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Formula 357 vs Scarab III 34

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Formula 357 vs Scarab III 34

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Old 10-14-2013, 08:46 AM
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Originally Posted by FIXX
owning a FORMULA and seeing how they are built i would want to be their during the building process.''if i were to ever buy another one but new this time''.everything in the engine compartment is built solid..everything you dont see like the forward bulkheads are built like chit..under the cockpit floor is built like chit and even the bulkhead in front of the engines is just plane marine plywood that has been gelled over and tabbed in around the edges and thats it..under the cockpit then staple all the wood,bulkheads and gussets together.then tab it and foam it then put a piece of mat over everything..what chit work..on mine around the gas tank they left bare wood and did not even paint it same goes for the forward stringers..bare wood just tabbed in and then they put carpet over it..Btw after time all the staples rot out holding the wood together under the cockpit floor and then everything starts moving..i have seen several formulas built the same way...

thats just my o2..
A buddy of mine has a 357 that was showing a little of softness in the bulkhead in front of the engines so he pulled the engines to repair it . . . . ended up pulling everything all the way to the bow eye. Could not believe how poorly the superstructure was in that boat. Under the cockpit floor it was just a half inch gridwork that only tabbed on at the edges and brush coated with resin. The entire thing was a sponge and every bit of it had to be replaced. The build techniques looked very non standard and cheap, odd though because they are such good looking boats from the outside.

I see some performance comments on the Scarab vs the Formula i thought the formula would be faster but that was just a guess.

Originally Posted by Full Force
Soooo I was not only one to notice the same thing???? The Scarab had even more of that and it really surprised me on both honestly....
Scarabs built before 87 were completely different, they used older construction methods. I am actually surprised at how well mine is wired and laid up. Wellcraft changed up their game in 88.

I'll tell ya something else ( i saw ya mentioned ride quality) before i raised my X dim it rode like crap. After it was a completely different boat, cannot believe how much of a difference it made.


Originally Posted by Tinkerer
I have had my head stuck in areas that are not normally visible on my Scarab and everything was glassed. The build quality on my Scarab is much better than the Eliminator that I now own.
The hull to deck joint is Fully glassed. The wiring is fairly clean and neat. I have remodeled the cabin to make it more user friendly. All wood was glassed.
The stringers are fully encapsulated with glass.
The 1992 Scarab 34 is a different boat than the old SCARAB III - I don't know what they changed but they are faster. I looked at and drove the 357 and was not impressed.
Same here. had my head in many places on many boats. Not sure what happened but Wellcraft went through some kind of major change in 87 and everything after 88 is built completely different from earlier boats. I mean to the point it looks like they are from a completely different plant/facility. Wiring, glasswork, trim, all vastly improved (or at least on its way to better refinement) what was the X dim on your ScarabIII?
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Last edited by glassdave; 10-14-2013 at 09:05 AM.
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Old 10-14-2013, 09:41 AM
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Thanks for the insight Glassdave!!
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Old 10-14-2013, 10:31 AM
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Were they all built like crap after 88? tinkerer says his 92 is built well?
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Old 10-14-2013, 11:00 AM
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The ScarabIII I was talking about was 83... Not sure but I thought the earlier was more solid and better built... Obviously Dave would know more then me....

I also thought the ScarabIII Was much heavier... I thought close to my Mistress in weight I was way off.... My buddy's 9000 lb hydro hoist lifted the Scarab easier then his 353 Formula... Could not get my Cig all the way up the drives and back of boat still in water....
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Old 10-14-2013, 03:46 PM
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my ScarabIII weighs in at 7900 dry
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Old 10-14-2013, 04:23 PM
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that's LIGHT!!!

Originally Posted by glassdave
my ScarabIII weighs in at 7900 dry
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Old 10-14-2013, 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by glassdave
A buddy of mine has a 357 that was showing a little of softness in the bulkhead in front of the engines so he pulled the engines to repair it . . . . ended up pulling everything all the way to the bow eye. Could not believe how poorly the superstructure was in that boat. Under the cockpit floor it was just a half inch gridwork that only tabbed on at the edges and brush coated with resin. The entire thing was a sponge and every bit of it had to be replaced. The build techniques looked very non standard and cheap, odd though because they are such good looking boats from the outside.

I see some performance comments on the Scarab vs the Formula i thought the formula would be faster but that was just a guess.

yep you pretty much summed it up..look at page 6,,this is how they come from the factory but they at leaste glassed the stringers in the engine compartment..dont get me wrong formula made a good boat but they chimped out on the materials and i feel they should stand up to the plate and do somthing about ot for the people that had to pay good money to fix it properly

Scarabs built before 87 were completely different, they used older construction methods. I am actually surprised at how well mine is wired and laid up. Wellcraft changed up their game in 88.

I'll tell ya something else ( i saw ya mentioned ride quality) before i raised my X dim it rode like crap. After it was a completely different boat, cannot believe how much of a difference it made.




Same here. had my head in many places on many boats. Not sure what happened but Wellcraft went through some kind of major change in 87 and everything after 88 is built completely different from earlier boats. I mean to the point it looks like they are from a completely different plant/facility. Wiring, glasswork, trim, all vastly improved (or at least on its way to better refinement) what was the X dim on your ScarabIII?
yep you pretty much summed it up..look at page 6,,this is how they come from the factory but they at leaste glassed the stringers in the engine compartment..don't get me wrong formula made a good boat but they chimped out on the materials and i feel they should stand up to the plate and do something about ot for the people that had to pay good money to fix it properly...



http://www.formulaboats.com/document...20Brochure.pdf
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Old 10-14-2013, 08:45 PM
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Brochure says it won offshore boat of the year with that design!!! So I ask this question what were some of the best built boats back then?? Please give some facts!! That question should open some good debate
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Old 10-14-2013, 09:11 PM
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much of those "awards" are given based on marketing rather then actual merit
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Old 10-14-2013, 09:23 PM
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I also raised the X on my boat with -2 inch IMCO shorties and only gained 1 MPH BUT the handling improved greatly.
If you were in rough water with the throttles matted and You hit a bigger wave the bow would shoot for the moon.
After the shorties the boat ran more flat. You could run much faster in rough water because it didn't kite.
Big improvement.
I looked at a LOT of different boats before I bought the SCARAB. I even looked at a 35 FOUNTAIN. Fast but NO cabin and not a comfortable boat to weekend on. I have done a lot of work to my 34 to make it more comfortable for weekending.
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