i have decided to go with the mud buddy hd hunter 35. my question is i have the option that i think clint called the cdi. twin stainless exhaust, and larger alternator. now i do a lot of bowfishing all of my lights are ran off of a genny, do yall think this is worth doing for an extra 350.00. does it really give an extra 5 hp? or should i save my 350 and see how the reg 35 runs first? its going on a 17' 52" lowe roughneck, just shallow water not really that much mud, lost of stumps, grass bottoms.

help i need to order by tuesday 11-16-10

Who told you you would get an extra 5 hp? It's still a 35...

*edit* Just noticed you said twin stainless. The cdi comes stock with a stainless exhaust, sounds like he was maybe just selling you an exhaust on a cdi motor, the price you quoted would be about right for that. I don't think an exhaust alone will yield a 5 hp gain though.

If the question is whether or not to upgrade to the cdi, I would say go for it. Stainless exhaust and upgraded charging sytem are the biggest reasons. Also has an upgraded/different ignition system. Most that have them seem to be happy. If it were my money, I wouldn't even think twice about it.

If the question is whether or not to upgrade to twins on a cdi, that's up to you. I think 5hp is a lil far fetched, but you should notice a slight improvement over the stock exhaust if that is all you do to it. If you are planning on doing more work to the motor (heads, carb, etc) the performance exhaust would be a good thing to do first...

clint at mudbuddy told me that the 350.00 upgrade would give an extra 5 hp they just havent updated it to a 40, is this true being a cdi vs. the other plain stock motor. the cdi may have some other parts that i'm not aware of?

IMO I wouldn't get the hunter. It is a manual POS knob trim. I would spend the extra and get the merc trim. I had the hunter and it was a pain in the ass tryin to get trimmed all the time. Had to retrofit with electric. sooo much better.
and go with the cdi, i believe it has a 3 year warranty now. 50 amp charging and charges at idle.

The $350 is for the CDI motor. The CDI coils give electronic timing advance and runs like a 'hot' 35 out of the crate. I assume that is what he is saying is 5 hp (which is a stretch). The CDI with the 50A charging system will help you for your bow fishing. It charges at idle vs the stock stator.

I would also agree on the hunter frame and its 'balance' vs other frames with electric trim.

I would tell you this Fowlplay- You will come out much better in the long run to have a local dealer that knows what you run and how you run and is available for questions in your time zone. Who is going to take care of you if you have a problem? If you buy from the national sales guy and call a local dealer for support- you will not be first in line. FYI- there is a local dealer in Round Rock and he can talk at length regarding the different frame types.