[3CK]

I run a 36 prodrive and I love it.

Go devil=no revers, neutral, manual trim. Ok in mud

Mud buddy= bad customer service, it's a go devil with hydo trim

Gator tail= best motor IMO, hydro tilt, reverse, neutral. And is great in mud

Prodrive= Cadillac on the water that's not as good in mud but is great at everything else.

THIS^^^^^^

In all honesty test drive before you buy!!!!! Everyone will tell you something different.

If you want to drive a Gator Tail shoot me a PM and you can come drive mine.

I drive a GTR and I approve this message.

 

[3CK]

Well sounds like gator I live in wharton so Id be running on the colorado river and down in matagorda for duck hunting oyster sand rock and mud are all on the menu.

They ALL suck in sand. You can a burn a prop up in a few minutes. (I did it in West Matty last season) And they dont slide on sand, they will run shallower than any outboard though which can help in sand sometimes, but will also get you far enough that no one is going to be able to help you.

I have had a Go-Devil before my GTR and I would never go back to not having reverse and trim.

I do run a heavily modded motor now (Cam, exhaust, carb, P&P heads) and my boat outruns lots of outboards now. I ran my GTR stock for 2 years and still loved it.
Like i said though, test drive before you buy. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[3CK]

He sent me a PM that said Wharton / Matagorda.

 

[3CK]

At the risk of ******* some folks off, a well-set-up tunnel prop will run pretty dang shallow. As an example, I'm running a 25' tunnel with a 115 Merc 4s and four-blade prop. I run through 4-6" depths with hard sand all the time (usually not by choice), and can run through 2-3" for short distances. My buddy's 18' Go-Devil boat with 27hp Mudbuddy can't go as shallow in the sand. We both go about the same depths in mud. However, I can't jump logs as easily as he can.

Well there is your problem right there. An 18ft Go-Devil with a 27 mudbuddy. Boat and motor combo arent correct, and that motor is probably under powered for that boat.
The 27 Kohlers are a great mid range motor in the power curve, but once they start to bog down (sand) they will give up.
Comparing an outboard to a small block mud motor is apples to oranges. Compare an outboard to a big block is more accurate.

And i can run 2-3" of water over a hard bottom for as long as I want, and throw a huge roost! hahaha.

I do agree that a set up tunnel hull will run very shallow, buy not as shallow as a set up mud motor with the correct hull combination.

 

[3CK]

I was incorrect - it is a 29hp motor (Kawasaki short-tail), not 27hp (Kohler). With a new prop, it maxes out at 20-21mph (GPS) with two guys on board. I think the boat drafts a little too much for good performance - it has a hard time getting on plane.

I am just going by my experience. I've driven both. Yes, the mud motor can go thru sand, but the prop gets chewed up quickly. The heavy SS prop on the outboard suffers very little wear in the same depths. When up on plane, I'm swinging about four inches of prop below the boat, plus the skeg. The sand does slow it down quite a bit, but it has the power/thrust to keep it going. Mud slows it down less, so I can run a little shallower in mud. However, I've never had to run more than a few hundred yards in either at depths less than six inches (top of my boots). Maybe 50-100 yards in the 2-3" stuff, but momentum keeps you going there.

Another friend had the dual mudmotor setup on his boat. It had too much weight on the transom and it was worthless in shallow sand, but plenty of power in the mud.

No offense but the 29 Kawi motors are more of a dog than the 27 Kohler, the reason no one really puts them on the frames anymore.
Is it on a real mud hull or just a ribbed flat bottom? It can make a world of difference with a mud motor.

Dual longtails? Or dual SD? (Not too many dual surface drives anywhere in Texas)
Yes mud motors suck in sand, i will give you that. But they are called mud motors for a reason. Sand will burn up a prop in minuts because of the low end torque they have.

 

[3CK]

Also against better advice to test drive first I ordered the gator 48 series with the GTR35 painted in gator grass cant wait to pick it up!

Good choice sir! You will love it!