I've had my boat for about a month now but haven't posted any pics since I didn't want to until it was completely done. Even though it's a great boat and very well built, I had a few issues with it that needed to be worked out. The first one was that I asked for my gas tank to be placed under the extended front deck and to place a fill hole on the top deck so I could just unscrew it and fill my tank up. Well, the fill hole was there but about 2 feet away from the tank making it useless. So to resolve this, I had a custom aluminum tank made and while I was at it, I had them put a square base on the tank for the electric fuel pump. This set up ended up being real nice and the guy that built the tank for me, talked me into adding an external vent so the fumes will vent out into the open air instead of in the extended front deck, which made sense because with all those fumes there trapped, he made it sound like if I had a bomb waiting to go off.

The next thing I didn't like about the boat was the wiring. I don't know if perhaps I am too picky about wiring since I spent 4 years rewiring yachts for a living but all the wires in the front compartment were just left dangling there. It would have been real easy to just throw something heavy in there and end up ripping the wires out of the nav lights or spot lights right off. So I cleaned up all the connections, hid the wires, and made sure everything was properly fused.

Now that I got that off my chest, aside from what I told you above, I'm extremely happy with the boat. The build quality on the hull is excellent and all the welds are very neat and everything else was exactly like I told them to do. I asked for quite a few upgrades on this hull and I was very impressed that everything was there and exactly how I wanted it. The thing I like the most about this boat is the way it hunts. I previously had a 1754 Grizzly side console with a 90hp Merc on it that was very fast but I never realized how cluttered the layout was until I got this one. Even though Kent advised me not to go with the Island Bench so I could save some money, I'm glad I did, mainly because I don't like to have to lug around chairs too. With the Island bench positioned length wise in the boat, two can sit there and hunt comfortably and a third can sit on one of the half boxes. With my old boat, even though it was the same length, it was a pain to hunt three people.

Overall, the boat has a bunch of storage so the only thing I have out when I'm running is the dekes and guns. Everything else is hidden and available when needed which is very nice. I was also going to go with a stock 35 mud buddy but after speaking with Kent, he told me that the most I could expect with a hunting load and that motor was about 20-23mph. Now that's not a bad speed, but I like to go hunting almost everyday before work so I need to get there and back quickly. So I ended up getting the MB 5500 and it pushes this boat to 32mph with me by alone and 29 mph with another guy and a hunting load. During early teal I hunted 3 guys one day and still went 26 mph. These are full throttle numbers.

Some of the extras I got with the boat are:

Hunt Deck
Island Bench
Two Half Boxes
Front Deck Top Hatch
Extended Front Deck with Hatch (gas tank and battery for spot lights located inside)
Bow Rails
Shark Lights
HID Spot Lights (I started a thread showing how I built them for under $100)
Stabilizer Kit
Sliding Transducer Bracket
2 Battery Trays
Fuel Tank Bracket
Custom Fuel Tank (17 gal)

I'd also like to thank some of the members here for their advice in helping me get this boat rigged out. This is my first boat with a mud motor so I needed all the help I can get. Thanks.


























These are pictures taken of the Everglades this morning.

VERY nice...i likes alot. Very good job with the upgrades.

GOOD LOOKING RIG!!! about your gas tank, where did u have it that they missed the opening. that is where the opening is on my boat and they usually put the tank there unless u ask for a diferent location. even on my last boat i didnt have the enclosed extended deck but the tank was still on that side. i almost went with the same layout with the island bench but my dealer and kent advised me that the center bench would prolly be better for me, i was kinda skeptical at first but it works great for me. u should be able to hunt 4 out of that boat no problem. i also see u got the seat base on the back box, how is that working out for ya cuz mine is just a little far away from the tiller.

Hey Duck Hunter, thanks for your help and answering my questions! The problem I had is that the fill hole was too far to the left when standing behind the boat and the fill on the 9 gallon tank was too far to the right. The hole was over part of the tank but not the part it needed to be. So the first time I tried to put gas in it, it was impossible to put the nozzle in the tank since it wouldn't line up no matter what. I also didn't want to have to take the tank out every time I put gas so I just decided to fork out more money and just clean up their mistake. I went out today with 12 gallons in this tank and the boat didn't feel it at all, I was kind of worried it was going to bury the front end, but that's not the case at all. It's amazing how well balanced these boats are and how well they distribute a load compared to my old grizzly.

The seat base works out great and at least for me, it's the perfect distance from the tiller. I also don't know if it's the hunt deck but to make a sharp right and slow speed I almost have to hang off the boat, does this happen to you? I also got the through hull for the stabilizer that you told me to get, thanks for that one! It's amazing how many things you can have them do to these boats that aren't listed on their web site, if it wasn't for you, I would've never known.

there is alot of options u can add or tweak that they dont list, just hope u get a good dealer that knows there options. did u get floors to walls to? you will love having that thru hull in the front trust me, it keeps the front from hanging on every dang tree u pass. do u ever plan on adding turf to your boat if so i dont think u can add it on the huntdeck without problems because of the diamond plating. i ended up going with the huntdeck slick so i could turf it my dealer had to tell me about that. yeah its a pretty good reach if your sitting down to make the turn at slow speeds. do u have a close up pic of how your seat base is on the back box? maybe because im a little shorter cuz its a reach for me, i usually dont even use my chair because its not very comfortable.

your getting some good speeds outta that motor too. most i have ever seen outta my boat is 34 but i run a consistant 31 to 32 alone with a light load. with 4 guys i run between 27 to 30 depending on where they sit. does your boat run really flat or does yours actually get the nose up. for some reason my boats run REALLY flat i mean flat, no so much as pushing water. my spray starts about a foot behind the rake. just wondering if yours does it too

Sounds like you used a dealer that knows his stuff, I'm happy with the one I used because he ordered the vertical braces and floors to the wall without telling me and I'm glad he did. Told me I wouldn't mind paying extra for them when I saw them and he was right. Right now I'm not planning on adding turf because I think that stuffs going to get full of blood and now fall out. Maybe I'm talking nonsense but I figure I'll scratch up the floor on it now some and when I can't stand it anymore, turf it.

I'll see if I can post a pic of the seat base for you tomorrow and you're getting some very consistent speed with your motor. I can run 32mph in shallow water and with another guy and a hunting load I'll consistently do between 28-29 but add another person and it drops quite a bit. It could be that I have the third person sitting on the island bench near the front and it's burying my bow because I feel it in the engine that it strains more than it should.

Now, when my boat get out on plane, the water is breaking about 1 foot in front of my half box so you might have an issue there but your rake is longer than mine is too so maybe it's supposed to run like that. You can obviously carry a load better than I can because I'd be surprised if I could do 20-21 with 4 people. The boat I had before this one would run with the bow up in the air at slow speeds and porpoise like crazy if I trimmed the motor out. It was because I had that 90hp hanging off the back and me and another passenger were only 4 feet from it so all the weight was to the rear and this one is so much flatter than my old one. It doesn't porpoise one bit and over half the boat gets out of the water on plane.

WOW...that is a good lookin boat. Id be too afraid to scratch it!

thats my problem i dont know whats keeping my boat from getting the nose up, from what u say it runs like all the other gator traxs i see half out of the water, my nose is damn near on the water and i think thats what keeps me from running faster. i had the chance to run a 3 blade last weekend and it seemed to get my nose up a little higher not much but a little bit.

far as the turf man its great, it wont hold blood, water or nothing that i found so far and it washes off pretty easy. you will like it if you ever add it.

sorry if im jacking your thread up, but you are the only person that i see that has a similar setup to mine and im kinda curious how the other ones run.

Awfully cheap to find out...I've seen where they helped others.

very nice rig man!! im jealous! haha

and your tires look awfully small for such a big boat??

Those pictures look familiar. I was just there a few hours ago running my rig. Came back in right before dark. Played around in the grass for a little while. Brought home a boat full of caterpillars and spiders. Tweaked my WOT RPM's a little. Hit 26 mph in deep water. Good looking rig. What dealer did you use in Florida?

Nathan

I used Sid at Fast Duck Motors, he was very helpful and negotiable. Yeah, everytime I go out there, I come back with a boat load of caterpillars and spiders. Then the next day, the boat is one big spider web.