Mud motor on a canoe?

[Bonecrusher101]

I’ve had a whale of a season and I’m looking at what I can improve upon for next season.

I’ve got a 15 ft old town flatback discovery canoe. It’s very stable, it won’t roll over so no worries about swimming in the dark, but it steers like a log. It’s a 90 pound boat and takes some effort to paddle. I’ve paddled it up current alone but it’s a chore and not enjoyable. The canoe is registered with numbers. I’ve also got a hitch extender for transporting it without a trailer and canoe dolly for trekking it through woods if needed. I’ve used a 30 pound thrust troller on it and it does ok in lakes, but wouldn’t go up current in a river with two people stands and hunting gear.

I hunt with 2 other friends and both of them have Jon boats with outboards. They also have a few small boats inflatables and kayaks that we use periodically as well. The main river we hunt isn’t channelized, it winds and has trees and stumps everywhere. It’s got a bunch of shallow sloughs and a lot of vegetation in some areas.

Their are limitations on the big boats with outboards. We’ve had bent props and essentially you have to go very slow to keep from absolutely beating a lower unit to death.I wanted to put a motor on my canoe to add a viable member to the armada of watercraft we have.

Now onto the cost… first I wanted a newer 4 stroke 5hp Honda outboard quiet east to start reliable top of the line. I thought hey I could probably pick one up brand new for $8-900… I looked them up and they msrp for $1700plus woof!!!

I could get an entire rig for that. Ok check out tohatsu and mercury. More of the same price range. Bingo found some $4-600 dollar Chinese outboards on Amazon. Mixed reviews and they will no doubt be screaming loud with decibel levels above 100. Not enjoyable or conducive for getting close to whitetails. Can I get a used Honda? Looked at a 6hp 1970s Evinrude. It needs new tank hoses and impeller and might need more than that who knows. So I’d end up with $4-500 going used on an unknown outboard that could be good or an undependable headache.

Whoa looked at these mud motors, wouldn’t want a long tail because I need it technical on a river and don’t want that much weight. Then I found a mud skipper twister lite kit is $545.00 then I’d need a motor for it. Harbor freight sells a 6.5 hp predator that it’s compatible with for $159.00

Here’s a video of it on a 12 ft kayak. I think if I put a spare gas can and a deep cycle battery at the front of my canoe to accommodate a small led light bar for going in and out in the dark that canoe should balance just fine. I also think with running quicker and shallower I can probably go much quicker with this than an outboard.

Anyone try anything like this and fail? Thoughts? Stories?

https://youtu.be/zWdZQ8ZyzVc

[Jonny]

I haven’t tried this specifically but I put that same harbor freight motor on my 1970’s snowblower I got for free (engine was shot) and ended up with a killer rig for the cost of the motor.

Really good bang for the buck motor and easy to use. Lots of plastic though so just use a little caution but so far mine has been a champ. It doesn’t like sitting so if you leave it for long periods of time you will get good at cleaning the carb. I run it for about 10-15 minutes every other week if I don’t have snow to use it on.

[Sailfish_WC]

I have the same boat

Id put a brand new 4hp 4 stroke on it and be done

You’re right on the Amazon motors. They are loud.

I’ve been screwed on used outboards 1x and I’ll no longer buy used again. The cost of them, vs new these days. Id go new.

Just bought my son a new Merc 15 for his skiff
Id rather fork an extra 800-1000 on this new one and know his chances getting stuck without a motor in the bay are gonna be lesser with the new than a used

Just my $2/100

Also, aren’t mud motors loud as heck too??

[Bonecrusher101]

I have the same boat

Id put a brand new 4hp 4 stroke on it and be done

You’re right on the Amazon motors. They are loud.

I’ve been screwed on used outboards 1x and I’ll no longer buy used again. The cost of them, vs new these days. Id go new.

Just bought my son a new Merc 15 for his skiff
Id rather fork an extra 800-1000 on this new one and know his chances getting stuck without a motor in the bay are gonna be lesser with the new than a used

Just my $2/100

Also, aren’t mud motors loud as heck too??

So you’d stick with a brand new name brand 4-6 hp outboard at $1600-1800?

And yes a 4 stroke name brand outboard would be a bit quieter than a mud motor. Harbor freight motor is rated at 90 decibels the cheap Chinese outboards on Amazon are listed at over 100 decibels.

[Sailfish_WC]

Yes.
I would buy the new motor.


I see (saw) 8+ year old 15 HP motors asking 1700-2000.
For 800 more I got a new 2023

It’s just not worth the unknown to me for an older used

Plenty, 1000’s of folks have had zero issues buying used though. No right or wrong here.

Side note, I’m in a saltwater environment if that makes a difference.

[Chuck B]

Have you looked at an old Johnson motor? We have one at our cabin. Gets out on a small boat once every couple of years, and starts on first or 2nd pull every time….for decades.

Probably pick one of those up for $400-600?

[Rich M]

Im toying w the idea of buying a 4-6 hp outboard. Want it as a kicker and for 12 ft v. They are pretty quiet compared to the 2 strokes. I can talk while running my 60 4 stroke but not my 25 2 stroke.

also using this in salt water and would rather buy new than used. Yeah its a lot of money. If you take care of it and dont abuse, no reason it wont last 20-30 years if we can still get gasoline then.

You couldnt pay me to go with an older 2 stroke motor these days. As reliable as they are, It is gonna break at some point and you’ll need to fix it. Plus side is that the smoke from the 2 cycle oil will help you know the wind direction.

I have a 9 hp beavertail. Its a lawn mower with a long tail. consider using a lawnmower loud motor to go deer hunting?

The shorttail mm are decent. Still noisy tho.

There are other electric options but the price will startle you even more. Flip side on the $3k or do you’d toss at those is that they are silent. The 3 hps are in the range of $2800.

Nothing is cheap.

[Bonecrusher101]

Im toying w the idea of buying a 4-6 hp outboard. Want it as a kicker and for 12 ft v. They are pretty quiet compared to the 2 strokes. I can talk while running my 60 4 stroke but not my 25 2 stroke.

also using this in salt water and would rather buy new than used. Yeah its a lot of money. If you take care of it and dont abuse, no reason it wont last 20-30 years if we can still get gasoline then.

You couldnt pay me to go with an older 2 stroke motor these days. As reliable as they are, It is gonna break at some point and you’ll need to fix it. Plus side is that the smoke from the 2 cycle oil will help you know the wind direction.

I have a 9 hp beavertail. Its a lawn mower with a long tail. consider using a lawnmower loud motor to go deer hunting?

The shorttail mm are decent. Still noisy tho.

There are other electric options but the price will startle you even more. Flip side on the $3k or do you’d toss at those is that they are silent. The 3 hps are in the range of $2800.

Nothing is cheap.

Yep it’s all expensive in the boating game. That kit I’m looking at is $545 and the motor is on sale for local pickup $139.99 it’s going to allow me to go into places I could normally only dream of.

It’s definitely louder than I’d want but it’s gonna be much faster going through a shallow stump infested river than an outboard. Hopefully, predator can make a quieter muffler kit soon. Who knows maybe I can fabricate a super quiet muffler. But It’s still a canoe, and if I need to be quiet I can always throttle it down and go slow or shut it off completely nearby and paddle the last 100-200 yards or so if I need total stealth.

[PK_]

I run a predator 212 on an sps longtail on my 14x36 flat bottom Jon. It’s impressive where I can take that boat, places I can’t even kayak into. If you are going to push thru mud and vegetation and crossing over down logs the longtail will leave the short tail behind in a hurry, especially in a small rig with minimal power. Outboards for the most part have been a hinderance on most bodies of water I have been on when trying to use a boat for deer hunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area.

If you are just running a river with some stumps and whatnot the surface drive should be fine. The other consideration is if the boat itself can handle impact at speed while carrying weight…

They do make some noise, in places that get duck pressure, the deer are completely comfortable with them. I did put a muffler on it and it helped. I was thinking of running some flex pipe wrapped with heat wrap/noise deadening so it hangs right below the water level when idling (similar to some airboat exhaust setups). Then when you speed up, it will be out of the water so you shouldn’t lose any performance.

[Bonecrusher101]

I run a predator 212 on an sps longtail on my 14x36 flat bottom Jon. It’s impressive where I can take that boat, places I can’t even kayak into. If you are going to push thru mud and vegetation and crossing over down logs the longtail will leave the short tail behind in a hurry, especially in a small rig with minimal power. Outboards for the most part have been a hinderance on most bodies of water I have been on when trying to use a boat for deer hunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area.

If you are just running a river with some stumps and whatnot the surface drive should be fine. The other consideration is if the boat itself can handle impact at speed while carrying weight…

They do make some noise, in places that get duck pressure, the deer are completely comfortable with them. I did put a muffler on it and it helped. I was thinking of running some flex pipe wrapped with heat wrap/noise deadening so it hangs right below the water level when idling (similar to some airboat exhaust setups). Then when you speed up, it will be out of the water so you shouldn’t lose any performance.

Thanks for setting me straight on the long tail vs short tail I had no clue!

[Bonecrusher101]

PK is there anyway you can expand on differences between long tail and short tail (like that twister lite). Does long tail snag less weeds or something? There are swamps that are covered in vegetation that I’d like to cut through no problem but 70 percent of my boating will be in flowing river with stumps and sand bars more so than any vegetation.

The twister lite weighs less by about ten pounds and I thought it cause less strain on my canoes transom would have a tighter turning radius on my 15 ft canoe but again I have limited experience.

[mag1]

Now these look like a lot of fun. this defiantly would help getting into some of my spots vs a conventional outboard.

[Bonecrusher101]

Now these look like a lot of fun. this defiantly would help getting into some of my spots vs a conventional outboard.

I’m gung ho about this just still researching as much as I can before I settle.

[Rich M]

Im toying w the idea of buying a 4-6 hp outboard. Want it as a kicker and for 12 ft v. They are pretty quiet compared to the 2 strokes. I can talk while running my 60 4 stroke but not my 25 2 stroke.

also using this in salt water and would rather buy new than used. Yeah its a lot of money. If you take care of it and dont abuse, no reason it wont last 20-30 years if we can still get gasoline then.

You couldnt pay me to go with an older 2 stroke motor these days. As reliable as they are, It is gonna break at some point and you’ll need to fix it. Plus side is that the smoke from the 2 cycle oil will help you know the wind direction.

I have a 9 hp beavertail. Its a lawn mower with a long tail. consider using a lawnmower loud motor to go deer hunting?

The shorttail mm are decent. Still noisy tho.

There are other electric options but the price will startle you even more. Flip side on the $3k or do you’d toss at those is that they are silent. The 3 hps are in the range of $2800.

Nothing is cheap.

Yep it’s all expensive in the boating game. That kit I’m looking at is $545 and the motor is on sale for local pickup $139.99 it’s going to allow me to go into places I could normally only dream of.

It’s definitely louder than I’d want but it’s gonna be much faster going through a shallow stump infested river than an outboard. Hopefully, predator can make a quieter muffler kit soon. Who knows maybe I can fabricate a super quiet muffler. But It’s still a canoe, and if I need to be quiet I can always throttle it down and go slow or shut it off completely nearby and paddle the last 100-200 yards or so if I need total stealth.

Sounds good!

Got my longtail before surface drives were a thing. Slow tho.

FWIW - i saw someone who soldered copper tubing to the muffler on a mud motor and ran it into the water - That would cut the noise down considerably.

[Bonecrusher101]

Im toying w the idea of buying a 4-6 hp outboard. Want it as a kicker and for 12 ft v. They are pretty quiet compared to the 2 strokes. I can talk while running my 60 4 stroke but not my 25 2 stroke.

also using this in salt water and would rather buy new than used. Yeah its a lot of money. If you take care of it and dont abuse, no reason it wont last 20-30 years if we can still get gasoline then.

You couldnt pay me to go with an older 2 stroke motor these days. As reliable as they are, It is gonna break at some point and you’ll need to fix it. Plus side is that the smoke from the 2 cycle oil will help you know the wind direction.

I have a 9 hp beavertail. Its a lawn mower with a long tail. consider using a lawnmower loud motor to go deer hunting?

The shorttail mm are decent. Still noisy tho.

There are other electric options but the price will startle you even more. Flip side on the $3k or do you’d toss at those is that they are silent. The 3 hps are in the range of $2800.

Nothing is cheap.

Yep it’s all expensive in the boating game. That kit I’m looking at is $545 and the motor is on sale for local pickup $139.99 it’s going to allow me to go into places I could normally only dream of.

It’s definitely louder than I’d want but it’s gonna be much faster going through a shallow stump infested river than an outboard. Hopefully, predator can make a quieter muffler kit soon. Who knows maybe I can fabricate a super quiet muffler. But It’s still a canoe, and if I need to be quiet I can always throttle it down and go slow or shut it off completely nearby and paddle the last 100-200 yards or so if I need total stealth.

Sounds good!

Got my longtail before surface drives were a thing. Slow tho.

FWIW - i saw someone who soldered copper tubing to the muffler on a mud motor and ran it into the water - That would cut the noise down considerably.

Yes sir I was also thinking about marine wet exhaust hose and hose clamps coming from a straight pipe into the water.

Also bypassing the oil sensor isn’t hard on those predator motors, but I will be careful to not run it dry.

Beauty about that is even if you burn up the motor it isn’t overly expensive to buy another one for $150