jbshtm1971

ok im making the jump to an I/O from outboard. going bigger cat. i have always had stv's and eliminator tunnels. but im tired of the ride of the smaller tunnels and i dont want to give up too much speed. im also looking for some reliability as well, dont get me wrong im no dummy around a motor but MR. goodwrench im not. first thought was 22 to 28 eliminator, but i have always liked the htm's. i want to keep the the price around 50K. and do you have to have a blower on a boat to hit 100 mph. if so what kinda maintance can i expect to have to deal with and how soon.
sorry i see alot of boats for sale that say there a 100+ boat and the price sounds fair. but know one says how much it is to rebuild or how often.
again sorrry for all the questions but all my buddies are still running out boards and there kinda looking at me like im a traitor. any advice would be a great help.

Brad Zastrow

I made the same transition and do not regret the move. The light o/b boats are a lot of fun, but I had too many of friends getting wet and some hurt in blowovers. I had a few close calls myself. I would stick with the Daytona hull for it's rough water ability as compared to the HTM. The HTM has a very shallow sponson/tunnel and is not good in rough water. I really do not like those hulls. A friend had one as sold it in one year as he could not take it out when other boats are running for fear of wrecking. The 22' Daytona is really rather small and will not be a lot better than your outboard boat. The bigger the better and often times with the same power will be faster in that size range. In the price range of $50k you will be able to find a nice 25-28 cat with a single I/O. A single will need to be blown to run 100mph and should run 200-300 hours before a rebuild. My 2.5L race o/b would need rebuilding after 100 hours and would cost $3k. Overall the I/O are more reliable and will punch a lot harder than the outboards and go in water the STV's will shy away from. Feel free to send me a private mail with questions.

jbshtm1971

thanks that helps out alot. the 3k rebuilds is just the reason im getting away from them. as far as rebuilding a blower motor, is that somthing i should have a shop do or is it somthing that can be done in my shop. i rebuilt my mercury several times and had no problems. the only time i sent it out was for a sleve and a re nick job.
is there any diffrence in driving a bigger cat. i had a 28 chaperal with twin small blocks. (its funny the 28 v bottom was cheaper to run than my stv)
the other question is am i being too cheap at 50k. i see alot of nice newer boats closer to a 100k.
again thanks for the help

Brad Zastrow

I have always told my friends if you want to learn to drive (fly) a cat start with a STV hull or similar. The I/O are much more forgiving. Do not sweat that part at all. $50k will buy a really nice single engine cat. If you are going to spend $100k look at bigger twins like 32 Skaters. The 32 Skater is light years ahead of the Daytona for rough water ability and speed. There is a 35 red Motion cat that is a wonderful boat for sale very reasonable in the classifieds. 100-110mph with stock power. I have owned three Motions. Great boats very close to a Skater in speed and ability. If I was on the market for cat in that price range I would be all over that boat. Light enough to trailer with a pickup and not too wide at 9'3" and big enough to go on any body of water.

I leave the rebuilding to the pros. One mistake, one wrong clearance and you lose an engine.

Brad Zastrow

Under 80k
http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o36325-en.html