Turbine boats....
 

There are a few threads going about turbine powered boats so rather than derail those I figured I would start a new one.

Why is the resale not great on turbine boats? If they are fast, run forever why don't the resale values reflect this?

Warbird (50 NT) was asking 199K and was for sale for years. 2009 NT 50V is currently asking 265K which seems about what a twin 1075 boat would be asking. Canada Thrust (50 NT) was sold with no power after being a turbine boat.

Now I realize limited mechanics for them especially if you live/boat outside of S. Fl (Turbine Marine) and the complexity of running/owning one. But if race teams (Geico) are abandoning turbines for piston power then there must be more to the story.

Geico up in flames. Enough said!
Insurance is self

I have run outboards, big block blower motors and i have had my fair share of working on them.
i am currently on my 5th year running Turbines.
Turbines are by far the most power per weight your going to run.
They may not be for everyone but when you pull up to any marina or any boat or dock i will tell you. Your a Rock star!:evilb:

[IMG]http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...ps739d48d6.jpg[/IMG]

Because the ground doesnt shake when they go by :)

Buy one. Take it to your local Merc mechanic. Tell them you think it might be a stuck valve and ask for an estimate. Now wait for the call back. There is your answer...

Because they're a novelty ? How many are actually out there ?

What kinda speed have your reached in your skater.......and curious about fuel consumption between high hp piston power and turbines


And lastly how many people/ company's can actually rig a turbine

I find it odd on the other thread the talk is about salt and blade damage or wear. There is a lot more going on then just a big fan spinning around and a bunch of air being compressed. These things have accessories and integration requirements that all can have their individual glitches.
I worked with the Abrams tank program from engineering development to prototype to test and production and there were a multitude of problems with the turbine installation which took years to overcome and we had teams of engineers from numerous suppliers.
With these boats they are using an existing turbine so their learning curve is shorter but the thing still has to be integrated into the product to include electrical, fuel, fire suppression, air handling, output, diagnostics plus all the things that go on besides a big fan spinning.
ed

Gieco bar-b-q edition, Gieco outer limits, Gieco MTI, Aquanamia, JBS, Nortech Vee, JBS, Qatar, Knotright, Nortech cat, I think there is a turbin Y2K, A turbine white cat, a Turbine orange cat, zuperman, My way outerlimits, My way mystic, Im sure Im missing a couple..

This is what I think. Why is resale not great? I don't think many people can afford them and know that much about them and to maintain them. The "Man of Steel" 50ft. Outerlimits Cat owned by Barry Zukleman from Windsor, ON is for sale at Bullock Marine but no price. This is one of the nicest looking and fastest Cats around here with a killer paint job by Toad, matching trailer and Tow Truck. I have seen it a few times going on the Detroit River, great looking O/L Cat and a great sight to see it going on the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. Have seen it at Lakeview Park Marina in Windsor along with it's tow rig when they were pulling it out and believe me, it is such a crowd magnet. It can be seen in the OSO Classifies. I haven't heard what his next move might be but every boat so far is unbelievable. All you need is money and a lot of it, so that might be why resale is not that great. As for Miss Geico going to Piston Power is that Miss Geico burnt down and many people always said why don't they race piston powerboats and have some competition instead of only having to beat themselves. Miss Geico is the most recognized Offshore Powerboat in the World and I loved seeing that boat but maybe the Geico Team can answer their decision.

Awesome roost!

Guys that thought outside the box.

Howard Arneson
Al Copeland RIP
Ted McIntyre
Ed Mosmiller RIP
Bill Tomlinson

Today's Glimpse..
John Arruda's talent with John Haggen's bank roll
poured into John Cosker's super hull. The "triple Johny's Syndrome" created some of the baddest Turbine race boats on the planet.

Look at Myway 4 its off the charts!
Love them or hate them Turbines are here to stay.
KR

I'd take your Skater over one of those so called "Super Hulls" any day of the week my friend

You are correct my friend...but depends on the engine... a t-53 or 55 has very little intergrated external systems compared to a model engine that would be installed in an abrams tank, marine engines specific to ones that would be installed in a powerboat have very little external systems including gearboxes ,oiling system, so on and so forth as compared to an industrial setup or a military marine setup or an aero engine which use the engine to provide more external capabilities such as de-icing,heat,blah blah blah.. in which therefore would have a lot more complications. These engines are by far more reliable (trust me theres nothing I love more than the sound of a 1500hp blown BBC...besides the whistle of a turbine ;) but these engines are reliable, create power through the WHOLE band, will drink any fuel, and will pull very hard. The people that work on these engines are few and far between which I have never understood to this day, I have more trouble working on a 600hp BBC than I do a 41,000shaft HP meat grinder, the fact is no body grew up working on turbines in the garage on a saturday with their dads they worked on SBC's and BBC's and few people will stray away from what they know to work on these engines whihc does make it hard to find somebody to turn wrenches on them.
i do agree they are here to stay. As with Geico they raced for years with turbines and rarely had anybody show up to really race them. As soon as they lost the mystic boats come out to race.They decided they would rather race 3 or 4 piston boats at speeds upward of 150mph rather than rebuild turbines and hope someone someday comes to race them at 180mph . Do you disagree with them? A real racer wants to race.

I believe I met one of your buddies at a motorcycle shop last summer. Guy was wearing a Skater t shirt and he told me about your boat. Love to see it, sounds bad as hell!

And "jet set".
They drink fuel like it going out of style.

They realy only like kerosene. Look forthat at the dock...

They can melt down in 20 seconds on start up if you don't light them properly.

They are hard to find someone to work on.

The government is restricting access to info and parts now.

They are next to impossible to dock without barbequing everyone on the dock.

They stink likea big Torpedo heater in the garage.

And the average boat is not setup enough to get the speed out of it that makes itworth putting up with everything above !

But, if you get right, they are bad ass !!

Turbines are really cool, and have their place, but they are not perfect. FACT...There are pros and cons.

Merc 1350's are really cool, but they also have problems, and are not perfect

Marine Diesels are really cool, but they also have pros and cons

Seems like some of us want there to be a "perfect" "best" engine package out there. I can understand how Turbines gave some false hope that they were "the best". But once the marketing wears off and the truth comes out it shows they are not perfect, but still bad azz!

Some thought the Merc 1350's were "the answer", then we watch boats get towed in with broke down or blown up 1350's.

Some thought the Sterling 1700 was "it". Then we watched the "politics" and still don't know if sterling has got it dialed in or not.

Good thing is we get to drool over all these sweet options that most of us will never be able to afford!

as was said before try getting Jet A, Kerosene or even diesel ay most local fresh water marinas (other than the great lakes) and even if they have standard diesel the price will be through the roof because they sell so little and I would personally feel it would be of questionable quality because of how little it turns over in sales

you are already talking about very high end toys and then you add in very high end and specific complexity to it for speeds most people can't or won't run on their local lakes and you have taken all the fun out of it period

there is a huge difference between 100mph in a boat, 150mph in a boat and then getting to near 200mph in a boat and especially a cat that can fly (over) like the wind with a strong breeze and most people are just not willing to go there....add in a canopy and safety gear (for anyone but the insane or those that can wait for the perfect day once a month and actually can get on the water) and you are really just not recreating at the lake any longer you are an amateur pro racer with most of the cost, 100% of the hassles and 150% of the dangers that come with that (not a closed course no safety copter or boats and on and on)

Nice Photo Shop Gerry!!
What you don't see in that picture,is me out in front!! Those Turbine's are doing all they can to catch my 11,000lb Piston Powered 525's....:party-smiley-004:

See you in August at Borden Light
Jeff


BTW.. The Skater Rocks!!

Anf the potential for setting your stuff on fire if you dont start it right either. There has been a fire in the pits when a crew was attemting to start the boat on shore.

I also think the longevity of aviation turbines deals with the fact they are high in altitude which gives you two important things.
Cold & Thin Air

I quit going to the unlimited hydroplane races when they changed to turbines. To me, they are no longer "thunder boats" as they were back in the day. The sound of unmuffled V8's is what I want to hear.

Wannabe

Thank you for the positive remarks.
We have sone new cool boats coming out of the shop this year.
52' Skater with T 55's (Pleasure)
52' MTI with 1850's (Race)
52' MTI with T55's (Pleasure)
2 NEW deck style Nor-Tech 50' Cats with 1850's
And a couple more I cant talk about. One of witch will be unveiled at the Monaco boat show this year.

John Arruda

GEICo BBQ Edition......ouch. Here is another testing this AM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

Funny, looks like the rooster tail is coming out the exhaust.

A lot of great information of this thread....to me the above is a great point....when I was a kid my dad used to take me to tractor and truck pulls...there was normally a turbine powered tractor or truck there which was cool but it was not what most folks were there to see....in "merica" the rumble and feel of a big hp piston powered powerplant is what we know and love....I have heard people comment at a race site even when an Ilmor powered boat came by that they just did not like the sound

I like the airfilters in the engine hatch.
Looks allot like somthing I would do. Hint hint !!!

I think that guy was Art Artfons? Or something like that.

Kind of like jet cars or top fuel.

John,
Here is a real brain twister. Would Barry the owner of this apache have had Geico rig it if you had not rigged the AMF51 OL?

:lolhit:

It going to Geico had nothing to do with the AMF 51..........

They had developed the most successful program with the turbines in terms of reliability and engineering

It also helps that they have

Gary Stray

Art Arfons

Started out Drag Racing with the Green Monster and was a three time Land & Speed Record Holder with turbines and then turned to Tractor Pulling with his Green Monster Turbine Tractor.