38 EC top speed with 525's?
 

I'm sure it's been discussed but what would be top end speed for a 38 express cruiser with 525's and Bravo 3's??
Thanks in advance.
Mike

In the mid 70s.

I'm looking to move into the cruiser world but the wife doesn't want to slow down any!
This boat just might be my ticket!
Thanks!

38EC with 525's
 

We have sold two, I think only 2-3 were ever built with 525's. They both ran 70.

Regards,

Team Shogren

www.teamshogren.com

the one that i had was a 496ho boat and it would hit 60 mph trimmed out to the moon :)
great boat , best of both world's comfort and a decent cruise speed compared to other cruiser boat's

mike

That is a very respectable speed.

Here is a video review of a 38 EC with twin 496 HO's

http://www.boattest.com/boats/boat_v...72#Test-Result

you have to register to view video but it is simple and free.

I have a 2006 (old style cabin) that went 64 (GPS) with Bravo 1's (1.5:1 ratio) and 26" pitch four blade bravo 1 props. The boat originally has Bravo III which I think assist in docking and are currently on the boat (borrowed the bravo 1's from my other boat). The boat plained and maintained a plain easy with the bravo 1 drives. I think I could tweek another mile an hour or two with either 1.65:1 ratio bravo 1 with 26" pitch props or 1.5:1 with 24" props. Anyway, we love the boat, a great combo of speed and comfort. It also rides flat, not like the other cruisers you see riding bow high everywhere they go. Also, saw one for sale a while back with whipples on 500 EFI's that the seller said would run 83 mph. That would get some attention for sure!!

Thanks,

I talked with the owner of the whippled 500 boat and he did confirm the boat ran 80.

I have the same 496H0/B3 set up. 62 with low fuel.
I was wondering if they ever tried the Arnesson surface drives on a 38? Seems to work well on the 47 EC

Can the Bravo 3 drives handle the power of 525's? I seem to remember reading somewhere:

Bravo 3 Maximum Power Capacity 400 HP
Bravo 3X Maximum Power Capacity 450 HP

SR-71

Went to Mercruiser website and they do make a Bravo III XR but it appears to be only recommended up to 65 mph. That would make sense on what I experienced with switching from BIII to BI on my 06. On this boat, with 525's, I would think you would want to go with Bravo I XR to achieve the max speed the boat is capable of.

Im also looking at moving into at 38 EC. Any input from someone who has moved from offshore to one of these? anybody trailer theirs?

I moved from a 97 step hull 419 Formula to the 38EC. The 38EC is actually a much more rigid boat. I did not give up any ride quality, but did go from 83 to 62. I really don't miss the speed as I generally cruised at 45 with the 419 and I cruise at 40 with the 38EC. Obviously, the boat is much larger from a user standpoint and the cabin is better built, more functional and better looking. 38EC runs flat and takes waves very well. Do most of our boating on Florida's west coast and the Florida Keys. Trailer the boat in Florida with a F350 dually. I've learned that pulling is easy, stopping is the hard part. Have an aluminum "C" channel triple axle trailer with 7,500 LB torsion axles and disch breaks on all three axles. Trailer built locally and is similar to the myco. The boat is 10'6" beam which normally requires a permit in most US states and in Florida. Don't have a permit, never been ticketed for pulling. The sides of the boat align with the outside edge of the trailer fenders, so it does not appear to be unusally wide, that is probably why I have never been pulled over. Love the boat, would like a little more speed (70 mph), but that will come in the near future.http://www.osc-eng.com/IMAGES/IMG00004.JPG

Who made the trailer? I noticed it is a painted aluminum.

Sorry for the high jack.

It is actually a powder coated aluminum made by Amera Trail in St. Cloud Florida. "C" channel with 3" box channel cross members, triple axle disk brakes, electric over hydraulic brake system, storage boxes, etc. They smoothed all the external welds and really built a nice trailer. If I remember about $13K when Myco wanted $17K. Boat loads and un-loads very easy and doesn't hang up on steps. Amera Trail does a lot of government type stuff also, will custom build whatever you want.

Great looking setup!!

Wilson Custom Marine had one 38 EC with Arnesons back in 2008 I believe.


Why not go for a pair of 1350s?!?!??! :-D

The 38EC/525EFI/BIII is perfect for the ASD#7M conversion. According to Rik, you should easlity be able to pick up 10+mph over the BIII. And you will not have reliability or corrosion issues to worry about.

38 ec
 

Nice rig! 38 EC and truck

If anyone has any questions or if you want to explore service or customization upgrades please contact us.

We are open for business.

Theres a 48 EC in Ontario that has triple 700's... not sure on top speed but its probably one of the fastest cruisers ever made!

Went from a 93mph 35 Lightning to this, and never looked back. It is awesome in the big water, and you can stand up and pee.
We trailer it with a TopKick DuraMax and it pulls fine, but gets squirrelly over 65mph with the tanks full. Never a dull moment.
Again, any input on an Arneson conversion with the 496HO's?
Carder

What kind of input are you looking for? You should contact Rik at Arneson. If you are currently running BIIIs you should see a significant increase in top speed and cruise efficiensy. Possibly 10 mph.

I'm curious if it has ever been done on a 38.
I have a bad history of being someone else's free guinea pig for unproven R and D...
... don't want to make that mistake again.

Fill in the step, large dia. 4 blade elephant ear props (at least 18'), get them as low as possible, & notch the hatch on the inside to clear the air cleaners. There you have it!

Why do want to fill in the step and run old technology props deep in the water? How do you mount ASDs deep? Makes no sense to me. All the diesel ECs with ASDs and the other boats with surface drives run cleavers and it works perfectly. The Fountain hulls, sport and EC hulls have run with ASDs and other surface drives before. I fail to see how it's new. I've never seen a Fountain with a different hull, just because it ran a surface drive.

Carder, if you are seriously considering this, the guys to talk to, are Fountain Performance Marine and Rik. ASDs on Fountains are nothing new, they know how to do it. If the sport series and EC 48 can run surface drives, whether it being ASDs ,#6 and so on, why not the EC38. It's the same kind of hull. Also, according to Rik, notched transoms are in most cases not an issue - if it is, usually a minor one. Just remember that dialing in is a must, there is no such thing as plug and play drive installations.

Fountain guys, do you have an input here?

Rik knows my boat very well. Had the installer listened to Rik in the beginning I'm sure it would have worked out differently. The drives were installed too high on the transom due to the 38'S UNUSUALLY HIGH DEEP STEP yes, it is different than other 38"s. In my sitiutaion an ideal install would have been to either fill in the step or make a water deflector to close up some of the step so the angle of attack off the bottom would have been correct. What you are not accounting for in your post is that the step on the 38 sport fish & ec are higher. There is a significant weight difference in the front of both boates that change its planning characteristics compared to the sport boats. If you want surface drives & the speed that goes with them theres no doubt in my mind Rik & who ever he works with can make it happen correctly.He is the man, and the Arnesons are awsome when there installed correctly.

Carver, if you will measure your the center of your propshaft to the running surface you will see that it is 4 to5 inches below the running surface, thats so it will plain out due to cg's heavy in the front. I am currently having 525's installed as we speak, hoping for 70+.

Anyone else have any input on owning one of these?? Spring is coming and i don't want to be boatless

I recently purchased a 2004 38EC through Fountain Performance Marine. I did a lot of research prior to this purchase. I couldn't find any other cruiser this size that had the performance characteristics this boat has.

"I am currently having 525's installed as we speak, hoping for 70+."

Very interested to know how your boat performs with your upgrades. Please keep us informed.

edit:

I contacted Rik at Arneson Surface Drives. He said two 38EC's have been retrofitted with these drives. (I'm guessing Slug-ger's 38 may be one of them.) Rik also stated there are two configurations of the 38EC's hull, one with a transom notch and one without, and stated the one without the notch is not a problem, and he said the one with a notch will work also. The Arneson Bravo conversion kits run $23,125 each.

Big question in my mind is what the performance differences would be when attached to the various 38EC engines (496's, HP500's, or 525's). My thought is, higher performance figures and lesser maintenance costs may make these drives a good deal over time., but I'm new to this game. Any thoughts?

Don't forget to add the cost of the props

Looks like Arneson has two versions of the Bravo Conversion Kit:

Model 7M uses Speedmaster Prop

Model 7MB can accepts standard Bravo style prop

A set of BIII props aren't exactly cheap. And the SSM props are a lot stronger than the Bravo props.

I'd think the SSM props are the way to go on the 38EC.