Now for the transome crack....port side was worse than starboard. Does this look serious or just where the deck is mated to the hull?

Anyone know the history of this hull? What boat is/was it.

I have a few questions/thoughts.

1. Which way are the drives rotating? If they are spinning in....that would easily explain the unstable steering issues.

2. Has anyone had a water meter test on the forward section of the sponsons........ If water is present in the storage lockers for a long period..... it may well have gotten into the laminated balsa.... Only thing is than the bow would be heavy and you wouldn't need a person on the front deck to plane.

3. 80 Mph equated to about 375 HP per side or so...on a standard Shadow Cat back in the day....are you sure about the HP?

4. The tunnel tab should cure the "Linder Lope".... but the K Planes will rarely be needed.

5. That transom damage cannot be diagnosed from a photo...have a reputable glass guy look at it.

6. Shadow Cats were built for small blocks and outboards...... and didn't work particularly well with big blocks. Chris Cats were built for Big Blocks....... they liked small blocks too, but were'nt as fast as Shadows with outboards.

T2x

It was the Nina........ not the Nita....... The Nita was the prototype and that putz Columbus ran it aground during testing.

T2x

Take the time to follow T2x's advice. Shadow was his company. He and George Linder were responsible for it. If anyone can diagnose the issues, it's him. Or, barring that, just do as he did and....(drum roll please )


BUY A SKATER!

I know. Big surprise, huh?

Couldn't resist Rich.

T2x, thanks for the response.

1. The props were spinning out. A picture of the prop setup is attached.

2. No water meter test yet on the hull, but my plan is to do that probably through a surveyor if I decide to buy the boat.

3. All indications are that the motors are actually 540's built by Intense Marine. Still haven't seen the build sheets, but the components are there....World Products Blocks, and Merlin heads I have observed. Cams also sounded pretty aggressive so I'd guess the motors are actually built to be 600's. No compression tests done yet but they are only showing 30hrs. All in all, it sounded to me that the carb setup needed work.

4. I think the driver tabbed it with the Kplanes a bit to get it on plane, but he actually had only driven this boat once before. I'm hearing that the Cats take some getting used to and are different for each boat so perhaps with more time and alot more space to run, the boat would have behaved better. We were running in the intercoastal which is only 100 yards wide. Conditions in the ocean weren't too good the day we went out so we didn't try it.

All indications are that the boat is set up correctly and I am told that the boat behaves well. It was set up on Lake X....and a name that was mentioned to me was Allen Wagner. Sounds to me that no expense was spared on this boat during setup. The problem seems to be that the boat has been sitting around and needs to be fluffed a bit, starting with the carbs, and water in the hull.

Any thought on those airation tubes on the drives? Would something like that hold those motors back when trying to plane?

5. I went back to have a further look at the transom. I will have a glass guy look it over, but from what I can see it may be serious. When we lifted on the drive, the crack moves slightly. There was some water in it and you could see it squish out slightly while lifting on the drive.

Is the transom on the Shadows able to handle the weight of the boxes and SSM's? I'd estimate the transom was about 1.5-2 inches thick. I didnt see any cracking on the inside, just the outside.

6. I'd read in this thread that the Shadows aren't built for BB. Is it more a clearance thing and physical fit, or is does it also affect the ride and handling?? I'd read that the Sponsons are narrower than the Chris Cat so is it a bouyancy issue or something like that?

All in all, would you say that it's a smart idea to stay away from the Shadow with Big Blocks? Right now I'm looking for bang for the buck....trying to stay around 50k or less. That rules out the Skater.....at least for a few more years.

Thanks for your help.

Steve If you find that the transom is wet, It may be a good idea to pass. You would be looking at some Major work. Motors out, drives off. That would blow your budget for sure. I think keep looking. It is a buyers market

You can find good deals on 28 foot Skaters. Its a great boat and lots of fun to run and won't cost a lot to maintain. 100mph + with 2.5s. I had one for two years. It was a great boat!!

I agree, that boat seems to have more issues than most. Pass on it and look for something better.

I'll let T2x address the specifics of that question. But, from what I've heard him say over the years, the Shadows were designed from the ground up for outboards or small blocks. I believe (but may be wrong), all characteristics of the boat incuding; sponson width, bouyancy, handling, center of gravity, etc. were all designed around outboards and/or small blocks. The other boats (Chris Crafts and later the Conquests) were designed around big blocks. Everything was changed to accomodate the size, power and weight of the larger big blocks.

T2x can correct the mistakes I probably made in my answer and give you better insight. But, it seems like big blocks and Shadows are not the best combination, forgetting for a second the particular problems with handling, water seepage, fiberglass cracks, etc. with this particular boat.

I think that pretty well covers it.

T2x