any one know this gladiator?
 

it is a side by side 750 zuls, ad states it runs 105, what is the down side of a side by side vs a stagger set up?

down side is no rooster tail, and it may be a few MPH slower than a stagger with the same power, thats it, side by sides feel a little more stable, and also usually have a bigger cockpit since the engines are back further

Wild

Larrys got a staggered 525 Gladiator for sale as well if your interested?:D
http://www.xtremepowerboats.com/clas...age=out&id=127
Let me know if your interested.
That particular boat has had some history but it was completly gone through and is better than new. They did a great job on the re-rig!!

The boat is in imaculate condition. It does have a history, it was flipped but from what I understand no one was seriously hurt. The boat was then completely re rigged and is in beautiful shape. The guy who owned it was a friend of a friend. I don't know him personally but have been up close to the boat and it is beautiful. The disadvantage to the side by side is a littlle slower speed. The advantage is more cockpit space. You will get varying oppinions on ride quality from different owners/drivers. I thought that boat was sold but if not talk to "TsunamiRacing" on the OSO board here because he knows the previous owner.

[QUOTE=fountain40icbm;2131618]Larrys got a staggered 525 Gladiator for sale as well if your interested?:D
[url]http://www.xtremepowerboats.com/classifieds/index.php?

Are you still not accepting trades?
I got 100K plus my 2003 29' Kryptonite waiting for a new home!:D

The boat was sold to a person in Miami. Now the new owner wants to sell it. It's located in Miami at Xtreme Marine. I saw it there this past February. I dont think we want to accept trades yet. I'll keep you in mind if we decide to.

IMHO the biggest difference between a side by side vs. staggered is the center of gravity, which is positioned more towards the bow on a staggered set-up, the boat tends to ride flatter and launch with a more horizontal trajectory which equates to more speed, more comfortable landings, and better stability at high speeds.

i would have to disagree with you on that one. the biggest differences are not performance related. i would say that they would be more along the lines of aesthetical differences....ie. cockpit length, room in the bilge, hatch length, etc. the side-by-side version does carry the bow a bit higher in rough water, which i tend to prefer, but the more comfortable landings, speed and stability at high speeds probably is more the difference in drivers than boat. both versions fly very level and have a great tendency to correct themselves before landing. every staggered gladiator that i have been in or watched run, tends to chine-walk at high speeds more than the side-by-side versions with side approaching waves. it is up to the driver to correct that, some of which never do. having had experience in both, the performance differences are so minimal that they really aren't worth discussing.

chad

Not speaking specifically of a Glad...here is another dissertation on the staggered motor setup.

Re: staggered engines

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staggered lowers the motors in the hull. This lowers the center of gravity. This theoretically makes the boat handle rough corners better and safer with less tendency to roll to the high side. Can also have taller intake setups without having to add scoops. Oilpans are same distance from the hull bottom, so you still have the same access underneath the motors. These are all desirable qualities. Saddle tanks, though, can be high enough to offset this benefit.

Staggered moved roll mass closer to the center of the boat. The roll axis runs from the center of the transom to the nose. The closer the mass is centered, the less roll inertia it has. So what does this do? On one hand, a chinewalking issue will have less inertia, and less tendency to amplify. On the other hand, less roll inertia will allow the hull to rock side to side more aggressively in cross chop. In many cases, though, staggered setups also use saddle tanks. Saddle tanks will add roll inertia, which reverses the above tendencies.

Moving one motor forward moves the center of gravity AND pitch axis forward. Boat should plane easier. Should mow down chop better. Should fly more level. Depending on the need for bow lift on a particular hull, this may NOT result in the best ultimate top speeds for that hull. Also, motor access is fantastic on the INSIDE portions of both motors. The outside portions may be restricted by saddle tanks. You can access the front of the forward motor from the side, and you can access the rear of the rearward motor from the side so it's a win win. Depending on which motor is forward, you will either have excellent or typical (pitiful) access to the rearmost starter. "Easy to remove" tailpipes on the forward motor are a great idea for some more involved servicing on the rear motor..

Having the drives close together supposedly improves prop bite in cornering.

It also requires that you dock it more like you would handle a single. Drive leverage for spinning the boat with opposing thrust is minimal at best. But that is part of what makes them cool.

Oh yeah, staggered is cool. That's a plus.
You do lose cockpit space, but you gain some pretty impressive storage in the engine compartment (think in terms of those greeat big Rubbermaid storage bins).

ITS?
For less money you can do Imco boxes at 12" setback instead of the 7" ITS setback. You still run a tie bar with ITS so you don't really clean up the tail THAT much with it. Your choice.

There's my 2 cents.

mc

I've driven the boat and almost bought it a few years ago. It runs like a raped ape and has no damage from the spinout. I've also driven and ridden in both staggered and side by side Gladiators with everything from 525's to 775's. There's no difference in speed.

bigdanc,

I too have driven that Gladiator and it is very fast! Don't know much about the spinout/flip or whatever happened but when I was in it with the original owner it was a real nice boat. Paint was real nice, pics don't do it justice.

Have I told you lately I hate you.......or you're my hero....still can't decide.......:rolleyes: :drink:

The boat spun/flipped out in Biscayne bay. I was at Lip-Ship the day it was towed in and watched Phil's crew pickle the motors. According to eye-witnesses, the boat was doing continuous hard turns at speed.

When it comes to glads there are 2 types, those that have spun and those that are going to spin......... And I say that lovingly!!!!!

Not if you know what your doing !!!

http://www.speedwake.com/upload/audiofiles/d-hlaw.wmv

If you dont drive like and idiot you'll be fine in the Gladiators. Just an observation here but Cigarette stopped making the side by side Gladiator and side by side boats have been the only ones that have spun/flipped. I would also think that the stagger boats would move less side to side in a cross chop. I know our staggered Gladiator moves less than our side by side Hustler did. I would also say that building a staggered boat is more expensive so why would Cigarette stop building side by side and only build a stagger??

Ummm..... wrong. Would you like the video of my staggered Glad going over also???

:eek: hey you guys are freaking me out!! I have drove my allison [ 1200 lb] hull balancing on a 12 x 12 pad at 102 gps and your telling me you can spin out a 9000 lb. hull at a 100 plus ,its hard for me to believe that the gladiators hull design lends it self to that kind of behavior, spin outs, or bat turns as we call it on inland lakes, can be done on purpose, ive done one at 90 gps looks cool, but can be very unnerving for the passenger

Sure if you got it. Ok so your staggered race boat is the only one then. It's really plain and simple, dont turn the boat hard at high speeds. There's no point to if pleasure boating. Most of the spin outs have been in races. The only pleasure boats have been this one in qustion and Jeffery's old boat I believe.

Only when turning hard and fast. These step bottom boats are not like your old allison. The Gladiator is a great boat but you have to be carefull with all step bottom boats when turning. I would recomend the Tres Martin course if you decide to go into a step hull.

I really cant think of a reason other than racing why you would have to or want to make a high speed turn in a stepped hull unless you are making an evasive manuever. My Glad runs straight and hard at 90 mph and is as stable as any V bottom I have ever been in. If we are going to make a turn we back it down under 50 mph and keep the nose high and make a wide sweeping turn. Ive never heard of a Gladiator flipping over or spinning out while driving straight

I would like to see the video of the glad. flipping. Anybody else.....

The first Gladiators built have a different bottom than the later ones. From what I remember, the first Glads were basically a cut down TopGun bottom. Once the experiment was over, Cig got serious and had the Glad bottoms redesigned, I believe by Michael Peters. Also, I think in late 03, Cig lowered the X-dimension as well. There definetly have been some changes.

Exactly!!!!! Stepped or not, I've never had the itch to make a high speed turn in a boat. As far as I know, excluding race boats, any T/S Cigs (both TG's and Gladiators) that have spun out, have been the result of a driver doing something that they shouldn't have been doing.

hey dan! honestly, don't let this talk worry you. go ride in one and make your own opinion. good luck!

chad

I wouldnt hesitate to own one either. They are great boats with unreal lines. You just have to be aware that it will spin and roll with little warning in high speed turns. Drive like an ass and you will take a swim, drive like a normal person and you will enjoy your boat for years.

chad, good to here from you,hope all is well with you and wife, thanks for the advice along with every one else on this board, you guys a a wealth of information, hopefully in the next few weeks ill be a gladiator owner, ill let you know.

Very nice!! You will love the Gladiator. We were getting ours ready all day today, such a great boat!!

You are right on the money. I guess classic " hey watch this"!

Bigdanc, it's not just Gladiators. Step hulls in general don't take kindly to being wrenched over hard in a curve or trimming down hard in a curve. If you don't think they will spin, there are some great pictures somewhere on the board of an '04 Top Gun that an inexperienced driver put in the woods at the '06 Tickfaw 200. Believe me, they WILL spin out with the wrong input from the driver. I'm with the other guys. Unless you are making an evasive maneuver there's no reason to turn a pleasure boat at that rate of speed. BTW, used to race outboards down here. Love the Allisons, STVs and old Hydrostreams.:evilb: Those were fun CHEAPER days!:D

with any stepped hull boat is 99% of the time the prob is the driver is used to a non stepped hull and drops the drives before entering the turn, if you keep the drives trimmed up instead of dropping them your chances of spinning will be less...

i've spent alot of time in a 36 Glad with kicked up 575's that touches 100...in my personal opinion the boat is a lil to squirrley over the 93,4,5 mph mark...lil less trim lil more tab run her at a wave crushing 90-92 and shes solid as a rock...but the owner operator is an x road racer and still lives by the LOOSE IS FAST and on the edge of outta control...great looking boats and as stated above...respect it and you shouldnt have any problems...good luck

That says it all...

from what Ive been told Bern, that the boat straightens back out at about 98 and runs great well into the 100's

I believe Rick, OSG said you have to really drive them over 110. But his was the only one to go that fast so... Ours runs great at 92.

Thats my source for the info