Outboard powered boats
 

What is your opinion of outboard powered boats, as far as speed goes?

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

i think they are a reliable, effecient, weight saving power for lighter boats. great for a lakeor river , but in the ocean would rather have the weight of 2 or three stern drive setups

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I like mine.. I would have voted that way but must vote for allan

http://stupidfastboats.com/sangg.jpg

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i have a pair of 300's. they take a little getting used to. sound funny, smoke when you first start them. cant beat the speed they produce but they ARE thirsty :eek:

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packinair-a lil stern heavy? :D
i got a 235 rude on my 18 check....always starts up when my dads big cig wont :evilb:

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They may be thirsty, but nothing like a pair of big blocks that it would take to make the same boat go just as fast. Plus, your cruise speed will be higher.

Now I am going to go winterize my boat. Since I have outboards, this is going to consist of taking the beer out of the cooler and putting the cover on. :drink:

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

We love the O/B set-up on our '05 26' Daytona. We previously had a '01 26' Daytona with the 575SCi (with the Arizona Speed and Marine 575 kit). Best speed 89.8 GPS. swinging a labbed 32 Bravo, 2 people, gear, stereo, etc.

Our '05 with the 300X's runs 112 GPS :drink: .........all conditions the same. Cruises 80 @ 5k and 100 @ 6k..... spinning 32 pitch 3 blade Metc cleavers..turning out.

A performance boat is going to have issues from time to time but at least when one of these has a problem the other gets us back. I do miss the noise of the big blocks though.

CC

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Ithink outboards are great on <30' speed boats or larger CC's. Intrepid put them on their new 47 which looks rediculous, but they get good performance out if it. I dont think they belong on bigger speed boats though.

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I had to vote as an I don't care. I've got one on my boat and it gets the job done. Would I like a stern drive? You bet, if for nothing other than the sound!

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I have twin Promax 300s and I love them. No problems other than one gear case one time. I know some folks that have inboards and have problems every time they go out. I just gas and oil up and go for the most part....

The bigger boats need the the inboards but anything that can haul a$$ with outboards should run them. I must admit though that the sound of the inboards is much superior :D

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

I ran bbchevs for years,went to ob,s cause of a great deal,i would not go back,surprise surprise,just gas and go,a powerhead is alot easier and cheaper to change than pullin out a 800 lb lump of cast iron!!! don't shoot me yet,but the otherhand no ob can keep up with a pair of blown chevies in a 30 plus cat!! I live on the bay and most of the time i hear the obs flyin and a large amount of i/os just pushin water,makin alot of noise,but there are some exceptions tripps

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Have a pair of 250 EFI's, love em! You can't beat OB's for the ease of maintenance. Not having to climb in a bilge has it's benefits. Fuel consumption ain't that bad either.

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

Doug Wright
AMT
Seems like these 30-32' boats run just fine in
the ocean.

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Nothin' beats the sound of a pair of big blocks , from idle to WFO. But they gotta be easier to work on and changing an engine can't be much harder than changing an outdrive. Winterizing...a piece of cake like X-rated 30 said. I've had eggbeaters and they do have advantages. Switched to big blocks 12 years ago for the sound , but could go back :rolleyes:

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

I own one of each. A cat with twin O/B's and a cat with twin blower engines. Under 30' on a cat the O/B is the way to go. If you insist on the going well over 100 mph than the blower engines are the way to go. For pure fun the O/B cat is a blast on lakes.

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I think you should put Promaxs on your new MTI!!!

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I have a 28 skater with 300x's it is really alot of fun. gas n go doesnt use to much fuel. i have 245hrs on them nothing has broken as of yet. will never go as fast as big blocks but alot less money in maintnance gas and initial cost. its a real fun boat to drive. can cruise at 80 to 100 mph. this past saturday it ran its best speed ever 121.7gps (with 245hrs) totaly stock I have to say Diamond marine (Marty and JOE) deserve all the credit they set the boat up!

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

I like mine,but I miss my 502s.

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To get to 2000 ponies I do not think seven 300X Promaxs will fit on the back. And then I would need 45 pitch props to get to 160. :D

I love these eggbeaters!

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Nothing like the sound of 2.5 Mercs running at 7000+ rpm!!!!
X-driver

If anyone is interested, I have 2 2005 X motors for sale.
PM if interested

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Nothing beats that sound...It is one of the reasons I got into these kind of boats, and I wouldn't trade that big block sound for anything.

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I'm seriously considering OB's on my next boat. I love the sound of thru-hull exhaust, but i'm willing to trade it for OB reliability. I'm looking in the 25'-30' range though, as i agree anything above 30 (other than CC's) really needs stern drives.

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X-Drvier:
I agree, but it's even better @ 10,000+ :D ...........
Steve

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I think I'll always have outboards. I know people that swear by both but I like the sweet smell of Klotz 2 stroke oil. Makes me wanna ride in reverse!!

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Hey Lee:
Are you selling that Cougar? That is one sweet ride. How did your trip to TN go this summer?
We'll have to hook up next time you guys come over.
Regards,
Steve

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I'd have a Cat with O/B's if it wasn't for Insurance :(

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

I never thought I'd consider outboards, not fun trolling in an oil haze.

But, with the new four stroke outboards, that has totally changed my opinion.

My only issue with outboards now is that you can't tie up stern to the dock. Of course, same problem with inboards and extension boxes.

As we cruise extensively, outboards or inboards with extension boxes just don't work for me. If we did not, I think the new four stroke outboards just might be the preferred setup for shallow water or ocean use. Also, you could bottom paint the boat and tilt the motors out of the water...sweet!

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Nothing Beats The Sound Of Big Blocks And Engine Scoops Look Far Better Than Engines Hanging Of The Back!all Boats Are Cool Though,as Long As Your Having Fun It Doesnt Matter!

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I have it for sale, and a steal at that. 55K I may keep it....hell I don't know. Still not leaving outboards. We had a great time on Center Lake last summer! We're moving to Lake Murray this spring. Maybe we'll catch up with yall on Lake Hartwell or Lanier.

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21 Skater with a 2.5 EFI = 92mph What a ride, outboards are FUN :D

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As said above, as far as cost and longevity is concerned, I dont think there is a better way to run over 100mph than with O/B. I run a pair of 300 promax's on a 28 Skater, best speed to date 2 weeks ago 111.3, with a pair of 300x's you can see the 120 mark. Quite honestly it will take a ton of motor in a single engine cat to run more speed than that. Winterization is a big plus.......there isnt any :D :D


Skaterjim - Congrats on the speed!!!

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

I have an 04 with X's and I am in the middle of dialing it in. I am running 5.5" jack plates at 1.5" above the bottom. With 15x33 labbed Merc 3 blade cleavers I ran it 117 two weeks ago(heavy on fuel on fresh glassy water).

What props are you running? and is my set-up close to yours by chance?

BTW, I have owned both I/O's and O/B's and the O/B's are more fun IMO.

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This was my first season running outboards and they did great by me. As far as sounding "sexy", well, not sold there yet, I still like the big block sound.

Allan4 :D ; gotta love it.

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my OB cat is only about a G a year

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With the price of fuel in England outboards or inboard deisels are the way to go - I get 70 mph from a 200 hp outboard in the race boat and 60 mph from a 225 Optimax in the leisure version - not bad for an offshore boat that will cope with a force 6 offshore!

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

Sign4Boat:
Yes it did. That was Mike Gay's Quartermaster. He and Willy were the Mirage dealers out of Louisville for a while.
I hadn't seen them or the boat in years. Mike and his son had quit racing. A mutual friend from Frankfort told me it was for sale. It had sat in a barn for 3 years.
I remembered that Brad Collins had built them a very nice Qship. Bare hull weight was 500lbs.
I totally rerigged it bow eye to propnut. It was the best race boat I ever owned. It ran 119.85 @ 6.07 at Smokin in the Cove 3 years ago. That's a 1000' course, which is a football field and end zone LESS than a 1/4. That was also at 500HP (single stage) with a motor that had another 110HP unused.
We messed up some inboards with it. Here's one of my old S&F avatars. It's in Ohio now. I hated letting it go, but it is a dangerours sport. A friend of mine got killed the year after I hung up the helmet, which convinced me I made right decision.
The pretty Jaguar won wild paint job of the year in Hot boat a few years ago. It's in Florida now. Should have kept that one!
Regards,
Steve

Re: Outboard powered boats
 

As far as Thrills this boat seems to do it for me.

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Not to speak for Jim, but I bet if you raised the motors about 1/4" and run the boat dry on fuel and run a set of 15x34's, I think you will see very close numbers. I really liked your hull mounted water pickups. I have been thinking about doing the same.

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hey Wayne good shots of your boat ,looks like your running real well thats the best #s ive heard with 300 promaxs . your right 1/4 " or so and some good 34 props and 120 or more is possible. keep in touch , look forward to boating with you .