Motor talk...Mudbuddy or Gatortail?

Need to get a new motor for the GatorTrax. It is leaking oil, pretty bad, at the gasket crank case between the oil sensor and oil filter, that is where they all leak eventually. I'm told by experts I should not run it any more or it could crack the block. So I'm not going to mess with fixing it, I'm just going to sell the motor and get a new one, I'm might just get a whole new boat.



As far as motor goes, looking at the Mudbuddy HDR 40 EFI or the GTR40. My heart is telling me mudbuddy, my brain is telling me GTR. I'm hearing the GTR is easier to work on. I just don't like the look of the GTR, and the higher profile I really do not like. 10 years ago if I made this post it would turn into a 20 page debate and get locked, now it is kinda dead around here...

How much to repair the problem?

You are better off to just buy a new Briggs motor, like 3.5 to 4k, and put the lower unit on there, vs paying someone to repair it. But from what I’m told, there is market for that motor, oil leak and all, there are many out there that like working on these things. It has a new clutch.

I don't know, but I'm starting to get the itch for a boat again. I'm probably going with a mud buddy.

Mudbuddy gets my vote but it's your deal might be best to just upgrade all at the same time could be a deal setting out there /

Take a look at Pro-Drive's. If you get in a bad spot from time to time the full power reverse offered will get you out of trouble. It lifts the whole back of the boat up and pulls you out. That is what we use here in marshes of SE Louisiana.

No help with the mud buddy Guy but we have 2 gator tails and have zero complaints.

That is a good motor, good boat, and good company. But don't think I want gear driven lower unit, as many stumps as I hit. If it wasn't for all the stumps I hit, I would for sure get a prodrive or even an outboard.

Yeah, I'm like 90% gatortail, up from 80% lol. I'm mainly leaning gatortail because mohunter will get mad at me if I get mudbuddy.

I would not get the pro, mohunter already yelling at me I posted the wrong motor...

LOL, I was wondering about that. Then I started looking at it and thought the shorter handle may be good for me. I have a 6'7" wing span so the only complaint I have is that I'm too close to the grab bar when I'm running. Literally with my ribs dang near on it and that ain't good. I'm gonna talk to a welder about putting in a new receiver in 6" or so forward in the off season.

Technically I also don't prefer the high profile like you, Guy. I very rarely hunt out of the boat so it isn't that big a deal.

BDB was telling me he could not get under a bridge once, where a mudbuddy probably would have. But even if you do not hunt out of the boat, lower profile is just better, the boat hides better, there is nothing positive about a higher profile motor. My momarsh I cut down the transome as low as a I could to ge the lowest profile possible.

Between the 3rd and 4th on my list I’d go with number 3 gator tail.

I’d glance at that FNR Go devil too if I was you.

Gator

I wouldn't put a lot of thought in the height of the motors. That bridge I couldn't under is a lake I've not been to in 4 years and may never go back to it again. Hiding the motor is not a big deal, I have a 21 ft boat and my boat hides as good as my buddies 17.5 ft Prodigy.....with a mudbuddy. We don't hunt out of our boats though, we can his if he puts the boats blind on but he never does. The handle/throttle on the GT is better imo. I hate my buddies handle on his mud buddy. Mohunter can give you his opinion on handles as he's used both also.

This is really pretty simple....choose the one that's most reliable and you can work on or take to someone local to work on.

Guy I would go with a gator tail. If you sell that motor what do you want for it. Or if you want to get it rebuilt let me know. I am working with gator tail right now to get setup as a service dealer. Where have you priced the motor from.

what do you have against go-devil?

Either Pro Drive or Gator Tail. Mud Buddy’s are for couyons …. 😜🤔😜

Honestly they are all just lawn mower motors on a lower unit. Go with what you have confidence in and like. Go with the one that has the closest dealer with the best service.

Pro Drive is gear driven with full power reverse. They are a little heavier and in my opinion a little slower but more durable. Gator Tail and Mud Buddy are belt driven. To me Gator Tail is the best out of the two. You see very few Mud Buddys in the marshes of southwest Louisiana and there is a reason for that. Don’t forget Go Devil makes a surface drive too.

Good luck.
Big Hutch

Guy stick with Mudbuddy and get you a Subaru for a tow vehicle. Should suit you well!

My momarsh has a subaru motor, I would be matching. That’s a good idea, thanks Barney you’re such a nice guy.

Whichever handle fits you better plus dealer support,The new 40s arent as forgiving as the 35s but they do run better,since covid B&Stratton have had some issues especially parts avalibility.Good luck with either one.

I did alot of research before I bought my rig. For the guys saying pro drive It was clear to me that pro drive was the way to go if you were hunting heavy vegetation/mud.
Thats not our case in North Texas/ok. Stumps are what we deal with and MB or GT were the the obvious choices. I can only speak of MB with my experience driving my buddies rig ....I'm delighted I went with GT

I was gonna say basing what motor to get off the fact one couldn't get under a specific bridge is kinda silly. If your boat and motor are hidden well, ducks working above can't tell if that GT is sitting up a few inches higher LOL. But I get it, higher profile is definitely not an advantage. IMO it's waaaay less important than other factors.

I'm not basing my decision on one single factor, I'm looking at the accumulation of all the factors. But I would say the higher profile is less about getting hunter bridges, and more about hiding it, and higher profile motor "sticks out more" vs a lower profile motor. Those are juct facts, and one factor to consider.

Thanks, I like it. No trim it looks like? One less thing to go wrong is a positive. Shortly after getting my mudbuddy the trim went out, wiring issue. Glad it went out with my prop in the water, or I would have been SOL. Mohunter had same issue with his new gatortail. Not sure how mush work it takes to handle that motor without a trim. I imagine it finds the surface pretty easy on its own with the fins.. and I bet with the angle of the shaft it bounces off the stumps pretty well..

Again, a hidden motor being up a little higher means nothing to ducks. I'm saying that isn't much of a factor.

I disagree it means nothing to the ducks. It is ok to minimize it, but to say "nothing" is silly. There is nothing positive about a higher profile, you can say nothing about that. Higher profile also grabs more crap going through brush.. I have had a limb grab my dip stick (lost it in the process) and also snag my fuel pump and bust it, I was able to duck tap it to get me back to the ramp. "I'm saying that isn't much of a factor", I can agree with that, I'm not sure how much higher it is really, I could just eyeball it and see it is higher. Obviously, the higher the more of a factor it is.

Agree to disagree

Not a bad deal if you're going with just a motor.

I'm waiting on that 50hp PD they keep teasing.

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I watched a video they put out on it. I like quiet and more robust (at least in theory). I'm a bit concerned about the water cooling panel thing that runs under the boat. These boats get beat up pretty good, not sure how that's gonna work in the long run. Time will tell I suppose.

I would be willing to bet a stock 40hp Gatortail still outperforms that 50hp Prodrive with or without a hunt load, and doubt your able to build a true custom boat with that motor due to all the coolant lines and radiator that is mounted in that Pro drive boat, more of a novelty than anything else for those that don’t run in the heavy thick stuff or timber.

I would tear that back hydraulic line to the instant reverse completely off my first time out in the buck brush no doubt with my luck.

Keel cooling has been around for a long time. I know this application is different but it shouldn't be too complex. I feel like the OB power head will be miles better than the lawnmower motor. OBs are historically more reliable and lighter. Who doesn't love the idea of lighter, more powerful and reliable mudmotor? I suppose we'll see if the juice is worth the squeeze.

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Alittle off topic, but do the weight of these rigs not bother yall? 300lb motor 600lb+ hull. Add fuel, battery and your gear your breaking 1200 lbs pretty easily.

I use to have a 20' gator Trax with a 46hp mud buddy. The boat was a tank and went everywhere I wanted to go. But dang it was a PITA to move around while not under power. Loading, unloading, picking up decoys, all that stuff. I ended up selling it bc it just didn't fit my hunting style.

Now I'm looking at something small, need something alittle bigger than a momarsh. But just want a 14-16' hull with like a 23 or 25hp SD.

Ditto. I hunted a WC Custom 1854 with 36 prodrive for a few years. Great boat, go anywhere, but HEAVY. I sold it off and downsized to a 13' fiberglass sneakbox with a 15hp OB. I absolutely love it.

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If timber is t an issue for you a little on John boat with a copperhead motor on the back might be the trick. If you want something more designed for gear carrying a load etc there are several folks out there that make custom boats then put a smaller MM on it.

It all depends on what your application is. I have a 21ft WC and it has a 3/16" bottom. Believe me....its a tank. But I run big water and crappie fish out of mine....wouldn't have it any other way. Me and my buddy who has the prodigy....Pete just applied a new coat of GG on our boats. The prodigy has dimples on the bottom, mine is still almost perfect. My boat being flat bottom obviously is not a good fishing boat BUT.....the weight helps out a lot when trying to stay on a brush pile in some wind.

Everyone just needs to look at their styles/uses and get the boat of there dreams lol. Other than rounded chimes I wouldn't make my boat any different if I were to start over again. And that included the motor.

I hear ya. Looked a long time at a smaller rig like yall are talking about. A year ago I was 75# heavier and I'm on the tall side... and I hunt big water from time to time so I couldn't figure out how to make it work.

I think I researched what to get a lot longer than most folks and weight was always one of my biggest concerns cuz I'm no spring chicken and I hunt alone a lot. As I got to know more and more folks with surface drives, I got to understand how often they break down and get stuck. I realized a heavy hull wasn't for me after all the stories and especially on a hunt way up into some flooded stuff in an Excel. Apparently the flotation in those hulls is known to get saturated and add hundreds of pounds to it. On the way out, we were pushing that sumbich in 5" water with a soft bottom. What's the point? I think my ol SeaArk outboard could have putt around in that.

I ended up getting the lightest 1748 GatorTail makes. It's a true mud hull, which makes running timber a bit puckering cuz I can't turn on a dime, but I've been able to push it off everything so far. If there is any water at all and I know it gets deeper on the other end I can run it even with a hard bottom. I do keep a come along in it so if I ever do miss a turn and get stuck maybe I can wench my way out. This off season I'm gonna have a wench port (or whatever you call it) welded onto the front. I'm gonna have a second battery up front anyway when I get my trolling motor done this Spring.

If I felt comfortable with a smaller rig I go that route in a heartbeat tho. I still may end up going that route at some point. For now I'll drag my yak along in the GTR if I need to get into some really small stuff.

There is never a 1 rig fits all, they all have their pros and cons, you got to pick a rig that “most fits” where and how you want to hunt and/or fish and what you like most. Sounds like you got that figured out flyfish. The smaller the rig, the more fun and enjoyable they are to hunt out of. That’s why I like my momarsh so much, it’s about as small as you can get with a mud motor. As you step up in size, that just allows you to hunt more places, under more extreme conditions, and carry more gear and more people, and get there faster.

I started out just wanting to get a new motor for my boat, now I’m thinking about just getting a whole new rig, so I’m completely rethinking what my next boat will be, and thinking about what I want most. My first thought was an another tank, bigger and better, 3/16 inch bottom and 40hp Briggs motor… Now I’m thinking maybe something more fish friendly with more speed which is better for scouting too, so maybe even an outboard, and center console. I use my gatortrax today for crappie fishing, works great, but other boats are better..

I run a 1436 Alumnacraft with a 12 hp longtail. I elected not to hunt big water or try to cross lakes like Whitney. I also have a kayak for those places that don't allow power. The Alumnacraft is thin bottomed but welded. I have to knock out dents now and then but I've jumped logs in that rig with two people and all the decoys. It runs about 10 - 15 mph depending on what's in it. Overall, I"m not super sold on the long tail. They can get dangerous quick. They can also get you in trouble quick but I'm building a clutch for it. I'm also building a surface drive to fit on that motor, with a reverse. That means I'll have a gear drive, which I'm still waffling about. i plan to add another 1/16" sheet to the bottom and sides to reinforce it.

The positives: I can hand launch if the water is low or the launch is dry. I can push off most anything without getting out. I have an avery blind on it and can hunt out of it comfortably. I can run in about 4 in water if i'm not loaded down and I stand in the middle and I can go about 14 miles on a gallon.

Negatives: I don't have squat for carrying capacity. I've had it loaded with three people and it handled ok but I wouldn't go in any waves with it. It would flounder in big water, especially with a long tail. I don't think alumnacraft makes these anymore and it is thin hulled. One of these days I know I'm going to tear a new one in it. But I can weld so if I can get it home I can fix it.

I hunted Whitney for years. Depending on where you're hunting, that lake can be downright dangerous in 15-20mph winds.

DO NOT BUY A MOTOR WITHOUT TRIM. PERIOD. I loved my go-devil, and then when I upgraded to the Gatortail, I loved it even more.

I personally think you should buy an airboat. I upgraded and haven't looked back. Have even hunted out of it on the crappy days. I've never worried much about hiding it, just park it a little further away. Drive over beaver dams, fences, etc. She baddd bad!



But if I had to buy from the listed options, go Gatortail and don't look back. Not even sure Glen is still involved, but he was enough of a JA back in the day that I would never buy anyting from MB.

Thanks for the insight Chaseh on the go devil, I’m for sure not looking for more work. I’m really wanting a center console. No way I’m getting an air boat lol, they do have their place, just not for me.

So I guess the only thing better than a gatortail motor is 2 gatortail motors.

Went thru this yrs ago. I sold my rig at the time it had a Mudbuddy on it. That was the first and last Mudbuddy product il ever own. I’ve owned two gatortails since and gatortail it is. Now when you look at a rig forget the 3/16 bottom. It’s overkill. Get a custom boat. Uncle j timber creek prodigy etc. call and talk with them. I’ve had both good and bad experiences with two out of those 3. It will be a wait to actually take delivery so be prepared. The 40 does a good job but you will not want to have it tuned, but almost have to. The custom boats are nice, but they’re heavy. A good tuned motor will make up for every inch of that. Go with tall sides. 24 inch sides make a huge difference here in n texas. If you have any questions shoot me a text anytime. You have my number. I’ve been thru it and had two rigs built now. My second one I’m very happy with. You’re more than welcome to come check it out if you’d like. I’ve got a friend w an uncle j you can see as well.

Dang, what does a rig like that weigh in at? An easy 1500lbs just hull and motors??

That's like seeing a big jacked up dully with mud tires on it. You'll be SOL when that thing gets stuck.

If you saw the bottom of my boat, you might think otherwise. But yeah, I don't want to get 3/16 bottom because of the extra weight. So maybe go 1/8 and just be more careful? I am leaning in that direction right now.

The trick I have learned is to just not get stuck.

Seriously though, I take steps now where the risk of getting stuck is very low. I do a lot of idling in unknown shallow waters to stay off plan, I also drop my prop low, that is my depth finder. One of the biggest things I worry about is parking my boat hunting, and water drops significantly during the hunt. That happened to me once.

Just an FYI, weight difference on a 18x50 hull is 64lbs from 1/8 to 3/16 but that weight is spread through the entire boat.

The answer to getting yourself unstuck and being self sufficient I have found is a WINCH. I will never own a boat without one. Get a 4500lb warn ge the wireless Bluetooth remote. Have you two spud poles built and carry a tow strap for a truck or an additional 50 ft of line. Stick the spud pole in the ground hook the winch to the pole you hold onto the pole hit go on your winch remote and you will never own a boat without one again. Personally I have a warn axion 4500 built into the front of my boat I use the remote app and it’s worth its weight in gold.

That is over kill for me. I would have carried one of those on my boat for 10 years and never used it. But if you ride plane on skinny water, you should have one. I do not go that shallow. If it is so shallow that I cannot float idling, I don't go there. I am taking a risk not carrying a winch, but I take extra precaution to minimize that risk.

After getting stuck in shallow water, on a hard bottom, one morning, I added a winch to my boat too.

I made my winch mount so that it could be dropped into any spud hole on the boat. I could winch from any direction, not just the bow. The only time I ever used the winch was after Harvey, in Houston and Port Arthur.
You never know when/where you might need one..

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Thanks for the pix Misfire, I didn't know what a spud hole was, I like how you can pack the winch away, install it when you need it. I might have a change of heart on the winch now, lol. How much does that winch weigh?

Spud holes are great. They allow you shallow water anchor with a spud pole. In addition, I drilled holes in mine and threaded the aluminum tubing that makes up the spud holes on the transom. I used the threaded holes to mount a removable transducer.

I believe the winch weight is about 25lbs. Once you add steel base, cables, etc.., my guess would be 35-40lbs total. Before I sold the boat, I kept it in a storage locker up in the bow. Like you said, pop it on/off when needed. For power cables, I bought some heavy duty/gauge jumper cables that would reach the battery from anywhere in the boat. They stowed rolled up in the bag they came in. It all worked great.

I'm with you Guy on carrying winches, just don't need them on regional lakes. But, I will throw my handy dandy power puller in the boat if I'm know I will be traversing up rivers. A couple tow straps and buckles thrown in it could help out on a sandbar. One thing me and a buddy have started doing is taking our own boats even when hunting together. Scouting after a hunt, towing one another back in if something happens, or getting one unstuck.....lots of advantages with tandem rigs.

Hiding 2 boats seems to be no problem.....and your worried about a taller motor...

PM me your address if you get the Mudbuddy, so I can send you your transgender flag.

Seriously, Gatortail is a hop skip and a jump away if you have issues.

Go to https://mudmotortalk.com and see what folks think about Mudbuddy.

Have you noticed that place is dead? No one posts there any more, last post is 2020. I looked there a couple weeks ago for the first time in 10 years, but yeah that forum has always been a Gatortail crowed, the talk back then was the younger crowd preferred Gatortail which was primarily that forum. That was 10 years ago, back when I researched mud boats. I really have not started researching my next rig yet, I’ll take my time with it, no rush. I’m having fun hunting my momarsh.

Im not worried about it. If I had to make a decision today it would be a Gatortail. The higher profile is just one thing I do not like about it. But I’m not worried about it.

Same here, I keep mine in the boat. I can see the need for a winch tho and I may go that route eventually. My hull a true light weight mud hull and the few times I've gotten in trouble I was able to get out without it. All it's gonna take is once LOL.

Speaking of GT....my power trim went out again about a week ago. Sense I went local on my rig took it to Pete yesterday, presto back in action. Well...back in action with trim. I hunted 2 times with no trim but was careful.

Will need to replace the power trim unit after season but I sure like my service when I need it.

Great service from Pete, but not good for reliability when out on the water. I know someone else with Gatortail, trim went out after 1 year or so, wiring. My mudbuddy trim started going out after like a year or so, it was wiring connection issue, I fixed it myself. For me, it went out slowly, I worried about it going out with my prop out of the water. When I park my boat hunting, I tend to raise my prop out of the water to pull it into shallow water to hide it (some times I pull on the prop willing it backwards to hide), not a good idea if prop gets stuck up out of the water. What do you do in that situation? I need to figure that out...I just need to get back to the ramp.

Wow, wonder what happened to that forum. Just like the Austin Bass Fishing forum that used to have a ton of activity.

I still think more of Gator Tail than Mudbuddy.

A lot of forums are slowly drying up. I don't know if everyone is going to faceplant or just watching online content but many of the forums I have been active in for years are seeing a lot less activity.

I haven't had any problems yet, but do ya mind sending me Pete's contact info?

It seems like the trim unit is always a ticking time bomb. I don't know a ton of folks, but I know a couple that have had them go out on their GTRs in the last year. That and the wiring on the back of the trim switch.

There is a release on the pump that will allow you to get it to go down (screwdriver is needed). Getting it back up after that, well that's a challenge...it used to work the same way but you need three hands to get it accomplished. That's assuming they are still using the Mercury trim pumps they once were.

Mine was not wiring although the throttle ground screw came loose a couple years ago and was making my throttle skip. Lock tight on the screw solved that.
The cylinder that holds the fluid was leaking and most was gone, so I could raise my motor by pushing down on the handle, plus giving it throttle made it come up some on its own. If Petes in town I can get pretty quick service being a customer of his.

His number is 903-941-6229

Thx Judd good to know there is a fix there, I’ll for sure be calling gatortail make sure I know how to fix that on the water.

I was fumbling over google looking for something and stumbled upon this thread. Im not sure why 99% who posted prefer gatortail? I’ve got a 2023 35 HDR with 450hrs (yes in one year, i run the hell out of it in saltwater and its worked flawlessly till recently) and I wouldn’t quite say I loved it (only because of the recent problems) but i like it more now that I’ve gotten pretty good at fixing it myself and not have to rely on anymore untrustworthy mechanics. It seems like 450hrs was the magical number when things just started falling apart. Ive had to replace the outdrive already, ($1,500 since the front bearing housing had been magically scored/worn) and shortly later somehow screwed up an exhaust valve seal ($10 part but your mechanic will charge you $750.00) an outing right after the new drive was installed. The electrical tape around my spark wire was coming off so the wire was getting wet and began arching. My motor began backfiring and missing and i guess the engine didnt like that so the problem led to the exhaust valve seal (I guess backfiring could cause a seal to blow but who knows) My tilt trim also went out but it was just a corroded wire under the console. So while removing the cylinder head last week I broke 2 headbolts and I’m now dead in the water praying a machinist can get them out as I type. Mechanics can get expensive real quick (these guys start licking there chops when they see it attached to a hull but dam its just a gdmn lawnmower engine) on these engines when dealing with outdrive issues, heads, or almost anything for that matter. It really is not difficult working on these engines. If I can ever get this motor back up and running I will continue to like it for now, but I will definitely be hating it if it fks up again too soon. So why gatortail???

Oh and too the op, you could buy a short block from briggs, slap everything back on it, and be about as good as new. It really isn’t that bad working on these engines. Just need to have some basic knowledge on engines and a good set of tools. OHV engine manual from briggs is very helpful as well.

Good god man your averaging 1 hour/fifteen minutes a day EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. Are you getting any hunting or fishing time in, or just boating around? If you take out half the days, which is very logical then your putting 2.5 hours a day on that engine. Between hunting and scouting I can never see where I'm putting those hours on my motor. Maybe your lunch areas are miles and miles away from where you hunt. Saltwater?? I'd get me an outboard.

Do some research....you will see why GT has over taken MB

The mud motor mechanics I have talked to do not lean strongly to Gatortail over Mudbuddy, they do all seem to give a slight edge to gatortail that they are easier to work on. In regard to customers, they say gatortail customer service is better and I have heard some bad experiences from some mud buddy customers in regard to that. I personally, the 10 years I had my mud buddy, I got great customer service from them. Getting parts was good, and their TS guys I thought were good, they would give me great advice I thought, and would spend lots of time on the phone with me troubleshooting issues...

That being said, I do plan the go gatortail on my next motor, I’m still trying to figure out the hull I want, probably gatortrax again..

I'd be willing to bet that most MM owners put less than 450hrs hours on their motors for the entirety of ownership. I had as many issues with my Prodrive,(mostly electronic $$) in less than 200hrs in 3 years

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Yeah I had 390 hours on mine over 10 years when I sold it last month, and that was hunting some seasons 30 days a season, and I normally hunt as many days as I scout. And my rig was also a crappy rig in the off season..

The guys at mud muddy have excellent customer service. They will take care of you with parts and such. I travel an avg of 15miles 5 times a week. An outboard jet prob would holdup longer but I really like the low gas use and the torque you get out of it for a smaller engine with a light alum 1648.. I will say these types of motors can be a pain if you are not good with mechanical work. I’d say this briggs and stratts engine (pistons) could go 2000+hrs. Gonna find out hopefully! Gatortail uses the same engine. Briggs and stratton. The outdrives are prob similar I guess. Gatortail is closer to Tx so is probably why you see more of them.

Forgot about this thread. My last boat was a GT extreme hull 1854 with 1/4" poly glued to the bottom. Better than any gator glide ever, plus it toughened up the bottom substantially. I hunted a bunch of flooded areas and hit a lot of stuff and never had issues with hooks. When I did get it stuck, it was easy to manuever back around. Saw the tag for MMT, thanks for the memories! That place was a hoot years ago, but I met some really good friends from all across the coast. Wish I was going to the mudrun the 24th in Port Neches, but kids put a damper on the party nowadays. I will say the mud run is good place to see a lot of different boats in action if you get the opportunity to check it out! And the party is pretty good, too. Nothing like flying across moon pond sideways! Don't be afraid to ask the airboaters for help if you get stuck, most of them don't mind helping.


That dual rig is BA, but at that size and cost point, go airboat!

Someone here gets it. If you are going to spend that kind of money... get something that goes places most others cant.

Don't wanna thead hijack here, but what product did you use?

All my threads are open for hijacking.

LOL appreciate ya not getting butthurt. BTW, I have the Garmin wired up so I now have two Lowrance power cords and a couple spare gimbals for ya.

Mike Bingham from Crosby did it as it was his hull, but I believe they used 5200 marine adhesive.

Can't have too many power cords, I can't count how many I bought over the years.