My GF works in Cranston!

I just got rid of my big chief PSI blower motors.
Chiefs love to REV and make high rpm power.
The problem with the Chiefs is ya get no longivity with the
valve train. More maintenence then Britney Spairs!
Depending on spring pressure and lobe angle it could
be as low as 25 hours.
What are the specs on the 540,s????

Dont forget to post some pictures on the work Itchiban is getting into.

I will never forget that day the govenor closed the credit unions.

I have often thought of this........Why are the old race boats not more valuable........My old man once said and i quote......"HEY DUMMIE EVRYBODY HAS A CAR NOT EVERYBODY HAS A BOAT"
He has always been brass and to the point.......

I really love what you are doing with that cat......I wish i could afford one of those old school motors, i would love to stuff it in my mag and have it vinyl wrapped like its glory days.........

Keep the pics coming winter sucks.....

Hey KR what powers your Skater now ?

The 540 EFIs are rated by Merc 850+ HP @ 6500 rpm . These are the motors guys ran in superboat class in the mid through late 80s .
They are Bowtie Blocks , modified Brodix heads , 4.25 stroke 4.5 bore , Carillo rods , full roller , basically the best of everything . Merc builds good stuff .
The Class 1 , 980s I bought last week are 2000 vintage , newer tech ,titanium , dry sump , more exotic , you know the drill , saw them , they were a steal , had to have 'em , wrote the check . Merc rates these 980 HP @ 7200 rpm . These have a shorter stroke and are 510 CI .
I just added more confusion to my life .
Here are side by side shots , the 540 first . There are other shots of the 980s earlier in this post .

How true , my brother said I could have a 40 ft Skater for the investment I'm making , however I loved my Chris , won a lot of races with her and will continue her resurrection , after all I can't tow a 40 Skater with my Vette !
Remember , every guy on this forum is eccentric in his own way and basically " Knot - Right "
If we were normal we'd be at the yacht club ironing our sails . ( God forbid )
Thanks for the words of encouragement Nocig .

My next question should be how do you plan on running the boat?

From a pratical approach I would run the 540,s.
They will last longer. The idea they were original to the boat
is cool also. However you know the deal you will want the xtra ponies .
If it was me I would say **** pratical go for the big guns!

I,m running Helicopter Turbines. I took the pratical and through it freakin overboard

Never the less ya got some really cool choices to make.
I look forward to the progress!

Good morning Skater Brother ,
I thought those were turbines in your avatar photo , I can't believe we have a cat on Narragansett Bay with turbines , you put us on the map !
I've always been one to say screw to practical , my wife asked if the Chris had any cabin or a potty for the kids . She doesn't want me racing again , we were dating in those days and she knows the time commitment and expenses involved are great .
I'm pretty familiar with motors and do believe there will be little if any speed difference between the motors , the 540s will make up any horsepower difference with better torque , also the roller cams Merc used in 1986 I'm sure are obsolete and a 20 year newer cam profile will probably garner some sort of gain . The only hurdle with running the Big Chiefs , since the heads are wider and the exhaust ports raised are changes to the exhaust exit point which will at least require new Y pipes . I had Big Chiefs in my Rock & Roll Rodeo 31 , but rules mandated Gils and they were literally against the inside of the boat .
I'll get it figured out , and again one of the leftovers is going into my 67 Camaro pro tour . I had a 427 in it I sold a while ago so they won't go to waste .
Here are a couple of photos from when I raced .
We set an avg. course speed record in 1990 of 117.8 mph and smoked the film chopper in the process . The chopper jocks were amazed and came looking for us after the race . Those guys got big nuts , flying 10 ft over the water at 110 mph . The pilot was a Vietnam vet , I'm sure the risk was minimal in comparison to his military service .
I'm also going to post some photos of the 62 cat we just finished and will be sea trialing soon .

Here is a link and some photos of the 62' cat we just finished . Our company is M2 , I call her Andromeda . I know this doesn't belong here , it's just an fyi .
http://www.m2motoryachts.com/m208/home.htm

Jimmy
Let me know when you are going to Sea Trial that thing...I'd love to go for the ride.

Charlie , how are you ? Any progress on your projects ? I'm going full steam ahead .
Today I talked to Tommy A. who is getting ready to restore Betty Cook's Kaama cat , found out there was a turbine Skater on Narragansett Bay , had a conversation with Keith Eickert and got all my work done .
The Kaama project seems very interesting , I don't think many of those early cats survived , especially any with that provenance .
We ran the 62' in January and after some adjustments got 46kts . She weighs almost 50,000 lbs and only has 800 Mans . The next one will be much lighter and have twin 1200s . We are targeting 75 kts in a safe , comfortable , reliable , fuel efficient package .
Charlie when we resume testing I'll give you a shout . She's presently sitting in East Greenwich . We were going to send her south , but decided to wait till spring and conclude our testing here . Our first production boat is about 16 months away and should be a ringer .

If any of you resto guys need gauges, let me know, maybe I can have Livorsi make some "old school" looking without logos or with something else on the gauge to try and match the era.

Kirk