Smarty

One last stock powered boat comes to mind, it was called "Jekyll and Hyde" a 30/31 Scarab owned by Brad, who delivered the Hairy Canary. This boat had the 540/575 but with Mercury Blackhawk surface drives and radared at 85 mph on Barnegat Bay. That would probably translate to 91-93 mph on a Nordskog. That was a stock powered pleasure boat, and very fast for that time, 1989, 1990, 1991, not sure of the exact year, but fast for that time period.

This thread has me really searching my brain for more stock powered fast boats.

TX2 and Brownie could really enlighten us more about the 70's. Holman and Moody were putting the Z-28 engines in boats, and the only reason I know this is when my father bought his 20' Cigarette from Don in 1973 I was in Miami with him, and eight year old boy me) and the boat had a Holman and Moody 350 cu.in Z-28 motor. Stock power.

What power was Volvo selling with the 270 & 280 drives? Some of those Volvo had speedmaster lowers., I thought the Volvo 270's were limited to about 425 hp before it blew the upper (I saw this happen to my father in the 20' Cigarette) ? So what stock power was fast in the early 70's or even the 60's?

Someone chime in and teach us all, I love to hear and learn about these things,...

Smarty

He liked both the 350 and the 454, but he had a 454 in the garage, and so he only needed to build one more to match it. That 454 was an LS-6 he got out of a friend's boat that was originally from Flagship Marine. he estimated the motors were some where between 450-475 hp but that was only speculation.

The 350 cu.in in the 20' Cigarette was strong, and he built another 350 for the 18' Donzi I had in Stone Harbor in the summer's of 1987/1988,; I was bartending at Phil's Bongo room and spending my college summer days in Avalon and in Stone Harbor.

If he would have had a spare 350 in the garage at that time he bought the Magnum he would have made a set of 383 cu.in or whatever, size, and make them produce 450-500 hp without a doubt, but he still needed to buy an exhaust system if he went the SBC route.

The economics at that that time made the BBC a no brainer, because the Glenwood manifolds and the original S-tail pipes with the Flare ends came with boat. So he did not need to purchase an exhaust system

Repower for today, if you wanted to limit cost and make a the 27' run well, he was all for a set Bill Mitchell short blocks, or just buy a set of Bill Mitchell SBCs ready to drop in, he often talked about that as a cost effective way, with the older style block, still making good horsepower, in a reliable, lighter package.

http://www.theengineshop.com/products/engine-blocks

PS After just looking at the cost between the SBC and the BBC, I would go BBC, the cost is about same. Bill Mitchell used to have affordable long block SBCs, but it does not look that way now.

lucky strike

iTrader: (1)

I talked Frank into his first real boat race in his Excalibur in The Barnegat Bay Race
. He Drove & I throttled. That boat was wicked fast!

TeamSaris

And I would bet a 38 Bertram (like Vincentive, which my father re-rigged working for Keith Hazell), all with stock power, would be faster than comparable Cigarettes, Scarabs, Apaches, etc. Although that is talking from race boat perspective.

Smarty

It had to be 1982 or 1983, my junior and senior years in high school we (me and my friends) would sit on the beach in Margate some Sundays when I was way too hung over to go boating and we would, look for girls, drink beer, go to Ventura's and Maloney's and then Maynards after a champagne brunch at Harrah's with the girls. I could always count on Kerbeck to be out racing everyone, I never met the man, nor knew him then, but I knew his boat.

My father would be out with mother boating, going to cove in Brigintine or to Corson's Inlet in the Pantera. My mother did not like racing so when she was out boating I did not go out with them, because my father and I loved to race, so I would goad him into racing my mother would be upset with me, and my father, so to keep the peace then I would go out on Saturday's, mother on Sundays. Once he sold the Pantera and bought the Magnum, it was always a father and son Sunday, she hated the Magnum, too much wind, too loud, too many races, she was on it once and that was enough for her.

Just sitting on the beach watching girls, watching Kerbeck beat every boat that came along. I enjoyed those Sundays. But that is what teenagers do...or did in 1982 & 1983!

So back to the topic, what was fast with STOCK power, in the 60's and 70's, I think we have the 80's figured out.

lucky strike

iTrader: (1)

I have a picture of Spikes Magnum when it was dropped off at the marina from the factory.

Smarty

My father's friend bought the30' Sutphen "Big Shot" My father used to drive the Sutphen a bit out in the Ocean, he became a huge lover a Sutphen boats, but he liked them before he drove Big Shot. I remember when your boat was at Arnold's, he considered buying it, but he liked the Magnum, and did not want to make his garage longer to accomodate the added 3' feet of the Sutphen, I would have liked him to buy Great Adventue.

I do remember you posting that picture, good stuff; I am getting old!

lucky strike

iTrader: (1)

Unless you have driven a big Sutphen, 30' + you have no clue what they are all about.
Take it out in the ocean and you really gain respect for Richie.
They are a handful to operate but once u get used to them there is no better ride...In my opinion.

The Blue 30' Sutphen "GREAT ADVENTURE" won 18 races in a row in P class in 1978 with bone stock Merc 280's TRS.

Out There

What a great thread! Makes me fell like I was there reading this stuff. How could you not love it being around all that cool hardware.....

Smarty

Steve and his Father (Lucky Strike), probably has countless great experiences from their Barnegat Bay days in the 70's and 80's, I love hearing those stories too, about Rated X, Jolly Roger, Whip Lash, and all of the other hot-rods. I would love to hear from Roger Munn (Magnum guru), and Bill Gazell, another Jersey legend from the 70's and 80's, plus Billy Martin, Joey Ippolito, ect....Those Pt. Pleasant races and Barnegat bay races were the days I lived for to see the hardware, hear from the racers, ect.

In the 90's those dudes from Long Island used to come down and do pretty well, Joey Impresicia, Tony Caligure, Joe Sgro, Al Hoffman, those guys from MRD plus all otf the others...lots of great boats, drivers, engines, and stories. None of these guys would no me if they saw me, but I will always remember the boats and the races...but they were always cordial in the pits when we saw them. The Connecticut father and son team in the 35' Jaguar were also a force to be reckoned with,....

But as for stock powered fast boats, let's continue...