I can't find any talk about the GD 23 FNR. I'm thinking about selling my GD 35 SD and buying the 23 just for the FNR feature. Can't decide if I want or need the electric trim. It'll be on my GD 44x18 duck boat.
Would like to hear from actual users or someone who has been on one.

I don't have any experience with the 23 FNR, but ran a 23 GDSD for a while. I've since moved on to a 40HP, and couldn't imagine going to a smaller block if you already have a 35HP. Are you trying to comply with HP restrictions as well? If id had to choose between reverse and HP I would pick HP.

18 44

The Go Devil round chine 18 foot 44 wide - way back in the day was designed for an 18 to 23 LT...

Works pretty darn well with a 23 LT which is 120 lbs lighter than a GD 23 FNR....

I run the GD 1844 with a 35 GDSD currently and have driven them with the GD 40 FNR as well...

23 has the advantage of a rope start...

23 legal in lots of places that bigger engines are not... However most of those places also have
a 9" prop rule... That leads back to the 23 LT as the FNR runs the bigger 11"x12Pitch 3 blade....


All that said - if I went 23hp it would be a LT....

They don't make the lil duck skiff anymore but a 23 GDSD at that time had I think a 10" 2 blade....

It was really light - 16 x 36 ----- early 2000 to 2005 I believe...

That combo was a neat combo and I liked it a lot....

Trouble with the 23 FNR - is the gearing - it has a lot of reduction to sling the big blade...

By the time you cut down and recup a 9" prop to fit it - you likely will never get on plane
with that reduction gearing setup... Unless Coco builds a true 9" refuge model with near
1:1 gearing.... IMO - No Bueno ! ! !

As an "old fart" myself - I like the GDSD beter than the tail heavy FNR design...

It is easier to drive - I like the power of the GD40 FNR and was tempted greatly - but pure
speed and load carry never came into the equation for me....

So I run the 35 GDSD on the GD 1844 - and love the combo....

But the 23 LT will plow thru wet cement --- but might just dislocate your shoulder in a pinch....

Call up GD and talk it over with Coco - nobody knows more about GD products than him
and he will tell you so....

Damn, just checked the price difference on a 23hp FNR to a 40 w electric trim. Pretty substantial. On the FNR without electric trim, do you have to flip the little lever to get the prop to bite in reverse?

Have you driven a FNR yet ???

It is quite different from the GDSD - you should get hooked up with a test drive....

It might make you appreciate the GDSD ! ! !

Yep - still doing his thing... He let me drive his demo GD1844 with GD40 FNR when
I was ready to repower my rig... The FNR has a shorter - tail heavy design and after years
of driving the balanced GDSD I was not ready to make the jump to all those electronics
and extra switches and bells and whistles.... So I went back with a new 35 GDSD to replace
my 7 year old original motor instead of the 40 GDSD or 40 FNR... The power of the 40 was
sure nice though and quite tempting...

A bit more info - FYI...

The current GD 23 FNR - has a shorter outdrive than the GD 35/40 FNR design - so in theory
it should have less torque and be easier to drive - it may also lose a bit of the extra performance
that a longer outdrive gives over sand for example...

The old 35/40 GDSD has always had the longest outdrive of them all...

Also the original GD 23 GDSD had a bit shorter outdrive and a smaller diameter prop
but later it's ratio was changed to spin the standard 11"x12Pitch 3 blades...

As to the 9" prop - GD has all but given up on getting a SD to run on a 9" prop because so
much performance is lost that it has to run submerged which kind of defeats the concept of
using a surfacing propeller designed SD in the first place... So that is basically a dead horse
as far as GD is concerned... The GD 23LT is the only true "refuge model" with 9" prop to meet
those reduced HP and prop size regulations in certain refuges...

I had a 1980s GD 16x44 - and I can tell you that compared to the modern GD 18x44 which
is made with thicker metal and is considerably heavier - that there is no motor from a trolling
motor on up to a GD 40 FNR that could push the 16x44 faster than the 18x44 with any load
from heavy to light.... My GD 23LT was 3 to 5mph faster with a two man load in the GD 18x44
than it was in the GD 16x44 - if it could ever break out onto a plane at all if we were too heavy...

The GD 16x48 with tapered hull - now there was a fast hull when light - but that is a different topic....

The 18x44 just performs better than the GD 16x44 because it balances in the water better....

But did it have any torque in the mud ?

I have never heard of any reworked props that both made speed and pushed in the mud...

So is it better than a normal 10Hp Mercury outboard - is what I am getting at....

It sure doesn't compete with a good 8 HP LT or much less a 23 LT in the slop in my experience....

I used a cheap 5 Hp air cooled Academy outboard on my rig last time I went into a refuge
and it did fine - mostly because it was so light.... I just bugie corded it and cut it loose and
steered from the bow with my push pole into some pretty skinny stuff...

It worked for the old timers....

Neither of which is a planing hull. Different physics at work.

#CFFITR
#mudmotor>physics

I'll qualify that I'm not arguing the 1844 vs 1644 thing in my above statement. People read these posts a year or 2 from now and they might get the wrong idea.

But weight of rig vs power can definitely have an effect to where a 1644 can be faster. Planing surface when at speed (when boat width is the same) is affected by weight, not by boat length, so enough power can definitely mean a 1644 would be faster, but there are a lot of factors that come in to play so it's not as simple as it's usually made out to be on this forum. And ultimately, a 1644 isn't going to be as forgiving of additional load as the 1844. Some people never have much of a load so a 1644 is perfectly fine and allows for less expense invested in necessary power to accomplish the task. I've seen a 1242 accomplish the task of extremely shallow running for 2 not large people with 10hp on the back. It was much easier to run, hide, and deal with than an 1844 with a 23 would've been, and got through places that 1844 wouldn't have.

#CFFITR
#mudmotor>physics

I have a 23 FN. The first one i believe. I didnt want reverse as id been so used to a longtail and a pushpole i didnt need it. I did however want neutral. I put it on a 1638 godevil boat. It doesnt have the ass that my 23 longtail had and i dont think it will churn the nasty stuff as well. But it is great in the tight woods and such. It has manual trim and the quick lower lever on the handle. I never adjust the trim. Have bumped 23 with it but normally a 20-21mph rig. Prob do faster on a wider or longer boat as the ass end is pretty low in the water. Id love to have it on an 1838 one day. Gained about 3 mph over the longtail. I had a 27 GDSD years back. I honestly like how the FN is weighted back as it stays in the grass better. I've peeled stumps with both and really couldnt tell much difference