Stinger / Scorpion
 

What is the differance between a 260 Stinger and a 260 Scorpion, what makes one a Limited as mine is a 260 Stinger Limited.

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

i think the 260 Stinger is the twin engine flat deck and the 260 Scorpion was a raised deck single engine. the limited was a sticker/trim pakage, not sure the specifics but Fund Razor has one and im sure he will set it straight. got any pics of yours? heres my old 260 Stinger, just sold it and went the a 34 ScarabIII. that Stinger was without a doubt the best boat i ever had.

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

here's a pic of a scorpion. i think the hull is the same for both. Chris Craft used the name Stinger/Scorpion through several other sizes loosely

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

xx

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

What year are you asking about? The picture Glass Dave put in is actually the 1985 265WAC Scorpion. In 1985, the StingerSL LTD. had a Radar Arch and built in fiberglass swim platform, where as the StingerSL had no arch and a bolted on teak platform.

In 1984, the Stinger 260SL Ltd had a radar arch at the front of the engine cover/lounge and the Stinger SL had the arch at the back of the engine cover/lounge (right at the transom). Both had fiberglass swim platforms.

In 1983, there was only the SL, no Ltd.

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

[B][I]Here is my 260 Stinger Limited, do you have pics of the Stingers and Scorpions being talked about?

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

here is my 260, luved it but never had time to run it much built twin small blocks for it pushing about 400 hp ea gps 91mph......just a great boat did my honeymoon on her,,,,think I still have some bumps on my head ( didnt open hatch)

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

If you look back you'll find a post by Heatbuzz. It shows you pics of both, 1989 models. they were almost the same, The scorpion had a more open cockpit and a single Big block with a Bravo I. (its under 260 cabin sliding door)

Re: Stinger / Scorpion
 

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT PROPS YOU USED. THANKS

My 1984 260 stinger/scorpion is running stock 350's with 26 pitch props the best I remember. Not sure of the diameter or make but it gives me an honest 70mph(more if I'm light and really tweak the trims), that is GPS proven on many occasions. I've had several folks tell me that my boat will not go that fast...but it will and I'm not running counter units....yet.

I have a Scorpion "Stinger" edition 230XL

I don't think that there ever was a 23' Stinger that the company built....there was only the 23' Scorpion. As far as I can tell.....there was a special edition version of the Scorpion 23, called the Stinger, complete with custom imron paint job and different interior.

Here is mine:

http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...w%20York%20230

I'm sorry to say that all of guys are wrong(no offense)

I owned a Stinger 260 Scorpion and my buddy had a 260 SL, both similar vintage-mine was an 87 and his an 86

Parked side by side the differences are as follows

1-My Scorpion had 4 hatches on the sides of the hull and my buddy had none on his.
2-My boat had a raised upper deck of about 4 extra inches of headroom and my buddy had a flat upper deck (see last picture)
3- Mine had drop down bolsters, buddys boat did not have same upholstry as mine with stripes.
4-Mine definitely had twins, a pair of stock 260's and Alpha outdrives. Quite frankly I have been boating for many years and NEVER seen a 260 with a single big block??? I could be wrong there, but I have never witnessed one. I had a 230 with a single years before.
5-Mine had factory stainless thru hull exhast and my buddy's SL had exhaust through the outdrives - stock!
6-Mine also had factory installed docking lights on both sides and my buddy's boat had none!
7-I had twin motorized windshield wipers, my buddy didn't have any.
8-Mine also had the classic "SCORPION" lettering on both sides of the hull and of course my buddy's had none.
9-mine had big horns and buddy's little ones
10- mine was "bright" surround on windshield and the sl had teak surround
11-Mine had a moulded fibreglass swim platform with four strips of teak as non-slip surface and two grab handles on the transom, my buddy's boat only had a stainless tube frame with a teak wood swim platform.
In lamens terms, mine was a Lincoln and my buddy had a Focus...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n202/ve3lt/260a.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n202/ve3lt/260b.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...lt/06f3_20.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n202/ve3lt/260c.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture029.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture039.jpg
If you look at this pic from the brocure you can see the upper deck is relatively flat, thus less headroom inside the cuddy.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...stingerpic.jpg
I beleive the radar arch was about a 4 thousand dollar option on that boat when purchased new! Mine had the factory holes in the deck but covered with twin peices of teak as step plates on the upper deck. I saw another boat with a stainless radar arch and he told me he paid a grand for it! I made mine myself in my shop for 28 bucks worth of tubing, a bit of mig welding and a couple bucks for grey spray paint. It's an exact copy of the thousand dollar chrome plated one!
I hope that answers your questions regarding the difference between these units as best as I could answer then.

Stinger390X,

Most of the differences you describe between your buddy's Stinger and your Scorpion sound more like the differences made when the Stingers were redesigned in 1985. Previous to 1985, the Stingers had a more squared-off windshield, lower deck, etc. The redesign in 1985 included raising the deck profile and transom height, new dashboards with VDO gauges, increased headroom in the cabin, and a new curved, tempered glass windshields. For example:

1985 Stinger: http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...lassDave%20260

1986 Stinger: http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...0Trouble%20260

The other differences you mention, i.e. windshield wipers, were options. I used to own an 84 Stinger 260 and it had windshield wipers and 4 cuddy portholes.

As for the difference between a 260 Stinger and 260 Scorpion, I'm not 100% sure. The differences I see most between Scorpions & Stingers of the same "model" are layout in the cockpit - i.e. the Scorpions had back-to-back seats on the port side while the Stinger would have a bolster seat. In my talks with Ernest J Schmidt (ex President of Chris Craft during that time) a lot of the naming schemes came down to "marketing". One of the stories Mr Schmidt gave me during my interview of him for my website was that of someone asking Richard Genth what limited meant - his reply: "it means these models are limited to the number we can produce”.

Funny you should mention single-engine Stingers - I know of at least three - all 1987 models. The first one I happened to find near Lake Geneva, WI (I was going up to see the auction of the Miami Vice Scarab): http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...ms%20Bay%20260. The other two came up for sale on the Internet: http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...Konstanz%20260 and http://www.chriscraftstingers.com/ga...iamsburg%20260.

As for the differences between standard & limited, typically the limited had different paint schemes & colors, and more options standard I believe.

Han
www.chriscraftstingers.com

As for the 230 XL Stinger - the Chris Craft brochures a price list show a 1984 Stinger 230 XL. I believe in the brochures you can see the "Scorpion" chrome log on the side. Chris Craft of course made a 230 XL Scorpion in other years, but the brochures do list the 1984 model as a Stinger. I put it down to "marketing" again, but I do consider it a Stinger.

Han
www.chriscraftstingers.com

89 stinger

89 scorpion

I had an 85 Stinger 260. It had a flat deck (taller windshield with wipers), drop down bolsters and twin 260 h.p. 350 cu in engines. I believe the raised deck with shorter windshield came out in 86. The boat hit 58 m.p.h. stock on radar with 21" 3-blade clever props. My speed was backed up by magazine tests at the time. IMO a few others who claim 70 m.p.h. speeds stock, or 90 m.p.h. with hoped up 350s are smoking some pretty amazing stuff... I built up both motors with aftermarket heads w/ roller rockers, high rise GM iron intakes (worth the $$s if you are looking for a single bang-for-your-buck mod), tall filter/arrestors, and crane 272 cams. This allowed me to move up to 23" pitch 3-blade clevers. Top speed went up to 62 m.p.h. It would hit 63 on fumes. The Stinger was a nice boat. I thought long and hard about getting another one but the age of the boats kept me away.

Wes - you're right, the 85s did have the flat decks. The Stingers were redesigned occurred in 1985 and showed up on the 1986 model-year boats I believe. I used to have an 84 Stinger 260 - loved it and miss it. Someday I hope to get an 84/85 312 or 390. Someday.

My '87 230 Scorpion LTD is a cross between those two ads. Has the tall deck, which I always thought was the Scorpion and the Stinger had the flat deck. :whistle: