Mine's been to canyon lake and the coast several times. Took it across the bays fishing and things only got hairy once at night with 25-35 mph winds and 3-4 ft swells. That's something i dont think I'll be doing again but as long as you're smart about it and don't push your luck you'll be fine.

Even though you can pull the plug on plane to drain it, a high flow bilge pump is also not a bad idea!

Good little project.

Nothing wrong with pushing the limits to know what you can handle... just do all that in the summer and don't have waders on.... always good to know what happens when your boat gets swamped so you know how to react if it ever happens in a bad situation.. that's if you have good floaters and don't be in the middle of the lake... please don't go sink your boat on purpose and be upset with me... my first one wasn't on purpose and it was a rough day but it was good to know what to expect after that.. my second boat yeah I swamped it the first week of having it just to see what would happen. pretty cool sinkin a boat on purpose and harder than you would think

Thats true about a boat being hard to sink, most times they over turn before sinking not saying you cant sink a boat but a wave will flip you before sinking you.

My new "used" duck boat for this sesason "The Hulk"... Took it out on a 25mph north wind gusts around 35 just before teal season to test its limits and im sure glad I did! Ended up having to walk the boat on the trailer in chest deep water but I sure learned a lot about this boat! Not my first boat, and not my first sketchy moment on the water, sometimes its good to figure out where the breaking point is. That way when you get caught out there in a bad situation your prepared and know what to expect!

I do the same in my truck when we have ice storms, Last year after the mornings hunt I took my gf to the near by empty parking lot and showed her exactly what would happen and how to best act when your sliding out of control... Its also a lot of fun to play!

Well, we put a new tank and fuel line on it because the fuel pickup line in the tank had broken off at the plastic 90 degree part. Still couldn't get fuel to the fuel pump. The only thing in between the two was the fuel hookup on the motor. We took it off, and there was living larvae plugging up the entire hole. It was GROSS! Well, we cleared that out and got fuel shooting out of the pump. I pumped the bulb a few times to try and clear out that line as much as I could just in case a momma bug was in there. Still wouldn't start. Checked the plugs. They were wet and black, but would spark against the power head very easily. Going to break into the carb this weekend.

I guarantee you the carb needs to be rebuilt, and probably need to go ahead and change the impeller, along with the L/u fluid. did you do a spark and compression test on the motor before you bought it?

The motor is my father in law's. It was completely serviced 2 years ago. It ran great afterwards. Its just been sitting for a while. I didnt buy it. Just helping fix it so i can have access to use it during duck season instead of my Triton. We're going to tear down the carb this weekend.

make sure there are no dirt dover nest clogging anything.. and id drain the gas and start with fresh fuel.

dober*

I bet its the plugs! mine were black like that and they would spark, but wouldn't run the motor until they got hot (cranking the motor for about 10 minutes). I replaced them and it cranked right up the first try. At $2 a pop I'd try that before messing with the carb.

Plugs, fresh gas (add stabil!) then start working out the carb issues. If there was untreated gas sitting in the fuel line or carb, you may want to replace the whole fuel line. The ethanol breaks the liners down in the specially made marine ones. Just go get standard fuel hose from an auto parts store and then you'll be able to make it to your own length perfect for the boat (especially locating the tank forward).
The impeller is easy to do, should be done even if its just been sitting. So is a quick change of the lower unit oil.

Always carry spare plugs and a plug wrench too. Those lil two smokes foul plugs sometimes.

Just run 93 though it and you will get the best results.. and also a quality 2stroke oil... not some $3.00 bottle for weedeaters. Make sure you replace the gas when you replace the plugs if not the old gas will most likely foul them out again

We've got new gas/oil in the new tank with new fuel line and bulb. Headed to get a carb kit now and plugs.

May price a new carb also. Sometimes they aint that much more than a kit and your time putting it on.

Also put a fuel and water filter on it.

Change the air in your trailer tires too

Got her going!

Nice.

Ok...so I'm looking to get a john boat set up also. I've never really hunted out of a boat. Owned many a bass rockets and I'm really comfortable with a standard outboard. Do you guys like the standard outboard or the mud motor in the lakes and rivers of North Texas? Can you get shallow enough with a standard outboard?

Got a floor in! If you have a flat bottom, this is a great, cheap way to put a nice floor in it. We stacked two pieces of 3/4" insulation styrofoam in the gaps between the rungs which made the floor level, then put 3/8" rubber horse stall matting on top. Feels great under your feet! I'll be painting it tan to keep down on the heat.


Before:


After:

Good electronics with GPS helps a ton in the early morning darkness.
Also, rewiringit is worth the time and expense. I referbished my 4 years ago. It looked about the same as yours. We did a camo wrap. It looks great but it was a chore. Good wiring, good batteries, good electronics, good lights, and I added tilt and trim for the shallow water.
I also rewired the trailer, new tires and wheels, and new bearings.

Comin along nicely!!! Motor purrs like a kitty

Yes you cant get shallow enough with an Outboard.When you are running into your hole in the AM you should just get shallow enough to where everyone can get out and walk it in the rest of the way. I have a Mud motor and I never just run it into the point where everyone can just jump out and get into the blind.....its dangerous to run it like that and just flat out stupid. I tell guys dont be Freddy King with your mud motor or you may be found face down, these boats and motor combos are 4x4's and should be used as such, So basicly what im saying is get what you want because both will get you in the duck woods.

X2 unless you find lilies or mud