Plan B - need opinions
 

Since I haven't had much luck trying to sell or trade the Mach, I'm thinking maybe I'd be better off going to "Plan B" and doing some upgrades. I'm real happy with the boat other than it's slower than I'd like because it's underpowered for it's weight. It's a fair amount heavier than a lot of other 29' boats.

The boat is a 29' Mach1, std 24deg v-hull, approx 6850 lbs with people, gas, & gear. Mainly will be boating at LOTO, but we want to get out to see some other places, go on a couple poker runs. I'm having a hard time figuring out the best way to go. Here's the options I'm considering.

1) Leave the boat stock (454mag) and keep it for-sale till it sells, then upgrade. Downside is I'm getting the impression this may take all summer.

2) Whipple the 454mag. Speed calculator says 66mph, maybe 69mph with short drive and labbed prop. Probably the most cost effective.

3) 600hp 540. Speed calculator says 67mph, maybe 70-71 with short drive and labbed prop. I could sell the 454mag I have (140hrs) to offset some of the cost. Might not end up being that much more expensive than option #2.

4) Low hour used or rebuilt 500hp or 500efi. speed calc says low 60's. The EFI is real nice. I could whipple it later, but I'd need a drive upgrade too. Speed calc says 75, but this could be a pricey option. Re-sale might be better long term with a 500hp than option #3.

5) Go all the way. Supercharged 540ci 750-800hp, upgrade to BMAX or new IMCO xtreme SC w/ext box and hyd steering. Speed calc says could hit 80mph. By far the coolest option but definetely the most expensive. I have reservations about putting that kind of $ into this boat and have concerns about general reliability. Plus, this is probably just plain crazy.

Right now I'm kind of in a toss up between options #2 & #3.
What do you all think? Any other suggestions?

The money you put in to go faster will take a one way trip. Most buyers of a boat like that will want stock type power so if you do upgrade with the intention of selling it someday stick with the merc stuff.
Realistically you have to decide how you want to use the boat. If you are going to trailer it than go ahead and hop it up as you can still trailer that one with a std pickup. If you want o get a place at the Lake then sell it as a longer boat will ride better on the weekends which is when you will spend most of your time there.
If you want me to decide for you I need more information.
Steve

I agree. If you think it is hard to sell now, image how difficult it will be to sell with 600 to 800 hp. Most people looking for a boat like that want a turn-key boat, not a boat that is a handful to take care of. I would think about lower the price a bit more and take the hit now then spend all that money and then take a big hit later. Plus, I am not sure how that boat will handle with 600-800 hp. It was just not built to have that much power in the rear. If you are going to keep it, I would do nothing more than whipple it. Just my opinion. Good luck.

i jsut happen to be looking for a short block or long block 454. How much are you looking to get for the 454 mag???
i voted for the 540,. what is it they say?


no replacement for dispalcement......

You can lower your asking price by almost the amount of the upgrade and sell the boat for cheaper and be money ahead. There lots of great buys out there.

big boat + big power= appetite for Bravos
 

You'd probably be money ahead to take a beating on a trade.

You don't say whether your 454mag is EFI or not- if it is, I can vouch for the turnkey reliability of the Whipple set-up.

The reality though is that its a big, heavy, lot of wetted surface area single engine boat. The only thing keeping the Bravo alive now is that it is lower power and propped. Up the power and the prop and the Bravo just became the fuse. If you do up power facot in the cost of a drive upgrade now. good luck!:D

Wow...
 

... so far the "ask the audience" lifeline has 77% saying sell/trade instead of upgrading HP. I must say that I am somewhat surprised. It's not exactly what I expected from a high performance boat site.

I appreciate all the input VERY much and am weighing it heavily. Until now I was ready to drop some jack on a 600hp 540. It's nice to get opinions from people that are a looking in from the outside to give better perspective.

Thanks,
Shorty

Puder - I may have to throw out your vote, your opinion looks biased since you want the 454! :D At this point, I'm leaning away from that now but I'll let you know if that changes.

Cat - yes its a '99 454mag mpi. I really like fuel injection too.

27MM - yeah we do want to trailer some and I only have a halfton pickup. We currently keep it on a lift at LOTO (14mm) and I agree you can't have a big enough boat for ride quality there. It does ok, but a few more feet would make a big difference.

On the other hand??
 

Mach- it sounds like the boat is very much geared towards your needs exept you want more speed.

You want to visit other places and it's about as big as you can go towing with your 1/2 ton truck.

The 24 deep v and weight is as good as you're foing to get in that size range at LOTO

If It's a 99 boat (making a leap because it's a 99 mag efi) than trading/selling is very difficult as you are competing with new boat financing and assuming you took care of it there is not much to gain in terms of available new technology, lack of wear & tear etc.

It sounds like you'd be happy to keep her if only the speedo needle swept a little further. Upping the power may make sense. In that case I would strongly consider the Whipple option. There would be less labor (No engine pulling and rigging), could be done by a competent do it yourselfer, could later be returned to stock for resale, retains efi reliability, a little more power than the big cube NA route, it's relativle efficient at cruise (boost bypassing, minimal extra load on engine either), I could go on.

Anything more than the power you have- I would start with an XZ or XR upper as a minimum. You could likely do the whole thing for close to 10K assuming you shopped around and did the work yourself, 15k if you got a little more spendy. I'm in NW AR if you want to check out an installation etc. Good luck!

:D

I'm with Puder and I don't want the 454 as I already have one I wish I didn't have. The 540 is set up better for the HP where as the 454 blown (unless you tear it apart) isn't. I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but I personally wouldn't have a problem buying something like that with a 540. Putting anything more in though may be a headache.

If you upgrade count on a summer long project and plan on keeping it for another 3 or 4 years.

If it was faster would you still want to sell it?

Credit where it's due
 

There is no question that a big inch- or any inch custom engine by a good builder with all the right pieces is a sweet set-up- although a little spendy. Resale can be tough if you don't stick with prominent names, many of which are familiar to this board.

Don't overlook that the 454 mag EFI is the same long block as merc used for the 525SC. Several reputable board engine guys and columnists have commented that the 525SC can easily be upgraded to a reliable 600 HP with intercooling, more boost and tuning. The Whipple / 454magefi is at 625, not a far reach, no doubt made safer, reliable and attainable thru the benefits of intercooling, EFI, computer controls, knock sensors, EGT monitoring etc.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse- many are unaware of the connection between the 454mag and the 525SC and this info is intended to help with informed decisions.:D

I would probably be happy if it did 70mph. We'd like to take it to some other lakes for poker runs a couple times a year. Mostly lake or smooth water stuff. Not looking to do 80+mph in 4 footers offshore in a 29'. But currently, 53mph just doesn't sound like we'd have that much fun though. I think either the whipple or the 540 would get me close, but I'd have to be trimmed out at WOT.

Other than the speed thing, the boat really fits our *needs* ok. It's got a nice graphic job, stereo, rides OK for it's size. Would I still want a cig or a 35' fountain, yes. I also want a Viper, a Porche, a Road King, and a host of other toys, but I'm *reasonably* happy with my Dodge truck if that makes sense.

Then if you like the boat, make it go as fast as you want and worry about the resale value when it's time to cross that bridge.

There are things we want and others that we need. Sounds like you want a Top Gun but need to go 70mph. Fill the need for speed.

Hi Steve,

See if Charlene is willing to part with that 43' Scarab, I offered her $55k a month ago and I"m going down $10k every 6 months!! :D Haven't checked recently, but last year it was worth about $90k in NADA's guide, but she's still asking almost twice that figure. HA!!

Friend here selling their 1990 28' Scarab Excel, top speed is 65 MPH, has a new big block. Selling because a set of twin girls is due to arrive in July. It's my original Scarab actually, let me know if you're interested and I'll hook you guys up.

I empathize with your dilemma, good luck either way you go.