Ok guys Im not new to this, I have been around the mud boats for several years now but I am only familiar with the longtail motors. I am selling my Bullet 20xd and going to a boat that meets more of mine and my sons needs. I fish alot and duck hunt even more. I have narrowed my choice down between Pro Drive and Gatortail motors. With the boat I either WTB a Excel F4 or the gator trax 17 or 18' X 50 or so inches wide. I need opinions from you guys on making my final decision. Who makes the better motor and boat. Once again will be used for duck hunting, bass/crappie fishing, turkey hunting. I want a boat that will still run with carrying a load. I know 80mph is not possible like Im used to in my Bullet but I at least want the boat to take off with a load. I also want something that is going to hold up and not be a money pit. Please no arguments guys I just want your opinions.

Staying with a bass boat design, I would go with the F4. But a few here say they are a bit heavy. If you are not worried about a bass boat look, then the GT hull is what you want. But they too are known to be heavy.

May I suggest getting one custom built to your like and what you are needing instead of setteling for something someone else makes. There are a few good builders here that could help you out.

As far as motors, you get good and bad with both designs. Some say one is better than the other. It could be a toss up.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

I looked hard at the f4's. I was very impressed with the fit and finish. Best on market I think. But, they are made stock with .100 aluminum, .125 is an option but will cost more $$. As far as weight, Ive heard they are hefty. But, I've never seen a comparison of hull weights for similar size models of the f4 vs some of the other builders (that would be interesting.) I ended up with the Gator Tail boat, mostly because I found a great deal.
As far as motors, you will get cheerleaders for both. I have the 35gtr and like the instant reverse and it works well for me for the most part. However I have had times where I wish i had FPR. You are definitely doing right to have narrowed down to these two. Which one you choose comes down to personal preference. Good luck, you will love your rig no matter what once you see what it can do.

Both engines are solid. You really can not go wrong with either one. I have a PD and I am very happy with it. For me it came down to the FPR. This is what pushed me to the PD. GTR has since added a reverse feature to their motors. From what I have seen on this site, it seems the GTR's provide a little more stock speed on the top end. BTW- i am running my PD on a 1750 Gator Trax (intimigator). The hull is a tank, very durable and will last as long as you need it. Another main difference between the two designs are the chines. GT has a round chine as compared to the F4 which I believe is a square chine. The square chine helps in the shallows, but the round chines dig in on the turns. I can tell you running WOT before sun up, the round chines have saved me on more than one occasion, so for me I like the rounded chines.

One thought you may want to consider, is matching the boat to the motor you buy. If you buy a GTR, I would look at the GTR Extreme. If you buy a Pro Drive they make a terrific hull as well. Their hull is almost identical to the GT, but with square chines as opposed to round. Gator Trax used to make the boats for Pro Drive and KP and Peck thought the square chines performed better, and began producing their own boats. Very solid. I originally tried to buy a Pro Drive boat with my motor, but they were out, and I needed the rig ASAP(right in the middle of duck season). The other option is custom. The 2 on this site that i have seen that make very nice rigs are Uncle J and Auccoin. BTW- if you are used to bass boat speeds you are going to want to at least put stage 1 mod's on either motor. IMO.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice so far. Yes I am used to bass boat speeds, my bullet will run in the low 80's. But I want to get my son and wife more into hunting and I think these boats are the way to go for all around use, when you cant afford to own two boats. My step-dad has two go-devil boats both with the long-tail motors and both work well for what we use them for (crappie) but performance is terrible when loaded down for duck hunting. They both take on water bad when water is white-cappin due to the hull design, like being in a car wash. Overall speed does not concern me but I do want the boat to at least take off when I have decoys etc.. and 3-4 guys in the boat. I dont think I will go with a brand new boat, maybe find one used on this site.

pd or gt dual rig is the way to go.if i could afford i would put another motor on mine.

what kind of conditions would you be running? marsh, timber, grass, mud? im a pro-drive fan but gator-tail is faster, way faster, pro-drive just suits me better. but i would say gatortail if you want speed with a load. or if you decide a pro-drive then deffinately a 36hp.

where do you live? location is everything when deciding what kind of boat is right for you. if you live in illinois or something it is harder to get a custom built skiff or batou. a custom built skiff is my personal favorite, they're better in trees and grass and whatnot.

you sound like you carry about the same load as i do duck hunting...3 or 4 guys and all the gear i can fit in the boat with a pop up blind. You will probably not be happy with a stock motor under those loads, i was not. I have an 1854pd boat with the 36 and i could barely get 18mph. I recently did heads carb and exhaust and the difference is flat out amazing. Im in the process of writing a review you should see in a few days. I made a platform for the front for bowfishing that comfortably shoots 4 guys, and i have a pop up blind for duck season, and i also fish out of it. No matter which manufacturer you chose these are excellent all around boats and i am extremely happy with mine. Especially now that it hauls ass with a load. I ahd to wait a year to afford the mods, but it was well worth it.

rntmvp6,

Deadbird touched on this - but - to expand on it - the COMBO of hull and MM
will decide the performance questions - there are many COMBOs that just
don't work well together ! ! !

Transom design is optimized on many hulls for a particular MM - ONLY

Also you can't get a hull which is fast and maneuverable and still carry
4 guys and gear - at least not 4 250lb guys.... If that will only happen
on rare occasions buy a hull for your most common loads and put up with
sub par performance on rare overloads....

If you are married to the 4 guy thing - look at a Phowler / PD COMBO with
more square chines it will carry more load to plane and it is USCG approved
on floatation standards

or

A Gator Tail / GTR COMBO with the square chines - WestEndAngler has a
big 18x60 that will do what you are talking about doing and loves to "talk boat"

or

If the boat was for me and I had those same requirements a Go Devil 18x60
with 35 GDSD would do it - with full USCG floatation

Good Luck

idk how true it is but i hear the rounded chined boats are slower than square chined boats because they dont plane out right, is this true?

Only reason they would be a lil slower than a square chine is because they draft a little more water. Doesn't have anything to do with planing out.

is it true that round chine boats don't handle as well at slow speeds? ive heard they don't track as straight at near idle speeds. Another thing to consider when looking at square vs round is when you get stuck in the shiot. a round chine will be easier to work back and forth while a square chine will tend to dig into the mud or whatever your in.

If I remember the calculations right, a 48" round chine drafts 1/8" less water than a square (i.e. will sit ~0.125" lower in the water).

The round chines are a little slower on the top end but I will take the tradeoff for turning at speed (I can put the gunnel on the water in a high speed U-turn) which keeps you off the bank going up a winding creek. Seems to track the same as my old single taper chine at idle speeds.

I just ordered the Excel hull about 2 weeks ago actually, they said they cant build them fast enough and have a ton of orders they have to build. The reason I mainly considered this boat over all the leading brands is because I duck hunt, fish, and bow fish and I thought this style boat would be the best for all purposes I may be wrong but Im hoping it will be wut I need and I think it will be.

I would either have a custom built boat (most of the builders know the transom angle for the MM) or buy the same boat as the engine, Both of the PD and the GT are nice boats