I'm glad you put what you did in the description. I recently acquired a swamp runner with a 212. Have been watching mods videos and thinking about trying to get a little more speed. Last sentence of your description settled my thinking - just gonna leave it alone and try to get longer service from it. I'm fishing not racing after all...
Good info. I'm building a 224 with a Mud Skipper surface drive for my 14 ft boat right now. Stage 1, governor removed. Stock cam and valve springs. Don't really want it revving much more than about 5000 RPM. Built as an experiment and nothing more.
Cody, thanks for the video and advice. I just got the HF 15.8 459cc, and it's on my Beaver Dam kit. I have a few things to do and it will be ready for a trial run on a nearby lake. As per your advice, leaving it stock. My boat is a Lowe 14x40M. So if I decide to upgrade to a 16 to 18 ft. boat, this mud motor should still work with no issues. I want to know my top speed, but will not run it at top speed. Unless during an emergency situation. Will use my boat for deer and duck hunting, as well as fishing. I'm planning to try and always put in near my hunting spot, or as close as possible to prevent long runs. But I plan to run my boat the entire length of the local lake so I can get used to using it and to make sure its up to the task. Thanks again for the video. I enjoyed watching the sky and the trees going past your boat as you glided down the river. Reminds me of where I grew up in the hills of Kentucky. If possible would like to see a video of your mudskipper feather lite surface drive running the river, and what you think about it. I'm late to the long tail game, but those surface drives look very impressive. Rangers... Lead the Way!
I will be making a video very soon. I have had a good bit of testing with my feather lite kit at this point and I can honestly say at this point I’ll never go back to anything other than a surface drive. Without over revving the engine I can cruise alone with gear at 22.5 mph. With an extra person I’m still around 20-21 mph and this is in my 12x32 boat. Larger boat with more displacement may do even better. And again this is a bone stock predator 459cc that I’m running with a 9x5 stainless prop.
Do the cables they recommend for the mikuni hookup to the throttle handle on the twister, or did you order a special cable? I’ve been running stage 2 for about 12 hours with no major issues other than it seems like above 5000 it starts pumping oil out of the governor shaft and pulse fitting. Then I start getting oil in my pulse pump and it starts to die. (I know a collection can would solve that). So 5000 seems to be a good number to abide by even if it can supposedly do 7000.
Idk about the cable I used the factory that came with the kit and just put that small end on it for the mukuni. As far as the pulse pump issue, I had same issues with it at high rpm. That’s why I went to an electric fuel pump. Can get them on Amazon fairly cheap. Just make sure it’s a low psi pump. If I were to have kept going with this motor I would have had to install a catch can.
I am planning a mud motor build now. I am old, my boat is small, and there is no trailer. I will store the new mud motor in the shed beside my 6 HP outboard, and transport everything to the water in a truck. Once there, I will mount the motor on the boat and launch it by hand. So, though I would appreciate a bit more "oomph", I definitely don't want the extra weight and bulk of a bigger motor. Plus, I already own a barely used, bone stock 212cc hemi to work with. Could I not put a stage 3 kit in it, and then govern it to around 5000 RPM so it will make decent power AND last a long time?
You can try it. I think a stage 1 kit and maybe at the most a cam. You don’t need the billet rod or flywheel as long as you don’t rev it past 5k rpm. Also, don’t adjust the timing up on the motor. Sounds good but all you do when you do this is move your power curve higher in the rpm range. Them small motors need all the bottom end they can get
@@BodieJones I built it. That’s made from the light guards of a brush guard with a bycycle grip on it. It goes down into another tube which is oversized and has pins though it so I can remove it to get though a pipe or something. Also it’s bolted through the hull with sealant
I’ve been thinking about building a long tail with either the Tillotson 225rs racing engine (15hp) coming in at 38lbs, or a Duromax 440 (18hp) coming in at 77lbs stock. On a boat about the same size as yours. Was worried about the weight, the predator 459 is 80lbs.
I’m running the 459 on a feather lite now on this boat. Does fine with it. One thing about a marine engine, hp is useless if you don’t have the bottom end to get up on plane. You want get that with a small block. My opinion is either 420 or 459. The 459 has the longer stroke which is more torque. I love mine. About to put a stage one on it with a Robertson torque tube. Going to see how that does. I run 23 alone and 21 with 2 people and 20 with 3 ppl. With the built small block, I got 23 alone and like 16 with 2 ppl and couldn’t get on plane with 3
I’m thinking about going with the duromax 440. You can get a lot of after market parts for that engine. I’m not sure about the 459. Another thing. I don’t know what long tail kit to go with. Beaver tail, beaver dam mud runner, mud skipper, swamp runner, or backwater. The back water is expensive…
@@t-bone1890 never ran a long tail. If I was going to buy one it would be between the swamp runner and beaver dam kit. You are right though there ain’t many parts for the 459 yet. A lot of 420 parts fit it but a lot dont. I’ve also read a lot that the duromax 18 is more like 13 and the number is a selling point. No idea though I’ve only ran the predators. In my opinion, if I was starting fresh, I would do the 459 predator again and a swamp runner. I deal with a lot of open water is why I went surface drive. If I was back in the marsh more or in rough conditions more, then I would have the long tail. IMO, the backwater is a beast of an engine but the short long tail to me is no better than a surface drive and less speed. The true long tail is pushing the boat from the wake behind the boat so it will run more shallow by far. The twister kit is essentially a surface drive no matter what they call it
Have you given any thought to the clutch kit that mud skipper recently came out with? Centrifugal setup. Sure would be nice to let off the gas and not still go forward sometimes. I have a 1542 with a stage 1 Honda gx390 (13hp).
Well at this point I have already sold my twister kit and upgraded to the feather lite surface drive which has a centrifugal clutch. And to be honest I don’t like the clutch at all. The neutral part is great, but trying to idle no wake zones and trying to park the boat to hunt is not so good. Centrifugal clutch when it gets some heat to it gets grabby and jumpy. Also the slowest I can make my boat go with it is like 4mph cause the engine must be reved up some to make it engage
@@codylanning1524 I'm glad you said that. I was wondering about the negatives and having to constantly give it light throttle just to idle around would get a little bit annoying. Are you getting more speed with the surface drive? They seem to be a little faster when using the same engines. This season was the first on my twister and after next year I'll probably switch it up
@@turneynicholas no I have not. Haven’t studied that clutch enough to see if I can even get to it. I still want the neutral but once it gets warm it’s very jerky and grabs. Hard to go easy with it. That’s my dislike. Also, unless it has changed, mudskipper didn’t have a replacement for it last time I looked.
@codylanning1524 I assume after you built yours, there was no Rev limiter... so it could have been peaking at 8k or more whenever u lift the prop from the water
@@spldrong never reved it that hard. I’d say it would have went past 9k easy. I was turning that 6.5” prop to 6k or better. But never hit anything and blew the prop out to let it rev to the sky. Had royal purple oil with zinc in it too.
It’s a 12x32. That was a 212 hemi built to stage 3. Slung the rod bearing 10 min after this video. It now has a predator 459 with a feather lite surface drive. With it, it does 24mph with me and 22 mph with 2, 200 lb people in it.
Do you think that swapping out the bearings with higher quality ones will improve its reliability? I'm an hovercraft builder and I'm troubled up between choosing a Cr-500 motorbike motor, or just get one of these industrial motors, to modify to an higher power band.
@@charlesblakeley1278 no I made a bracket that bolts to the boat and it has 2 pins I can pull to take it down if I need to go though a pipe or something or under a log
I made it. It’s a stainless ADA rail that goes in a bathroom. Took and cut the 2 bends off and clocked them till I liked the angle and welded it up. Already had a stainless flanger where it bolted to the wall so I just had to trim it up and drill the correct holes
@@codylanning1524 please do it would be SUPER helpful I have the same twister but for a 22 and would love trim tilt. Also what engine are you upgrading to?
I got a predator 459 with a mudskipper feather lite surface drive. So far it’s amazing. 20.5 mph with 2 people and gear. 22.5mph with just me. Again this is on the same 12x32 boat
So far surface drive behaves more like an outboard. I like it better in must ways, my only complaint about the surface drive is the shaft won’t lift out of the water. The way the transom plate is made and the trim adjustment, it can only go up level with the boat or so. Some of that is my transom I’m sure. But that will stop me from just jumping logs for fun lol
I'm glad you put what you did in the description. I recently acquired a swamp runner with a 212. Have been watching mods videos and thinking about trying to get a little more speed. Last sentence of your description settled my thinking - just gonna leave it alone and try to get longer service from it. I'm fishing not racing after all...
The minute I saw this video I ordered all the parts. Awesome man keep doing what your doing
Good info. I'm building a 224 with a Mud Skipper surface drive for my 14 ft boat right now. Stage 1, governor removed. Stock cam and valve springs. Don't really want it revving much more than about 5000 RPM. Built as an experiment and nothing more.
Cam will help. Just don’t go crazy. Stock springs will keep it from over reving. It will float about 5k or so
Just threw a rod the other day : )
Cody, thanks for the video and advice. I just got the HF 15.8 459cc, and it's on my Beaver Dam kit. I have a few things to do and it will be ready for a trial run on a nearby lake. As per your advice, leaving it stock. My boat is a Lowe 14x40M. So if I decide to upgrade to a 16 to 18 ft. boat, this mud motor should still work with no issues. I want to know my top speed, but will not run it at top speed. Unless during an emergency situation. Will use my boat for deer and duck hunting, as well as fishing. I'm planning to try and always put in near my hunting spot, or as close as possible to prevent long runs. But I plan to run my boat the entire length of the local lake so I can get used to using it and to make sure its up to the task. Thanks again for the video. I enjoyed watching the sky and the trees going past your boat as you glided down the river. Reminds me of where I grew up in the hills of Kentucky.
If possible would like to see a video of your mudskipper feather lite surface drive running the river, and what you think about it. I'm late to the long tail game, but those surface drives look very impressive.
Rangers... Lead the Way!
I will be making a video very soon. I have had a good bit of testing with my feather lite kit at this point and I can honestly say at this point I’ll never go back to anything other than a surface drive. Without over revving the engine I can cruise alone with gear at 22.5 mph. With an extra person I’m still around 20-21 mph and this is in my 12x32 boat. Larger boat with more displacement may do even better. And again this is a bone stock predator 459cc that I’m running with a 9x5 stainless prop.
I have a 1436 job with 459cc mud skipper twister with 2 blade prop adapter and run 22mph
Airborne
Do the cables they recommend for the mikuni hookup to the throttle handle on the twister, or did you order a special cable?
I’ve been running stage 2 for about 12 hours with no major issues other than it seems like above 5000 it starts pumping oil out of the governor shaft and pulse fitting. Then I start getting oil in my pulse pump and it starts to die. (I know a collection can would solve that). So 5000 seems to be a good number to abide by even if it can supposedly do 7000.
Idk about the cable I used the factory that came with the kit and just put that small end on it for the mukuni. As far as the pulse pump issue, I had same issues with it at high rpm. That’s why I went to an electric fuel pump. Can get them on Amazon fairly cheap. Just make sure it’s a low psi pump. If I were to have kept going with this motor I would have had to install a catch can.
Hey Cody would it be possible to get some pictures or a video of your tilt and trim?
Sold it.
Can I get some close up pics on how you set up that trim tilt?
I am planning a mud motor build now. I am old, my boat is small, and there is no trailer. I will store the new mud motor in the shed beside my 6 HP outboard, and transport everything to the water in a truck. Once there, I will mount the motor on the boat and launch it by hand. So, though I would appreciate a bit more "oomph", I definitely don't want the extra weight and bulk of a bigger motor. Plus, I already own a barely used, bone stock 212cc hemi to work with. Could I not put a stage 3 kit in it, and then govern it to around 5000 RPM so it will make decent power AND last a long time?
You can try it. I think a stage 1 kit and maybe at the most a cam. You don’t need the billet rod or flywheel as long as you don’t rev it past 5k rpm. Also, don’t adjust the timing up on the motor. Sounds good but all you do when you do this is move your power curve higher in the rpm range. Them small motors need all the bottom end they can get
@@codylanning1524 🤔Food for thought. Thanks. 👍
Could we get some more videos of the boat
Waiting on a prop now. It has a 459cc feather lite surface drive on it now. A lot more power
@@codylanning1524 wow I bet that thing scoots. I can’t what for some more videos of the boat
Does 22.5 but can be on plane in half a boat length.
Nice could you use the twister kit in saltwater?
@@Aaronb1222 I could imagine you could but being all mild steel construction I wouldn't recommend
any chance you know where you got your grab bar? And how did you mount/ bolt it?
@@BodieJones I built it. That’s made from the light guards of a brush guard with a bycycle grip on it. It goes down into another tube which is oversized and has pins though it so I can remove it to get though a pipe or something. Also it’s bolted through the hull with sealant
I’ve been thinking about building a long tail with either the Tillotson 225rs racing engine (15hp) coming in at 38lbs, or a Duromax 440 (18hp) coming in at 77lbs stock. On a boat about the same size as yours. Was worried about the weight, the predator 459 is 80lbs.
I’m running the 459 on a feather lite now on this boat. Does fine with it. One thing about a marine engine, hp is useless if you don’t have the bottom end to get up on plane. You want get that with a small block. My opinion is either 420 or 459. The 459 has the longer stroke which is more torque. I love mine. About to put a stage one on it with a Robertson torque tube. Going to see how that does. I run 23 alone and 21 with 2 people and 20 with 3 ppl. With the built small block, I got 23 alone and like 16 with 2 ppl and couldn’t get on plane with 3
I’m thinking about going with the duromax 440. You can get a lot of after market parts for that engine. I’m not sure about the 459. Another thing. I don’t know what long tail kit to go with. Beaver tail, beaver dam mud runner, mud skipper, swamp runner, or backwater. The back water is expensive…
@@t-bone1890 never ran a long tail. If I was going to buy one it would be between the swamp runner and beaver dam kit. You are right though there ain’t many parts for the 459 yet. A lot of 420 parts fit it but a lot dont. I’ve also read a lot that the duromax 18 is more like 13 and the number is a selling point. No idea though I’ve only ran the predators. In my opinion, if I was starting fresh, I would do the 459 predator again and a swamp runner. I deal with a lot of open water is why I went surface drive. If I was back in the marsh more or in rough conditions more, then I would have the long tail. IMO, the backwater is a beast of an engine but the short long tail to me is no better than a surface drive and less speed. The true long tail is pushing the boat from the wake behind the boat so it will run more shallow by far. The twister kit is essentially a surface drive no matter what they call it
I wish I could make out how you mounted your electric trim
Not bad ive seen similar builds at about 13hp on the dyno. Seems to be plenty for cruising.
I've seen a stage 2 make 17 HP on a dyno.
@@fish_R_stinky69 to think of builds in stages is absolutely kudacris
@@jimholesaw6597 Nah, it's aight.
Have you given any thought to the clutch kit that mud skipper recently came out with? Centrifugal setup. Sure would be nice to let off the gas and not still go forward sometimes. I have a 1542 with a stage 1 Honda gx390 (13hp).
Well at this point I have already sold my twister kit and upgraded to the feather lite surface drive which has a centrifugal clutch. And to be honest I don’t like the clutch at all. The neutral part is great, but trying to idle no wake zones and trying to park the boat to hunt is not so good. Centrifugal clutch when it gets some heat to it gets grabby and jumpy. Also the slowest I can make my boat go with it is like 4mph cause the engine must be reved up some to make it engage
@@codylanning1524 I'm glad you said that. I was wondering about the negatives and having to constantly give it light throttle just to idle around would get a little bit annoying. Are you getting more speed with the surface drive? They seem to be a little faster when using the same engines. This season was the first on my twister and after next year I'll probably switch it up
2 ppl I’m getting 22mph. Alone I’m getting 24mph. Coming soon is a stage 1 to this one with a Torqe tube on it so hopefully I can increase that some
@@codylanning1524 have you thought about changing the springs out in the clutch to make it catch at a lower RPM
@@turneynicholas no I have not. Haven’t studied that clutch enough to see if I can even get to it. I still want the neutral but once it gets warm it’s very jerky and grabs. Hard to go easy with it. That’s my dislike. Also, unless it has changed, mudskipper didn’t have a replacement for it last time I looked.
I have a 1436 with mudskipper twister and get 22mph with a stock 459cc HF
I think with the 212 you gotta leave on the govener or buy one of those coils that limits it to 5000 rpm
It spun the builit rod bearings and eat the crank. Only way to get that kind of power out of a small block is to tack it up
@codylanning1524 I assume after you built yours, there was no Rev limiter... so it could have been peaking at 8k or more whenever u lift the prop from the water
@@spldrong never reved it that hard. I’d say it would have went past 9k easy. I was turning that 6.5” prop to 6k or better. But never hit anything and blew the prop out to let it rev to the sky. Had royal purple oil with zinc in it too.
Please can I get more info on what fuel pump set up you have
On that one I had an Amazon low psi electric “thumper” pump. I don’t remember exactly what it was though. It was a 1-3 psi if I remember right.
@@codylanning1524 dude thanks I'm having fuel starvation issues with NY nibbie this maybe the solution
@@alanstewart1491 it is an easy thing to test. If I remember right the fuel pump was only $30 or so.
What do you mean by the mudskipper prop is "Slipping"? I just got one and about half throttle is sounds like it stops biting.
Spinning a lot more rpm and not going as fast. Prop just isn’t efficient as the aluminum props I were running.
@@codylanning1524 What prop do you recommend?
@@claybush9143 6.5 for heavy and 7” for lighter just normal aluminum props
Nice boat and set up, seems fast to me I'd be completely satisfied with a mudmotor at that level. What size is the boat seems a perfect match?
It’s a 12x32. That was a 212 hemi built to stage 3. Slung the rod bearing 10 min after this video. It now has a predator 459 with a feather lite surface drive. With it, it does 24mph with me and 22 mph with 2, 200 lb people in it.
@@codylanning1524 Is the predator more quiet or louder? Do you like the 212 Hemi better aside from the rod bearing issue?
Hey man! I got a 22hp twister and a 1542 and I’m only getting 10 mph my prop seems to slip excessively, any tips or advice??
2 or 3 blade prop on the twister? What diameter prop? Cavitation plate?
Do you think that swapping out the bearings with higher quality ones will improve its reliability?
I'm an hovercraft builder and I'm troubled up between choosing a Cr-500 motorbike motor, or just get one of these industrial motors, to modify to an higher power band.
These were the arc bilit rod bearings. So to my knowledge, them are pretty good
I have a 9hp engine but the axle is still 20mm, is the skipper capable?
No idea
What flywheel was you and if it has a oem cast rod or a arc villet rod?
PVL billet from OMB warehouse. Rod was a ARC billet (+.020)
I was definitely wondering if it had a rod or not. Did you ever get the chance to test the speed props mudskipper sells now.
@@rncboy2 no. At the time of this all mudskipper offered was the weedless and standard.
Cody where’d you get that grab bar?
I made it. It’s the light guards off a 85 Dodge Ram brush guard lol
@@codylanning1524 you weld it onto the boat?
@@charlesblakeley1278 no I made a bracket that bolts to the boat and it has 2 pins I can pull to take it down if I need to go though a pipe or something or under a log
Where'd you find that header pipe at?
I made it. It’s a stainless ADA rail that goes in a bathroom. Took and cut the 2 bends off and clocked them till I liked the angle and welded it up. Already had a stainless flanger where it bolted to the wall so I just had to trim it up and drill the correct holes
I was thinking the same thing... get a 224 and leave it alone
Nah, the 224 is horrible to mod.
What actuator did you use ?
INTBUYING Electric Linear Actuator 100mm（3.94inch）12V DC with Mounting Bracket Heavy Duty 6000N/1320LB Actuators Controller a.co/d/hgWgm55
That is the link where I bought it from Amazon
@@codylanning1524 thanks
Check out the wildcat 223cc
That is cool
You people need to watch the Tai do it.
Your screaming
Can I get some close up pics on how you set up that trim tilt?
I’m actually in process of upgrading now to a larger engine. When I get to it I’ll try to make a video of that set up before I put it up for sale
@@codylanning1524 please do it would be SUPER helpful I have the same twister but for a 22 and would love trim tilt. Also what engine are you upgrading to?
I got a predator 459 with a mudskipper feather lite surface drive. So far it’s amazing. 20.5 mph with 2 people and gear. 22.5mph with just me. Again this is on the same 12x32 boat
@@codylanning1524 that’s great, what difference have you felt from surface drive to twister
So far surface drive behaves more like an outboard. I like it better in must ways, my only complaint about the surface drive is the shaft won’t lift out of the water. The way the transom plate is made and the trim adjustment, it can only go up level with the boat or so. Some of that is my transom I’m sure. But that will stop me from just jumping logs for fun lol