Surface Drive Motors

I would like to get some feedback on surface drive motors being that they have been around for a few seasons now. I find it puzzling how you see a good bit come up for sale and most are fairly new. Are poeple buying them, not liking em and selling? We have been running go-devils for ever now and i am considering a surface drive. Would like to see responses from current owners that love them and those that were pretty disapointed in either performance or reliability. Preferred brands also appreciated. Thanks DB

go to www.mudmotortalk.com
all the info. you want on surface drives

Do a search for surface drives. its been talked about here alot. I think the majority here that have responded prefer gatortail.

But, I will tell you I ran long tails for years and have owned two surface drives so far and I will never go back to a long tail again. I bought my 2nd surface drive b/c I wanted more horsepower and when they first came out they only offered 25 and 27 hp models.

They all have their pros and cons and the best advice most will give is that you should go test drive the different brands before making a decision.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Here are a couple of more links to sites that you can check out to read what consumers have to say about their surface drives.

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/forumdisplay.php?f=99

http://www.mudbuddy.com/forum/

http://gator-tail.com/phpBB/index.php

My opinion is that no matter which brand, they will be easier to use, faster, go through more, as well as more expensive to maintain!!!

Easy there coot!lol.Just go to mudmotortalk.com and you will get the troof and the lowdown on all of the mudmotors.Just don't drink the koolaid before you make a decision.

happy as a lark with mt 35hp gator tail not happy with the price but boys and there toys. surface motors much much faster and easier to handle then long tail

i went with the gator tail because of the instant reverse
and the people at the shop were friendly

i have been stuck a few times but it is allways a hard bottom and thats just the way it is with any motor hard bottom is tough but simi hard i am comeing out

again went with gator tail because if i am gonna fork out 6000 you need to be friedly to me anyway

stan thomas

If you are buying an engine for speed, go with the surface drive. If you are buying an engine that you can count on to get you back to the boat landing no matter what the conditions may throw at you, buy the longtail. Surface drive engines may be pretty and easier to operate, but ease of operation and looks don't get you out of the mud time and time again.

Ask David #2 who owns a very reputable boat dealership in Lafayette just before I-10 on the left hand side of Hwy 90 to give you an HONEST answer to your question. He sells both types of engines, but will steer you in the right direction.

I'm with Moose 100%. My buddy has a 35 hp surface drive and if you want speed and maneuverability, that is definitely the way to go. But for getting out of sticky situations, you simply cannot beat a longtail...hands down! I've been in the swamp with both and although i was surprised at how well the surface drive did, the longtail obviously was better. I've also taken both to the wax...to get to the wma, surface drive all the way, but once you get into 8 inches of water or so with a hard bottom, the long tail will run circles around the surface drive, and i only have an 18 hp longtail. Anyway, to make a long story short, it depends on what type of area you are hunting as to what motor to buy or stay with.

I have a 16x44 godevil boat with a 36hp prodrive and I can and will go any where a longtail will go and some places they will not.I had a 23hp go devil longtail on that same boat and it would not go anywhere in 6in of water or less with a hard bottom because it drafted to much water.With my prodrive I can get up on step even on a hard botton and keep it on step to get to where I need to be.Driver experiance has alot to do with it and I mean that.Plus the FPR is the s*** for getting you out of a sticky situtaion.

a buddy of mine and myself have been messing with different types of mudboats since we were kids.... we've had long tail godevils, fiberglass inboard aircooled mudboats, aluminum boats with 4cyl and 6cyl engines and now we own the new stuff... I have the 35 gator tail and he has the 25 pro drive... neither of us have gotten stuck yet and we use these boats a bunch... They aren't as fast as the fully inboard mudboats with the 4cyl and 6cyl engines but are much faster than the longtails... they are extremely low maintenance compared to full inboards aswell...haven't had the least bit of problems in mud, grass or lilies... they just keep going... When I was shopping around for these things I found that most dealers bashed their competition and boast on how much better they was... until I called the folks at Gatortail... they were honest and accurate with the speed I would get and showed me the differences between all the different brands... I was impressed... on top of that... I went to their place in Laureauville, payed for the motor, met the owner and a few of the others, and watched them put the motor on my boat. I was in and out of the place in about 2 hours.... can't beat that with a stick... I call them every so often to see whats new and they never mind talking... My buddy purchased his prodrive from this website... it also does extremly well in the marsh...he has never been stuck and the motor has ran flawless for him... don't think you could go wrong...

I have a mudbuddy hyper drive 35hp.It doe sthe job man, believe me I run through some seriously shallow water in Lafitte. My friend has a inboard subaru mud boat and I go through stuff that he could only dream of.Although in open water his boat is super fast. I have run my boat through maurepas swamp and I mean in the swamp and it has zero problems. And as far as those pro drives, the only thing they make worth a darn is their boats. Just ask the guys that I leave in my wake from the launch.I have not done much looking at the gator tail, but most people talk pretty good about them.If your interested in a mud buddy , call the boat doctor in harahan.

I would not knock the prodrives!They have the best reverse out there barnone.I would love to see you follow me through the stuff that I go through with my prodrive.Imagine this happening to you.You are going WFO through the marsh and you run into some shallow water and your boat comes to a stop.You cant go forward because of friction and you can't go in reverse BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE IT!Well take the slow prodrive and put in the same situtaion and all I have to do is put it in reverse BECAUSE I HAVE IT!Full power reverse at that and back up and beat you to the spot.The prodrives aren't all that slow either mine will runn 27.5 to 28 depending on the load.The gatortail is a good motor with lots of power and speed but the reverse is not strong enough to back you off of a mud flat.Mudbuddy is just a cheap copy of the gatortail.

As far has who has the best surface drive on the market, it depends on who you talk to. They all have there pros and cons. You can't go wrong with any of the surface drives on the market. After comparing my prodrive to my friends gatortail, I think his gatortail is a better setup than my prodrive. I love the prodrive that I have, it does everything I thought it would and more, but my next one will be a gatortial, but if I had the money I will get a setup just like my friends dad inboard mudboat. As far as the inboard subaru mudboats go, if you have the right setup, they will out do any surface drive one the market in the mud or open water. We also hunt in Lafiite and put my friends dad inboard mudboat through everything you can think of with out a problem. By the way my friends gatortail does 32 mph and my prodrive does 20-25 depending on load.

All this talk about never got stuck just means you haven't tried hard enough. I can tell you this, I have the GTR 35 and i've been stuck but when you get stuck with a mud motor that has reverse don't even worry about a push pole. That ain't going to cut it. These machines are bad a$$. We get together for different mud runs during the summer with all brands of motors. Last month we were in the spillway with over 25 boats trying our hardest to get stuck. It will happen if you want it to. Motors with out reverse can't go where motors with reverse can go. Reverse allows you to dig a hole or blow out weeds and get you back on step. The long tails couldn't follow use ether. Like it or not I'm just posting what I have seen on these runs. The boat and the driver has a lot to do with its performance as well.

Do yourself a favor and go to www.mudmotortalk.com and ask any question you want. You will get plentyof answers from people just like you. That site is not owned or sponsered by any mud motor manufactor and post will not get deleted if the moderator's don't like what is being posted. You will get everyones honest opinions.

go ride in um... between a good friend, my dad, and myself... we have pro-drives, gatortails, and inboard 96hp subaru's.... if you want to ride let me know... there is a difference.... the inboard really stomps the others in all situations except one, stumps.... besides that you really can't touch um... but it just depends on how deep your pockets are... and what you want... the inboard is much more power than the aircooled engines... but the air cools are less maintenance... just depends on what you want... another route you may want to think about is getting the big block aircool and giving it a little extra power...bigger pistons, intake, exhaust, fuel pumps... dig in your pockets for what you can afford and email me .... we have been through them all..

i wore out 2 go-devils, then decided to try a 27 hp pro-drive. the top end speed was nice, and the ease of handling, but there is no way that a surface drive can go where a long tail can. i have been stuck withe the pro drive with a log between the transom and foot of the motror , you don't get in that situation with a long tail. If you find an obstruction at the back of the boat with a surface drive you better reach for your pushpole, but with a long tail, you just reposition the prop end and away you go. I sold my prodrive, and would only buy another long tail

You're right. That is a benefit of a long tail. Other than that, Surface drive all the way.

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I didn't bother to read all the comments, but to answer your first question IMO there plenty for sale because Waterfowling has been on a decline for a while overall. And a lot of ppl buy them and realize they don't need all the fancy toys as much as they need their $$. Also, the longevity of any air-cooled motor that is put through the toughest conditions will 'wear out' sooner than later. If you really need a surface drive motor to access your property, chances are it will need to be replace after 5-7 years if you keep up with the maintenance.

Now as far as which one to buy; I'd say hands down the GTR is the best. mainly for its instant reverse, and its maneuverable handle. I will caution you that I think the 35HP with the control box on the handle is more forgiving and easier to operate that the 40HP with the big handle with controls.

Best of luck.