I have two more payments on my truck before I have the title in hand. Now I'm wanting to put that truck payment budget to a boat payment. There are two dealers in my area that have mud boats (Langdon Polaris in Texarkana TX and Rothwell Marine in Hope AR).

Langdon carries Go Devil boats. He has a 2012 18X56 with a 35 GDSD and a 2012 18X48 with a 27 GDSD both in stock.

Rothwell Marine carries Excel boats (also 1/8" hull) and puts MudBuddys on them. The sticker price runs about $3-4K more for these over the GD for a comparable sized boat, but the MB do have larger engines.

I'll be using this for a little bit of fishing on lakes, sloughs and in the bayou. Its other intended use is for transportation for getting way out in the public land off the bayou for hunting hogs.

I've been using the search feature quite a bit and it seems that many here have a negative view on the GD and the MB. Is there a particular reason for this? Only things I've seen here cited are the lack of reverse and that they get stuck more. I must admit I quite reading past threads after the fourth search page.

So, GD boat with GDSD for ~$12-13K, Excel with MB for ~$17K or (insert option here)? Looking to buy in Sept/Oct when I get tons of O/T oppurtunities at work.

Just because you have a mb and gd dealer close by dont mean you are limited to those motors. I'm sure gator tail has someone in the area that will help you out.

What ever motor you get, make sure it has reverse... Can't go wrong with the 2 motors that offer reverse. And I've seen first hand how a excel pd combo performs and its sucks! Go with a custom boat and get exactly what you want! Custom boats will cost you less and are built just as good or better than production boats

Put some gas in that paid off truck and carry your ass to la and visit gaytortail and prodrive. Make a descision there. Gd to me is dangerous due to no neutral. Mb well..... some folks like em. Get one with reverse. That means gtr or pd unless you want to cross your fingers that you can find a unicorn and be a guinea pig.

There r lots here that rag on mud buddy. Through the years mb has done many retarded things with very poor customer service. I would stay away.

People rag on gd a Lil because they lack options, r very basic but gd has excellent customer service and is a great company. If I were u-which I'm not I would look at gd gt and pd

My opinion

Talk to duckhunterf250 he is In Atlanta tx and he build my rig and I'm very pleased!!! He will build u a sweet rig. I had ordered an excel but deal went south so I'm glad I got Rj to build mine he's a stand up guy! U can check out my build on mmt

Go with the excel/butt buddy combo, you love not having reverse and a ton of unnecessary boxes in the boat. BTW I hear they come with a free pair of white sunglasses now...

There r lots here that rag on mud buddy. Through the years mb has done many retarded things with very poor customer service. I would stay away.

People rag on gd a Lil because they lack options, r very basic but gd has excellent customer service and is a great company. If I were u-which I'm not I would look at gd gt and pd

My opinion

Just take ur time and research u will thank yourself later on in the long run. There is custom builders on here that do great work as we'll as the big guys just get what fits u

I love my go devil surface drive and the thing is very reliable. It is easy to maintain and less stuff to break. The motor is weight balanced so one finger can pull the motor out of water. On idle the boat travels less than one mile an hour. It is not dangerous at all. It has zero vibration and the three bladed prop works wonders. I find it has great performance in shallow and deep grassy water. However, it is not the best motor for that solid mud stuff you see in you tube. That type of terrain is better fit for a GTR or a PD. People on this site love to hate on GD. They mostly only hate on it for not having a clutch. Well I will take my smooth riding motor anyday.
As far as neutral I have found an easy solution. I took a rope and a hook and I just take my one finger and pull the motor up out of the water and hook it to the bottom of the boat. This gives you a cheap version of neutral. I do that and crab all damn day.
I also really like what GTR offers. They have some great motors and I will eventually get a bigger boat with a GTR on it. My friend has a PD and it seems to always have issues. However they have great service and his motor performs well when working. The issues he has could be from the way he uses it. I absolutely do not like the way the mud buddy drives. I also do not like that they are from Utah. All other manufactures are located closer to us and they offer great service.

Get a long tail.

I have an Excel/MB combo and quite frankly, I enjoy it. It does get old not having reverse but I can deal with it.

Gator Tail has a dealer up near you http://www.wccustomboats.com/ check them out!

Here are some nice setups http://gator-tail.com/packagedeals.html

I'm in Texarkana. Message me if you want to check out a Brother Breaux custom boat with a 35 GTR.

Buy my boat.

Look at it this way. Buy a boat locally that you might end up not liking or make the drive 1 time to get a custom boat that you Designed and will be happy with

Check out wc custom, he's a gator tail dealer and builds one hell of a boat