Your project is turning out great my hats off to you for such a big project.



I wonder if Audio is following this thread:drink:

I agree. its an insane amount of work to this point. This has been a solo effort as well. I have only had a 2nd set of hands a couple of times, and mostly to help with removing cleats and other thru-bolted parts that would be impossible to do alone. All the glass work, gel, wiring, etc was all done by just me. I still have a ways to go as I am doing the upholstery myself too. Thanks for the compliment. That goes for everyone that has voiced support for this project. The only reason I will sell will be, of course, to go bigger.

Still waiting on steering parts so unfortunately no testing for me this weekend. Heres a few pictures of my new dash. A big thanks to Kirk @ Elite Marine for all the Livorsi gauges. Had them in my hands in less than 2 days and at a great price. Also a pic of my almost finished engine compartment. Still have a bit of tidying up to do, and of course run all my steering hoses, etc.

A few more engine pics, and yes I know that one of the decals is on upside down. It came that way. I have a new one already, just haven't put it on yet.

That's great how much space you have between the two motors.

Small block SPACE!!
 

That is a BIG reason to keep the smb's, maintenance is a snap.....






Sorry to Hijack! Carry on.....

Well, I didnt make it on the water this weekend either. My local connection on a hydraulic helm fell through. Thats the only thing I need to hit the water now. I did manage to get the hatch (frame only) mounted and made a bracket for the electric hatch to mount to. Hopefully tomorrow I will get the upholstery on it and all wired up. Give some color to this boat! I also got the external rams attached and the tie bar. I'm missing a couple of bolts but threw in some temporary ones for mock up purposes. Still have to mount the hydraulic thru-hulls and run a few lines. I kept trying to sneak out of work early to get some of this done this week, but just too much to do. Heres a couple of pics.

Lookin' Great!

Got my hatch cover cut down, re-sewn, and installed on the 292 hatch. working out some issues on my hatch motor, but just about there. Mirrors should be done early next week. Time to polish up the handrails and cleats and get them re-installed. thanks for looking.

Love you choice for your sunpad upholstry, for obvious reasons ! Keep up the good work. I might have to take a trip down to Peoria, to check your boat out in person.:D

I haven't checked this thread in awhile......WOW!!!! I could never do that much of a restoration, I'm impressed with the dedication it takes to take on a project like this. I'll certainly be following it for updates!!!

Did the boat have volvo's originally? If it didnt, y did you go with them? How much difference in the transom cut out between merc's? OK I'M done.

The transom was already cut for the volvos, so I couldnt tell you the differences. my last 2 boats have been volvo powered boats and I've always been impressed with the quality. besides, silver is my favorite color.

put the bars and cleats on the tail end today. a little time on the buffer first and they look good as new. Not looking forward to the bow rails though!

Can you recommend a shop for a complete V/P engine and outdrive package?

I'm with you, running 600's/DPX-A's in a 382. The package you picked will run forever. They put that same drive behind the 420 hp 496's, so you'd be hard-pressed to hurt them with small blocks. The duoprops will cost some speed over 65 mph, but will give you a killer holeshot and way more efficient cruise that Merc's. Awesome control around the docks, too.

Who made the steering?

Great job. Far more work than my 382 project.

grate job. what materials did you use for the core, layup and fairing.

Nothing to recommend at this time. There are some good deals to be had, it'll just take a lot of leg work on your part. I'll let ya know if I run across anything. shoot me a pm with some more info on what your looking for.

You have a great looking boat! Lots of hard work in it I know. I wish I would have installed engine compartment lights like you did. I know you gotta love those dpx's. I still have a ways to go. i know its not going to be that fast, but should hopefully be a real nice low maintenance, turn-key ride. The great thing is, if need be the 496's could be swapped out in a day and be up another 200hp. The thought has crossed my mind. I think I'll like the fuel use of the sb's better though. As for the steering, it is imco rams and tiebar, and custom wingplates. I had most of the hardware and hoses already and the wingplates, so that made it a bit easier. Now if I could just find a cheap steering column I could hit the water.

Well, she made her maiden voyage today. Couple small problems, but nothing major. had a neutral safety switch work intermittently, one shifter hooked up backwards (fixed it on the water), and blew a fuse on a tab pump. other than that, performed flawlessly. The boat is seriously underpropped, but due to that was an absolute rocket out of the hole. Top speed 54 at 5000. it would get to that in about 5 sec from a dead stop and wanted to keep on spinning up. Going to have to go up at least one prop size to start and go from there. It rode great and handled excellent. All in all a superb trial run. Couldn't wait for the paint on the bow hatches to dry so we went without.

Boat looks great in the water. Congratulations on the successful test run. Where do you run the boat at down there? Great job!!!:ernaehrung004:

Very nice !!! looks great

Appears to sit way higher in the stern with the 350s.
Did you notice much handling differences with the lower weight?

Im sure some of that is due to no silent thunder and the lighter hatch cover. I never ran the boat before so I cant compare before and after. seemed to handle very nicely. there is not interior yet either and was light on fuel. new props are here today, if i can get a break in the weather I'm going to go testing.

the river :(

Which size did you end up with, 1 or 2 sizes higher? Can't wait to hear the numbers!

Looks great sabercatt! Very impressive.:drink: Let us know the numbers after she is dialed in.

I went 2 sizes. They were supposed to arrive UPS today, but hit a late train in chicago last night and now I have to wait till monday. :angry-smiley-038: At least its still raining, that way I feel a little better. Sad thing is, they have now arrived but are sitting in a truck in the UPS parking lot till monday. Gives me some time to work on the upholstery this weekend I guess. I should have some info monday night hopefully.

well managed to get the boat out for a 5 min ride tonite before getting rained on. the new props (f8's) did a lot better than my old ones (f6's). Ran just a shade over 61 at 5000rpm. Came on plane with no problem. 4 guys, 1/4 tank of fuel calm water. Im guessing I can probably go up another prop size to f9's (the largest they make), although in the used market (my price range) they are next to impossible to find. Im sure that in a decent chop I will be bouncing off the rev limiters with these still. The other option is to change out my drives for a different ratio. I have 1.95 drives on now and could go to the 1.78's and a smaller prop. not sure if that is the way to go or not. I'm open to suggestions/opinions on that. overall was pleased the results. i was fairly confident going into tonight that the f8's were going to be too large but obviously not the case. I wish I could have spent a bit more time and seen what the cruise speed was. let me know what you think.

Go out and confirm your cruise speed. I'm betting you are at or near the hydrodynamic limit on the drives on the top end. Don't expect too much more speed airing out the hull, a couple MPH maybe, but no magic. If you can get 40mph at ~3200rpm, that would be excellent mid-range out of a pair of small blocks in a 292. It's easier for the 1.95 ratio to spin the bigger prop than it is for the 1.78 ratio to spin the smaller prop. Again, depending on cruise performance, you might be right about as good as it's gonna get.

It might not sound so spectacular compared to what people usually post for these old hulls, but I think 61mph at 5000rpm is incredible for a 292 with small blocks, and that still has a hook in the hull.

I appreciate the input. I will have to do a bit more testing on it and see how it does. I am also going to keep and eye out for a larger set of props and give them a try. These motors really seem to run well. I had a 280 or 300hp tbi volvo in my other boat and there is a incredible difference in the power. Im definitely pleased with the results of the larger prop, but as anyone, if I can squeeze a couple more mph out of the old girl I will. Speaking of the hook, I have contemplated many times about removing it, but was always a bit leary about it. It would not take much work and maybe I should consider it some more. let me know what you think. thanks

Read Vinny's experience on the hook:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...light=272+hook

Sure would be interesting to see how a 292 with Duoprops would respond. I think propeller technology has come a long way since the 70s and 80s and I bet the right prop would negate the need for a hook in the hull. Duoprops throw an unknown into the mix though. You can always put it back. :D

Sabercatt, How's the water level down your way?

rising quickly. a bunch of houses near me are underwater already and its not supposed to crest till friday. The ramp I put in at monday night, which was already flooded then, is an additional 5-6 feet under now. I think they said 10' total rise but haven't heard lately. no boat testing for me for a little while.

Did the 292 actually have the hook? i thought it was only the 242 and 272.My 272 ran 59.9999 small blocks bone stock(260 hp) Ran a 23 mirage at 4800. cruise was 40 @ 3300. My 311hull is actually concaved abit.

Yeah it has the hook. was that gps on the 272? I know Im giving up 2-4 mph with the duoprops, but it sure comes out of the hole great. not sure what year your 272 was, but there is about 1250# difference on the '90s. I need some more seat time to really see how this thing is going to perform. If I can get FRMULTR to dump enough salt in the river up by him, I can pick a couple mph that way. As soon as the water goes down I'll be able to do some more testing. Great weekend for weather, just not for water.

yup GPS mine was a 1987 with 638 hrs when i sold it. The 272 was rated i believe at 5750 dry. I had Alpha drive on my small blocks. The 59.9 was with me and a full tank of fuel.
Here is a pic

good lookin boat. I was tempted to keep my silent thunder platform, but opted to build an aluminum swim platform. it sure does take up a lot of space in the shop though.

Been meaning to ask about the small blocks and Volvos. You mentioned the transom was already cut for the Volvos; do you know the history behind that? Or did the Volvos just happen to bolt up perfectly? Just kinda curious about the history of the boat.

As for the SBCs, a buddy and I have been talking about engine swaps between big blocks and small blocks, and the position of their mounts. Since the 292 was never offered with small blocks, what can you share about how your engines bolted in and aligned? Did the brackets go right back in the original location and the engines bolted on perfect? I'm trying to convince him to acquire a BBC 272 (comes with Bravos and all the good stuff) and drop in "massaged" small blocks. And then lose the hook.

Thanks for sharing!

the only reason i kept it was my wife loved it and the noise police around here. After i put the " thru tunder kit" on it i was for sure i would get busted but never did. Now with the 311 i have kept it all stock the baffles are still in there and they say i am at 92 DB. i will have to quiet it down some how next year.