If you want a great hunting and fishing eng. Gatortail is the way to go . I owen one and love it. Sop. up to a 55hp with a high speed wheel. But if you just hunt in the MUD then a Prodrive wood work i'm told. If i were to buy a one now i would buy the NEW Muddybuddy.

What do you plan on using it for?

One of many times I had to pull out a GT with my prodrive.

If you plan on spending any time in mud get the prodrive. PERIOD. The proof is in the puddin....

gator tail all the way bub

my grandson had a prodrive and liked it but a couple of his buddies have gatortails and he likes them better just wondering what ya'll thought?

What do you plan on using it for?

duck huntin, fishing, shallow water, i know they aint no airboat, but much better than a mudboat!

Get the Gaytor Tail. I wish everybody would buy them. I'd never have to worry about anybody being in my spots anymore. If you are young, like to push boats & get muddy the Gaytor Tail is right for you.

If you get a Gatortail make sure you get the revers plate. Makes a big difference.

yep got that!!! gatortail way 2 go!!!

Papa-P how is that revers plate in the grass.

I so badly wana put a 90hp air cool volkswagen engine on my gator tail frame i just think that would be awsome, who else likes this idea lol.

The reverse plate curves over top of prop. It push the water under the boat when in reverse. Day and day better with the plate. Also makes it a lot cleaner, no more mud flying everywhere. No problem with grass. When you are running the plate is above the water. If you want to ride in mine, just let me know.

GatorTail!!

seen this many many times.I keep 150ft of rope in my skiff in case of a GT needing help can also be verey entertaining have gotten a good laughe from time to time with my buddies

I'll offer the same thing to you. Come ride in my boat, and I'll show you exactly why it performs better not just tell you it does. I'd be willing to put my title up to anyone with a stock GT on a similar boat that can go through mud, stumps, or vegetation that my pro drive gets stuck in.

jacomo was that pic taken around the wax or ducklake area the background looks kinda familiar

That one was on the commercial canal. I have video of me pulling out the GT in reverse. I also, have some photos pulling out a GT at the wax if you would like to see those too.

its all about props i got a custom prop from the guy who helped develope the prodrive prop its almost identical, hopkins, itll go anywheres the prodrive goes, and more cause i aint got that lafitte skiff lower unit prodrive has. what it comes down to mostly is the wheel, prodrive has a lot of cup on the back side of the wheel which gives for less cavitation. my gator tail has no cavitation at all anymore just bites in the mud and goes.

Papa-p what is price on a R.- Plate.

It has nothing to do with the prop and everything to do with the full power reverse.

The r plate won't help you if there is no water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na5hoO_L7Tg

If your looking at spending that kind of money I'd look into the new sport h or sport v. I have not had the opportunity to ride in one but I have researched them and think they are going to be the way to go in the future. I'm more of a gear guy but I like the instant reverse of the GTR. The new sport models seems to give the best of both worlds on a outboard like frame. If I were spending that money on a new one I would take a look at the sport h and v before I make a decision. Just my two cents.

ok jacomo here it is lets talk reasoning. i have the same prop u got. we both turn the same rpm. the only thing in the mud or water on a surface drive is the prop and skeg. Do the math, the prop is everything. that being said lets move on to whats out the water. a full power reverse on the prodrive. no doubt hands down the best reverse on the market, when theres no water. but the gator tail will reverse enough to make a hole, to get out, especially with the same prop. now i chose the gator tail because i do more fishing than hunting and the instant reverse was a must for me. I think all the surface drive brands do the job, and if you get stuck, u were where you did not have to go as noone hunts or fishes in solid mud, and if you have a spot you have to pass through they all do really well at on plane speeds. the go devil also has an excellent wheel for the mud. now in the speed department the gatortail wheel hands down. mud buddy wheels have a little less cavitation than the gator tail wheel being a hair better in the mud than the gator tail. I tried them all. here is my results for speed wheel in order are, gator tail wheel, then mud buddy wheel, then godevil 3 blade wheel, then prodrive. for mud, prodrive wheel, godevil 3 blade believe it or not, mud buddy wheel, last gator tail. for grass and lillies i found all to be similar except the go devil 3 blade did the job but the extra blade is a small dis advantage. so what it comes down to is Guys before you buy think about what u will be doing and buy accordingly, dont listen to the guy with the special edition superman model that can pull a tug boat lol. also remember all terrain is different the thickness of the mud may be different 10 feet away from where your at, as land erodes roots are left and take years to decay even tho land is not visable the dirt may be a hair thicker or drier in that spot.

Hey rebbeer guess when thy bought the prodrives they forgot to order the superman model, lol. everybody has there own vidio, lol

Gator Tail is much more user friendly. As good as Prodrive reverse is, gator tail will out perform going forward. As far as mud buddy, they have been promising a new motor for years and have not produced yet, they have even taken deposits on them, and their customer service sucks.....test drive them all and make your decision because what is the right motor for some might not be the best for u.

Your explanation holds no water. You say the wheel is everything, yet you say a GT wheel spinning backwards will do the same as a prodrive wheel spinning just as is would in forward. A gt in mud wont dig its way out. It will pile up mud between the wheel and hull. I've seen it 1000 times.

And as far as user friendly, the GT will beat you up way worse because of the tail length. Get on step in both boats and see which one is more balanced and which one pushes on you harder...Besides that the reverse is more convenient on the gt no doubt, but everything else is virtually the same besides the throttle.

See, I duck hunt in tidal waters. I end up in straight mud all the time. The most important thing to me is being able to get out of any type of terrain. And hands down no other motor will get you out of these situations like PD.

Hey jacomo, how about going to MMT and see when they will have their next mud run and go and see how good that PD will do against a GT in the mud.
That big knuckle joint on the bottom of the PD will hold you back in heavy mud and grass. And is a fact Jack.
I know I have both of them at my picking

Pro-drive reverse is very usefull the way I use a boat for hunting.

jacomo -- Ther is one out of a 1000 you did not see it is my G t. I never-never got stuck in mud. G T is a good all round Eng. Look and see ther r more G T out ther than any other mud Eng.

No jacomo you misunderstood, i have the prodrive like wheel from hopkins on right now. not knocking the reverse on prodrive, I like the prodrive, just the gator tail works best for me. the only thing i did different was put a wheel that has zero cavatation. If i dont get stuck in forward why use my reverse. lol sorry had to throw that in, I think they are all great motors and each have there advantages, but as far as one being sooooo much better than the other in the mud, its not true, they are all similar and get the job done. I too have to go thru streight mud sometimes, i never got stuck that someone had to come pull me out.

You haven't been in bad spots before. Tell you what, meet me at the calumet dock any Saturday during duck season and bring plenty gas. Ill show you the difference.

Im sure u can bring GT owners where they will get stuck and u won't, but there are places that GT owners can bring u and u will get stuck and they won't....Its all about what suits each person bette, pro drive is far from superior.....TEST DRIVE, TEST DRIVE, TEST DRIVE.

$200

i guess so far, everyone still has a right to free speech and an opinion!!! great, unless obummer wins again???

Lol beast your right. Hey jacomo to far a drive for me, but if you wana come here during duck season we got plenty bad mud for you to play in, we are right off the gulf, the tide drops quick on cold fronts. or maybe someone closer to you has a gator tail that can chime in on the conversation and go ride. we could have a friendly compatition, prodrive vs gatortail, but someone has to be there to film it. we can post the vidio on the sportsman for all to see. and the looser has to admit that the winning engine is the best, lol lets do it.

I do have a buddy with a GT and we hunt side by side at the wax. We take 2 boats with hunters and gear then pile into my prodrive to hunt. He's the one in the picture. When the water gets low, I have to pull him out every time. When i say I've seen what GT boats can do it's from experience. I'll admit that GT is slightly faster and that they can get on step a little easier in 8' of water with a hard bottom, but they will leave you stranded from time to time. Prodrive won't. Like I said, meet me at the Calumet dock any Saturday during duck season and we'll go ride in the Wax Lake Delta. First one to need a tow loses.

I'll drive down there only if I get a decent blind to hunt before the competition. lol

I would do that no prob but i got into a private hunting club that is gated this year and i am not alowed to bring anyone, you have to be a member, i subleased my lease to a couple guys this year so i could try the gated stuff lol. but maybe a fishing trip. but look i really think i would loose with my original wheel for some reason it has no grab, i used it this weekend and it made me relize how good my hopkins wheel is, its a beast. tell your buddy to come he will want a wheel like this for his gator tail, he will loose 2mph on the top end tho, but you wont be pulling him out anymore.