Just called as I wanted to buy and fix it and was told by Ed at big thunder that hes already got a buyer for the drives and motors and is parting it out....too late I suppose...I woulda paid 30 for it even being a little wet...fiberglass and wood is cheap

bummer

who’s Ed?

Ed Champion at Big Thunder Marine, Cliff owns the boat and Ed was the broker.

Ed Champion is @ big Thunder Marine

I talked to the owner of the boat, all sold but the engines...said someone had been jerking him around for a while about purchasing it, and decided to part it out

I don't think the "rot" is that bad...sounds like its one stringer and a section of transom under the exhaust...I need to try and get ahold of him before he starts ripping it apart

Apparently the only thing left is the engines according to the owner...oh well

so back to the purpose of this thread...would this have been a good candidate to add a notch in the transom being it had to be replaced anyway?? Just wondering

Hi Frick , I am running 17.5 dia 25 pitch four blades I have seen 75 mph top speed at 4600 rpm in 1 to 2 footers with 3 on board and a half load of fuel. I agree i think the dia is big for my application . The motors are built to run at least 5200 rom . Measuring from the bottom ahead of the notch I am at 2.75 inch below the running surface . I set it up so that i could get close to level with the bottom if i take the 3 inches of spacers out . Currrently it planes quite quickly with 6 people and a full load of fuel . I am not concerned so much with top end but I think if i raise the drive an inch and start to reduce dia I can see 5 to 7 mph without sacraficing plane time . I dont want to have spin the drives more than 2500 to 3000 rpm to get her up on plane . Right now it carries the bow nicely and i dont want to lose alot of leverage by going to high . I wil report back once I start to make the changes .
RG.

Rick - sounds like you're on the right track. I felt my boat was slower when I spaced "down" 2" and running 18" dia. props (Which is roughly 2" below the surface, on boxes and notched), top end came down, and wouldn't spin much over 5100. I ran it the first season even / no spacers and had challenges getting on plane. I think my sweet spot is 1" below, and I would like to try smaller dia. to see if the RPMs get up over 6K.