I think it's the shift/clutch cone. It either needs to be replaced or lapped in with valve lapping compound to make it uniformly engage the gear.

That's a great idea!!! Lol

Yeah...Imagine that...LOL

UPDATE:

Turns out that the newly hubbed prop is still slipping and needs to be re-hubbed again!!!

Tommy Hoffstetter had two props done at the same time and both of his failed. We will give the prop shop the opportunity to redeem themselves before we cast the first stone...

Hope it's just the prop John.

Mike...It is. I swpped back and forth between drives and ran the starboard side in reverse...it bllew out at 1800 RPM...port drive pulled fine with tyhe other prop...deffinoitely the prop.

This is good to here at least your not pulling drives and such, it will be nice to go for a ride with out problems.

Tommy is pushing me to jump in and do the poker run from Miami to Key Largo this weekend...I think I'm going to do it.

Good for you, a little time out of the house will be good. Just remember we need pics, Miami sounds a little better than Massachusetts right now.

Start livin brother..

p

Roger that...

OK...got everything together...seas are two feet all weekend...I'm out this weekend!!

Go get it John. Can't wait to see your feedback on cr vs both going one way. It'll be an interesting read when you post it.

OK..the difference is dramatic...however.... this boat with 800 plus horsepower is a bit over powered...HELL it's a LOT over powered!!! As a result I have absolutely got to add drive and tab indicators. the boat is so sensitive to trim at speed that it's very easy to over compensate or over correct for tilt and trim. Once proper trim is achieved through trial and error this thing is a bullet. The acceleration from 25-30 to 65-70 is scary...I mean like really scary!! Add lack of ability to make minor trim adjustments to compensate for any "twitchiness" and you have your hands full.

So I'm cruising around outside in the ocean this afternoon about 35 MPH at less than 2000 RPM (I know...unreal)...find a several mile long stretch of clean water about a mile off the beach and let her fly....65 comes as soon as the secondaries open with 70-75 coming seconds later with NO HESITATION. The bow rides perfectly and the hull is planted as it should be with no wobble or chine walk. I hit a roller and caught a bit of air...as I instinctively pulled the throttles...soon as I come down I nail the sticks and the bow finds the sky as the Vortecs say hello to the water with out a bit of fade. I glanced at the GPS and see 78 as I crap my pants...left hand with a death grip on the wheel...right hand getting fuel out of the reach of this monster.

It's at this point I realize two things...This can hurt you bad...and it want's to go!!!

So the plan is as follows:

1. Mechanical/Cable real time drive trim indicators
2. K-Planes (280's) instead of Bennett s...for real....with trim indicators.
3. Trim switches in the throttles.
4. Kill Lanyards.
5. Life line jacket.
6. Hydraulic External Steering.

As I was running around outside I thought...I need 10 more feet of boat...this is nuts!!!

I have successfully developed a propulsion package for this boat that exceeds the original design limits of the hull...plain and simple. Additional torque and power is un necessary..period.

Further development of this piece of equipment will be rigging and engineering to harness this power to weight ratio into a safe usable form. The Vortec Small Blocks coupled to Bravo drives have exceeded my expectations...NO $HIT...Really? LOL

Stay tuned...

Oh...forgot to mention...coming back in to the ramp that I chose way far inland...I hit a BFR 2500 and put a ding in my starboard prop so back to Frank and Jimmy's

It`s so good to hear this, with all the work you have done. I will say you may have one of the older Formulas on the site and now one of the fastest.

Great to hear John. Also great list of parts needed. I have a cp performance double engine kill lanyard.

http://www.cpperformance.com/p-13200...op-switch.aspx

One switch does both engines. Out of original packaging but brand new. Get with me if ya want it.

I do...send me a PM

Congrats on the running John, fantastic to here. What is a BFR 2500? I would guess BFR to be a Big F'n Rock, but the 2500 after it kinda kills that thought!

2500 # lol

Glad you finally have your boat running strong. Once you put the hydraulic steering on it will feel like a 10 ft bigger boat. The difference is amazing and the boat will be a rock, and not so scary. Your getting to the speeds that stronger steering is a must. Again, congrats and glad your hard work paid off. Jason

I met with Tommy Hoffstetter today and got the benefit of his expertise. Tommy gets neck deep into every thing and I knew not to expect less from him in his analysis of my boat...so pull up a chair...this is going to be good.

After crawling thru the bilge and taking several measurements determining the X dimension Tommy devised a plan.

The engines are coming out along with the drives, gimbals and transom assemblies. We are filling the transom cut outs refinishing the gel coat and re cutting the openings...raising the X dimension 4"-6". My drive cavitation plates on the lowers are even with the bottom of the hull...not good. The way he explained it to me...the props are so deep that the turbulence from the hull is screwing with the drives so badly that at speeds over 60-65 this boat is hard to control. The goal is to get the props closer to the surface and move to a 4 or even 5 blade prop. We considered putting a pair of Imco Shorty's together using some spares around his shop but that only gives us 2" which wouldn't be worth doing.

So while all this is going on we are going to part and piece together hydraulic external steering. After I listened to some of the tragedies Tommy has seen with high speed boats using cable steering he sold me on the idea. Along this trip I will get mechanical indicators for the Bravo's and new/used K Planes. The new motor mounts will be offshore tube steel pieces bolted through the stringers.

Last but not least the 255 will get thru hull exhaust with some muffler tips...Tommy looked at me and just shook his head when i said anything about keeping the Y Pipes!!!

In his words..."John...you've got something that runs strong here and can be very dangerous with out proper rigging. You're my friend and I'm not going to let you go out and kill yourself !!!"

It's great to have good, knowledgeable friends...especially when the friend happens to be Tommy Hoffstetter.:evilb:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...trim-tabs.html

Here ya go John.

Have a request John, could you document this as well as you can? Like what your prop depth is before and after? After reading about your 272 with ss drives, I always wondered about changing x dimension if it would work someday. Never may, but this project sure sounds interesting!

I am curios just how deep the drives sit now. A couple pictures from the rear with the drives level would help also.

Brian

If tommy wants to go up 4" I'm guessing they are at least 8" below now, meaning a 14" x dimension. John how about going up 3" with the x dimension and the 2" shorties? My thinking is this a relatively deep, top heavy boat, keep the engines a little lower, but gain the prop shaft height. And don't start until after may, I'll be back down and you owe me a trip out lol

Red...it's deep.The lower cavitation plate is even with the hull where it breaks. I like the lower center of gravity but the cost of shortys is crazy in this boat. The 255's, Liberator, Freedom Cruiser and Castaway (Fly Bridge) all shared the same deep free board hull. The Castaways had ballast added to comp for the fly bridge. the Lib's and Cruisers did not...due to the depth. The hulls do get up on top but there is so much of it that the power is in a fight to lift the stern. If I get too much stern out I plow the bow which gets this rig darting around like a top water Bass Lure.

Dollar for dollar I face the choice now if it's not economically feasible to find another boat like a 272 with twin 260's in it running and swap around. I don't think a 272 is that deep. We're talking $11k for a pair of new shorty's and that's nuts on this boat.

All taken into consideration...this hull is not as fast in smooth water as a 242 or 272 that carries less free board....but in the ocean...I wave good by because of the added displacement and that velvet ride that this wave buster provides. Trim becomes critical and once it's achieved I run with 30' plus hulls in the slop....sort of like a "Bob Tail" F-302. I don't want to sacrifice that because I don't run this Bird on a lake LOL.

Got a lot of thinking to do but for now my concentration is going to be on tightening up the steering and trim indicators.

See you in May!!

Moving On...
 

Well gang...I think I have taken the old 255 as far as I can. It has been fun and the boat is a beast...but with this power and drive package I am miles and dollars ahead to move these engines and drives to a stronger platform. I have purchased a 1989 272 SR-1 from "Sick Stinger" and "Smokin Gun" from the Boston area ...less power, drives and controls...all of which will be donated from the 255.

I am yet undecided as to what to do with the 255...it might become a Center Console with a pair of 250 Outboards on brackets or I may sell it whole or part it out.

I don't know how fast the 255 would have gone...I saw 78 GPS on a few occasions and will say over 70 it was a handful to say the least.

I know from owning a 272 and being on Diego's 272 SR-1 that the SR-1 is a very capable heavy water package and with SBC power as opposed to BBC's in the same boat with similar power...this will be a runner for sure.

Stay tuned for a new thread soon on the resurrection of a 1989 272 SR-1.

As of now the boat will be named "Watch Her Strut"...from Bob Segars song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qbeIwn5jR8

Stay tuned...

That should be a fun new thread!!! I really liked the 255!!!

Sounds like you made a good choice moving to a larger boat. I enjoyed the thread on the 255 so I can't wait for the new one on the 272.

Dave

That was a great deal one that 272, I can't wait to see this transformation. Any idea when they are bring her down.?

Congrats on the 272, you have come full circle! Any idea on what you are going to do with drive height?

Brian...I think I'm going to leave it alone and see how she performs. I have some trips planned and want to get the SR-1 in the water quickly and work out any glitches I may have....however I think it should be good enough with the Bravo's and where the cavitation plate falls relative to the bottom.

UPDATE

Well...looks like I'm back into the 255 project.

I really wanted to go with the 272 SR-1...but there was just too much real estate between me and the boat and the timing was always wrong with the pick up of the boat.

Gordon (Smokin Gun) was a true Professional through the entire process and insured that I didn't loose a dime on the deal.

I'm going to run the 255 like it is for a while...tweaking this and that. I will start a complete cockpit and cabin upgrade soon and build some comfort back into this Old 'Bird.

Stay tuned.

So have you run it more yet? wondering what it ends up running like once you get some time on it.

Too bad about the 272, I wanted to jump on it also as it looked nice. But I just got back from a 4 week vacation with the wife and 7 kids out west, so the timing was definitely off. I wonder what he did with it? Driving back from out west I thought about you and the lack of a progress report, glad to see you post again.

I have a motor back out of mine looking at a suspect oil pump. Hope to have it back together next week for some testing.

Brian

We'll glad see your still at it that 272 would have been nice, but a lot of miles. Any up dates.

Befu, I thought this was your summer with engines staying in.

I plan to get back into the 255 soon.Been concentrating on work and a new lady in my life...so most of my free time is being allocated these days...LOL!!

Good for you it can't always be about boating:drink:

Looking forward to seeing what you've got planned for the 255... great job so far sir, kudos!!

Thanks guys. This is getting to be one of those projects that reminds me of the "Project X " '57 Chevy that Car Craft did decades ago...LOL.

At this point the emphasis is going to be on optimization of what I have done and creature comforts. The 255 doesn't need to go any faster...it's "dangerous" enough as it is LOL!! Controlling all of this safely is primary as well as upgrading the cockpit and cabin finishes and amenities.

I am at the crossroads of either stripping it out ad making a racer out of it or finishing it out and making something nice...I choose the latter. My lady and I want to spend some quality time on the water with a safe comfortable and reliable vessel so that's the direction I am moving.

Stay tuned...:bananalove:

Sucks about the 272 John. Wish you could have gotten it

Just too much geography Mike...just couldn't get it done. Every time I thought I had a hauler the deal fell through...got tired of the drama.