I am looking at boats this week and would like some help with motor options. I'm looking at excel/havoc boats that I can use hunting or fishing. I mainly hunt flooded timber so I don't need a true mud hull. I'm looking at the gtr 37 and mud buddy motor. I have read nothing bad about the gtr and the mud buddy seems to not have the best customer service. Which mud buddy is the best motor hdr or sport v . If I decide on mb should I get the 37 or 44 for a 1750 boat? I would greatly appreciate any advice I can get.Thanks

I think the customer service issues have been resolved a long time ago. Just buy whatever motor you like. Test drive as many as you can. All you will find is opinions if you ask. They all have their pros and cons. The plus is that all the motors you seem to be interested in are great choices. The HDR is new. Was hard to get, that may be better now. Seems simple enough, so it should be a fine system. Sport V had it's fair share of issues with casting issues in the first Gen's. They have now changed the thickness and alloy. I have hit plenty of rocks and logs with mine with zero issues. And to be honest, after seeing the new castings in person, I'm not real concerned. I went with the sport V because I felt is was the best of both worlds. Handles like an outboard and you can still play in the nasty stuff. The GTR's speak for themselves. Hard to beat, and you hear very few complaints. Maintenance plays a huge part in anything that operates in these conditions. Take care of it, and it will take care of you.

From what I have seen, Excel is pretty expensive for what you are getting. I looked at them before buying my Havoc MST. The craftsmanship doesn't seem to be there for the price point. Again, that is my personal opinion, and it may have been a freak instance. But I saw things I didn't like as far as welds and how things lined up. Havoc is far cheaper, and so far been a great boat for me. Again look around. Many great boats out there. I wouldn't limit yourself to 2 choices unless you have already narrowed it down to Excel/Havoc. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Dealer should have some mst in Stock Friday and this is the boat I'm interested in. Which sport v did u buy?

Just the 36hp. I will add mods later if I feel they are needed. But so far I'm very happy with the performance.

And I went with the 1750 MST. 28.7 mph with 2 adults and a 3 year old. That was angling. So minimal accessory weight in boat at that time. Never checked speed with a hunt load in boat. Very seldom able to use full throttle in the area I hunt. Just too tight for those speeds. But the boat is up on top of the water in about 10 feet. Seems to be a good combo. Doesn't seem to be as fussy with load placement as my Blue Rock was. That's nice. I'm sure more hp would be nice. But that's what fit my budget at the time. And compared to my long tail it felt like a rocket.

Thanks for the replies usxc. The 1750 mst is a week behind schedule at my dealer, so I'm still waiting. Gives me more time to make decisions on motors. My dealer sells gator tail and go devils, but I can buy mud buddy 37 efi sport v cheaper directly from mudbuddy.

I would highly advise against both the Havoc and the Mud Buddy. The havoc hull (along with the Excel) are outboard hulls rebranded for mud motors. When loaded down they won't plane properly, and they can't handle the mud or properly handle the weight of these motors. They are spectacular with a 50hp outboard, but not a mud motor.

The Sport V is a heavy, expensive motor that was plagued with reliability issues. Whether they were fixed or not, who knows. I know that they're handling of that situation will keep me from ever giving Mud Buddy my business. Aside from that, I see that motor as an overly complicated solution to a problem that didn't exist (as evidenced by their introduction of the HDR).

Take a trip down south and hit the Gator Tail, ProDrive, and GoDevil facilities and try them all out. You can't go wrong with one of those three.

Thanks for the input. I am going to drive havoc, gator tail, and stump jumper before I make up my mind. I'm not looking for a true mud boat because I will be mostly running the river and flooded timber. I will post the handling results after test drive. I was also worried about the mudbuddy and think the gator tail would be a more reliable motor. Would be nice to have the outboard style f-n-r.

If you're only using it for a river boat and running timber, why not throw an outboard on a havoc and come away with a much faster, durable, and cheaper boat? Them boys in arkansas can build a timber boat and a 16' havoc with a 3 cylinder 25hp yami will do ya well.

Cuz outboard will source you the whole thing, paint it to match, and you'll be rolling and it won't give you the headaches that these things will.

There's just some places the outboard won't go and hate looking back every 15 seconds to see if it's still pumping water. I run a small outboard on the wma and it's a pain with the little sticks everywhere. I usually wait to follow a mud motor so he will clear the way.