anyone running a 35hp mudbuddy la editon with the 32'' shaft is there a big difference having the long shaft or no? it seems like it would but wanted to see if anyone had hands on experience with one

depends on what invironment you run, if its deep mud then yes it will help. if you run thick veggies(because of the shorter belt housing)it will help. but if you run hard bottom then no the 32' drive will not help.

i wouldnt think anything would have an advantage with a hard bottom except an airboat if ya cant dig in ya cant go but i could be wrong

1) The "LA special edition" has a longer shaft, but a shorter belt box, so actually it gets to the same depth as the sport model does.

2) the biggest difference between a Sport and a LA edition is the sport is weighted back for gravity to help hold it down in the veggies and mud, where as the LA edition is almost balanced for use in hard bottom areas so that you can lift the prop out of the water easily so you dont go thru a prop a hunt.

Isn't the Louisiana Special a bit lighter as well? Not positive about that, but was considering one for my 1644 for this reason.


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245 lbs if I remember correctly.

i run one and thouroughly enjoy it. digs really well in mud and veg, and is balanced where i can lift the prop out of the water with no issue. where the balanced unit comes in handy is walking a log jam.

I have the 23 la special and it has the smaller belt housing, I was told by mudbuddy that the belt housing was the older hyper drive housing. mine is balanced well and does good in all types of bottom. I had a motor problem that was a briggs issue, but MB got it right. good motor!!

I heard the "la" will make it go .07854218004 faster

Depending on your boat (heavy/wide like a gatorhide) the 32" outdrive can be an advantage having the prop set back from the transom more.

I posted this on another thread:

If you wanted the motor to handle more like an outboard, you have the wrong frame on your MB. The LA special is a purpose built frame for a specific application. It is a 'balanced' drive that allows much less force pushing down on the tiller to lift the prop due to a different balance point on the frame and a 32" drive to dig deep into the soupy mud found in South LA. Both of these options make it handle much differently than other models and the 32" drive will have more tiller torque compared to a shorter drive.

The HyperDrive (HD) frame is weighted toward the rear with a very different balance point and the 27" drive is standard which makes it drive much differently than what you have now (much easier on turns and smoother in my opinon). The PD has a similar balance point (weighted back) so this is what you are experiencing 'more like an outboard' when you drive it. You may try driving a MB HD to feel the difference between the two setups- they are very different but were built for different applications. I personally do not like the way the balanced frame drives at all.