Th Camaro is my brothers ZL1. He has too many vehicles & not enough space.

I believe the overhead door is 16 wide by 16 high.

Sweet- My Pops just picked up a ZL1 last fall. FUN car!

Black Tie Affair
 

Black Tie Affair has been here in NC for 2 weeks but yet to see the water due to my work schedule. Supposed to be sunny & 80 Sat & Sun so I plan to make up for the lost time. I hope to get some fuel burn & performance #'s too.

In the meantime I could use some more forum input on the boat name layout. As you know Black Tie Affair trumped NASTECH and all along I was thinking whatever the name ended up being that it would end up centered on the backside of the bench seat. When I got the artwork back from RedEye Designs he provided a few across all 3 rear bench panels that I hadn't really considered. Sorry I didn't have any clean straight on transom shots.

Your thoughts? I'm leaning towards #5.

5 does look great............. Good luck at 'Dega !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#5.

Agree. #5. I noticed it said 3" letters. Is that for the BTA lettering or for the port?

Thanks Jolley, need to get Jr to VL this weekend!

I'll have to ask but my assumption is he's refering to the BTA not hailing port. Both are an issue b/c Documentation requires 4" tall lettering

Yeah, I don't have a picture of my transom with lettering on, but the name crosses all 3 panels like you plan to do. I have the port in the center panel like yours, and I know it is not 4". I'm thinking we settled around 2.5-3 inches for that. But the main name is larger than 4", my guess is probably 5-6". We just measured the area on each of the 3 panels then made the letters the size that centers the name and looks best.

Jess is in for #5 as well

Thank goodness that was the vote of confidence I had been waiting for.

Preliminary #'s

Saw 79mph briefly 2 on board 140 gals of fuel (1/2 tank). Engines are on the limiters but I didn't realize it b/c you don't hear them or really feel it like you do an inboard. I tried to back to back it yesterday & happened to notice that the RPM's flash RED on my Garmin when in the bar graph ENGINE monitoring screen. Sat I was in the FUEL monitoring screen so I didn't notice that. Bottomline is the Merc 350's w/ the Merc Revolution4 25p prop's need more prop on a NT340 BUT that's the largest pitch Merc currently offers in the Rev4. I know you can run bravo's or other but that can require drive height adjustments in order to accommodate the different style prop. My goal is to maximize my package from an efficiency standpoint but remain within warranty specs. A little more pitch would help raise the cruise speed everywhere. Currently the boat gets on plane w/ ease, rolls over w/ minimal throttle effort so no real concern there.

Here's what I got for fuel burn data. I only captured speed & flow rate, I failed you on WOT fuel burn as well as RPM but can get that next time. I was by myself so one of us (ME) had to pay attn to where I was going too!

Lake Norman, 600ft above sea level, slight wash machine type chop, 75 deg, 140 gals & 1 on board.

Instant Fuel Flow:

40mph= 1.5mpg
50mph= 1.4mpg
60mph= 1.3mpg
70mph= 1.0 mph
WOT= 79mph on limiters

I'll get some more info as I get some more seat time & opportunity (weekday boating way easier for documenting performance w/o a gazillion jet ski's)

I also plan to weigh the boat w/ gear & 1/2 fuel, then weigh the trailer empty to see where I'm at overall.

depending on how far over you are in rpms, bblades may be able to raise your current popellers pitch by labbing.. But you should also check your rpms at full load. You may not be able to raise your pitch. Just a suggestion

Good feedback & definitely an option. Only 2 outings to date at the home port so I need to do a little more testing & documenting before I do anything drastic. Supposedly Merc knows that they need to produce a Rev4 27p since the introduction of their new 350's. I just don't know how quickly they'll become available. Labbed 29 B1's have been recommended but I'm going to sit tight a bit.

When I am trimmed all the way up I hit the rev limiters at WOT. I found if I barely tap the drive trim down it takes it off the limiter and my speed increases 1 mph. I decided not to tweak the props because in my case, running twins, getting on plane is already a slow process.

If you start runing special props then you have to have special spares. its best to find an off the shelf prop to suit your needs. I dont see you running wfo that often anyway. Merc should entertain the thought of making bigger pitches, Now the Multi engine 350 & 400hp are gonna run out of prop selection quick...

I'd probably keep the stk 25's as spares.

I'm really after better cruise / fuel efficiency not more top speed but as you raise the top speed normally the cruise will come up some too. I understand at a certain point you loose acceleration & or the ease to get on plane but I'm confident I can find a happy medium. Runs stout currently.

Come to think of it I was running labbed 34 and 36 bravos on my twin 525 eliminator and over time threw a few blades. I have reverted to non lab 34 bravos which are quite a bit less expensive and lost a few miles an hour on top end but saved a few bucks on the replacements as well as having to match the labbing formulas on the replacement. Can't just open the box and throw them on

Boat / Trailer Weight
 

Filled the boat up to 1/2 tank (135gals) then took it to the scales. My off the cuff guess was 13,500lbs for the boat, 1/2 tank of Fuel, Trailer & Gear. I was close, it weighed in at 14,100lbs. If I lost 100 gals of fuel the boat would weigh in at my guesstimated weight of 13,500 which is close to what it weighed on the tow home from SportBoats.

Sounds like your having fun dialing her in! What poker run you hitting next?

Do you know what the trailer weighs?

No not yet b/c I need to leave the boat in the water then make another run to the scales & it was already dark when I scaled them both last night. I hope to splash the boat Sunday, boat , then drag the trailer to the scales before I pull the boat out.

To be continued.......

Not been much dialing in going on, more so learning more about the boat. I'm somewhat handcuffed on props right now, Merc doesn't offer anything above a 25 pitch in the Rev4 line but I'm hearing a 27p in in development. The introduction of the new 350's & 400's has created a demand for more prop options.

Jacksonville June 6th will be the 1st event I attend, then boating in Charleston the following weekend.

Lanier & Destin are also booked & I hope to be able to make KW but would like to do the run down the west coast w/ the FMO boys if possible!

I want to check it out at Lanier or Destin! We are heading to Smokin on the Sound next.

Absolutely, please make it a point to put a face w/ a screen name.
Have a good time at Smokin & be safe!

You two keep the IlmorDude insults and comments to a minimum at this meeting please..............

The d in dude is supposed to be lower case, check your screen name if you don't believe me.

If we are crossing the t's and dotting the lower case j's then its ILMORdude

Your screen name.......well...........

You guys are cracking me up. lol

Reconfirmed fuel consumption in GPH over the weekend. 2 onboard, 1/3rd of a tank of fuel (90 gals)

Instant Fuel Flow:

40mph= 1.5mpg= 23.5gph
50mph= 1.4mpg= 36gph
60mph= 1.3mpg= 48gph
70mph= 1.0mpg= 61gph

WOT= 80mph today, center & starboard engines on the limiters at 6350rpm, The port engine about 75-100rpm shy of the other 2.

As for the SeaDek flooring, its still holding up well & very comfortable, The light gray gets dirty fairly easy. Had I elected to go w/ the Teak look & the black stripes as I did in the cabin it probably would have hid the dirt a little better. Ultimately it cleans up super easy. SeaDek suggested I dilute some SoftScrub in a spray bottle w/ water. Way easier to apply evenly & I don't end up w/ the super clean spots i used to squirting the SoftScrub on the floor directly. I even had the displeasure of cleaning up red wine off the floor this weekend (courtesy of a drunk onlooker). Cleaned up like it was nothing!

Wine from a friend on the boat or a stranger on the dock?

Stranger, I wasn't there when it happened to know whether it was intentional or not

Probably best you weren't there! Glad it cleaned up ok.

A thought that crossed my mind was how long a flare would continue to burn if I shot someone & they fell in the water. Great one for Mythbusters!

I was thinking of the white interior, glad it cleaned up.

I would have expected that boat to be lighter, pretty similar to what mine weighs.

For reference my boat was 10,800.

18,800 Truck, Trailer, Boat (100 gallons fuel/water)
8000 Truck and Trailer (triple axle aluminum)
5600 Truck (Nissan Armada)

Knocked out the addition of a rally stripe & boat name while the cover is being made.

I bet your buddies will tape the word "guy" over the word tie......:D :food-smiley-007:

Not unless they want to get shot in the chest w/ a flare gun! :violent-smiley-021:

Great look'n CC !