# Gator Tail Boats?



## warrenng (Feb 14, 2005)

Ive been looking at the info on the Gator Tails lately and was wondering if anyone has much expericance with them. Looking at it primarily as a duck boat but just wondering if it is really as awesome as it looks on the website videos.


----------



## flatsmaster14 (Mar 25, 2011)

$$$$ get a custom boat built and save yourself alot of money


----------



## VTGOLFER (Nov 25, 2007)

i have had experience with all of the boats….go devil, pro drive, gator trax….etc…..if you want a boat/motor that will last…hands down go with the devil! i mainly run mine in salt (so im basing my experiences from running the marsh) and every other boat i have run with has broken down….from what i have experienced and the problems the other boats are having i believe that it has to do with the configuration of the motor; leaving certain places vulnerable to salt erosion. My buddies and I have a new saying after dealing with everyone else's boats over the last 2-3 seasons, "If you don't run a devil you ain't comin with us" thats how many times we have invited buddies to join us and have had problems with there boats! hope this helps…….if you want more info PM me and Ill give u the number of a guy that will bring you several devils to test drive if you r interested.


----------



## 3CK (Oct 5, 2010)

Had a go devil and now a gator tail. Will never go back to a dinosaur like the go devil. They have their place... But it won't be pushing my rig again.

Shoot me a PM man, if your ever down towards west bay I'll take you for a ride.

Also for a wealth of information check out mudmotortalk.com (there is a lot of BS, but there is good info to be had)


----------



## warrenng (Feb 14, 2005)

so what is the major advantage/disadvantage in the godevil vs gator tail. The gator tail always just looked alot easier to drive to me especially if you used the rig for anything besides hunting


----------



## Brad Beaulieu (May 10, 2006)

Buddy of mine has a GT and we like it. No issues except he had the trim and such moved to the tiller handle because he didn't like turning around to reach the switches. 
Reliability with any motor is a result of maintenance and care not so much brand name.


----------



## 3CK (Oct 5, 2010)

Brad Beaulieu said:


> Buddy of mine has a GT and we like it. No issues except he had the trim and such moved to the tiller handle because he didn't like turning around to reach the switches.
> Reliability with any motor is a result of maintenance and care not so much brand name.


The trim and clutch controls have all been moved to the tiller box on all 2011's and newer.

As for the advantages and differences they can be vast, but it depends on what type of terrain you are running.

I love my GTR for instant reverse, trim, and nuetral. (of which GD has none of those options) And if I had to pick just one of those features it has to be the trim. The ability to trim down into the mud and get up on a plane in ZERO water is incredible. Something that you just have to experience. I had a much harder time (i.e. using all my strength to keep the prop down in the mud) on my old GDSD to get going in the *****.

Yes there is more maintance associated with a GT over a GD simply because there are more parts.. Look at this way, would you ever own an outboard with out trim, nuetral, or reverse??

Lastly test drive 4 big brands and see which one you like best. GoDevil, Prodrive, Gatortail, and Mudbuddy.


----------



## Dgeddings (Sep 16, 2010)

whats the problem with prodrive? I only ask cause I was looking at one of their rigs recently


----------



## 3CK (Oct 5, 2010)

Dgeddings said:


> whats the problem with prodrive? I only ask cause I was looking at one of their rigs recently


No problem with pro drive. The Full Power reverse system is very cool, but not practical for the areas I run mostly.

Pro Drives work off a geared drive system, where the 3 other major brands are belt driven.


----------



## warrenng (Feb 14, 2005)

So if I am primarily hunting coastal marshes that often times have soft mud bottoms it sounds like the Gator Tail might be the way to go. It seems like it would be really annoying not having reverse on a boat


----------



## 3CK (Oct 5, 2010)

Yes it works for what I do. ALL of the mud motors aren't worth a **** in hard bottom though. 
My 1854 Uncle J custom with a stock GTR will plane a 3 man hunt load in no water with soft mud, or hard bottom with about an inch of water.

And if you like chasing reds during the summer in the marsh, you will never go back to an outboard.


----------



## justinsfa (Mar 28, 2009)

3CK said:


> No problem with pro drive. The Full Power reverse system is very cool, but not practical for the areas I run mostly.
> 
> Pro Drives work off a geared drive system, where the 3 other major brands are belt driven.


I can tell you right now... when you need FPR, it is worth 10 times what you pay for it.

We launched at a few places this year that were not wide enough to turn the boat around because the water levels were so low. FPR'd straight backwards out to open water... Would have taken forever without it.

Also, not that alot of folks on here are around alot of thick ice, but if it wasnt for FPR, we would have never gotten the boat off the trailer last year during the super hard freezes.

One of my buddies just got a new PD 36... sunk it the first day he had it (caught up in 40mph winds.... BUY FLOATATION IN YOUR BOAT)... cleaned it up and had it running again by the next week.... He got upgraded from a standard PD 36 to a PD 36 with tilt and trim and it makes a WORLD of difference.... boat hauls *** now and gets a better bite.... The days of the manual "corkscrew" trimming are about to be over....


----------



## VTGOLFER (Nov 25, 2007)

My best friend mojo281 has a PD center console and he bought it brand new a year and half ago and is already goin to sell it….I have a go devil 35 SD and we run r boats together all the time…Pro Drive advantages (speed maybe 2-3mph, floatation, comfort for the driver, self bailing, reverse but honestly in a year and half never saw him use it once) from running the marsh the problems he ran into vs the go devil was; his being a center console when running couldnt adjust trim fast enough when he hit shallow areas so boat would get stuck vs GD trims itself…the biggest key for me whe running the back marshes is the control i have of the boat because mine is not a center console i can pull motor completly out of the water to go over shell or a sand bar etc…also allows me to pick up and stick motor in the mud to keep from sliding and making tight turns in areas of tight back marshes…..everyone has there own opinion but i have been driving a GD since 2005 and have driven or been in every other setup there is and I would buy my again if I had the choice…


----------



## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

Personally, I like the Gator Tails!


----------



## scruffiest1 (Nov 7, 2005)

watch swamp people that dude troy was driving one of those gator tails through mud .he was haulin too ,then jumped the boat across a levee.he was shootin a mud roost with it said as long as the boat would slide it will go


----------



## blow up (Dec 31, 2011)

VTGOLFER said:


> My best friend mojo281 has a PD center console and he bought it brand new a year and half ago and is already goin to sell it


----------



## WestEndAngler (Jan 30, 2007)

PD can't trim down deep enough it's a glorified air cooled outboard. Dont get me wrong FPR is cool if situation allows it but the Trim and design flaws would never have me buying one. In the mud i drive circles around 'em.

GD is good and simple but like others mentioned no neutral and is a dino compared to new innovations by others with these motors.

MB is good motor. Trim down deep but no reverse yet. Still waiting maybe one day later this year like they promised last year & year before that... & so on. I would own one if I didn't have a gator tail.

Gator-Tail is great. Reverse, neutral etc. It can trim down deep. Nothing can touch it.

In conclusion it's a lawn mower engine. They are all Briggs. If your buying to run shallow around Houston / Galveston get an airboat. If your running Sabine and mud flats go mm. They don't haul a heavy load at typical outboard speeds you have to mod them to get what you may want out of them.

I run an 1860 gator tail if anyone wants a ride just send me a PM.


----------



## WestEndAngler (Jan 30, 2007)

For anything regarding mud motors...

MudMotorTalk.com

It's a free for all over there so strap on your waders.


----------



## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

Did I mention I Love me some Gator Tail!!!

WEA, Post your video "Gator-Tail Wallisville Extremely Low Tides"! Thats another great video and look for the big gator sliding of the bank at about the 4:11 mark. Who said Gators don't like Cold Weather!!! LOL!!


----------



## TXDRAKE (Jun 24, 2004)

Then again you could always get an In-Board like this (http://blizzarddesigns.com/mudboat/mudboat.html).


----------



## WestEndAngler (Jan 30, 2007)

TXDRAKE said:


> Did I mention I Love me some Gator Tail!!!
> 
> WEA, Post your video "Gator-Tail Wallisville Extremely Low Tides"! Thats another great video and look for the big gator sliding of the bank at about the 4:11 mark. Who said Gators don't like Cold Weather!!! LOL!!


I was surprised to see him so early...






You have to catch this lake at optimal levels with the river flow being low causing lake water to drop. Only seen it this low a few times. Made for a fun day near home.


----------

