# Weed whacker mud motor



## FireMan39 (May 26, 2006)

Looking to make a weed whacker mud motor have found some info on some other sites just wondering if anyone on here has made one. A friend and my self have started but we need a smaller prop and maybe a gear reduction thanks.


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## Quaaack (Nov 22, 2007)

Must be one heck of an engine as most week wackers engines are only 30-50cc which is approx 1-1 1/2 hp. 

What are you looking to push? A skiff?

Keep us updated and pics would be cool too.


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## snowman11 (Nov 21, 2006)

What hp does a trolling motor produce? Mine pushes me pretty good. It'd be better than nothin.


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## FireMan39 (May 26, 2006)

I am looking to push a small 12' jon boat. With maybe a few decoy bags nothing much.


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## choc24/7 (Jan 22, 2008)

that might be a bit of a large load. the ones i have seen have been on otters or marsh rats.


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## lastflight (Aug 16, 2005)

Check out this tread from another forum, some good info.

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/showthread.php?t=172396&page=4

I think it would work OK on a jon boat just don't expect to go too fast.


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## gunner7848 (Feb 8, 2006)




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## GrizzlyBear (Apr 27, 2003)

Just so you get an idea, that clip looks to be on a hybrid type boat. If it's built based off the plans available through the net, which it looks to be, the total weight of the boat will be roughly 60lbs.

Weed whacker may not be enough for a 12' jon with gear. Might want to step up to a 3-5 horse. A little breeze may be too much for the mudwhacker to overcome.


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## grouly925 (Dec 6, 2006)

I have thought about the weed wacker motors also for use on a canoe, but decided to just use an electric trolling motor instead. The places I am trying to sneak into would just get too disrupted by the humm of a 46cc weed whipper at 5am.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Couple thoughts...as several said, weed whacker motors are generally not big enough to push much weight. Second, those engines aren't meant to run under full load for really extended periods of time...like 10 minutes is probably a lot for a weed whacker. So I suspect you're gonna burn an engine out pretty quickly if you have to run...say 15-20 minutes. 

Bottom line, you can get a very low thrust Minn-Kota trolling motor for under $200...check the ad at Dick's sporting goods...every week they're pushing various Minn Kotas and they're cheap. So why would you spend $150 on a weed whacker, then take the time to convert it? Just buy a trolling motor...better yet, and cheaper yet, find a used one


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## Bill Collector Bob (Sep 9, 2007)

Not trying to load another site, just trying to help!

http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/view...0&postorder=asc&highlight=weedwacker&start=25

http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/viewtopic.php?t=63351

Or buy one here:

http://www.crawdadmotors.com/gallery.html


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## gunner878 (Jul 7, 2008)

just ducky said:


> Couple thoughts...as several said, weed whacker motors are generally not big enough to push much weight. Second, those engines aren't meant to run under full load for really extended periods of time...like 10 minutes is probably a lot for a weed whacker. So I suspect you're gonna burn an engine out pretty quickly if you have to run...say 15-20 minutes.
> 
> Bottom line, you can get a very low thrust Minn-Kota trolling motor for under $200...check the ad at Dick's sporting goods...every week they're pushing various Minn Kotas and they're cheap. So why would you spend $150 on a weed whacker, then take the time to convert it? Just buy a trolling motor...better yet, and cheaper yet, find a used one


dont agree about run time on a weed whacker think about people in lawncare do they only run thiers for 10 min? but i would go with a regular mud motor or make your own either buy the frame from mud buddy or weld up your own...imo a 9-13 hp would be great for a 12ft boat


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

gunner878 said:


> dont agree about run time on a weed whacker think about people in lawncare do they only run thiers for 10 min? but i would go with a regular mud motor or make your own either buy the frame from mud buddy or weld up your own...imo a 9-13 hp would be great for a 12ft boat



We're gonna agree to disagree...even lawncare people don't have them under full load for extended periods. I did that in college for a while. You light it up for a minute or two while you trim and edge or tree or whatever, then idle while you walk to the next edge, tree or whatever you're trimming, then you light it up again. You never have those guys walking around full throttle for the entire time they're at a site. 

My point is to push a boat, you're gonna be running the thing full throttle constantly for an extended time, and these engines are not designed for that kind of abuse.


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## neil duffey (Feb 22, 2004)

gunner878 said:


> dont agree about run time on a weed whacker think about people in lawncare do they only run thiers for 10 min? but i would go with a regular mud motor or make your own either buy the frame from mud buddy or weld up your own...imo a 9-13 hp would be great for a 12ft boat


gunner, your missing his point. sure lawn care people run theirs for extended perioids of time, but not full throttle, straight for 10 mins or more... its a concetant reving. come to a patch of weeds, pull trigger, let off trigger and move on. hes saying that weed whippers arent ment to be held at full bore for long times, like say, running from launch to hunting spot...


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## gunner878 (Jul 7, 2008)

i agree a weed whacker isnt great for such a large boat but i've seen them on the forums for a few years now and if they didnt work you would see alot more bad feedback on the forums.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

IMHO I'd say use the weed wacker for wacking and get a mud motor for your boat dude. Where I run I would get blown into the bank by other boats or blown into the weeds by the wind. Save your life and get a used 10-12 horse go devil, mud buddy or something made for it. 

FYI: My brother in law just built a long tail and used a 5 horse brigs. He drives truck for a living and doesn't have acsess to a machine shop or anything and his turned out awesome. I believe he told me he had like $300.00-$400.00 total. Bought his 5hp brigs from a garage sale, built everything else. If you start now you could be done well before hunting season. That boat in the clip looked a bit squirrely for me. Standing up in that little dingy at O dark30 with a bag or two of blocks (at best in that boat) in a strong November wind, waders on and clothed up?? Not for me, I love adventure more than most............... but cheating death???? I don't think so. :yikes:
Be safe
Smoke


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

gunner878 said:


> i agree a weed whacker isnt great for such a large boat but i've seen them on the forums for a few years now and if they didnt work you would see alot more bad feedback on the forums.


Not saying it won't work...for a while anyway :evilsmile My main point is why would you bother to modify a perfectly good weed whacker with a prop, when there are things like trolling motors, reasonably priced, available? You aren't getting any more speed with a whacker. Heck if you search you can find a little outboard (I have two) pretty cheap (probably cheaper than a good whacker?) that will push a canoe or small boat really nice. Just seems like a waste of time to me. And the fact that I believe you'd end up burning out the engine at some point. But hey, to each his own I guess. That's why we live in America...land of free choice


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## Water_Hazard (Aug 16, 2006)

I was wondering if you were to take a little hand held battery fan and hold it in the back of the boat, would it work like an air boat?


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## SuperBlackEagle2 (Nov 4, 2005)

Water_Hazard said:


> I was wondering if you were to take a little hand held battery fan and hold it in the back of the boat, would it work like an air boat?


:lol:
It would be a tight race against a Lawn Boy 1.5 mud motor.

To the guy looking to build this thing....bottom line is, it's not going to work very well if it works at all. You missed out on a good deal. I just basically gave away a 6 hp mud motor that I hardly used, for half of what I paid for it. That's about the smallest you should be looking at, for that 12' jon. That's my opinion.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Water_Hazard said:


> I was wondering if you were to take a little hand held battery fan and hold it in the back of the boat, would it work like an air boat?


yeah but the battery would run low quickly. Ya need to have an electric fan...and a LOOOOOOONG extension cord. Or better yet, :idea: I've thought about getting a piece of camo cloth and making a sail on the front of my canoe. Then when I go down the ditches at Shiawassee I can do it very quietly...even quieter than I do now with my little outboard. Then when guys like you and Shiawassee Kid come up behind me bitching about my #$%#$ canoe, you can see me better because of the big sail...then again, it will be camo, so you won't see me will you (invisible ya know). Yeah, a sail...that's the ticket  



:yikes::lol::evilsmile


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## Shlwego (Sep 13, 2006)

I think it's really all about the situation you plan to use this motor in. Crawdad Motors makes a commercial version of a weed-wacker motor, and guys have been making the home made models for years. In most applications I think you'd probably be better off with a 5-6hp longtail by Mudbuddy or Beavertail, but if you're thinking of powering a canoe or small sneakboat, you need something smaller. Many places are so shallow/weed choked that a traditional motor or a trolling motor just won't work, and you need something like a long tail that lets you easily lift the prop out of the water. But those little weed-wacker buggers sure are noisy, and in some of those small water areas that much noise will drive away the birds pretty fast, and if they're gone what use is getting back in there? I like the quiet running of a battery powered trolling motor.....Hmmmm...... Has anybody ever converted a trolling motor to a long tail style mini-mud motor? THAT might be a decent solution.... if only for a canoe or poke boat or small Kara type sneak boat.


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## waxico (Jan 21, 2008)

Won't work, the key is torque. That is why cars have 4 cycle engines. The weight of you + 1 other person + load will be too much for a tiny displacement 2 stroke, not to mention the inefficiencies of a mud motor versus a propellor version.

Good luck, flame away all that disagree


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## Shlwego (Sep 13, 2006)

waxico said:


> Won't work, the key is torque. That is why cars have 4 cycle engines. The weight of you + 1 other person + load will be too much for a tiny displacement 2 stroke, not to mention the inefficiencies of a mud motor versus a propellor version.
> 
> Good luck, flame away all that disagree


They use tiny displacement 2-strokes on go-karts all the time, and some of them have tire smoking torque. Look at the links and videos early in this thread and you'll see that people are definitely making weed wacker motors work, though you're right that the greater the load the less viable they are. But typically they're used only on very small 1 person watercraft with small weight loads. The question is how _well_ they work vs. other types of propulsion both in terms of thrust and in terms of decibels. The jury is still out on that as far as I'm concerned....


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Shlwego said:


> They use tiny displacement 2-strokes on go-karts all the time, and some of them have tire smoking torque. Look at the links and videos early in this thread and you'll see that people are definitely making weed wacker motors work, though you're right that the greater the load the less viable they are. But typically they're used only on very small 1 person watercraft with small weight loads. The question is how _well_ they work vs. other types of propulsion both in terms of thrust and in terms of decibels. The jury is still out on that as far as I'm concerned....


and for the umpteenth time, whether it will work or not is not the point...the point is why bother when there are so many low cost options around without screwing with this? trolling motors, mud motors, little outboards, etc., etc. This is one of those "make work" projects that isn't worth the time...at least not my time


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

yup those weed wacker mud motors work fine. its really just a glorified non-rechargable trolling motor and is for light loads (1 person, few deeks). I can see the use although someone like me would just get pissed and swing it a tree on opening day and all the work would be wasted.

small 5-8hp motor is all u need for around here. unless of course your one of those guys with a 16ft double wide and insist that u take all 4 of u plus a few spectators to your field/marsh in 1 trip.

this small setup would have no use for any large body of water really as it will be unreliable and unsafe. But if you have access to small bodies of marsh/river, great little setup.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Water_Hazard said:


> I was wondering if you were to take a little hand held battery fan and hold it in the back of the boat, would it work like an air boat?


nope. it would work like a fan held in your hand behind the boat serving no real purpose other than looking like a hick.:yikes:


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

Forget all the nay-sayers and build the durn thing. give it a whirl (pun intended) and then let us know how it works!

They laughed at the wright bros. once too! 


And SBE II - I'd have given yah 75%! :evil:


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Branta said:


> Forget all the nay-sayers and build the durn thing. give it a whirl (pun intended) and then let us know how it works!
> 
> They laughed at the wright bros. once too!
> ....



And when you get that done, I have a wind powered robo to sell you really cheap :evilsmile


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

dirty Pool JD!
:rant:


You know I hate those things!


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## AR34 (Jun 18, 2008)

I like the quiet running of a battery powered trolling motor.....Hmmmm...... Has anybody ever converted a trolling motor to a long tail style mini-mud motor? THAT might be a decent solution.... if only for a canoe or poke boat or small Kara type sneak boat.[/quote said:


> Shlwego, thats what Im talking about, Lets get together and market it!! That would be awsome:xzicon_sm


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## New Kid (Oct 24, 2005)

Just curious. The way those motors balance a, can you use a much larger mudmotor Hp wise than the transom is rated for.


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