Good point, da go get'er! The MB SLT is very new and durability still remains a question for their gear reduction via a belt drive and pulleys, but I would bet this might be a better fit and prevent serious damages to motor and components rather than gears....I know this is debatable but I tend to favor the convenience of both neutral and gear reduction in the same package. You make a good point as well about the smaller LT prop- I know I bottom out sooner than my friend with his SD motor in the skinny...he gets in farther but when he bottoms out he is real stuck down here with the hard sand/marl bottom we have- reverse will not help. He also gets more severe wear on his larger SD prop sooner and faster as oppesed to our smaller LT prop. In thick mud conditions, the SD prop would definitely be better, but all marshes and hunting grounds are not all the same. The LT remains very viable in my neck of the woods, I mean marsh.
These gear reduction couplers may be the ticket for smaller HP applications to get the most out of smaller motors in smaller waters but I also tend to agree I'd want a stronger frame assembly (as FranktheTau argues on the other post).