I am looking to have my annual event out at Caddo Lake again this year. Last year was cancelled due to medical issues I was going thru and many others had full plates as well. This year we are hoping to get back in the groove of things. This will be the 7th year we have held this event and it is a great time for all. Doesn't matter what brand mm you run. Just good times on the purtiest lake in Texas. The only REAL lake in Texas that is. MB is hoping to have a couple of it's newest vertical surface drive motors ( Sport V) there as well for all to take a spin in. We will offer a chance at great prizes, a fun run thru the cypress brakes with a crawfish boil following. Give me a shout on my cell for more info on the event. ( it is in my sig line)

Sport V Shallow Water Outboard ( shown with 28' outdrive---available in 32" and 35" outdrive option)

If we are home that weekend in Marshall,I just might come out with my rig.
That new lower unit looks like it will give em hell in the mud.

Know that is thinking outside the Box!

Is this a different mud rally than the one that goes on every year? Kewl looking motor how did yall ever come up with that design?

Oh BTW what is the part sticking up from the tiller arm. It is in between the grip and the motor on te tiller handle.

My guess is forward neutral reverse

Like ducknbass said, it is the shift lever for F/N/R just like you would see on an outboard tiller. This motor is modeled just like an outboard being that it has a transmission. There are no pull pins, hydraulic fluid with lines/reservoiors, brake levers/calipers to this motor. Again, it is as simple as operating F/N/R as an outboard. It has a squeeze lever for throttle and the tach is built into the tiller arm. The tiller arm is "floating" or it can be fixed at a preferered angle or straight if desired. The trim unit is the exact same one that Mercury uses for their outboards up to 115 hp. MB has been using this trim unit on their HD Sports for the last 4 years and it is the BOMB! The entire casting of this sport is ALL 17-4 stainless steel which is then powdercoated. There will be 3 gear ratios to choose from for forward gear depending on hp model and reverse is set at 2.5:1. 32" and 35" outdrives are optional for guys that like to run in thick mud. There is something else up MB's sleeve that I am not at liberty to reveal just yet but stay tuned cuz the shallow water world is about to get turned on it's ear.

No Wayne, this is the same Round Up I have chaired since '04. We started it out at Dam B back in '04 and then moved it to Caddo after that. We did have one year back in '07 where we tried a change of scenery and went to The Trinity on the top end of Livingston near The Jungle. BUt it was decided that there is no better place than Caddo and we have decided to make it the permenant locale for the event.

As far as the design, Glenn and his team of marine engineers ahve been working on this for many years. Two of the engineers are senior engineers for 2 of the top 3 manufacturers in the outboard industry. Thi8s has been a looooong time coming. Alot of " back to the drawing board" went on but it needed to be right. At first the motor was gonna have 2 speeds for forward but in trying to keep costs down it was decided to forego that idea and keep it at one speed forward. The engines are not just regular hp motors and they are not just CDI motors. Rather they are CDI's with built in 4700 rpm rev limiters which will make it easier and more cost effective for guys that may want to bolt on performance mods down the road. Models offered initially will be the 36, 45 and 50 hp. There will be an aftermarket kit to turn it into a 7000 ( current HD Sport model which is pushing appx 58 hp.

One thing that needs to be noted about this machine, while it may look similar to one of it's competitors, it aint anywhere near built like it. They are apples and bananas far apart from each other with regards to materials used, frame, gearing, engineering, balance point, transom mount etc.. One thing that most will notice when they first see it is the " flat drive" angle that this motor runs with just like the horiz mm motors on the market as well as all outboards you see. This flatter angle is optimum for better performance all around.

I am anxious to hear of the new news your holding back on. I would love to come ride caddo but I have a lot to get done before duck season. I just can't commit a weekend until I can get to the old beaver dams and get a bulldozer in there. Just a fun ride would be a good time. I ain't much into drinkin gamblin or fast woman, slow horses is more my speed now days.

that's exactly what it is Wayne. Unlike some other " mud runs" that are put together these days, this one is all about just folks getting together having a good time in a purty locale with some good eats. Ain't no weenus measuring going on with who's faster or who's is better. Drankin is is optional but know that those that are can handle their liquor and still act like civilized adults unlike some of the baffoons on other " mud runs" that act like drunk teenagers and litter the place up. In short, it's a good time and you would enjoy

When is the run? Maybe me my wife will run up. Is there an Rv park where we can park a bus. I need 40 foot and 13 foot height. It would be fun just to set a low rpm and just cruise the cypress breaks.

I know there is a State Park at Caddo.

The event is held at Crips Camp. GAry, the owner, has been very accommodating over the years. They have cabins there that guys rent for the weekend or Johnson's Ranch and Hodge Podge has cabins available. Some guys have lake houses on Taylor Island and that is usually where I stay. The state parkis most likely where you will find the RV setups. It isn't far from Crips.

The event is to be held on Saturday, April 28. Many guys come in on the friday before, including myself, and make a weekend of it.

Well that does it right there. We are leaving on the 29th for the Bahamas cruise. 7 days of play. Have fun at the rally.

Hope you and your wife have a great time, Wayne. I'll post some pics up from the event.

Looks like a good time, if I had a mud boat I’d go. Look forward to seeing the pics Homey.

Guy since WAL is out we could just use his!

Come get it and run the cobwebs off of it. Just be sure you use the blue and the red Stabil because of the alcohol issues.

Spatterdock is on Taylor island also. I know Dottie has 2 or 3 houses y'all could stay in.

I wish I could go to this!

Wayne, here is that news I can finally release
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Now that the Sport V has been put to bed and we are waiting for the production castings, we are going to finish the tooling for its brother, the Sport H.

Arkmos Engineering has patents pending on two new outboard marine drives, the Sport V and the Sport H. You have seen the Sport V -Vertical drive and soon, our most valued customers will see the Sport H - horizontal drive. Both are the world’s first mid mounted cone drive transmission marine outboard motors in the world.

Both drives, the “V” and “H” have one thing in common, they use the same drive transmission, Mercury Marine's best and highest horsepower stern drive gearing. The Mercruiser Cone Clutch is commonly found in the Mercruiser Brave I, II and III. The Merc Cone Clutch is known for its simplicity, its high torque rating and is dirt simple to maintain.

The Mercruiser Cone Clutch drive is considered to be the most advanced sterndrive on the planet, typically used on performance 300 to 700 horsepower 20’ to 35’ cruisers such as Skater, Fountain and Eliminator. There are literally tens of thousands of these drives worldwide. http://brucebullockmarine.com/mercury/2011_sterndrives_bravo_one.html
http://www.skaterpowerboats.com/#!models
http://www.fountainpowerboats.com/
http://www.eliminatorboat.com/

The Mercruiser Cone Drive shifting is silk smooth while being engineered with stump crushing features. Its high horsepower rating and durable design is suited for a heavy duty shallow water outboard marine outboard where high torque endurance is required. ARKMOS test motors today have the Bravo One XR High Bump Cone Clutch components. http://www.mercuryracing.com/sterndrives/hp525efi.php

Mercury designed its Cone Drive for easy service and maintenance, an important feature our customers demand. The drive is highly engineered and sophisticated, but then again is very simple. Takes minutes to assemble and disassemble. http://youtu.be/P1CyAH9wasI The Sport V and Sport H are just as simple and designed with the customer in mind.

I bet you guys are thinking what the H&^% is a Sport H. It is the horizontal engine version of the Sport V. It is stainless and aluminum, has the cone clutch and is just as sexy as the V. The Sport V is designed for the fishing and hunting market that like the look and feel of an outboard. The Sport H is designed for our traditional HD Sport customers that like a moto-cross style mud motor. The Sport H will have a 27", 32" and 40" drive. The Sport H will also have the Blade performance mud drive option, same tiller handle and shifter.

Frame kits will be available to those that want to take their existing blocks ( vert or horiz) and mount it to a Sport V or Sport H frame.

That seems market shattering!!

Boom goes the dynamite!

Pretty kewl to think it will hit the market flying.

Help me understand what is so earth shattering? Having a geared lower unit is not something new in the mud motor market. There has always been vertical and horizontal options too.

New vert gear driven surface drive...no. New vert and horiz gear driven surface drive with transmission. Yup



Btw, which current horiz gear driven surface drive do you know of? Have we all missed out on something?

Vertical = PD and Horizontal = GT...guess I was talking about drive and you were talking about gear alignment.

I think this is going to be awesome for the guys that fish but for a pure duck rig it looks like an awful lot of stuff to tear up. Good luck, I hope it works.

Alright the real question we are waiting on is retail $ ?????

What will be the cost?
36 horse CDI - $6845 (will probably be one or two horse more with high rev CDI’s)
44 horse CDI - $7925 (finished)
50 horse CDI - $9245 (still being developed and tested)
All motors will have the BPS high rev coils., valves, lifters and matched rockers.
$49 tall option
Includes stainless muffler
Cobblestone marine grade finish

Really not bad at all considering conventional motors are at the same price range.

Cheaper than both shorttails currently on the market with instant reverse. I was pleasantly surprised when I first saw the price tag.

I've got a 15' 48" Xpress would a 35hp mud buddy be to big

Looks like a prodrive to me.

it looks like a slow drive and will probably perform like one. it will be good in thick grass and stuff but when it comes to mud. It wont be able to dig deep enough. i dont see them gears lasting very long either once you get off in a stump field.

How do you figure? What are the similarities?

MB just released cad pics of the Horizontal gear drive Sport H.

Here are some cad photos of the new Sport H.

Casting process to begin in mid March.

The Sport H is a lean mean machine.

Available in 27", 32" and 40" drives.

Models include:

23 Vanguard
25HMA (9" performance prop management area model)
27 Kohler
35 Vanguard
44 BPS
50 BPS

Short and Tall Option
Same pricing as Sport V
Same options as Sport V

Frame Kits only will be available ( includes everything except the motor)

Pics are shown with optional 32" drive

That would be pushing it. The Sport 35's are 295 lbs. Would it work? Yes Would it be optimum? Maybe not. Would all depend on the design of the hull and your load configuration. Call me...we'll discuss

The Mercury trim unit has the most travel of any trim unit on any mm on the market right now. Combine that with a 27" outdrive and rest assured it ain't an issue. For those wantiong a little more reach these motors are available in 32" and 40" ouotdrive options as well. There isn't a short tail out there with a better reach. As far as performance, hp to hp it performed the same as the MB belt drive Sports. It's all about gear ratio

I don't know anything about mud motors put it sure looks fast to me.

No cav plate in last pic.

The 32" and 40" outdrives will not have a cav plate. Pics are shown with optional 32" outdrive.