What would be the difference in who does the mods if any? Does anybody have experiences with both and what are your thoughts on who does better work/ customer service. Is there a warranty difference between the two? My motor is a 2011 35 gtr marine cdi. 50hrs on motor and 2 1/2 years left on briggs warranty. Thanks

Not sure, but I think that would void the briggs warranty.

I think Gator Tail gives you a warranty of their own. Calen probably does, as well. But any such warranty is only as strong as the company that offers it.

Calen gives a warranty on his work

They use the same parts ad eveything. It's just a personal preferene

yea they both told me that they would warranty "their work" . didnt realize this would void my briggs warranty. So i guess my question is if i do the stage 1, and then something like a starter goes out, am i screwed now? Im getting a heavier boat built(3/16 bottom and such) and i think ima gonna be on the cusp of being underpowered.

if you worried about warranty get a good exhaust, lap the stock heads, and adjust the carb if needed

My stock exhaust is rattling now so a new exhaust is a must and not really wanting to go back with stock exhaust due to to prone problems. i'm guessing decking the heads would increase compression and give me some added power but will it be anything close to what a stage 1 would be?

If your starter goes bad that has nothing to do with stage 1 work. Briggs will still honor warranty. If your powerhead blows after Calen's or Gator -tails warranty, you'd be out of luck. But then sometimes I'm sure they make exceptions.

Yea, I didn't think just decking the heads would give me what i need. 50hptiller, I was told a stage 1 was decked and ported heads, stainless valves, cam , exhaust, and timing key for non cdi motors. Is this about right?

dguidry , I see your point as well about the warranty. I just didn't know if they would drop me all together becuase I modified the engine from original form. I'm ok with the warranty issues if thats the way it will go and feel confident that gator tail and calen are reputable enough to stand behind their work. My whole thing is that I know that when you start tinkering with engines and adding horsepower that they slowly start to tear themselves apart. I hunt alone alot and definately do not want to be left out there due to a broken performance part issue. Nor do I want to decrease the life of a $7000 engine.