Went to the Lake Rescue Shootout in Missouri this year for the first time. Really impressed with Eliminator. Boarded a 28 cat and was surprised to find room in the cockpit and cabin. Since, I have surfed the classifieds and have found several 28 High Profile/Tall Decks for sale with single engine blower motors. Does anyone have experience with this setup? We currently have a 26 V-hull with a single 454 Mag. We like to ski, drink beer, and go fast. My wife and I can ski and drink beer all day with our current boat, but we need more speed. Can a single engine 28 Eliminator Tall Deck get the job done?

IMO with a 28 TD you want twins.....too big of a boat for 1 motor...it will take big power to make it run with a single = Bravo killer I love mine...28 TD with 500EFI's.....you're right tons of room.

Twins, You answered your own question when you said you needed more speed. You will tear up too much equipment with just a single.

Who's 28 did you board and where at? I had my 28 down probably 6 to 7 times this past summer and had a few people in and out of it. You don't see many 28's at the lake, so I was just curious if you were in mine. Red and yellow lightning bolt with twin 496 ho's. Runs awesome and yes, lot's of room! I would definitely go with twins... I personally know three guys that had singles and nothing but outdrive problems due to big power.

Drink beer and go fast, yes! Ski, absolutely not!

Harper220,
The 28 we looked at was sitting at Bud's Place on a trailer. The boat was red and yellow and had twin 496 HOs'. The single engine setup in theory would be attractive because there is less weight in the transom (for skiing). However, it sounds like skiing behind this boat is pointless. I sure would like to try to ski behind this boat. We currently ski behind a 26 deep V weighing in at about 4300lbs. It of course is not an ideal ski boat, but we have fun behind it. If a single engine 28 TD weighs in at 4800lbs. what's the problem? Is the X-dimension so high that it takes a while to get on plane? Or are these boats generally propped for top end, maybe a combination of both? I noticed Eliminatior puts ski eyes on most of their 28 and 30 cats. Why do they do that?
RJBBC

They're tow eyes, not ski eyes. I was towed by one once. The flumes were so bad, I had him stop so we could get in the other boat for the 3 hour tow.

I thought the 28 TD single weighed in at 5300 - 5400. Unless it has a monster blower motor in the single, it will not be propped for speed.

You could probably get on plane with a skier if you had 5 blade props on a twin.

I disagree about the skiing part, I skiied a great deal behind my 27 daytona which is much heavier than the 28. My wife and 8 year old boy all skiied. The trick is a longer line, about 125". I skiied 55 miles behind it, very enjoyable. Maja longboard for me regular slalom for my son and wife. She has no trouble managing the boat pulling me Was not that much different than my 25 Eagle, but a lot different than my Nautique. I think you can ski behind this given the right approach. It's a lot of fun back there and man will you turn some heads! Eric.

Did your 27 Daytona have a single or twins? Is your 28 a Daytona and if so does it have a single or twins? A single engine 28 Daytona with a blower motor and drive that can last several seasons would be a boat that I would consider buying if the boat could pull skiers and be reasonably reliable.

My hull is a 97, 27'(different than the 28), higher profile, weighs more, than the current 28, has twin 454mag. I agree with the others that for me twins was a better option than a big single because of my mandate of reliability. I have no patience with mechanical problems. My wife did not want a cat before this and now she likes the cat much better than the "v" for the soft ride

I agree with the great ride. We were ready to buy a 28 Eagle until we rode in a 28' TD Daytona at the Cumberland Poker Run. We went for a ride in a 28 Eagle after the poker run and decided right then we needed to start looking at cats.

We do a lot of overnight runs on the Ohio River and needed the space to sleep and store all the co-pilot's gear.

My 28s best cruise speed is ~75mph. I made sure I had enough motor to run that speed all day.