So, I was driving home from duck hunting the other day and was thinking about how awesome an airboat would be for the places I hunt. There is a lot of submerged grass and vegetation and its very hard to walk through. There is a lot of inaccessible locations that I would like to explore. So in the parking lot of a pawn store there was an airboat. Looked to be a home job and such but not too rough. THe price seemed possible for me (broke college student) and it was of a size that looked like t would fit my purposes just right.

So I was wondering a few things. How much HP does one need for these boats. It appears to be a 16 foot flat bottom and has a two blade prop on it. The engine looked relatively small for what I would have thought. To get 2 people, dog and some deocys (maybe 400 - 450lbs) through cattails and flooded grass, what would I need? Also, what do you look for when looking at an airboat? I know nothing about them. It was a little rough on the outside (don't need anything fancy for my purposes) but it looked very functional. . .

Thanks for any help you can provide, Kelpy