Anything gear drive will have the power you need.

Kubota made some pretty small stuff many years ago. The B7100 for example is not too much bigger than a garden tractor, but has a diesel, and a hydraulic 3pt lift. You can get them pretty cheap. It'll last forever pushing stuff around 3/4 acre.

If your yard is flat, maybe a gear drive garden tractor will do the job, something like an old WheelHorse, Deere etc.

Thanks for the suggestion. Wouldn't most gear drives be belt driven? I would think that the belt would slip under heavy loads. I've also had some issues not having any counterweights on front and raising the front end when pulling the boat, the trailer is a tandem axle and tongue weight is close to 700lbs. I don't want to end up with a diffenet machine but in the same situation. I'm looking for something that will have the grunt especially when making turns. I have to pull the boat in the yard, do a u-turn and back it in the garage.

Not at all. The Kubota I mentioned is just a mini version of a full size gear tractor. Shaft drive all the way. Whether it is a gear or hydro makes no difference on whether it is belt or shaft driven.
Do a google search on Kubota B7100 and it'll come up with a few links to give you an idea of what its like.

To be honest, I wouldn't be worried about having a belt drive to pull that boat on the flat anyway.

Before you run out and buy yourself another tractor, try draining and refilling your hydro.....not once, but twice. All too often, owners totally neglect the hydraulic systems in tractors in the belief that the oil will last forever. It doesn't. For what it costs to do this, it's worth the shot.

Your old Cub is a kick-ass tractor and should be strong enough to handle your little boat on reasonably smooth, level terain.

How are you going to stop that 7,000 load, and do you leave the trailer dolly on the ground? 700 lbs tongue weight is close to what your tractor weighs.

I've got a JD 770 and with 700 lbs on the front or rear I know it's there, even with weighted tires and an implement on the other end.

My cub gets less than 10 hours on it per year. When I got it from my father in law, 2 years ago I had the hydro oil changed, but just the once. Typical probem with towing my 5x8 utility trailer loaded with 1000lbs or so is I get on soft ground and lose traction. My yard is totally flat although there's some uneven ground.

For the big trailor I can pull ok, it's pushing it back into the garage, I have to build up to much ground speed to get it from the lawn to the apron, I can't creep like in forward. I actually haven't tried to turn the tandom trailer in the yard for fear I'll get it in a spot/position that I won't be able to get the truck into to save it.

When I creep the stopping isn't a problem I can control it with the hydro, but like I said if it really pulling hard the front will lift or if I change directions too fast.

I'm fairly set on a larger machine, just not sure what the right size is. And I've already got a 25 year old machine, when looking at others it makes concerned buying someone elses problems.

Find an old gear drive Cub with a real drive shaft and load the tires with fluid, put some weights on the front, it should do the job just fine and the gear drive will last forever.

If you have the storage space for a full-size agricultural utility tractor, there's lots of good running older tractors out there with a three-point hitch on them. For your purposes, an old Ford 8N or 9N would do. Or a International FarmAll. A tri-cycle tractor would give you amazingly fast turning ability. These can be had for two to four grand, depending upon condition etc. Cheap to run, easy to maintain and repair, hold their value well and have the traction plus weight to control your boat.

Lots of places to look for one.

www.TractorHouse.com

www.ironsolutions.com

www.equipmentsearch.com

www.ironclassifieds.com

Any gear drives that have hi/low range that come to mind?

Worried about tearing up the back yard with the truck and the boat weighs 7,000# - My QC 2005 Dodge only weighs 5,000# empty..............Hmmmmmm? My 2040 Deere weigh's about 4,000# (w/a FEL) it is alot more manuverable but will cause more damage to the yard when turning sharp, and with that FEL hanging out the front - you need lots of space to allow for it to swing - I'd stay with the truck.
JMO

Im rebuilding a junked MTD i bot for parts a few months ago to haul my empty 6x8 trailer from my back yard, Im not using the original 18.5HP engine , but a 11HP Briggs. Ive already mounted a hitch ball setup from another tractor i bot a few years ago. Im using the stock 7 speed varible pulley setup with the single speed trans. I cant drive my truck back to get it because of my car port, its barely wide enuff for my trailer and im sick of hauling it out by hand when i need it. the only mod im going to use is changing engine/trans pulleys for more oomph from the 11HP motor( ill see how it goes, i might upgrade to a 14HP off another tractor, that will be getting a swap soon). Im sure itll work fine, since i hauled a few hundred pounds of gravel in a trailer behind my 11HP Dynamark.
Kidd

I'm sure my situation isn't typical. Given the smaller residential lot I have (backyard is only 170' deep) all the space I can save using a tractor as a mule/tug helps. I'll admit that the boat only goes completely through the yard twice per year, but the narrow tires on the truck do tear up the yard compared to the 12" plus tires on the tractor. I do pull the boat out often for cleaning an maintenance when it is at home. There's a Kubota 7100 gear tractor and a Deere 670 which isn't that much bigger which are both close to me. I originally was concerned that the JD would be too big, but after looking at Cases, IH's, Wheelhorse's, Bolens ect there's not a lot of gear tractors and I didn't find any that had a creeper or low range gear.

I did a lot of research on towing capacity because I wanted to pull a little aluminum boat around with my dgt 6000. The answer I got from sears was do not allow your tow to exceed the weight of the tractor, approved ballast weights, and operator (operators weight must be within the norm). So with about a 700 pound tractor 100 pound wheel weights and a 200 pound operator I figured my towing capacity to be at 1000 pounds. Well over my 600 pound boat, trailer, motor, and gear.

Hope this helps

no time,
you wont be upset with that Kubota 7100.

Most WheelHorse gear drives have the low range. My 312 has low range, and in low 1st it goes about 0.25mph.