some of us run backwater, some GD, some MB, some surface drive.. and we all have our reasons for running the setup we do... i personally dont care if you duct tape a prop to a weedeater. LETS JUST ALL BE FRIENDS. haha.

end the thread at we all run what we want to run.

I'm saying you're not the only one who runs low water and junk during duck season. I put my old GD through low water and junk. And I put my BW through low water and junk. And the BW outperformed the GD. Fact.

I would jump ship to a sd if I had the money.


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D1l-boUXLI

Shallow water, hard bottom, transom is sitting on the bottom. SWOMP dug me right out.

At least nobody has chimed in about how their shitty thai kit is the best.


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It's a little easier said than done when the transom is dragging. Wish I had sat the prop in the water with the motor off that way you could see how shallow it really was.

I understand where your coming from. My old hull would drag ass like that when trying to get up in real shallow stuff making it a pain to plane out. My new hull is much more balanced and more prone to actually riding a little nose heavy if I'm not careful how I load it. And maybe I should clarify a bit, I don't have much of an issue of how the swomp handles bumping and grinding through shallow stuff and slow speeds to idle. It's how it handles it at WOT. I can grind through anything slowly just as well as I could with my GD. But when it comes to crossing open mud flat and dense matts of tall hyacinths and other green vegetation is where I have the issue. The skeg tends to catch onto veg and hold it there and cause my prop to cavitate. It's a simple fix of lifting the prop to clear but this is something I didn't have to do as much with my GD. I could run wot over long stretches of hyacinth as long as I kept upward pressure on the tiller to keep it from blowing out. With the backwater I can try that all I like but it catches onto so much veg that it slows my momentum and I have to stop it happens right where the skeg starts to get bigger. Also I could cross open mud flat easier with the GD. I can still do it with the backwater but not as easily as with the GD. And it's not all the prop because I have run backwater props on both motors though I do personally think backwater would do well to add more cups to their props. Also I do think my boat has to do with some of the problems I have. It may be a bit heavily built and beyond the capabilities of the motor because above and beyond all other issues I have had with the motor speed loss has to be the biggest issue. With a fresh backwater prop it pushes the boat quickly enough. 22-23 mph with a fresh prop and drivability and speed are good minimal wear on the prop and I start see drastic reductions in speed. I'm talking 4-5 mph from one trip in the mud. Ease of driving also takes a turn for the worse. The prop starts wanting to climb and cavitatate and my rpms go through the roof. It becomes a chore to keep the prop down to keep speed up and rpms down. Solo it's not so bad but another person and a little bit of gear and all the easy driving backwater is known for quickly goes out the window. Just my take on the motor take it for what's it's worth. I put nearly 70 hours on the motor the second split of duck season alone.

So we all agreed that Godevil Is the best?


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Agreed, Huck. I salute Coco and his GD, but right now I vote for Backwater as was so clearly articulated by 45th parallel . I agree with the Lousiana mudders- marshes are not all the same and there is no one boat/motor fits all marshes- even airboats have their limits and I don't want one even though they are a tremendous fit in Florida. I don't want a surface drive either, not with our conditions. MB was good for these past ten years but it is time to move on.

I'm gona do a mini version of this soon. A friend and I both have 18x44 Godevil boats. He has a 23 swomp and I have a 25 GDLT. Gona take them into some shit that we have around here and run the hell out of them. Take pics and videos and then post it all up.


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I have been dying to drive a dual longtail. I want to see the difference in feel and power.

then we have more than likely had a few beers in the same house, if not having already met and just not known it haha.

I just got a 6.5 pred. At some point it needs a tail... Any suggestions?

Still say the MB SLT 35 is the best LT ! I have run others but love my SLT

4rivers, wish I could go for a test drive myself with the SLT! I was looking on their site and the prop listed is the 9.5x 9, there is a chart for high elevation applications. One clear deterrence for me is the $ 5695 for the 35 cdi SLT, and $6195 for the 37 EFI SLT!! The traditional 35 LT's are listed at $5595 for the 35 7FI and $5095 for the 35 cdi. The BackH20 35 cdi is currently listed at $4350 and the Swomp 37 EFI at $4950. If you were able to upgrade the gearing and/or prop effectively for the SLT. IMO the added cost would be justified- this is not clearly demonstrated and since I am only a bit above sea level, not sure a larger prop (10x8?) would give any advantage, specially in lower water level conditions and the prop submerged.
As I reported a few days ago, I was able to drive the 35 Swomp on Stu's boat and it more than impressed me. I love my present 27 MB LT, it has been a solid performer. I can certainly justify better the BackH20's 37 EFI added cost. I salute GoDevil who gave us all the first LT toy on the block!

All marshes are not the same, otherwise we'd all be driving the same rigs. Airboats are best when there is little or no water but you could not give me one. Every dang owner of one is always biatching about something going wrong and repair costs, or deaf to the world, or props busting and hellacious accidents, and I helped pull out a couple with my LT, and I'd just as soon hunt out of my boat, staying high and dry, than in waders- either overheating or freezing butt. Three different SD owners I know have had numerous repair issues, these were both MB Hypers and PD's, and in this sand/marl/coral rock bottom they are replacing props regularly. I can add up the repair costs to my four LT's since 1986, and they are dwarfed by what I previously paid on that dang Evinrude 25 or half a season's repairs on my good friend's MB Hyper.
Big loads, big water, big mud, the SD wins every time. I'd perhaps like one for that type of hunt, except I would have to go out of state to find those conditions. I think the "bear" description of running a longtail is an exaggeration for the most part. Look at all those skinny Asian boys running those big river boats or those that run them in the Amazon or the Bay of Bengal. This forum is over-represented by the Gulf Coast denizens and those conditions and distances dictate a big block shortail in most cases, I agree. During those periods of good water levels here, since I hunt mostly by myself or one other hunter, I'd actually like to downsize and go with a 1548 with a 23 surface drive to take a break.
This thread was about the "best longtail". The Big Three, BackH20, GoDevil, MudBuddy, are followed by perhaps Beavertail. If I had to go with the same motor I have now, a 27 HP LT, I would be quite content. Not overly heavy, good torque and push, simple and reliable. 'Nuff said.