School Me on Surface Drives

I have a prodrive with manual reverse I never use. If this was a fishing rig more than a hunting rig, I’d want the auto reverse. Otherwise I don’t use a reverse in shallow mud soup. I will say I’ve surprised myself many times with my surface drive in the places I’ve gotten in to and out of.

Gator tail and pro drive are ford/chevy. I’d stay away from the others.

The biggest difference that I’m aware of is the reverse. Pro drive reverse is more powerful and gator tail reverse is easier to use. If you don’t mod them, they last a long time and are pretty reliable. They all need tinkering every year or so mechanic availability/proximity would likely sway me on what brand I use between those two.

Try and convince the boy not to “make it cool” so it lasts. My gator tail is stock and has ran like a top for 13 years.

Good luck and have fun! It’s just money!

I wouldn’t turn down a Go devil motor, especially if you decide you don’t need reverse (you really don’t). Less parts = less stuff to break IMO.

Reverse is great for frogging and bowfishing, but still not necessary.

I ended up getting a gatortail myself. I decided on a center console so I wanted the instant reverse. If I had gone tiller, I probably would have gotten a pro-drive. I didn’t consider Go Devil because I live closer to the other two.

I have a gatortail 37XD (before the 40 came out) on a 18x54 Gatortail haul Center console. Boat and engine are great. One thing to keep in mind though is the more catwalk and boxes you put in means more weight. Which means a slower rig. I'm running a open boat with no rod boxes and no cat walks. Also, if you get the gatortail get the 2-blade prop.

Stay away from heavily modified engines.... Most i would buy is a stage 2 anymore more i would not touch.

I am like you though I am going to be in the market soon for a LS mud boat. Me, two kids and a dog plus all teh crap is a pretty good load. You would be surprised what those 40Hp brigs do with a clutch in a traditional style mud boat.

Gatortails have been the best all around ive been in. They haul a boat load of gear/people well. Only problem is you will have to pay for him to get the motor "built" as well. ($3-7k extra). Only problem is theyre like old cars, constantly dumping money and time into them.

GoDevils are the most reliable. GoDevils and ProDrive have the best customer service. However both are slow as a snail (unless you build the motor or run it on a 16x36). I also dont see anyone under the age of 25 running GoDevils anymore (guess they aren't cool).


Regarding the Longtail v. Surface drive--it depends on where he intends to hunt. Some WMAs only allow long tails (ex. Biloxi Marsh). You also wouldnt catch me dead in open water/rivers (Lake P, Miss River, Upper Ouachita, White River, Atchafalaya River/WAX) with a long tail. Long runs are way better and safer in a surface drive.

Reverse is not necessary, he sounds young enough to not need a laminectomy/discectomy yet and can push it out of whatever he gets stuck in. It will honestly make him a better driver when he realize if he mess up hehave to push.