johnnyoffshore

Kewl, Thanks Guys!

THEJOKER

If you want extreme comfort you may want to try the shock absorber system

Stormrider

1. do you have anymore pics?
2. I've heard she really runs great! more comments please.
3. Any details on power/drive and how they hold up?

I met Jack, the designer(& builder) 5yrs ago... and he has some great building techniques. Sharkey seems to know him well.

btw... PPI is the chit.

johnnyoffshore

I am getting those PPI bolsters!

Here is some info on my boat. This is the story and info as best I can remember and tell it:
Our race boat is a 1995 Hydra Powerboats "Spirit" 30' Race Boat. Charlie Benton was the original owner and he was the engine builder for NASCAR’s Alan Kulwicki’s Hooters race team. Charlie had Jack Domick, owner of Hydra Powerboats Inc. "Jack's Shop" out of Toms River, NJ, to put together the hull. Hydra provided superior craftsmanship and materials along with special designs and manufacturing for offshore race boats. Jack Domick had contracted Tim Sharkey to work on the lay-up; Tim was a subcontractor to Hydra. Lay-up was super light and done right!!! Amazing craftsmanship! Roger Munn owned the mold and he called the design “Spirit”. Roger was also Charlie Benton’s throttleman when he raced in 1995 in A-Class as A-60. Boat ran under the name “Tina Maria”, I believe at first and then later as “Team Mean Green”. Once the fiberglass work was done, the boat went to Kurt’s Marine out of Brick, NJ. Kurt’s Marine did some of the major rigging and cut X dimension, the x dimension is extremely high! I believe after that, the boat then went to “Fountain” Powerboats in Washington, NC. There, Jerry Haney did some more rigging and the wiring. Then the boat went back to Charlie’s in Concord, NC where he built the motor and the rest of the rigging was complete. The motor then was a 468/850HP dry sump A-Class motor. The boat then went to Mercury Racing’s Lake X for testing and dialing in. I bought the boat from Charlie Benton in 2002. Soon after that my wife and I had our first baby, so I gave up racing for a bit. I never raced this boat; I bought it to replace my 24 Baja Outlaw that I used to race as P5-69 under the name Team Baja/Full Throttle. Now my daughter is 3 & my boy is 2. We are done having kids and its time to get back into offshore boat racing! So I am getting the boat together now for the 2008 season. I have a very small budget, so it will take some time and help. Plan to run in OPA Series as P-Class boat in 2008. Boat has a very light lay-up, around 4900lbs, might be more lbs after new cockpit configuration and other improvements. Motor is at Wally’s Precision Machine Racing Engines out of Chester, VA. New motor is to run on pump gas, 91 octane. The block is a GM Bow Tie 4-bolt main tall deck-100 over 454 (475CI), will be a fixed/mechanical roller cam, the heads are Reher-Morrison Brodix aluminum CNC ported heads and some additional port work done to the exhaust with a little clean up work done to intake, using Crane Gold racing full roller rockers, oiling system is a Weaver dry sump system with Weaver pump and tank & Mercury Racing SC1000 oil pan, the crank is a LA Enterprise Kryptonite stock 454 length, the rods are Carrillo Rods little longer then stock length (but not stroked) SRP Pistons flat tops at 8 to 1 comp, The Blower Shops 871 with Teflon in the rotors, intake is port matched with Keith Eickert Performance Products intercooler with Cupro-nickel core, 2 Nickerson Performance Marine 980 cfm Blower Carbs, Fluidampr Harmonic Race Balancer, Jesel belt drive system, Keith Eickert Dual Stage Extreme Raw Water Pump and water crossover setup with 2 Keith Eickert sea strainers, offshore water pickup & out drive pickup, MSD 7ML-2, MSD Pro Power Coil & MSD Marine racing distributor, Presolite alt and Tilton starter, CMI Comp SS big tube headers with 4" w/ dry pipes, complete Imco Xtreme Advantage SC1000 drive w/ 1 1/4 “ prop shaft & Mercury Racing HD gimble housing, we will have a Throttle-Up CNC 5 or 6 blade prop recommended by Matt & Julie. We are working with them now, just need the dyno sheet once the motor is done and the boats new weight to give them. Chris Dann, formerly of “Fountain” Powerboats in Washington, NC, who is now working out of Tappahannock, VA along with Thomas Carneal of Tappahannock, VA are doing the rigging of the new motor and the cockpit reconfiguration using PPI high back race seats. Chris Dann will be the crew chief for Aqua-Holic Racing. Johnny Harrison and Thomas Carneal will flip a quarter to see who will be the wheelman and who will be the throttleman.

We are currently seeking sponsorship for our race team for OPA 2008 season:
[email protected]http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=148567

Stormrider

WOW... thats some detailed post.
I think you may want to check w/ sharkey on this site for info on the boat.
If it was built at Jack's shop, thats all I'd care about.
I kept looking at it while it was for sale... but my timing is all f'd up.
I really dig the boats looks and a 32 w/ single is a great idea, especially since the boat is so light.
I hope you enjoy the boat, its really cool.
Keep me in mind when you are ready to run p-3.
The PPI would make me want the boat even more.

Btw, we need pics!!
And updates of the interior and engine w/ photos.

johnnyoffshore

I have chatted with Tim a few times about my boat and he did have it on his site for me in the classified section when I was thinking of selling the boat. Yes, it was built at Jack’s shop, Hydra. I really do enjoy the boat. I am looking for someone to throttle boat and help out once I get it in P3 or P2 Class. Once I have the motor done and dyno’d I will keep you posted. Once the interior is done, I update you. As far as pictures, I am unable to attach photos for some reason? I think its OSO side, because I can on other sites and emails. Still trying to fill in a few blanks and get the history correct on my boat, but I think it is close.
Take care,
Johnny

Stormrider

Here are some pics of the boat during construction.
And i think we'll all recognize the one in the water... at least i do.

Stormrider

Here are some pics....

Stormrider

...

Wardey

You wont be dissappionted if you go with PPI. Very helpfull and they have alot of ideas to work with. Here's a few pic's. Dave