Hey guys just wondering on some info ppl may have. I have an 09 gator trax gator hide 16 ft long, I had a 35 hd mudbuddy on it, I just bought a new 37 efi and got it all on and been driving it a few days. My old motor had the Mikuni single carb on it and an exhaust, but to the question. My old motor pushed my boat with me in it and decoys 24-26 mph, and around 21 with another guy in the boat with me. Now with this new motor, I'm going 21-22 with just me in the boat and 17 with another guy. I mean if i lost any hp due to motor change it would be like 1 hp maybe 2, that should slow me down that much in mph would it..

What rpms on old motor? And what rpms on new motor?

rpms on old motor 4-4100 new motor max out around 4020

Its my understanding that the low gearing of the new prodrive puts rpms higher than than that. Im gonna bow out and wait for a pd expert to jump in on this one

Could it be the combination of the lower unit gearing and transom angles being different or wrong? It seems like most newer pro drives I know of are in the 28-29mph range unloaded.

thats what im reading on almost all post are 28-32 mph. i just dont understand

I've had a 36 PD on a 3man hide for 4 seasons. Initially had a gen2 LU and stock motor. Best 2 person load I would get out of that was 21-22 mph, could never plane a 3rd person. Now we're bigger boys, 225-350 lbs.

Changed out to a Gen3, and while it was slightly better with 2 guys it would still not plane 3. I added EFI and heads. 3 guys would now get on plane under perfect conditions. But plenty of times it wouldn't. Tried both the 3 blade and 2 blade, neither was significantly better than the other. Best 1 man speeds would hit 26 mph.

FINALLY...sent my 3 blade prop to Baggy's. I can now get 3 guys on plane nearly all the time, haven't failed yet..... I can run 26 with 2 guys in the boat. Wednesday and Thursday will be a true test. 800Lbs of boys and probably 4-6 dozen decoys and a lot of gear for cold weather.

Sorry for the long winded reply but I wanted to give all the details.

I once talked to Kent Saxxon at GT, he told me, "I sell both MB and PD and I "refuse" to put a PD on a gator hide."


I'd recommend getting your prop reworked at baggy's. He dropped my pitch to 14 and added some cup.

Seems like your boat is the problem anyways.
Is it the Gen III or Gen IV?

If its gen III your rpms are lowww.


But you had shitty speeds with the other motor.
Bet its your boat.

When you mismatch products this is the result you can expect.

For starters you have the slowest surface drive boat ever built paired with the slowest surface drive engine setup ever built.

Different engine manufacturers build to different specifications. Transom angle, transom height etc. are pretty much all different amongst the 3 big companies.

Personally, I'd definitely get rid of that sloppy boat and have a true mud hull built to PD specs. If you don't want an actual PD hull, there are a couple different companies that build beautiful boats that will operate well with a ProDrive engine. Rickey Aucoin with Atchafalaya Outdoor Products, or Uncle J can both build you a great boat that will perform better with the engine you chose. Just don't expect any boat powered by a PD to be a speed demon. Expect it to be the slowest.