Mud Motor

[TrophyTracker]

Anyone thinking of building their own longtailed Mud Motor?

[FlHunter23]

I got something up my sleeve on that. Im just waiting for all my ducks to fall in a row. I got all the parts i need for the shaft including UV joint jotted down on paper along with part numbers and source. Comes to 388.60 with a $50 auto grease cup plus tax and shipping. I know im gonna get killed on shipping, you gotta call in for a shipping quote.

I have a 9hp B&S vanguard motor. All i need is some stock metal for the frame and to figure out what im gonna do for the transom mount.

Ive gone over the shaft assembly parts for hours and days. My original plan was to have a 3/4" shaft inside a 1 1/4" shaft housing but i couldnt find a UV joint thats 1" on one side for the motor shaft and 3/4" on the other side for the drive shaft. I had to rework my plans for a 1" drive shaft, which i think is overkill. Im just concerned with weight.

Everything is still pending until i talk to a machine shop and see how much it will cost to machine threaded housing caps to fit onto the shaft housing for the seals. With the plans i got right now the only thing ill need at the machine shop is to thread my shaft for the prop.

[TrophyTracker]

I'm checking into these kits from this place. If the price isn't crazy, I may be Down On It!

http://www.boghogmudmotors.com/

If not, I found a dude in Leesburg, who has some good deals on Mudmotors. I found him on Craigslist:D

[FlHunter23]

You can get the weld it kit for like a grand plus you gotta get a motor. i was checking them out a while back. Im bound and determined to build my own. If you get a weld it kit ill let you borrow my welder when i buy one. Im just gonna get a cheap wire fed mig with flux core wire like the one i had before it got stolen. It wasnt all that great but it got the job done.

[TrophyTracker]

I'm still up in the air. That dude in Leesburg has some pretty pimp units for $1,500. http://ocala.craigslist.org/boa/1535888197.html



Thanks for the offer my man, I may just take you up on it!

[FlHunter23]

Does he build them or just sell them? The one in the picture looks like it will get the job done. I heard theres a place near plant city that sells mud motors also.

[TrophyTracker]

That I am unclear on. He doesn't have much contact info.

[FlHunter23]

It kinda looks like he made the one in the picture. I haven't seen any built with the handle in the middle. That paint looks just like the camo paint I used to paint my stands with.

[FlHunter23]

For the life of me i cant find a universal joint with a 1" bore on one side and a 3/4" bore on the other side with keyways on both ends. Is it just me?

[TrophyTracker]

They are prob. all hoarded up by Go-Devil,Mud Buddy, etc., and cost $1,800 by themselves:D

[FlHunter23]

Ive spent probably close to 4 hours trying to find one. You might be right. The only other option i got is to buy one unbored and take it to a machine shop, but that will add to the cost. I guess ill stick with the over sized shaft.

[FlHunter23]

Ive got everything ordered that i need offline. Im just waiting for it all to come in the mail. Should be in business sometime next week hopefully. I found the uv joints online for 26 bucks plus shipping btw.

[TrophyTracker]

This should be good!:D

[FlHunter23]

Slowly geting parts in still. I got the shaft and housing in yesterday but decided the housing was way to bulky so i ordered a different size. Maybe by the end of next week it will be done. My pockets are starting to get lite again but works picking up a little so hopefully ill be able to get his thing done. Any place around here to get some cheap steel flat bar and sheet?

[TrophyTracker]

Tractor Supply is all I know.

[FlHunter23]

Sometimes i forget all about tractor supply. Thanks for the reminder, Theres one right down the road from me.

[FlHunter23]

Coming along good so far. Ill try to have some pictures posted this evening or tomorrow morning.

[FlHunter23]

Heres what i got so far. I hope to have it almost complete tomorrow. Its in rough shape right now but i hope after i clean some welds up and give it some paint itll look much better.

I threw in a picture of my new to me ride. I call it the Pimp10...

[TrophyTracker]

Looks sweet Sam! Hopefully it's ready for Sep 25th! Maybe it needs a trial run on Lake Okahumpka chasin' down some Teal and Woody's!;)

[FlHunter23]

When does that start Chad?

[TrophyTracker]

The weekend of the 25th

[palmettoswamp]

Early duck season is 9/25/10-9/29/10..I think...might be wrong on that.

Mudmotor is looking good...words of advice...get 2 props and keep one in the boat in case of an emergency...try to keep the prop off of sandy bottoms, install a grab bar in the boat (aka: sissy bar) and drive it like you stole it!..Also make you you have kill switch you can wear around your wrist...if you fall out of the boat w/o one, the boat will go into what they call the "death spin"

The water levels have to be good this year and you should not have any issues going about anywhere...Back in 2007 I was running down parts of the river at 4am in less than 6 inches of water and hitting every log, stump, rock on the way

They are fun and I miss my 20hp mud buddy and 15 ft. G3 rivited jon boat combo...once I get some $$$ saved up and I will be putting together another mud boat rig.

[FlHunter23]

Thanks Tim. I got two props and im gonna look into making a grab bar later on when i get more time. I still need to order a marine kill switch to install on it. Right now im having trouble with the shaft over heating. I gotta pull the bearings out and ream them out a bit more. Gonna be a dam mess with all the grease i got loaded in there... Ill try to post some more pictures up when i get a chance.

[palmettoswamp]

You might have to try different pitch props to see which one will give you more torque...I never was concerned w/ top speed with my mudboat, but I wanted to be able to dig the boat thru mud....I think I was getting 17-18 mph w/ my old rig with just me and a cooler.

[FlHunter23]

I got two 8x4 props. From what i could tell they should work on 9 to 13hp motors. To expensive to be experimenting with. I paid 158 for one and bought the other one cause it was only 100.

[palmettoswamp]

Those should work...any bigger, and you might have issues...keep me informed of the performance

[FlHunter23]

Will do man. Just waiting on some new seals. Im gonna have to beat the hell out of the old ones to get the bearings out so i can ream them out a little more.

Ill get a top speed reading with my gps when i get that far and post it up.

[FlHunter23]

Heres an update... Had to order a new carburetor cause the old one was f'ed up. All i really got left is the cavitation plate above the prop and to hook my throttle up once the carb comes in. Excuse the dates. Guess i didnt set the camera.



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv118/Shoffman18/HPIM1659.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv118/Shoffman18/HPIM1661.jpg

[FlHunter23]

Accidently forgot to resize the last picture. Should have left them all big. Looks a lot better...

[FlHunter23]

Guess that'll do

[TrophyTracker]

Way to go Sam! I am very proud of you. You are Off The Chain, my friend.

[FlHunter23]

Thanks Chad. I'm not out of the woods yet though, or should i say into the woods yet. I still gotta get this thing in the water and make sure its gonna do what its supposed to. We will take it out and smash some woodies with it this season for sure if all goes well.

[TrophyTracker]

No Thatsa whata I'ma Talkin' about!

[FlHunter23]

I took the motor out today and everything seemed to work pretty good. I have a few kinks to work out like making the handle a little longer and upgrading the throttle trigger. Im gonna try to rig up one of the brake triggers off my mountain bike and see how that goes. I will also idle the motor up a bit cause it stalled a few times in the no wake zone. Turning is a pain in the @$$! All in all i would say it was a complete success. I went through weeds without a problem and ran right through small patches of grass. I forgot my gps but id guess i was going around 10 to 15 mph with me another guy that weighed around 180 and a 12v battery in the boat. I will bring the gps and get a better estimate next time out. I was very surprised at how fast we were going. Much faster than the motor i had on it before.

[TrophyTracker]

Awesome job, brother. I t looks great, and will be a HUGE benefit this Fall!

[FlHunter23]

Thanks, Im gonna take it out again tomorrow, check out some spots, and move a few stands around. I'm way behind this year. Should have had this stuff done a month ago.

[FlHunter23]

Here it is on the water... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9Tca44-QY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9Tca44-QY)

[TrophyTracker]

Awesome job my man! Just need to paint the inside of that boat a tad, and it will be ready to post up on some ducks in the back 40!

[FlHunter23]

I ran out of dark spray paint. just have a bunch of tan colors. Ill have to pick up some more soon. Let me know when your ready to go out.

[TrophyTracker]

Will do. I'm hoping we get some rain to help fill the place up a bit