degrees so the shaft rides in the boat when trailered... that is a nice feature not having to worry about an extra and critical 6 feet sticking out the back!


Hope this helps!

[beer and nuts]

michiduck, that helps alot. Couple questions for ya.

How many good size men can your boat hold and motor push including decoys with the boat/go-devil? Our boat is, I think, 42-44" width at the back and not much less toward the front. Our boat is heavy gage aluminum so its pretty solid flat bottom, not liek most of the lighter models. What size motor do you push with?- and would you recommend smaller or larger or is it perfect? Do you have a pic of your boat to post so I can get a better look on how much room is taken??

Another thing that would concern me would be so much weight toward the front with the flatbottom, since the go-devil takes up the back space. We sometimes hunt open water with smaller waves too and have had splash over when to much weight is at thre front.

Thanks for the info., very informative.

[michiduck]

My buddies boat is a 14' Polar Kraft,
and we have run 4 guys and gear in it before but you're not gonna go anywhere real quick... We hunt Shiawassee 99% of the time and our usual trip is 3 guys 2 large bags of decoys our swamp seats, the winch for getting over dthe dikes and a dog.

He has the 18 hp Go-Devil but the pitch on the prop is alot less than on an outboard so it goes alot slower than the speed you would guess for an outboard of the same rating (If i had to guess it would push his boat unloaded with maybe the speed of an 8 hp outboard) So the 24 hp might be what you would want to go with if you were looking for a little more speed

As for the front splash the only time that was really a concern was when we had 4 guys because one person had to sit in the front. But this was also either on rivers or in dike channels at Shiawassee.

I may be able to get you a picture with in a week or so...as my buddy is out of town til Sunday!

If you have any other questions I'd be glad to give ya any answers I have

[beer and nuts]

Very helpful, thank you. I'm sure I'll come up with more questions but till now its a start. That would be great if you could come up with pic. Thanks again.

[Dead Bird]

:confused: I know this is of the track but I'm looking at a 14 Polar Kraft but was worried about getting the boat over dikes at Harsens without a winch....
Harsens doesn't have anything to hook a winch up to therfore it is all pull and drag... currently I hunt with a 12 ft and have the guys walk while I drive... it works but that 14 Polar Kraft is a great duck boat for the marsh and/or flooded corn

[goose hunter]

Dead Bird, have you tried to drive a stake into the ground to winch with? Just a thought.

[michiduck]

They tend to frown on driving your own stakes at least at Shiawassee they did :(

[buttrunt]

Instead of pounding your own post, I was told the large sand anchors work well. Sometimes a guy may need to stand on the anchor for extra grip.

[Coldwater Charters]

A Danforth anchor will work and they are fairly cheap.

[Dead Bird]

;) I've started the engr work out for the anchor concept... I think the anchor will work out great.... Thanks for the ideas guys.... My back really thanks you... HA HA