Ok I'm sure this has been covered 1000xs already but I'm planning on getting a boat and surface drive within the next year. I rode with a buddy today to try out his GTR 36 and wasn't very pleased with it we had a 17 ft boat with pods and 3 people and equipment and it wouldn't even plane out no matter how we positioned ourselves. The boat was an excel and seemed heavier than other boats I've been in which may have attributed to it. But our load was a typical hunt for us and I don't want to top out at 5mph I've been looking at the pro drive boat and motor combo and the only thing I don't like is the reverse set up but it looks like it could have it's benefits. We will mainly be on the red river where it's sandy and has shallow areas not necessarily swamps and I was mainly wanting a tiller handle and open layout boat. Thanks for your help

It's that boat for sure. GTR is the best option for hard shallow sandy bottom. Although PD is not a bad motor, just not the best for that situation.

I have an 18x48 GT extreme boat and got up with 5 people and a little gear. Probably 800# and still ran about 25 mph.

I 'll post proof shortly.

18x48 extreme GTB with a Mikuni and evt exhaust. I'm running about 31 light and 24 -26 loaded with 3 blade

3 people in deepwater up current.

18x48 gtr extreme.: http://youtu.be/2K7dIQlMsn4

5 people deepwater with a little current but had no trouble getting up

18x48 gtr extreme 5 people: http://youtu.be/Z8D4hcWAto0

Since when does Excel put pods on their mud hulls? Maybe their outboard hulls, but not the true flats. Was it possibly a v-hull fishing boat?

Anyway, your buddies rig sounds all jacked up. The worst thing for any surface drive motor is pods.

Find another buddy and try again, or get with one of the guys on here and go ride in their rig.

What part of the red do you run? I hunt there in OK and my GTR does great. Much better than my old pd. I would say it's the guys boat, motor not matched to hull or motor not running properly that is the problem.

This thread was pretty good about a GTR pushing a load etc. The hull makes a gigantic difference in the ability of any motor to push it even if it is loaded light. I am sure there are others that would suggest the PD, MB or the GDSD as well

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=58441

If you want to see a couple boats set up a bit better first hand, let me know. I work in minden, and can bring mine over and let you take and look and we'll drop it on the water somewhere nearby so you can see the difference. It's definitely not the motor's fault with that. I'm running a 27 with head work and gutted exhaust that runs 20 with that load. The 35 should handle it fine. My dad's 1652 has a stock 35 and pods and it doesn't have a problem with 4 people. And yes, I told him not to get the pods. Even with the pods and 3 people it'll keep up with mine with 2 in it. That's enough power for that load. So either the boat really is that heavy or the pods are angled wrong, or the motor isn't running correctly.

How many RPM loaded and unloaded?

Thought- GTr are 35 yea same block but marked 35
My little 25 can plane 4 people and hunt load / yea doing about 12 mph

Opinion- find another boat/motor combo and test again

All I run is hard shallow sandy bottoms. I owned an 175? excel and had a stock 35GTR on it. Unless is was empty, it sucked. With just me in the boat it was great and actually fast (26-27). With a 3 man hunt load, 6-8 mph was all I could get from it and it would never plane out. Changing boats made all the difference. The guy I sold it to put a 40 outboard on it and thinks there are no finer boats.

I also had a 1750 gator trax that had similar, but slightly better, results with the same 35GTR motor.

Now I have a bigger custom boat with a 3/16 bottom and it does exceptionally well compared to the other two boats. With a 3 man full hiunt load I can plane out and get 16-18. Empty 26-28 with the occasional bump.

But remember, it's not an outboard and will never perform like an outboard in any way. Once you add a bunch of weight, its performance will go down hill quickly. Especially on a stock motor.

I know people are saying that they do fine in your area with a mm in that sandy river your talking about. but if you want something that's really going to perform in the sand, get a jet unless you are set on getting a surface drive. don't get me wrong I LOVE my pd. but when the tide is out and we plan on hunting the bay, we take the jet over my boat all day long. I can run 6-8 inches of water with a sandy bottom. the jet we run will run about 2 inches of water if we stay on top. just a thought

im in shreveport if you would like to go on a ride with me, i dont have a true mud hull however my boat is made or .125 aluminum an is heavy. Anyways my boat runs 25 with a light load and about 22 with a 4 man load. One the guys on here helped me with when i bought my boat is that if you are going to run a heavy load buy a bigger boat to help carry it. I know it doesnt sound like a good idea but i promise you a 18x48 will tote a heavy load better than a 16x48 will. Sure the 16 footer will go faster empty but it wont with a load

Well you can't go wrong with either choice. it really just depends what your preference is