fastest banana setups?
11-24-2004, 08:46 AM
#11
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Re: fastest banana setups?
It has a 318 dodge with a 2bbl carb. It cranks right up to about 49.6 on gps.
Now that the bull**** is set aside it has a 555 with 740hp with a stock bravo.I turn a 24 bravo 6700 rpm.Never gps the boat but will hang with some of the 90 mph+ Activators.I had it for sale a couple of years back.I like to race inlet to inlet.Now put the bull**** aside and lets hear about the worlds fastest Banana.
Now that the bull**** is set aside it has a 555 with 740hp with a stock bravo.I turn a 24 bravo 6700 rpm.Never gps the boat but will hang with some of the 90 mph+ Activators.I had it for sale a couple of years back.I like to race inlet to inlet.Now put the bull**** aside and lets hear about the worlds fastest Banana.
11-24-2004, 09:52 AM
#12
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Re: fastest banana setups?
Okay Okay, you win, your the fastest Banana Boat............yikes............we'll nickname you "Angry Banana" 
Do you have anymore pictures of your boat?
How much did you want for it when it was for sale?
That thinks sounds sweeeeeeet...
Do you have anymore pictures of your boat?
How much did you want for it when it was for sale?
That thinks sounds sweeeeeeet...
11-24-2004, 02:36 PM
#13
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Re: fastest banana setups?
I wasn't trying to start any battles here. Just trying to compile some Banana specific info on what the best setups were for all the different power options. I'm sure none of us want to waste money on crap that don't work. That sounds like one mean Banana, JC. And it looks nice. Any more pics of it? Motor, Interior? Maybe an action shot?
11-24-2004, 04:23 PM
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I think JCPERF could tell I was joking...
Now, back to Banana bizness. When are we all gonna get to gether and jump over JC's wake since he will be way ahead of us???
I may be the slowest, but I think if we all start at the same time, I can smash into enough boats, (since there arent many banana's), that I would have a good lead.
As long as the race is like a few hundered feet, I definately have a shot...
Now, back to Banana bizness. When are we all gonna get to gether and jump over JC's wake since he will be way ahead of us???
I may be the slowest, but I think if we all start at the same time, I can smash into enough boats, (since there arent many banana's), that I would have a good lead.
As long as the race is like a few hundered feet, I definately have a shot...
11-24-2004, 05:39 PM
#15
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Re: fastest banana setups?
Unfortunately I sold the boat minus everything.I sold the hull to a school teacher up in NH or RI. He was a friend of the banana guys. He was going to use it for a class project. They were gonna re-paint, re-rig, and put more friendly HP in it. This was one of those boats that would scare the hell out of the bravest of people. It accelerated like you were shot out of a cannon. The misses made me sell it.
11-24-2004, 06:30 PM
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Bad Azzz Red Banana
JCPERF,
I remember your boat being for sale, it was at a boat yard in Lynnhurst. I have like 5 or 6 pictures of it. Can't remember where they are though...
It had like yellow and white bolsters right?
I called the boat yard and contemplated making an offer. Unfortunately you need money to make an offer.
Why did I become a pilot, I should have started a trucking company...
Can you tell us where it went so my brother the Banana stocker can track then down with his Banana radar.
This is great, for like 5 years, only two people even knew what a Banana boat was, and now I can carry on conversations about it.
HHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMm.......What could happen in 2005?????
Anyway, thanks for chiming in. Too bad you had to sell your toy...
I remember your boat being for sale, it was at a boat yard in Lynnhurst. I have like 5 or 6 pictures of it. Can't remember where they are though...
It had like yellow and white bolsters right?
I called the boat yard and contemplated making an offer. Unfortunately you need money to make an offer.
Why did I become a pilot, I should have started a trucking company...
Can you tell us where it went so my brother the Banana stocker can track then down with his Banana radar.
This is great, for like 5 years, only two people even knew what a Banana boat was, and now I can carry on conversations about it.
HHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMm.......What could happen in 2005?????
Anyway, thanks for chiming in. Too bad you had to sell your toy...
11-24-2004, 06:40 PM
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Okay, I have to ask some questions now that you got me thinking...
1. Did the Bravo handle that much horsepower okay?
2. How did it launch off of waves with that set up?
3. What pitch prop worked best? 24? 26?
4. Cleaver I am guessing.
5. How long were your trim tabs?
6. How unstable was it?
7. Did you have a high X-dimension?
8. Were there any design flaws with your set up as far as the boat goes?
9. If you could do it again, what would you do different?
10. Did you run on pump gas at 750hp?
11. Was it blown?
12. Anybody want to buy a stock 200hp Merc?
1. Did the Bravo handle that much horsepower okay?
2. How did it launch off of waves with that set up?
3. What pitch prop worked best? 24? 26?
4. Cleaver I am guessing.
5. How long were your trim tabs?
6. How unstable was it?
7. Did you have a high X-dimension?
8. Were there any design flaws with your set up as far as the boat goes?
9. If you could do it again, what would you do different?
10. Did you run on pump gas at 750hp?
11. Was it blown?
12. Anybody want to buy a stock 200hp Merc?
11-26-2004, 09:39 PM
#20
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Re: fastest banana setups?
The fastest banana's were #1 Top Banana.....we saw mid 90's on a Nordskog speedometer in 3 to 4 foot chop in the bahamas one year. After 200 plus miles of racing we blew one engine and finished second by 30 seconds after leading the race over the last leg from Bimini to Freeport. Due to big seas the day before, we loaded up on fuel and finished the race with about 800 pounds of fuel still on board as dead weight.
The boat that beat us was Ajac Hawk....the first Top Gun....his average speed for the 200 plus miles was 83 MPH......look up the records and you will see the cats didn't average that fast in some of the later races that year.
The first 24 banana that Aronow built for me with twin 350 balanced and blueprinted engines ran in the mid 80's in 3 footers in salt water. The boat would go faster but had a hull speed of about 88 or 89 mph. Faster than that it would chine walk on you, you could hold it for three to four rolls up on the side and then you had to slow down or turn over on the fifth roll.
Remember, most of the races in those days were ocean races...meaning many times you could look around you for 360 degrees and see nothing but water....so very fast top speed was not as important as build quality.
If you could stay together that was half the battle. Don Aronow had taught me to "race the flat spots". What he meant by that was, over the course of a 40 or 50 mile leg, you would have big waves coming at you in sets and then you would have maybe a quarter of a mile of relative flat spots. Most of the racers would relax in the flats and gather themselves back up for the next pounding that was coming.....he told me this is where you need to run porked and make up time on the others....if you can string 10 or 12 flat spots ahead and just hold even in the rough stuff you will win every time.
When I worked on the design for the 38 footer with Jean claude Simon, I knew that I wanted a boat with more high speed stability, so I asked to have the strakes wider to support the boat. The chine was 5 inches wide the next strake was 4 inches wide and the bottom strake was 3 inches wide. As the boat reentered the water after flying off a wave, the bottom to top width would slow the reentry but not pound you. At speed the chines gave me a flat bottom, of 10 inches wide between the two strakes, for the boat to settle on and allow me to trim it up pretty high without porposing.
With chines that wide you also had an equal amount of water pressure pushing back for lift....we could spin higher number props and not have to rely on the prop set for the lift, we now got from the boat.
Chuck Fogarty ran 350's in his 24foot Gone Banana's and his 34 foot Gone Banana's and both sets of motors were about equal in horsepower....the 34 ran about 7 to 9 miles per hour faster even though it was a bigger boat to push. This boat was #2 in speed of all the banana's.
Number 3 was the original Top Banana 24 which became the Gone Banana's 24 and then I would say number 4 and 5 were experiments we started with twin outboards with props by Spinelli brothers out of NY, or NJ, I think.
Please remember, I am talking about 25 to 30 years ago.....technology has advanced so much that I am sure these numbers would be much different today.
I spoke to a friend a few weeks ago who told me of a Bertram 38 that we raced against is now set up for a poker run boat and is running 116 mph. The Bertrams only had a 20 degree V ....so I believe him, but I also think the numbers of the banana's could improve just as dramatically with the right components and testing program.
Real world speed is lived on both flat water and big water far offshore.......the question of the fastest boat is often answered by the driver and his confidence in his equipment for the conditions.
Go fast.....but do it safely.
The boat that beat us was Ajac Hawk....the first Top Gun....his average speed for the 200 plus miles was 83 MPH......look up the records and you will see the cats didn't average that fast in some of the later races that year.
The first 24 banana that Aronow built for me with twin 350 balanced and blueprinted engines ran in the mid 80's in 3 footers in salt water. The boat would go faster but had a hull speed of about 88 or 89 mph. Faster than that it would chine walk on you, you could hold it for three to four rolls up on the side and then you had to slow down or turn over on the fifth roll.
Remember, most of the races in those days were ocean races...meaning many times you could look around you for 360 degrees and see nothing but water....so very fast top speed was not as important as build quality.
If you could stay together that was half the battle. Don Aronow had taught me to "race the flat spots". What he meant by that was, over the course of a 40 or 50 mile leg, you would have big waves coming at you in sets and then you would have maybe a quarter of a mile of relative flat spots. Most of the racers would relax in the flats and gather themselves back up for the next pounding that was coming.....he told me this is where you need to run porked and make up time on the others....if you can string 10 or 12 flat spots ahead and just hold even in the rough stuff you will win every time.
When I worked on the design for the 38 footer with Jean claude Simon, I knew that I wanted a boat with more high speed stability, so I asked to have the strakes wider to support the boat. The chine was 5 inches wide the next strake was 4 inches wide and the bottom strake was 3 inches wide. As the boat reentered the water after flying off a wave, the bottom to top width would slow the reentry but not pound you. At speed the chines gave me a flat bottom, of 10 inches wide between the two strakes, for the boat to settle on and allow me to trim it up pretty high without porposing.
With chines that wide you also had an equal amount of water pressure pushing back for lift....we could spin higher number props and not have to rely on the prop set for the lift, we now got from the boat.
Chuck Fogarty ran 350's in his 24foot Gone Banana's and his 34 foot Gone Banana's and both sets of motors were about equal in horsepower....the 34 ran about 7 to 9 miles per hour faster even though it was a bigger boat to push. This boat was #2 in speed of all the banana's.
Number 3 was the original Top Banana 24 which became the Gone Banana's 24 and then I would say number 4 and 5 were experiments we started with twin outboards with props by Spinelli brothers out of NY, or NJ, I think.
Please remember, I am talking about 25 to 30 years ago.....technology has advanced so much that I am sure these numbers would be much different today.
I spoke to a friend a few weeks ago who told me of a Bertram 38 that we raced against is now set up for a poker run boat and is running 116 mph. The Bertrams only had a 20 degree V ....so I believe him, but I also think the numbers of the banana's could improve just as dramatically with the right components and testing program.
Real world speed is lived on both flat water and big water far offshore.......the question of the fastest boat is often answered by the driver and his confidence in his equipment for the conditions.
Go fast.....but do it safely.
