Thanks David!

Unfortunately no test time took place today, poor conditions so we elected to wait until first of the week.

I did receive a blank copy of the Sea Trial Test Sheet. Once my boat has been dialed in w/ the correct props I'll post another copy that has been filled out by Trevor & Paul. I wrote in anywhere it was difficult to read.

Have a fellow boater out at LOTO trying to negotiate the use of these in order to complete the test & tune.

Your reliable source must not be very reliable, because my motors are NOT closer to 850's. My boat is no big secret, it's been in several magazines with pictures of my single carb motors that run on the same pump gas yours do (in fact, probably lesser octane fuel - as we only have 91 octane out here in California). And you may want to add a bunch more plus signs to that 150+ if you're talking about my boat's top speed to date. If somebody was willing to put up some money, I'd even bet it would run 150 with your motors in it! Those Ilmors are a wonderful engine, and had the 710/725 motor been available at the time my boat was built, I probably would have gone that route with the Arneson drives (though I am totally pleased with my Sterlings which have always performed flawlessly). However, at the time, only the 600 Ilmor was available and that wasn't going to get me past the 150 mark that I was shooting for............ and ultimately far surpassed! You've got a beautiful rig Nascat and I applaud your enthusiasm for testing different setups. Trust me, if I listened to everyone I talked to when I was building my boat, it wouldn't be what it is today. I took a big risk and put all of my faith in Rik and Pete when I had my boat built (which Pete didn't even have the plug for the mold finished yet when I put my deposit down!). I've just honestly never understood why it has never been copied. Skater/Arneson is a recipe for success, and to this day, my 30 is the fastest naturally aspirated/pump gas engines powered Skater ever built - call Pete up and ask him for yourself! And the true top speed of my boat has never even been fully realized, as I have not spent the money on multiple sets of props chasing the potential mph that are left in my boat. When another 30'+ open cockpit boat starts creaping up on my numbers with similar power, I'll finally build a set of CNC props to go after more speed. Good luck with everything and I hope you're happy with the results of your drive swap.

....

Skater 30

I remember when your noat was in PB in fact I bet I still have the copy since I keep every issue often referring back to certain articles or tests. Your Skater 30 is very unique & the fact that it's production #1 & runs like the raped ape that it is says alot about the overall package. I really don't know what powerplants you have I think Rik mentiones Sterlings but the 750 - 850 thing has just been arm chair dock talk. Based on the speeds you are seeing I was equating them strictly to theoretical H.P. required to do so using my own stats as a base line but I probably didn't take into account the parasitic efficiency of your arnesons as well as their actual slip efficiency. I'm guessing your boat is quite a bit lighter than mine & the other Skater 30's. I hope to be able to post my original build weight & current weight as a comparison of the before & after upgrades. Not sure how fast the ILMORS would propel your boat but you shed a few more pounds so who knows. Too bad our home bases are so far away. I never see any other inboard 30's just outboards although I believe Pete's built about 6 or 7 up to now. Mine is #2. Hope to have this project wrapped up next week & the boat back in time for the Labor Day weekend. Ultimately I'd like to make the Miami Key West run again this year. I did it 4yrs ago in my Spectre.

Quick Update
 

Loto had put a wrench in our prop testing the past several days but nevertheless Trevor ran the boat again today w/ the 16.5 x 35's & 37's w/ the 1/2" spacer just to confirm the boat does not want the spacer. This eliminates one factor & will allow him to focus on running the next set of props

Herings Jeff Johnston has saved the day by rounding up a set of 16.5 x 39's 18deg SCL 5-blades which he's FedEx'd to Skater for Wed delivery. In the interim Skater will remove the 1/2" spacers. Once the 39's arrive Trevor & Paul plan to put the boat thru the paces. With any luck back to backing the 37's & 39's will determine whether the boat can handle the 39's or wants 38's. It's unlikely it will be able to spin 40's. Even if the 39's touch the limiters they will be doing so w/ 2 on board & half full of fuel. At an event I normally have 4 on board & start close to full.

If time allows custom 1/4" spacers maybe fitted & tested as well as spinning the props out.

Still plan to weigh the boat prior to departure inorder to compare the bravo to the Indy pkg.

I'm headed to Skater 1st thing Thurs AM w/ the hopes of being back in time to boat here the entire labor day weekend. If there is anything worth sharing tomorrow I certainly will otherwise more following my roundtrip voyage to Skater. I'm anxious to see whether or not I'm able to match or exceed Skaters performance #'s since water conditions here never upset my boat nor will I run out of lake.

What what kinds of speeds are you seeing???? Very curious how the 1:50 gears feel, acceleration and top end?

Previous bravo setup 135mph on 1.34's. To date we've run out of prop, 130mph on 37 pitch 5 blades. Testing 39's today. They plan to record all the data you are inquiring about as well.

Made the roundtrip to Skater Thurs & Fri. Boat looked great, Trevor & Paul did a nice job w/ the rigging throughout.

I attached the sea trial log that was completed by Skater. Back to back testing was difficult due to weather, water conditions and the fact that often they were forced to test at the local lake which is small so they run out of room. I think they got it close now the rest is up to me.

Upon my return to Charlotte I splashed her locally & ran 128 on the boxes w/ the same 37's & 132 w/ the same 39's 100-150 rpm shy of the limiter. The speed differential was 4mph between the 2 sets of props just like Trevor saw but he achieved 2 mph more w/ each setup as well as had a co-pilot. My guess is Trevor's vast seat time behind the wheels of many Skaters allows him to jump right in & go whereas I figured I might ought to sneak up on it first time out. To be honest I had no clue what to expect since I'd never piloted a #6 style prop boat before & most of my rides were in Vee hulls.

The 37's have wicked rollon acceleration, the 39's about what I had before. Both got on plane w/ ease. I didn't really mess w/ the trim & tab once on plane since I was still getting comfortable w/ the new feel. Still has a hop possibly more than before but I didn't try to adjust it out, more so drove thru it since I was making top speed passes. Boat pretty much takes a set at 100mph then it's on rails. Props broke free a time or two in the slop but when they bite again they instantly propel the boat forward unlike the round ear props that just sort of bogged down once they were loaded. Boat was very responsive to trim as I trimmed the drives out to level. I really like the L.E.D. indicator display, they're very easy to read.

The trannies & drives are sweet, they shift like butter & overall low speed manuverability is excellent. Now I see how the guys w/ the 40' + boats manuever w/ confidence in tight docking situations. Currently throwing a dual rooster tail since the props are spinning out. It appears that the new package has added approx 250lbs to my overall boat weight.

Hope to get out again this weekend w/ a co-pilot where we can make several passes documenting speed, rpm & trim etc. Trevor has it dialed in close I just need to get some more seat time experimenting to see what it likes best so I can commit to a set of props. My guess is I'll end up w/ about the same Top Speed as I had before w/ the bravo setup (135mph) but much better useable acceleration.

Cool! Have fun with it!!