mine is a short , but i only fish in protected waters every now and again i run into a big tug pushin a big wake in the intracostal so its not too bad .short shaft motor are a little lighter. that boat is rated for about a 50, if you ever decided to repower short shaft are arround .. kind of what you prefere and availabilty issue. if long shafs are more avalible in your area they might be cheaper than a short. waves over the tramsome is ,as far as i can tell , the only thing . ie bigger lakes bigger waves. i ve fished with short ones for pert near 45 years .