I have a 16' aluminum boat. It has a tiller steer 35 hp outboard and flotation pods. At a dead stop, the boat drafts maybe 4". But, the skeg of the motor is about a foot and a half below the waterline.

I was thinking about either getting a 27 hp long tail mud motor or converting my outboard to a jet drive. A short shaft mud motor would hit the flotation pods.

Which would make the most sense for fishing the marshes and flats in the Corpus Christi area?

Do you like to go fast?

I have a long shaft mud motor. I've had it for years. I just got it rigged with TM for backwater fishing. I plan on taking it down to the bays.

It's not the fastest motor.....until you get it in tighter places...then it feels faster. Actually shallower water will allow the motor to push faster speeds.

I'm not sure on the jet boat motors. There are a few guys in the bass section with them. The access the rivers above the lakes.

BTW my long shaft is a Honda...I've cleaned the carb a few times and done all the repairs myself. You don't have any repairs or maintenance outside the engine itself...besides greese up fittings.

I got to drive a jet boat for the first time this summer. They steer like a bull moose in my opinion and have almost zero maneuverability for docking.

I was thinking about getting a Backwater 27 hp. There is a fishing guide in Freeport with a 16' jon and 27 hp Backwater. He said he researched them all and chose Backwater.

It won't win any races, but you can plod along and never worry about hitting anything below the surface. You could cross Nueces Bay or St Charles Bay and never worry about the oyster reef.

I am just having a hard time pulling the trigger and debating whether or not I really need to spend the money. In order to run skinny with what I got I would have to get a trolling motor and when I get to certain places turn off my outboard and move to my trolling motor. That might not be a bad way to go either.

What are your thoughts?

http://www.backwaterinc.com/swomp-27.html

I run a jet, and have owned mud motors. If you're in MUD, then the mud motor doesn't need water, BUT if you're in hard sand, it's going to have a hard time.

I can run in less than 2" of water all day with mine, and maneuvering is clunky until you learn to slide your boat around, then it's pretty doable, just some driving tricks.

Really depends on where you want to use your boat, both are good choices, just different.

Ok Pat, since my boat drafts around 4", could I set the intake of the jet about even with the bottom of the boat, and then it would be 4" below the surface when I am sitting still? I guess that means the motor would never hit anything since it wouldn't be lower than the boat. I probably wouldn't want to operate in less than a foot so there would be clearance between the jet intake and the bottom. How would the jet turn being tucked between the floatations pods? Also, I don't have a jack plate. It is just a simple jon with an outboard clamped to the transom.

You'll need to mount the motor so the jet is flush with the bottom of the hull, you MIGHT need to add height in a number of ways. Remember you don't have to buy a whole motor, you can just buy the jet pump and rig it on your current motor. And you'll be going through a lot less than a foot of water, once you understand, if it's got a ripple, you can run. Pretty cool stuff actually.

We do some mods so grass doesn't shut you down, an oyster shell might, but they come out pretty easy.

Pat,

When you say "We do some mods", who is "we"? Are you with a company that does something with jet drives?

Pat, are you coming back?

send him a pm and he might respond quicker

Sorry, better things to do than hang around the computer.

We take the grate junk off the jet intake, then run a welding rod under the jet impeller and it becomes a weed-eater. I can run through a glob of foamed up grass, and it slows me down for about a half second until it chews it up and spits it out.

I am by NO means pimping a jet, it has it's own set of quirks, they don't like rough water, and you lose a good amount of efficiency, and as previously mentioned not the most precise way to handle a rig either. But they do what they do, run shallow and that's why I run it.

Did someone help you with this if did you do everything yourself? I was wondering if there was someone I could get help from if I wanted to do something like this.

Sonny (sonny's marine) in Port O' Connor is pretty handy around a jet. I *wish* I were smart enough to think this stuff up, I'm not. Terry Oldham (Oldham's lures) is the genius behind the mods, he's been running jets since...there were jets.

It's not that hard really, jet's are actually simple machines, there's no gears or transmissions, it's just a shaft with an impeller riding in a simple bearing. go to www.outboardjets.com and they'll show all the details involved.

The thing about jets is if your running shallow water you can't stop or you will get stuck. If you pump sand and mud through the pump for very long you will wear the liner out. Jets are awesome for running shallow water. Lets say your running into a tidal lake. You have to be sure you will have enough water to get back on plane before you stop. Otherwise your stuck.