Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

Are they worth the money? Who has actually used them and has benefited from them? One mud motor company says that they are critical for use and the other says they are not. Would they really help with a standard outboard motor?

I have no experience with them and before I spend $$ on them, I need some advice. Thanks.

I am using a Crestliner, V-modified 1448 boat with a 20 hp long shaft motor.

Chuck, an option you may consider is buying an extension handle for the tiller and you sit/stand forward 2' more so less weight in the rear. That is what I have with a reg OB.

I've noticed some long tails also have long handles so you stand forward more and some short tails that do not. I think the later you definately would need pods, especially on the bigger engines which weigh a LOT more than an OB engine does.

Basically it is all about weight distribution within the boat so the boat is almost level.

Yup, they add flotation at the back since mud motors typically weigh more than outboards. One thing to think about is that it's tougher to get on plain with pods.

Question for you, why do you think you want them?

I was thinking of them to gain access to some shallower water.

I added them to a tunnel hull I had. Loved them. Worth every minute. And the made it easier to get on plane not harder. Cut the distance in half by not allowing the back of the boat to dig in. Cost me about 2 mph. But that was with an outboard. I would definitely go for it with your rig. Just make sure, if you have them custom built, that they tip the very back up 3/4 to 1 inch. All this not to mention they made getting in the boat so much easier that when I have the cash to spend I will add them to this boat as well.

It depends on what your boat does. If the front end can't get out of the water, pods will make it harder by not letting the front end get up on top.

If you are seriously squatting the back end that much tho, it will definitely help you get shallower, but how shallow are you going with your outboard? They absolutely help to get in the boat tho, there is no doubting that. Person or dog.

When I had the tunnel with the 40 hp I was able to run 12 before the pods and 8, measured with a tape measure, with them. I did have the skew clipped off though. A rock did it for me.

I have no problem getting the boat quickly on plane with the 20 hp. The problems I have is with shallow water , 12" or less and that long shaft motor. It digs into everything. The rear of the boat does not really squat bad. My boat has a 20" rear transom, thus the long shaft motor. I was just wondering if floatation pods could help.

Does your motor have a shallow water tilt setting? On my evinrude if I flip the lever that locks the motor (locks it down or up depending on which way it's flipped), and if I then just lift it up a little it'll only go down to about 70* instead of down straight 90* down.

It kind if sounds like you want them and are trying to justify them, so to easy your mind, they'll help you get shallower. How much and at what cost I'm not sure.

I just put pods on my Alumacraft 15x44 mod v. The reason I put them on my boat is because i am running a long tail mud motor. My problem was with backwash over the transom when slowing down suddenly. Well the pods did the trick and I have no more backwash. I cannot tell a speed difference with my mud motor. It does get on plane faster at just under half throttle vs just over half throttle which is nice. I mounted them so they are tipped a 1/2 in up in the rear. I notice that I lost a little top speed with my 15 hp outboard. The bow does not come up in the front nearly as far as it used to which makes for a wet ride in a chop. I can run shallower with either motor but not by more than an inch or two. If I was not running a long tail mud motor I personally would not waste the money. My boat is better for hunting in shallow slews but it is not better in rough open water. The Pods will end up costing you $250.00 to 500.00 depending on size. If you can not weld aluminum you can add another $100.00 to $200.00 in installation. After tax shipping and installation I had almost $500.00 into my small beavertail pods. It fixed my back splash problem and they work great for me for hunting but not so much for fishing.