I think that many of you are getting misinformation about the use of reduction gearing on high speed motors for use in large model boats. As for the difference between the DUMAS DONZI Z-65 & DUMAS DAUNTLESS, besides the obvious of one being fiberglass and the other wood hulls, the Dauntless hull when completed can be quite a few pounds lighter the the Donzi. Also the Donzi is a 49" long hull while the Dauntless is 49 1/2". The big difference is that the Dauntles has 1/2" more beam, thus will have less draft than the Donzi. The hull bottoms are also different with the Donzi having a deeper for foot and sharper vee with less beam at the water line than the Dauntless. The Dauntless is a modified vee bottom with its beam carried almost to the chine, very much in the PT boat style. Remember that the Donzi was built for offshore, while the Dauntless was a river runner. As for the motors for these boats one has to ask himself do I want speed or runtime. Anyone who says you can have both is lieing to you. To increase run time and still get a good turn of speed reduction gears are used to allow the motor to come up to max rpm's under load with large props. For top performance or speed, large motors are running direct drive matching propellers so as the loaded motor can still run at close to maximum rps's. The amp draw will always be higher on the direct drive motors thus the need for higher amp rated speed controls. Also do not be fooled thinking you are saving money by "I can buy such and such motor or speed control for a lot less money "when it comes to these bigger models. Even in our club, members thought they were saving money, only to come back and buy the correct setup after their savings went up in smoke.