Boat: 1751 Prodigy Razor Hull
Motor: Mud Buddy Delta L3

Everything is new 2021 and I am testing and tweaking to try to get settled out before season. Just to give a little rundown with my experience. I've had both mud buddy and gatortail motors with Excel, multiple gatortrax, war eagle, custom build, and gatortail boats over the years with this seeming to be my quickest setup so far. But, I'm still searching for more.

Experience so far with this setup:

Props tested - stock hammer, stock 3 blade merc, worked 3 blade merc 13P by baggy, boat dr, and chris courville reaper

Motor came with 38/50 gears. I have since changed lower gear to 48. I went form 1.31 to 1.26 ratio. Negligible bottom end with about 1 mph gain and lowered wot rpm to around 4700 to where I was not on my limiter.

Testing conditions are as light as possible with very little in the boat other than mostly full gas tank.

I'm hoping to gain a little help on here from more knowledgeable than I on this. Yes, I have used the "Search button" so please spare me of that, I am just looking for some real help with what might be someone's next step to gain more top end? I have played with enough props to know what I want there I think, but if someone might could suggest the optimal gearing and why, I would be very grateful. I don't want this to be a pissing match strictly on speeds, but I am upper 30's trying to get the most out of it as I can.

I do understand were dealing with lawn mower engines, but I don't want to just keep it the same if there is more I could do and not know about without "Just buy an outboard, or different boat". If anyone is interested in each props performance pm me or let me know. Thank you

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You forgot to post RPMs as they related to MPH with and without loads....


"Optimal" - for what purpose, with what loads ? Do you hunt solo with 6 decoys and 6 bullets ?
or with a 250lb friend 3 bags of decoys and a Yeti full of tasty snacks and drinks ???


You also forgot to test with realistic hunting loads - then see if you could even "launch" the rig onto
plane in realistic hunting depth from the back end of a shallow hunting spot to get those speeds....




I guess what "my point" would be is that IMO "function is better than form" - or I would rather have
the best prop to blast me and my hunting buds, dog, and gear out when the hunt is done and
I don't care so much how fast I ran in the dark going to the blind or after the hunt is over...

I just don't want to have to drag the boat out to deep water - I want to drive out...

Also a prop is only "perfect" for one hunt - then it meets mud and the mud degrades it a bit
or sometimes a heck of a lot.... So prop durability also matters more to me than speeds
the day it was "perfect".....



Off season - put a polish on which ever brand new prop you favor - when it is all shiny it
is 2 - 3 MPH faster than when it was new in the box ! ! !



My best secret trick - once I find where I want to hunt and where I want to park the boat
is to put my oldest most worn out prop on - then use that prop to wallow out a "escape"
launching hole for future use when that ole north wind blows out all the water.... But put it
where the next guy does not find it....

Thank you Giga… I didn’t forget to test with hunting loads, the reason I am testing with as light load as possible is because that is how I hunt… I run and grab the hole then the 300 lb buddies with dogs and gear cruise in about a half hour later lol. That’s just how we do it. I’m the “hole runner”. Now when we load up and head out, that’s a different story, but at that point I’m not too worried about speeds.


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Oh..... Gotcha..... Do you swap props with that "pit crew" for the return trip -

A sunrise "hole runner" race rig ! ! !

You need WChauvin here at MMT to put that mirror polish down on your props ! ! !

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=75469




If that is the hull I think it is ??? It has a "unique" bottom profile
that looks a bit like my old Connelley Hook slalom water ski....

How does it turn at WOT in 3 inches of water - as you run ninja style before dawn ???

Searched your posts - would like to see pics of that hull bottom profile and hear how the hull
performs in the skinny stuff - I run a round chine which is slower but carves a sharp turn
even in the skinniest water.... Sometimes the fast boats end up on the bank on dry land....

We’ll I can’t say I haven’t ended up on dry land a time or 2 ha. I’ll shoot some pics of it and send. I’ve had 2 gatortrax Boats with round chine and it is comparable to them but can honestly say my 1744 gt was the most maneuverable hull ive had at wot, but this hull does turn well and better than the gt at slower speeds.

As for running in the shallows, 90% of what I hunt is deep water timber 2-3’ water in the holes and deep water runs to get there. The reason to not go the outboard route is Cyprus knees everywhere and grass early season makes it tough, doable and have done it, but tough if you get out of the runs. I fish south LA and haven’t taken this rig yet down there yet to give you a real perspective on shallow water turning.


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WChauvin - sure can make them shine - I do believe you could shave with it as a mirror....

You might PM him for prop advise or a repitch to suit your needs....

MM props should come in 1/2 pitch increments - at least if you overpitch slightly as
it "wears in" it will find it's own sweet spot if you hit some mud from time to time....

Most props new are rough with casting marks - so a quick polish helps as they are
likely just a bit over pitched for most stock MM applications - then a later polish as they
wear into that sweet spot is really noticeable - until your first pass thru sandy mud
and they again need another bit of touch up and polishing....

Thanks for the shout out Giga!

Yeah man, We can get any of your prop needs in order. Just let me know what all you want done and I can make it happen.

obligatory 'get a 90 merc and a set of balls' comment. lol
upper 30's light sounds pretty good. any boat i see running faster than that is a count to 6 motor. by that i mean a grenade motor, and by hunting season you will be buying a new block.

sounds like you have talked to all the right folks, there probly isn't much room for improvement without spending alot of money for little gains.

best of luck with your endevors!!!!!

Sounds good, thank you fellas. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything relatively simple I hadn’t tried. This is still the fastest setup I’ve had, but never hurts to want more lol. As dead animal said, not looking for a ticking time bomb mod to the motor. Thanks again!


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