O.K. magnum owners .. i need your .02 cents

[glassdave]

well . . heres the thing.i have been looking for a larger boat for some time. looked at some V hulls . . .looked at some cats. . . .and i have come to a conclusion. . . .i wont be happy unless its a 27 magnum sport. some years ago i used to see a yellow and white 27 running around the toledo ohio area and i guess it just stuck in my mind as one of the nicest boats i have ever seen (as i remember it was a near perfect original too). anyway i have located a possible cantidate. its basically a bare hull, some trim, no motors/drives. which is exactly what i am looking for. before i approach the owner on a possible purchase i thought i would get some advice from some current owners, an thats you guys . . .sooooo . . heres a couple things i could use your input on.

1. what do you think of running twin small blocks (375 hp zz4's) on brovo drives.

2. my twin small block idea vs. single big block . max speed is not my main concern, mid 70's an i'll be happy. really just want a reliable boat thats good in the ruff stuff.

3.aprox. weight of boat with single and twins. i would like to tow it with my explorer. ( i have a full size ford truck but would like to use the explorer once in a while )

4.what are the cabin's like, i've heard they are small (not really a problem, not sure i care if it even has a cabin)

5.how they handle speed, rough water etc...

i realize that most people tend to discourage buying project boats but i regaurd the 27 sport the same way many car collectors reguard the 67 427 vette's, a true timeless classic. i have a great deal of automotive and marine restoration experiance an i'm not afraid of a project. an i just gotta have me a mag. . . . hopefully i didnt get to caried away with this thread but any input would help . . . thanks people . .

[magnuman]

1. Twin small blocks were the way most Magnum 27's were rigged. I have twin 350's in mine which have been built up to produce 400hp. I have TRS drives. The Bravos will not weight as much because they don't need the transmission and parts will be easier to find.
2. My top spped to date on GPS is 72mph.
3. Weight of boat with twin small blocks is 6,500lbs. A beast!
4. No cabin really to speak of, just kneeling space.
5. Boat tracks and handles great. Rough water is defininately not a problem.
6. External hydraulic steering I feel is a must.

E-mail me if you have any further questions. I have just finished a three year project.
Here is a photo of my new engine hatch that was just built. It ready for paint this week.

[glassdave]

magnuman- actually your boat is the one that got me think'n about magnums again. i saw it in the classifieds and copied all the pictures from the add onto my hard drive. i have to tell you, your boat is quite a piece of work. great job, i bet you turn alot of heads with that. i'm hoping the boat will be a bit lighter with the brovos as apposed to the trans./trs's (under 6000 ?). and i agree,hydraulic steering is a must. where did you get your bolsters from ? hatch looks great to. . thanks for the info.

by the way, are you doing all the work yourself. . .just curious. an feel free to post any pics you want . i can see what im geting myself into.

[tripps]

HI GLASSDAVE well you have chosen a good hull,my thoughts also,not as fast as some lighter,newer boats but will probally out last some. two sbs would be good but i prefer one big bb. easy to work on ,less to go wrong. mine with one bbc and 72 tranny and sterndrive weighs 5400 and goes 70. cabin space,i have plenty with a sedan but dont look as good as a flatdeck but it depends on what you want. I can run wideopen in a nice sized 2 ft chop and more and slices thru it like butter, a true magnum trait. hey also we are all in the same boat,looking for imfomation and in put to our hobbies. so whatever you chose good luck trip ps ps nice ride magnumman

[glassdave]

tripps- i guess im still a bit undecided on the single/twins issue. i do have a question for you though that would help me out a bit.i had heard that the single screw magnums tended to lean/tourque to one side under power due to their narrower beam.is it really an issue or just misinformation i got. . . also the boat i found is a flat deck 27. . . thanks

can you post any pics of yours, i've never seen a sedan. just seen the sports and the maltese.

Magnums are great boats a great rough water boat. mine has twin 400 small blocks info on boat says it ways 5200 .I have a friend with a copy magnum hull when he gets on it leans to port seriously. If your interested pictures of mine are at Dick Simon Marine.

[ForrestC]

IMO, you can't beat a Magnum 27 for ride, classic looks and overall fun! I'm happy with the twin small blocks. The boat is well balanced with the twins, the sbc are cheap to deal with, and you can always get back on one engine, though not on a plane. You'll never fully appriciate a Magnum until you take it out in the really rough stuff. You'll get wet when it windy in the Gulf of Mexico, where I use mine, but that's part of the fun!

Warning! Full coverage insurance is hard to find on performance hulls over 20 years old.

[tripps]

Hey Dave my boat does NOT LEAN AT ALL, the prop is 48 inches from the bottom of the V and i built in a 6 inch setback on the transom with a notch and a stern power stern drive that works very well for me, a ssp model a merc speedy would probably would be better,but whos running one on a old magnum? ill work on some pics tripps

[27sedan]

Here's a vote for twin small blocks.
I put in twin 350mags w/ bravos eight years ago.
My sedan goes 66 on radar with me and all my stuff in the boat. It's easy to manuever and there's a fair amount of room to work on the engines. All I lust for now is a pair of Scorpions.
Oh well...