The Power of Keeping the Bayou Legacy Alive
Part 3
Take a trip down South to meet the founder of GatorTail mud motors and bayou enthusiast, Kyle Broussard. With a lifetime spent in the marshes and the same day-to-day boating experiences as his customers, Kyle combines his deep, swamp-traversing knowledge with engineering expertise to create motors and vessels whose reputation has crossed hemispheres. Relied on by both outdoorsmen and commercial users alike, find out how GatorTail products get the job done.
GatorTail’s headquarters sit just a mile away from where co-founder Kyle Broussard grew up near the bayous of Loreauville, La. Kyle himself has been an avid duck hunter and boater for over 30 years, following in the footsteps of his father, Blaine, GatorTail’s second co-founder. Today, the family tradition lives on, and Kyle is proud that his own children have shared the same experiences he grew up with.
“Now, my 18- and 15-year-old sons takes me on guided hunts and calls the ducks. It feels like it’s come full circle,” beams Kyle. “That’s the beauty in it – being able to hunt three generations together in a piece of equipment that we’ve designed that can take you where virtually nothing else can go.”
GatorTail during a duck hunt (Photo: GatorTail)
Connection Through Unplugging
For the Broussard family and their community along the Gulf Coast, the outdoors is about more than just the catch—it’s about connection. Beyond hunting and fishing, the town's population, including Kyle's children, frequently take boats out just for fun, appreciating their unique location.
“There’s a lot of good in the outdoors,” Kyle says. “You can’t beat a sunrise out in the marsh. Put the phones down, get out there, and just enjoy Mother Nature. Enjoy conversation.”
It's those early mornings and the occasional bitter cold that create indelible memories. The Z ties into passing down this heritage by ensuring hunters, fishers, and sportsmen can reliably access the special, remote places where their favorite traditions take place. The fact that a GatorTail can be used in all four seasons means the opportunities for recreational boaters making memories are year-round.
Extending Years on the Water
The ability to access the marsh is what sets the GatorTail outboards apart, and the Z takes it even further. These motors overcome the physical barriers to shallow water boating by powering through low water levels, dense mud, and thick vegetation.
One unexpected, but significant, advantage of this capability is that it helps GatorTail customers enjoy their time outdoors for longer periods of their lives.
“You might not think of this as you get older, but your mobility may become limited, yet you still want to enjoy the outdoors,” says Kyle. “Our products extend boaters’ years of being on the water. That's the most gratifying thing.”
For Kyle’s family, including his two teenage sons and 78-year-old Blaine, they’ve chosen ZF transmissions in their personal boats for the same advantages.
Commitment to Conservation, Community and Beyond
As the Broussards have spent their lives hunting the marshes of South Louisiana, they realize their responsibility to help conserve what Mother Nature has provided them. With their success, they’re also committed to pay it forward to causes that speak to them, and directly serve others committed to public service.
GatorTail has long supported Ducks Unlimited, a nonprofit created for waterfowl and wetlands conservation, Delta Waterfowl. This includes donating to their local, regional, and national chapters, and even releasing a Ducks Unlimited edition engine.
Beyond conservation, GatorTail supports local volunteer firefighters, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other organizations by donating vessels and other products.
Additionally, the company manufactures and customizes vessels for the military, law enforcement, wildlife agents, and rescue agencies. Harnessing their expertise, GatorTail equips these vessels to be capable of rescue scenarios involving flooding, storms, and other perilous conditions—and they impart yet another sense of fulfillment for the GatorTail team.
Looking Ahead, and Always Within
Kyle has maintained an unwavering sense of personal pride in what his products help recreational and commercial boaters alike accomplish, driven by a commitment to professional service and industry-leading products. It's this dedication that has propelled GatorTail to being the top-tier company it is today, proud that each of its products “is built in the U.S.A. by dedicated and passionate employees.”
Kyle continues to look toward the future, both in terms of product innovations and passing down the traditions that have defined his life. GatorTail is working on more advanced editions of their engines and boat lines, which Kyle can’t wait to share with fellow hunters, and the larger community around him.
Customers interested in testing a Z are welcome to contact GatorTail. Watch for more news in early 2026 about Z’s official release.
GatorTail takes great pride in its domestic manufacturing process (Photo: GatorTail)
