I'm looking to buy a mud rig soon and am caught between a GTR and GDSD. I'm looking for something with speed since everywhere I will be running is quite a distance. I've road in a stock GTR35 with 3 guys and a few hundred pounds of wood and was amazed at the performance and speeds that boat was getting. I've also road in a stock 27GDSD with 3 guys ( one guy being about 350#) and two sacks of decoys and other gear and that was the slowest ride ever. I've heard GTR is the fastest and have also heard GDSD is the slowest. I'd like to hear some y'all opinions on this that run these motors. Also let me know the speeds your getting.

Demo.

Although it sounds as though you already have.

you cant compare a 27 hp gdsd to a 35gtr. go demo to 35's so you really know the differences.

It is about HP --- more than brand....

WestEndAngler has a 35 GTR with a GT hull and I have a 35 GDSD
with a GD hull --- we run side by side at WOT --- both at 30 mph....

PS - I had the 27 GDSD and it had far less torque and speed, as
the gear ratios are different on the 23, 27 and 35 GDSDs which
allows them all to use the same GD 3 blade....

Anyway --- the hull size, weight, design will likely make more
difference in max speed than the MM design....

Yea I know it's not a accurate comparison between the 35 and 27 but the 27 is the biggest GDSD I've rode in. If I buy a GDSD it'll be the 35 so I'm wondering what you guys with the GDSD 35 are running.

I run about 30 with a 35 gdsd and a 1660 gd boat

Just my opinion but I would go with the GTR...they run close enough in speed not to make a difference, but my reverse and tilt and trim sure has come in handy and is nice to have.

I also have flotation all over my rig...

The GDSD 35 & GTR 35 run about the same. The big factor like GigaFowl said is the weight in the boat and the hull layout.

I can carry a heavy load in my 1860. I had the guys at Gator-Tail build my rig around what I wanted to do with it... Fish & Hunt.

GatorTail

I can't imagine speed being your choice for buying a motor. If one runs 5 mph faster thsan the other one who cares. I doubt your running that far where 5 miles per hour will make that much difference. I run a long long way to where I hunt as well. If I was doing 25 in my boat and you 30 in yours then it adds up to like 1 minute difference.

Now if you say you want to go fast because you want to go fast then carry on. Saying you got a long way to go and want the fastest boat to get you somewhere aint a good reason to buy a motor.

GT PD GD are all good motors. It is going to come down to you choosing one and either liking it or not.

The average speed on all these motors is between 27-30 depending on the hull, you add weight and you loose speed. For long runs I would look into a motor that is easy to operate,this is where demoing comes into play. There is nothing like getting beat to death by a tiller handle for 45 minutes,thats why I got rid of my 35 longtail.

The gdsd is all steel and weighs the same or less than the GTR. The gdsd has a longer output shaft and tighter turning radius and has no clutch or reverse to fail. There is nothing tougher. You set the trim wheel and go.

If you hit a lot of shit, a steel balanced rig has some +, the longer shaft of the gdsd got me off of a clay ridge on two times that shorter shafts may have had problems The tight turning radius gets me off the shore when I duck hunt. Reverse would be nice but not at the expense of being stuck because the clutch blew.

All that said I would also own a gtr, depending on what I was doing day to day one would have some advantages over the other. They both offer great customer service. Gd does not offer mods at all, you can get some mods done by GTR and done well.

I have not driven a gtr but have run side by side with them and they run well. Stay away from internal mods, if you got to push a heavy load go with duals. You can spend 3 k on mods for just a little more have duals and run for ever. Blowup just once duals become cheaper.

JD

This place is great, I am in the market for a mud motor and I really am learning alot here.