In the market for a surface drive and think I have narrowed it to a gatortail or mudbuddy. Needs to push a heavy 18 ft long 52 inch wide transom legendcraft that normally carries about 650 lbs of man and dog and 60 decoys. Been running a 25 hp kohler mudbuddy longtail for many years but now I have a longer run to my marsh and poking along is starting to bother me.
Seems that all the new motors are using the marine Vanguard 35 and that the differences are in the carbureators and after market additions. Mudbuddy seems to have many different models, some look more like hot rods than hunting machines, gatortail seems just to carry a more basic 23 or 35 hp. I'm not very mechanical and wont be tweaking the engine on a regular basis, particularly because the boat will be at the dock about an hour away from me during the season. The gators also seem to be about 60 lbs lighter on average. Since both use the vanguard 35, how much difference in speed would be expected between the 35 gator and the larger mudbuddies, and how much attention needs to be paid to regular tweaking of these different engines during the season?

Get your GTR from Calen, he Is a GTR dealer.

Order it with Heads, cam, and exhaust, and that will be a very reliable and powerful motor.
Dont let MB sucker you in with thier factory mods, its a 35 briggs just like any other MM.

^^^^ this is true...

Get a Prodrive with a Mikuni, custom heads, and MM exhaust. It will tote all you want to put in it. The Prodrives are not supposed to be as fast as the belt drives but it will carry a hell of a load.

I understand the logic behind the belt drives being a bit faster, but how does that compare to load carrying capacity? Are the belts prone to slipping under heavy load?

No the belts won't slip. Maybe it's the different shaft angle and the gearing ratio.

I have found this ^^^ ta be true. The PD's in comparison ta the MB also dig into the mud much better. They have a tendency ta push the transom up more and create lift at the transom which is normally where ya need it.

Get you a GTR with head work, carb and exhaust and do all you want with it, and be as reliable as they come

Here we go again...

Get a GDSD. They dig down deeper in the mud than any of the others. Also, if you're worried about maintenance, there is none. Change oil and grease shaft once in a while. You'll also save money.

Hmmm..... the maintenance on a GD sounds the same as a PD.....

Appreciate all the response. Keep it coming. Realize it is somewhat of a redundant topic and everyone has their own bias, but interested in them all.

At 650 you really don't need mods. If you are concerened with a 3 mph difference leave 3 minutes earlier

DDM is givin good advise. May not be worth the extra money fer mods.

People who need mods are people with water access 20 miles from the landing. Mods are for before and after the season loads. When you are moving 1500 lbs. and commercial fisherman

corn or millet, a pound is a pound

true true

Try to get in all the different rigs you can. Run the different motors. See what folks who run areas similar to yours are running. See where your dealers are located & service locations. I do think conservative mods are good if you are hauling a lot of weight. Load carrying capacity is much more noticeable than the increase in speed.