It looks like you're in good hands with Pete and company handling your re-rig. Mills had Pete change the drives a few times when he first got the boat. I heard that once he got it dialed in, he got a best of 143 out of it before he sold it. Very respectable # for those nice 710s powering it! Good luck with everything and I hope you get the results you're after.

I agree I'm in very good hands. I know all about the history of the boat. Mills & I have chatted several times. To my knowledge 137mph is the best for my boat & thats what was on the Garmin GPS when I bought it. I'm not too worried about overall top end moreso usable acceleration & speed.

nasct looks awsomsome i went to electronic trim indicators on my boat cant stand the cable set up no acurcy

And that it turns left :party-smiley-004:

Why do you think I have a left hand helm??:drink:

The Men Behind the Project
 

While everyone knows what role Peter Hledin plays behind the Douglas Marine / Skater product I wanted to give credit to 2 others who have played a major role in my outdrive upfit.

They are Trevor Stacy (yellow tee) who has been w/ Skater for 8 yrs & Paul Wingard (wht tee) who has been w/ Skater for 16 yrs.

I've been really impressed w/ their communication, attention to detail and ingenuity!

Indicators are complete! Plan is to weigh the boat in the morning & be on the water by 9am!

Details to follow!

Question(s):

The trim tabs look awful close to the drives---is the tab gonna throw dirty water to the prop if positioned down?

I would imagine more so in turns where the drive is almost into the tab. Second, what is the purpose of the tabs the boat is capable of running without tabs----is that not the case? Can you clarify.

Love this project can't wait to see how it does---video would be a nice touch.

KAP

KAP,

Why would you say my tabs look AWFUL after I had them removed & painted to match?? Oh awful close, my bad. I can't answer that question only because I don't know what the rigging industry standard is for drive vs. tab location on the transom. With the bravos I barely ever used them, they were max UP!

According to Skater tabs aren't necessary on the 30 but were added at the original owners request!

They'll probably still be Max Up, But they are good to have when you need them. Depending on the setup (X dim, Prop size, weight distribution etc) there may be a point when just cruising that the props bite and lift the nose until the props can's support the nose anymore and it falls back down, then they bite again and the same thing happens Over & Over (Yep, Porposing :) ) and tabs are the only way to correct it (other than raising or lowering speed) Sweeeet Boat...(Lucky :) )

Initial Sea Trial Update
 

Trevor splashed the Skater yesterday w/ a pair of Hering 5 blade 16.5 x 35's & it ran 126 heavy on the chips out on Lake Michigan 1/2 tank w/ 3 on board in 2' chop.

This was to be expected based on the fact that we elected to go w/ 1.50 drives for acceleration & drivability over WOT Top End which I might tap into 3-5 times a year for a total run time of 5-7 mins. The other Ilmor Indy Cats all have 1.39 drives.

Today he tested a set of 37's which broke 130 but still on the chip. Lake Michigan was a little angry today w/ 4-6 footers so no speed runs were attempted there. The local lake had better conditions but is small, they run out of room quickly & the water patrol frowns upon the loud fast boats so testing has to be short & sweet.

Peter is off to LOTO tomorrow but hopes to get a pair of 39's & 40's for testing first of the week. I'm postponing p/u the boat up this weekend in light of the opportunity to get some more test & tune time.

Trevor is going to add a 1/2" spacer & run the 37's again tomorrow to see if he can't reduce the slip some which is currently in the 10% range.

As for the project overall he said the boat gets on plane w/ ease, it's very sensitive & responsive to trim changes, runs great & there's not been one leak or mechanical issue. He said it feels like a totally different boat, hooked up & on rails. The custom fabricated L.E.D. indicators are working like a charm as well from both an accuracy & repeatability standpoint.

To Be Cont'd.......................