Got a 17x44 gator trax the other day with a 35hp hd mudbuddy and is my first surface drive rig. Had almost bought the boat to resale but considering keeping it now. Enough said but my question is what would be a good speed for this boat? It only barely ran 20 with me and another guy(big dude) and wouldn't get on plane with a third man(big guy also). The motor is stock besides the muffler and it definitly takes some time to figure out the proper trim depth. I thought mid 20s would be a decent speed for the boat but figured it would atleast get on plane with 3 or 4 guys. My first thought was the prop and it measured around 11.5 which means it is probably due for a new one. Do y'all think that would get me to mid 20s with another dude and should I run a big blade 12x10? Just asking for ideas and opinion. I know if I want a lot of speeds mods would be necessary and if I'm gonna be carrying huge loads I would probably need a largerr rig but it just didn't seem like the Motor ran to it's abilities. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated,thanks!

Sure you need a prop.Boat bottom have some dents? What rpm does it run? Besides the obvious air filter,fuel filter, i think most folks will recomend a valve adjust,leakdown and compression test. Prob skip on the bigblade till u have mods to pull it.

I think to adequately gauge your situation Rpms would be nice to see and you should look at your trim as well .. Is the motor bogged down or does it rev but you should be about 21 mph on that boat

Thanks for the responses. Im for sure gonna order a prop and tune everything up. It seemed to be running at an okay rpm but with three guys and not getting on plane it was getting pretty loud but i don't have an rpm gauge so can't really tell an exact #. Ill probably end up adjusting the valves also. This may be a dumb question but I'm gonna ask anyways but I can't seem to find a stock prop on the bps website. I believe its a 12x10 but all of their props are "big blades". Where can i get a stock one?

I'd try and figure out your RPMs get a tack installed that would tell you a lot

A big blade is pretty much the stock prop that goes on a mud buddy. The hammer prop is the one that takes balls to turn. And a tiny tach will tell you a lot about what you may or may not need as far as prop or tuning goes

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Sound like i need a tach and depending on the results go from there

Yes just a tool used to diagnose

A Big Blade prop is 12.25" x 10P. If your prop is only 11.5" then you have lost 3/4" off it probably including all the cup and part of the face of the blades. Performance falls off considerably when you have lost 1/2" off the prop. First- get a replacement prop.

Next, a Tachometer will let you know what RPM you are running. This is essential in let you know if the motor is set to run at its potential (i.e. is your governor set correctly....).

Once you have the prop replaced and a tachometer installed, have checked and set the valve lash, set the governor at the right setting, adjusted the throttle cable to ensure you have full throttle, then you can assess your performance and what if any further tests need to be run.

Give BoatDr a call, 504-737-1203- they will have everything you need and ship quickly.