a 14' skiff ain't gonna work out all dat good wit any surface drive. Get sumthin longer, I run my Pro-Drive on a 20'x38" skiff... a long skiff will carry all kinds of load. Back when I had my 27 on it I could still plane out wit 1000# of crawfish in it. Da bigger engines can do even better than dat.

I'd go at least 17~18' long, but it's hard to beat 20' if it's gonna be a work truck! Good luck!

I have a 14 foot flat that I hunt ducks with. Never used a pro-drive or gatortail type motor, but I have used more than one go-devil. I currently have a 10hp go devil, and I can load the boat with 3 men, guns and gear, and my dog and the little 10 hp gets us to the blind without a problem. Even at low tide times, that little motor has pushed the boat over flats with little or no water on them, just mud. As far as grass goes, a go-devil shaft sometimes holds grass in front of the prop, but keeps it from getting into the prop. If the shaft collects some grass, just push down on the handle, the prop lifts out the water a little, and the grass passes underneath the prop. If you are gonna haul a 1000 pounds of alligator, you may need a bigger go-devil, like a 20 or 24, but you will really be surprised how powerful these little motors are. May not break any speed records, but will get you in and out of the marsh without a problem. Good luck

Man I just bought a Hyperdrive Sport and would not trade it for anything. I have a 23 hp on a 16 x 48 inch bottom boat and it goes 25 mph with two people. When i got into some mud lilies we were running at 18 mph with a 2o ft roostertail of mud. The only thing that i have a problem with is that when you stop in some lilies and take off again they get sruck by around the lower unit, and like a go devil you cant lift it out the water. Other than that they are unbelievable. I would recommend one to anyone. A 23 hp would roll on your boat and would carry that load well. Look around and you could probably find a used one for a bit cheaper. I bought mine and it was three months old, and saved bout 900 dollars. I have owned 2 go devils and this Hyperdrive would run circles around any go devil.

There are 4 major manufacturers of mud motors and 3 of them are right here in Louisiana... all 3 of them great products built, tried, tested, & proven in da harshest environments dat mud motors are made for. Why would a Louisiana native buy a mud motor made in Utah when there's 3 better products built right here in our home state, and Utah hasn't come up with anything on their own... only copies of our ideas.

Just something to consider.... go drive 'em, demo's are free, make up your own mind, anybody who buys a piece of equipment dis expensive based only on what they've read on da internet is an idiot & deserves da POS dey might end up wit.

It will run fine on that boat...no problem! if reverse is a big issue then i say something like a 25 gator-tail or 25/27 pro drive. There a lil pricey when compared to the others and hard to find used. If reverse is not a big deal then a surface drive from go devil around 25/27 might be a better bet being that there a little bit cheaper. Mud buddy hyperdrive is the one from UTAH. There good motors but I would personally try and buy something from here just to support the locals. They will all perform about the same with not a huge difference. The main differences "in my opinion" are your options i.e. reverse, power trim, etc. Im sure you will be very happy with whatever you buy and if you can afford it GO BIGGER with engine size! Good luck

get the biggest motor your wallet can handle... if not you'll regret it later. Any of da small block surface drives would work ok on dat 14' skiff... but when you start addin' a load you won't be impressed. Wit these MM's, da longer da planing surface da better they'll handle a load... trust me. I ain't you're average weekend warrior outdoorsman. I'm a commercial fisherman & avid outdoorsman and I put on average 200~250 hrs. a year on my mud motors, lots more when we have a good crawfish season... if you wanna carry any kind of load without pushin water you need a longer boat.

Thanks for all the good advice. I know someone who owns a Pro Drive and we're going for a test drive Monday, in his boat. If it works out like I hope my 25 merc will be in the classified Monday evening. The fact that the boat is only 14 ft. had me worried a little, but I'm hoping the 48 inch bottom will help. Just wondering, how well do they hold up to the abuse they get. Also, I live in Prairieville, any Pro Drive dealers in the Baton Rouge area. Thanks again.

BOATS UNLIMITED OF LOUISIANA
7035 AIRLINE HWY.
Baton Rouge, La. 70805
PH# 225-357-3118

Hey Stumpgrinder, I didn't see your lastpost til I submitted mine. Your opinion means alot. I'm not a full time commerical fisherman like you, but I know you people know your business when it comes to boats and motors. I work with a few former full time crawfisherman and they are who I go to with these questions. I wish one of them would have owned a Pro Drive. They are 50 merc, 15 Evinrude, go-devil type fisherman. I got the suggestion from them to ask the question here and was glad to here from someone like you. Now I really don't know what to do. Thanks for your input.

thanks man, I'm not full time either cuz I work offshore 7&7, but my 7 days off is either spent huntin, crawfishin, or ridin around da swamps doin' somethin for sure. don't worry about da Pro-Drive's holdin' up to abuse... they're commercial grade tough and can handle whatever you can dish out. They're built for dat.

If you wanna know for sure how your rig will handle with it... get tha dealer to strap one on and demo it on your rig... and load it down just like you plan to cuz it's prolly gonna fly wit just you or 1 more in it. Don't just let him tell you it will just to sell you a motor. If Boats Unlimited won't do it it's worth da trip to Loreauville, Pro-Drive will do it for sure.

Let me know if ya need help fillin' dem tags!

Going in the A.M. with a work buddy with his PD on his 16ft boat. Don't know how much I'll learn from this trip, but should be fun to test it out. Thanks for all the replys and e-mails. It my help someone else in the same situation. I'll let yall know how it turned out.

Yeah man good luck and let us know how you like the motor. Jason is right though the bigger motor the better.

I pulled out my tape measure and measured my buddy's boat, 15'x 42". It has a 27hp Koeler Pro Drive. Just me and him in it. Did very well in sloughs and grass. Buzzed right through it on step. Went down a shallow pipeline and did good until we stopped. Had to work a little to get back on top, but I've seen regular go-devils not make it as far as we did (hard bottom). Was a little slower than I expected, compared to what it looks like on the videos, but it was faster than any go-devil I've rode. As much grass as we have now, looks like I will have to buy one and take my chances, not sure which type to get but will buy the biggest I can handle. Thanks for all yalls input.

I also have hyperdrive sport, and love it. I have a 35 hp sport on a 18' X 4' buteax. It runs 30 to 31 mph, loaded it runs about 26 to 28 mph. Water lillies is no match for it. Now in the mud with grass and water lillies, you're going nowhere. I have tried it.