My 357 SR1- Not really a build thread
 

So my brother and I picked this up a couple weeks ago. 86 357 SR1 420hp 454's, Kaama drives with k planes, AC, shore power, still even has the decanters

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Couldn't get it home because 5 miles down the road the wheels started falling off the trailer. Had to have the whole thing towed to our favorite local boat repair place (Precision Marine in Brentwood, NH).

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Idea was to have the port intake manifold gasket replaced, oil changes, quick look over, fix the trailer, then take it for a shake down run. Upon further inspection into the port motor at least one valve is stuck so the heads need to come off, and the starboard won't idle looks like the carb needs some love. The ****ty 4" pipes the PO used for exhaust are junk, one blew out when we fired the starboard motor. Starting to get expensive . . . .


Axles for the trailer finally came in. Two brake one roller. 102" this thing is wide.

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How it sits currently. Trailer should be done Saturday, boat should be seaworthy in another week or two.

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Comments welcome. Just wanted to share, can't wait to go for a rip. I'll post more progress pics and some in water pics hopefully soon.

Picked up your new toy, can't wait to give her a run - The Good

Trailer problems, mechanical problems - The Bad

"Starting to get expensive" - The Ugly

Welcome to boating and OSO!
Looks like you're on top of things, hope all goes well and you can let her rip very soon, nice looking boat. :)

RR

P.S. Just noticed the trailer, maybe it's addicted to Cigarettes?

Haha yeah the trailer has all of the stickers. Pressure washer should help with that.

I guess expensive is always a relative term. it's a lot of boat for the money- definitely not mad at it. Just itching to see how and what she'll do!

So formula folk, when it's all said and done what are your best guesses for top speed? I'm guessing 65, hoping for more.

I say 72

Formula said 67 with that combo but I would say 64 65

I like it. My favorite set up. Kaama's on a 357 sr1, very elegant boat. A little more speed and cheaper to up keep than bravo or trs. Work the gremlins as they appear and ride on.

My 357 I sold was 500HP from stroker 489cid and TRS. It ran 74 MPH.
You should be 65-67.

So my thought is find some 525sc or 600sc and put the 454's into the 272LS maybe I'm crazy but I think that would make the 272 worth more and free up money to get some powerful motors for the 357 and really tap some potential.

Then again maybe 454's in the 272 is a waste of money. Just not sure I'd get much for these 454's if I went bigger.

I'd love for this 357 to go 80+ without paying an arm and a leg

What is your current 272 powered with and speed? I see its an 86, so 350s and alphas?

Yeah 350's with alphas, gotten it to 58 might have 60 in it somewhere but I haven't found it. Cruising speed is 30-35. I think it'd be fun with 454's, we'd have to get bravos which I know are spendy.

You are going to need 700-750 hp to run higher than 80 so it will cost an arm... And a leg!!!

One of the posters said his 357 did 74mph with 500hp and trs drives- I wouldn't think I'd need an extra 250hp with kaamas for 6 more mph

mine ran 63 with 485...
search for bob barker's tread on his fast 357 for some orher info
but i sure wish you many more mph very as little hp and $ increase!

Nice find and cool boat! I highly suggest you go through those drives this winter (before putting a lot of hours on them) If they were not taken care of and you spin a bearing or wreck a shaft you are going to have a fun time finding spare parts. What are you running for props? Are they short or long shafts?

Before it goes in the water our boat guy is going to pull off the boots and look and them over- luckily he is familiar with the drives (I actually called him before I went to look at the boat).

Props are 3 blade not 5, they don't have a lot of numbers on them but is 17x24L a thing? not sure on long shaft or short

I would also drain the oil in each drive and replace with new. They only take about a quart each! I just completely rebuilt my kaama's this winter so I am very familiar with the components that make them tick! Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks
Jim

Thanks Jim I'll make sure does the oil in the drives. I'm at the point where I don't want to learn just do it for me and tell me it's good haha

The KAAMA advantage is 10% more than a stern drive. My 500HP strokers had a greater torque output than a standard 500HP and more reason for the speed. If you went 525's that probably won't get over 80 but more power should. There was a 357 for sale in NC that was 700's / KAAMA and it ran over 84.
Definitely put the 454's in the 272 and spring that sale on more power for the 357. Those KAAMA drives are waiting to go fast, lol.

To give you an idea i just went through a TRS to Kaama conversion this past winter on my Scarab. I didn't do anything to the Engines (502's making about 565HP a side) and I went from 73MPH with the TRS's to 82MPH with the Kaama's! A bit better than 10% but they are definitely more efficient!

Now I'm getting excited, So as soon as I get the bank account back to where I had it before buying this hog I'll be searching for a pair of 525 or 600 SC's!

If only I wasn't going through a kitchen remodel at the same time. . .

Congrats on the new boat! I had the exact same boat but in red. My set up was warmed over 420's, maybe 450hp, 4 blade props, 26pX16.5. Best was 67 at about 5200rpm. Like mentioned make sure to check/change the drive oil often, same with your twin disc tranns oil. Bearings for the drives are over the counter at most parts stores its the housings, gears, and boots that are hard if not impossible to find. Awesome boat have fun!

Any updates?

I say 70 with one aboard...light fuel load...ideal 2~3 foot chop with the wind. Those boats typically run mid 60's with that power and Bravo I's. Great rought water boat. I've been in the Atlantic down here in the winter on that model in a Small Craft Advisory....5~8' miserable ass water !! The boat will take more than your body will !! LOL

Got the email and realized I hadn't updated this in a while. Boat is at the shop, went over a nice list for the winter with the guy working on it.

As of now motors are out, so here are some pics. Getting a few things redone, mostly making sure it's 100% mechanically right, cosmetic stuff can wait till next winter after we beat it up in the ocean for a season. Redoing the whole engine bay now with new glass (deleting the old exhaust holes), two bilge pumps and new blowers, battteries, refreshing the one old motor, new boots on the kaamas, mkaing sure the kplane pumps are good.

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Engine compartment is cavernous without the big blocks sitting there
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Final one for now, I'll keep taking pics throughout.

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Thanks! Please post pics as you go. Why are you doing bilge area over? Did you find any wet areas or just cleaning up the mess? Love this boat. What are you doing to the motors? Where did you get the replacement boot for the drives? I know a lot of questions, I' m interested in seeing your process. What's up with the trailer so high up, gap between the fenders and tires? Are you going off roading

Yeah I'll keep taking pics I want to document the process, should be a good winter project. Thanks for the compliments, I love it too can't wait to rip around Boston.

Redoing the bilge just to clean it up, should be white, shiny, and look new before the motors go back in.

One motor is new one had a stuck valve and couple other issues, so the new one will just go back in and the older one is getting gone through- not sure if it's a full rebuild yet or what but most likely. The motors are the 420hp 454's so they will stay as is for now. Might do some nice stainless manifolds and risers if it's in the budget but no internal work.

Boots for the drives he's getting from a plumbing supply store I belive.

Trailer is too effing high. We did new axles and springs and brakes and I think he overestimated the weight of the boat. I'd like to pull a leaf out of the spring packs, I imagine this will be very bouncy going down the road how it is currently. After we put the boat in I'll probably address that.

Congrats on the boat. The 357 is a great boat! Classic offshore profile/lines. I had a 1989 272 with 454 (330 HP) and Bravo drives. Went right around 62 MPH. Moved up to a 1989 357 with the 420 HP and TRS drives. Still went right around 62 MPH.... didn't gain any speed but what an improvement on the ride! I now have a 1997 382 with 500 HP and Bravo's. Wife still misses the 357. Still like the profile of the 357 better....

I had a 1989 357 kamma boat. Had multiple issues with the kammas and trannys. One thing to always remember, if your tranny breaks, it locks in forward gear. Almost put my boat into a bridge the time it happened to me. Had a rear seal go out on a kamma and destroyed the gears, shafts, bearings, but not the casings. Local shop rebuilt with common parts. I would recommend replacing all the seals as those drives are old and rubber ages. You won't know there is a problem until its too late. I ended up adding standoff boxes with bravos. I had 502's with prochargers, probably putting our about 500-550 hp. Was able to get 70 mph on gps before I tuliped a valve. Ended up selling to a friend an buying a 1997 419 fastec. I agree with DoczDoc, the 357 has classic lines and is a beast in rough water. I do miss the boat, I looked like I was going 100 mph at 60 mph!! I would also recommend 4 blade props if you need to reprop the boat. much smoother, less vibration. When you are propping the boat, you can actually buy different ratio gear sets for these drives. I understand they were designed with just a few sizes of props and you would buy the gear sets (at a much lower cost than the props) to set speed and rpm. There is actually a Kamma prop made for the drives, but they are rare. Gear sets are 1:1, 8% and 13.5% if I remember. You go + or - % by where you put the gears on the input our output shafts. Kamma really thought about a lot of things when they developed the drive. I have also heard they are good to about 800 hp, but the twin disc is the weak link on hp. Not sure how much they can take. Anyway, look forward to following your build and reminiscing about my 357 kamma. Sweet boat!

Thanks! My brother and I used to drool over these boats up at Lake Winnepasaukee in NH- pumped we own one now. Always loved the lines. Funny that you went from a 272 to a 357 that's exactly what we did. Our 272 with 350's and alphas gets up to about 58. Defintely excited to have the smoother ride from the bigger heavier 357 and hopefully faster with these rooster tails!

Thanks! That must have been awesome with procharged 502's! Yeah I figured I'd need to reprop- seems like the 3 blades aren't enough for these motors with what I'm reading. That will be down the line though, it looks like you can spend a ton of money on props especially trying to tune it- I don't want to be buying and trying multiple sets- at least not now.

Love it !! Deep Purple works great as a Bilge Cleaner and Degreaser.

Go thru and look for anything in the cockpit or cabin that looks marginally fastened or secured. While you have things apart is the best time to give attention to the details.

These boats have great bones...but are notorious for having "Do Dads" shake loose and tear apart during hard use....such as hard Ocean running. Double check screws and fasteners around trim, railing, cleats refrigerators and especially cabin/cockpit doors.

These boats are built to run and take you safely across the water. Time and wear take it's toll but with a bit of work beefing things up you can make your time using that rig more enjoyable.

[QUOTE=seeyouinajif;4507973]Got the email and realized I hadn't updated this in a while. Boat is at the shop, went over a nice list for the winter with the guy working on it.

As of now motors are out, so here are some pics. Getting a few things redone, mostly making sure it's 100% mechanically right, cosmetic stuff can wait till next winter after we beat it up in the ocean for a season. Redoing the whole engine bay now with new glass (deleting the old exhaust holes), two bilge pumps and new blowers, battteries, refreshing the one old motor, new boots on the kaamas, mkaing sure the kplane pumps are good.

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I know you have prolly already seen it but bake sure the forward bulkhead by the gas tank is dry. I had to have mine redone in the exact same spot small crack and waer got in there. Good luck with the redo I loved mine!!!!

Yes I believe that stringer is being redone behind the gas tank, couple small cracks are being fixed as well.

I posted these on facebook but I'll put them here too. Boat is shrink wrapped so he can work on it and motors are out and about to be sent off.

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Thanks for following guys

Cool! you were able to get the Custom super secrete Formula full enclosure. :) I hear you can have it on up to 80mph. Looks nice making some progress. Must be giddy; all the steps you can have input to making over this beauty.

not really a build thread
 

so what is the latest progress?

Bought a left over 1987 357 with Kaama's and 450's from Inovation Marine. Had the boat for a couple of years and loved it. Loved it so much I bought it back 6 years after I sold it although it had stock 502 mags in it by then and was slower. Bone stock the best I ever got out of it was 69 in Key West in 2'-3's. I have had 4 boats with Kaamas and never had any real issues with them. Strong drives and well designed. A friend of mine had a 10 Meter Fountain with Arnesons and it never ran or handled as well as the boats I ran with Kaamas. Just my 2 cents. Oh and I would figure about 650 HP a side will get you to 80.

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