Whats up everyone. I'm thinking about a SD Set-Up and wanted to bounce a few ideas off of yall. I have had a good bit of experience with mud boats running air cooled engines, even built one with my stepdad, but have never owned a Surface Drive. I'd like to get back into duck hunting and I think these are the ticket especially since the reverse option has grown so much.

I have a old Jon boat that I think would work out. It currently has an old 75 Mariner on it that keeps giving me problems. Its a 17ft x 56 on the bottom with a fan tail. I'd chop the fan tail off, pull the motor and put a surface drive on the boat. I'm currently building a shop and in about a year I'll be ready to purchase an aluminum set-up and do the welding myself. I'd remove the consoles and rear seat, do some additional bracing on the ribs, and add a grab bar and some dry storage. I understand that Surface Drive boats are a better fit that Jon boats, but financially it isn't an option to buy a whole new rig. The boat I have is an all welded hull, and the rake isn't long and gradual like some of the others. I would need to measure the transom to see the height, and would need to figure out the angle of the transom to have a better idea. Probably will measure the height today so I have an idea if I'm looking for a short or long transom motor. Let me know your thoughts on this.

Then there is the Motor. The people around me that I talk to mostly see Gator Tails. But through my research on the net, I have come to a few issues with each brand. I'd like to throw the issues out there and see if these are problems that continue or maybe if they are problems that have been resolved.

I have heard people praise Pro Drive and I've heard people hate on them. Guys that praise them say the reverse is unmatched, and guys that hate them say every time they hit something hard they tear up something in the lower end.

I've heard people complain about belt problems on the Gator Tails. And I've also heard people say they are the fastest in deep water above the others.

Looking through the forums it seems that Go Devil has unmatched customer service, and make a solid machine that is rarely broken or in the shop. However I've heard people say that a Go Devil is physically harder to run than the others due to the lack of power trim. I'm not sure how true that is. After reading forums and reviews I was leaning towards the Go Devil. It seems that the mechanics in their lower end was made as simple as possible to prevent breakdowns and shop time. I also know that they waited a long while before offering reverse compared to the other brands because they wanted to make sure is was a solid design.

So those are the things I'm thinking of thus far. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to just go and sink 20K in a brand new rig and call it a day. But that isn't an option right now. Thanks for any advice

best advice I can say is to go demo drive whatever brands you like in the conditions u like and then decide for yourself.

opinions from people usually will usually leave u hurting in the wallet. lol

btw, I straightup call BS on whoever told you that the pd lower unit ain't tough. lol

good luck on whatever you choose!!!!!

The good/bad you mention for each seems rather.....not very accurate? Belt problems with a gatortail? Godevil has the best customer service? And prodrive busting lower units when hitting something? Keep researching. If that's what you've come up with, you definitely need to dig some more. There are definitely good and bad with all of them, but none of those are something I'd consider consistent. You'll get some fan boy opinions because these brands are very polarizing for some reason.

#CFFITR
#TheGhostBoat
#whoneedsphysicsihaveamudmotor

Thanks for the comments. I’m just starting in the surface drive world. I want a set-up badly, but I’ll do tons of research before taking the leap. Money is always a factor as well.

The more I look into it, the more it makes my head spin. I’m not in a hurry. I may wait until I’m done with my shop, and then build myself a SD boat. I’ve been looking into that as well. Long rake, short rake, chine, float pods, got my dang head spinning. My step dad built mud boats on the side sometime when I was young and I learned a great deal from him. So I think it may only be right to just build a rig myself.

As far as the motor, as y’all said, they all have their pros and cons, so I’ll probably go with what’s closest to my area so I know I can get parts quickly. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but I was always told to plan for the worst and hope for the best.

I’m loving this forum. You guys are super knowledgeable and Don’t mind giving your take on something. That helps when your a newb like me. Been around air cooled mud boats a lot as a kid. But surface drives are a whole different animal. Some similarities but surely a different kind of beasts.

Thanks again

Where are you located? If you’re near Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, or Florida it would probably be easy to find a few owners on here willing to let you drive a few different brands to see what you like.

As for parts/repairs, all of them use a standard Briggs big block for the most part (Kawi and Koehler occasionally) so all parts are available at lawnmower shops for the engines. Parts for the frames are fast to have shipped anywhere from Boat Dr and mfgs so if you’re relatively handy, maintaining and repairing one isn’t a huge issue.


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