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Test run by War Eagle NW, Spokane

We were very impressed with package and found it a lot of fun to drive both sitting and standing. Because of the speeds we obtained the boat seemed to run real high  drafting very little water, only a few inches. Thus we got back in areas were I know my previous package (24 Honda long tail & 548 War Eagle) would not have made. Also, when we pushed it to the limit  got stuck in pure mud with a skiff of water on top, the Hyper's power and oversized tiger prop got us out no problem.

7/9/04 we test ran the 29 Kawasaki Hyper Drive on a 1848 War Eagle. Two Guys
about 220lbs. each, no other gear in boat.

Max Speed GPS 26 mph trimmed out with slight rooster tail.

Steve Cozzetto, War Eagle NW  Spokane, Wa.

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War Eagle Photo Shoot, Arkansas
New 1848 War Eagle (designed for the Hyper)

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I just wanted to let you know that the 18HP Hyper is set up correct for us with
the gear you put it there.  Whether we are running one, two, or three people
in the boat when you get it on plane and on the surface it runs at around
3850RPM and 22 mph.  Still amazes me at how well it carries the load.  We are still
running it on the 1546 Xpress and to me this is a great boat for the 18HP
and is perfect for someone that wants a new rig for two people to hunt out off.
We can get 21MPH out of it with one person,20 with two people, and 17 with three people.

Just wanted to get you that info. Have a nice day.

Jarret Hill, Ocmulgee Waterfowl Supply, LLC
Macon, Georgia
www.ocmulgeewaterfowlsupply.com

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Ran the 29 kawi hyper on sat.boat-1648 legend smooth bottom, elevation 4140, motor had the high elevation pulley this time! Ran 26mph at 3700 rpm, couldn't get all she had cause boat was proposing to much. Needed at least 100lbs. up front or 100 less in the back!!! Would tell you were I ran it but that would be self incriminating, lets just say its the #1 mud hole in Ca. Honestly couldn't find anywhere out there that tested her.1" of water and 2' of muck below and all the milfoil I could find and I couldn't get her to struggle. Might try again next weekend and will look for some where else to see if I can hurt her!!!

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Decided to hit the road and head to DAm B to see what all the wahoo was about this place and I have to say that it is, by far, the best little mm playground in TX.  Ran on Sat. afternoon thru ultra skinny water, some of the thickest veg known to man, and slung all the mud anyone could want. Was a fun afternoon to say the least. After a stay in a hotel, I headed over to the Somerville demo today and got to meet some really good folks. Ear to ear is the best way to describe the look on their face's when they dropped the hammer. All were really impressed with the way the Gator Trax handles also. The rounded chines showed their ability to

 handle moderate to high speed turns once again. A few of the guys who came out to take a look were fellow Fugers--aDuckted, brown Christian and wetland warrior. It was nice to put a face to a name and I must say it was really nice spending the afternoon with ya'll. Pleasure was all on this side of the table. I was glad that Christian brought his longtail so that ya'll could really get a good perspective of how much quicker and easier it is to handle a short tail as opposed to the longtail. Best way you were gonna find out was to run yours first then jump in my rig with the Hyper. Hope you got a good idea of the advantages the Hyper offered other than just speed which was a given. Thanks again for comin out. Time for a shower, some grub and a loooooooooong nap.

BC, aduckted and wetland warrior

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I recently demoed the new hyperdrive with a 29 hp Vanguard with Sid Thyhsen in Deleon Springs, FL. Sid was great, we put his brand new motor with 10 minutes on it on my 16 x 48 jon boat which I use a 40 hp tiller evinrude on. I am curious how the 29 Kawasaki is comparing to the 35 hp Vanguard in performance. I  have been looking at long tailed motors for years, but have always come away disappointed with the performance. That has changed with the intro of the hyperdrive. I travel distances in my boat, some years I put 1000 miles on it, as it's set up to camp onboard with a no see um proof custom spray hood. We travel the Everglades Wilderness Waterway every year and I could really appreciate the capabilities of the hyperdrive there. Last June I motored from Naples, FL to Deland, about 600-650 miles in 4 days  ( across on the Okeechobee waterway to the ICW then North to Jacksonville, then down the St. Johns River to Deland ). I am not a duck hunter , and I don't even fish much, but I love the shallows and traveling in small boats. We scallop and snorkel mostly along with our 2 Jack Russel Terriers, Rocket and Missile. Incidentally, I am the grinning guy in the red shirt on your website, posted by Sid in the customer performance page. If you like, I'll send some photos of my rig. Thanks, Kim Schmale.

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23 Van Hyper:  25MPH with two people in the 1546 and 27MPH with just me in the boat. Amazing hole shots and top end.

Jarrett Hill, GA
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The custom mount worked out great. Just got back from my first trial run. What a machine! The reason I went with a Mud Buddy was everything I have read and heard talked about how great your customer service was and I can see I made the right choice. I'll will buy nothing but Mud Buddy from now on. Again thanks for your help.

Rory Crapser

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Took the boat out for the first time this morning and it is everything I had heard and more, I was running a 29 Kawasaki longtail for the past couple of years and in every situation that I normally run the 31 Hyper by far outperformed the longtail and did it while sitting down with one hand on the handle. The motor had 1hr on it when the following speeds were taken, with one person (230 lbs.) and light load the boat ran 25.0 mph at 3600 rpm's in deep water and with the same load running shallow it got 26.5 mph at 3700 rpm's. The next speeds were with two people (230 and 160 lbs.) with a light load and the boat ran 23.5 mph at 3500 rpm's in deep water and 25.0 mph at 3600 rpm's in shallow water. Thanks for building another great product. Attached are a few pic's from this morning. Aug 5, 2004 - Joe Troutkiller, Refuge Forum

 

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29 Van/ 1650 Express:

On another note that 29Vangaurd is a STRONG motor.  We are running it on a
1650 Xpress this weekend which is what I would think it needs to go on but I
couldn't wait until Saturday so we put it on a 1542 War Eagle yesterday
afternoon just to see what it would.  This War Eagle is not light either and
has all the heavy options.

1 person-(28-30MPH) Depending on water condition and prop location.

2 people-(26-28MPH)-Depending on water condition and prop location.

3 people-(24-26MPH)-Depending on water condition and prop location.

Jarrett Hill
Aug 18, 2004

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Ran a 29 Van guard Hyper today on an xpress 1650 today

Boat has an avery blind on it and a gun box.

By myself (215)= 27MPH GPS
With 2 guys (215,225) = 24-24.6 GPS
With 3 guys (215,225,200) = 22 MPG GPS

Motor was pretty impressive. It seems to run about the same speeds that a Yamaha 25 4 stroke puts out on a rig like mine.

Ran through some hard bottom shallow stuff and the motor blew right through it.

Overall I was quite impressed.

Cajun in Georgia

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Kawi 29 vs. Vanguard 31 Hyper

Today was the long-awaited test run of the 31 Vanguard Hyper on my heavy 18' x 54" Gator Trax with twin gun boxes and plenty of other options, and a MB QuickFlip blind installed.

I removed the 29 Kawasaki and replaced it with the Vanguard. The Van had all of 40 MINUTES running time on it when I conducted these tests. BigBand had briefly run it the other day on his boat.

Running at 2000 feet elevation in a 6-8 mph wind, I got 25 mph with myself and 22.7 with two big guys and a lab. These measurements were both running with the wind. When running against the wind and chop, we lost .5 to 1 mph. Hole shot was spectacular. The boat leapt up on step quicker than the Kawi. All tests were done in deep, open water.

We were experiencing speeds 3 to 5 mph faster than the Kawi on the same boat. Properly trimmed for max speed, the prop was getting around 200 more RPM.

Chester's post the other day about the 31 Vanguard being the better motor for heavy boats and wide hulls is on the mark. To quote him, "the Kawasaki purrs at high RPMs". It appears that the width and weight of my GT exceed the best running parameters of the Kawi. On a narrower boat where the Kawasaki can rev, it is the sweet engine. I will miss the no-fuss, no-choke electronic fuel injection.

The Vanguard ran like this brand new out of the box. I am looking forward to seeing what this baby does when it "opens up" at 6+ and then at 10+ hours run time!

I also can't wait to see how my Mag 35 pushes this big boat.

Many people have commented that they like the space of my 18' x 54" boat. bbforducks has been hearing the same, as his hull is virtually identical. The price to pay for the luxury of pushing such a large hull is that you better be prepared to power up. If I had a "do over" on ordering my Gator Trax boat, I'd do it the same way again.

Hayden Hunter
Northern Idaho
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I got 31 hyper 2 weeks ago and finally got to run it ,this is one awesome motor and I was amazed some of the places I was able to get , hunting public land is going to be like having a private duck lease.

Thanks,
Forrest Erb
Orange, Texas

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35 Hyper Mag, Sep 6, 04:  Ran in the deepwater and chop with about 20 mph wind, cranked about 29.5 MPH, did not have any skinnies long enough to get speed readings. What I really was impressed with was the GT handling chop. i was shocked with small whitecaps how well it handled.

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