Mud buddy sport v

MB didn't say they stopped using mercury units so I'm assuming it's still mercury. All they said was "thicker cast aluminum". At least they recognized a problem and got it fixed.

Get on MudBuddy's forum as well as MudMotorTalk.com and do some reading. Have to be able to filter out the cheerleading by some of the over zealous ppl on those sites, but you can find some good info. I have a 29 HP MB longtail so I can confirm the customer service sucks. You'll find a handful of ppl that say they handled their issues promptly, but overall it is not great. I've ordered a Gator-tail boat/motor and one of the primary reasons is because I'll be able to drag my rig back over to their shop and get something fixed if I can't handle it myself. MB is in Utah, so that isn't an option. If you do go with a MB, you'll probably want to get to know the BoatDr in Harahan. He's a motor guy and deals with MB a lot...I've heard a lot of good things about him. I don't know much about Pro-drive other than seeing their rigs at boat shows and they're also from southLA down the road from Gator-Tail. You should also look at some other boat types to be sure the excel fits your needs...some of the more popular boat types made here in LA are Gator-Tail, Gator-Trax and Pro-drive. There's a new manufacturer in GA called Prodigy Boats...the guy's name is Chad and he is originally from LA. He's making some very nice mud boats and used to be a dealer for Gator-Trax. Also, there are several good custom aluminum mud boat makers in south LA that you can find on MudMotorTalk.com that build nice custom boats with your input for layout, deck sizes, alum thickness, etc.

As far as MB goes, I've read more good things about the new H motor than the V motor...just not sure how available they are since they're not an option for me.

I only heard a report from a guy whose boat I was interested in buying. He was a field test for the MB SV and had nothing but problems. 2nd on the Mudmotortalk but you have to filter out the BS. Most of those guys don't know shite. But, a few are very helpful. I can only vouch for the Go Devil as I have one that is a few weeks old and have no trouble with it.