why isn't their more O/B go fasts
 

With the cc and O/B trend in full swing. Why hasn't any new mid sized 35-38 closed deck boats been built with O/B power. Seeing the speeds of some of the cc boats a closed deck with 3 or 4 if they will fit motors bolted on the back would be a hit. AT is doing a new 29' did a bigger one a few years back with fishing motors on it. maybe he is on to something.

That's a good question. Here is another 29'.

http://www.progressionboats.com/home/29%20OB.html

cause no one is buying closed deck boats

the famous E-dock is now full of mega CCs

Because it takes a whole bunch of outboards to push a 30+ foot boat to the speeds many of us like and you then need to overcome the drag of that many gear cases in the water. Maybe it's time to revisit the 24' deep V step bottom with two OBs. :)

NT 39cc just clocked 97mph

Gotta love a Nor-Tech. 300s? How many?

4 of the verado 400s

I know of a really nice 30 foot Baja with O/Bs for sale. One of just a couple made. Would be a great salt water boat. PM if interested, thanks

I remember looking at the fuel burn on one of those quad engined Top Fishes a few years ago and was floored. I know none of us are in this sport because we love to conserve, but it was astonishing.

Powerplay built a triple engine 38 (trip 300 vrods).......boat looked cool, ran about 70. Honestly there is nothing exciting about a 70 mph 38 ft boat (especially since it doesn't rumble!). Builders will certainly build whatever someone wants but if they don't order it, it won't happen.

I almost bought a CC before the outlaw.. Wife asked me,"how do you get in from water, by engines?" I told her yes, they have ladder!

Well, she wanted a sunpad and not have big o/bs hanging off the back so kids and whoever could climb in from being at beach or from just swimming in water..

When was the last time someone saw a 1000 hp OB that sounded like a blown BBC? I'm not say'n....I'm just say'n

There is no replacement for the sound of a big block around the dock. Period. But.......and a big But.....the ob guys are out every weekend. And if you think that they are slow, take a look at a video that gives me inspiration.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V4H_CEyHxI

Love that video, this is a great video of it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMC55mxdjR4

Way overpriced...Not to much to tinker with....In general boring.....Ever hear and feel the roar of big block at full scream.....:Score-101010:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zYjFubwlWK8

That's a bunch of nonsense. Checkmate, Rage, Superboat, Progression, Sutphen, Pantera, Joker etc all will rig a twin OB with twin 300XS's that are very efficient and these boats will easily run with 30's with stock single or twin I/O's. The added costs of rigging a twin OB boat over a single IO is usually the prohibitive factor of buying one from a custom builder. The only step bottom 24' that was of any success that I can think of is a 24' Superboat and Coen won't rig them with twins anymore so not sure what companies you're referencing that will revisit the 24' step bottom. Adrenaline made a total of one 24 step bottoms and that was an IO boat.The west coast 24's are built for inland lakes and not including them in the conversation.

I also love the sound of a good dry exhaust but no denying a multi OB setup sounds pretty cool too. Let the video play out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V4H_CEyHxI

Firstly, I agree there is no way to ever replace the sound of a big block or two. Outboards will always look and sound like outboards. C'est LA vie!

Big cc's offer lots of space, huge fuel capacity and decent performance, getting faster all the time. Is there any reason (given enough cash) a centre console couldn't be converted to a closed deck sports boat or a huge bow rider?

My 34 cc is a great boat but damn hard to sell here (Thailand) and I'd like to change to something with a bit more sports appeal. Love the Verados and where I use the boat, it's already the fastest thing on the water when it's not too rough to prove it. Importing is a lengthy and expensive procedure, many skilled boat builders here and labour costs are dirt cheap.

I can't see any structural reasons why it couldn't be done unless there was a flexing issue in the bow. Improve aerodynamics considerably, add a little weight with alteration works, maybe 4 bolsters or 2 bolsters and wrap around lounge seating. Remove the unnecessary (for my use) fwd fuel tank and have a big beam, outboard powered sports boat built on a proven performer.

Sorry to hijack the thread a little but with cc's popularity on the rise and outboards so simple, why not develop it further?

Great thread, boring outboards rock!

RR

Don't they relieve the exhaust on OBs anymore? We used to on the old V-6s (2.4).

Good point. I had a 2.4 "Bridgeport" in Australia 30 years ago and the exhaust outlet was above the cab plate. Picked up HP over the thru prop exhaust and screamed under throttle. We've all heard Verados out of the water and they sound pretty good. If it's do-able, may be an HP opportunity or at let a chance to pick up a buyer who wants to be HEARD as well as seen!

RR

That boat is cool, but I have little doubt this 18.5 foot outboard boat would leave that slow pig in the dust.

This little Bullet 1850 is getting it!

http://youtu.be/D4mTzRomJzw

There were boat builders that built with outboard power years ago..but at the time there really were no high performance outboards that put out enough torque for larger sport boats greater than 28' in length. Most of those boats were 65mph-70mph boats. In the past 5-7 years some of the that survived the economy bubble burst have built sport boats with more modern high performance outboards. Checkmate's 2800OBX (true 28' with no swim platform) with twin 300xs runs into the 90's. Concept came out with a sport boat a few years back with twin 300xs's. Velocity built their 30' "SUB" with twin 300xs's that ran really well. With the new Mercury 400R's and 7 Marine motors that now exist, I'm sure we'll see some boat builders putting outboards on high performance closed deck V-Bottoms. DCB just built a cat with 400R's!

Why wouldn't a triple 350 Verado 37 AT run just as fast as a twin 525 boat? Not sure if 3 vrods will fit across the transom of a 37 AT?

As Jupiter said, DCB's new M-29 with twin 400's, also Nordic has a cat with twin 300's. I believe we be seeing more performance boats with twins now that manufactures are producing higher HP outboards. Less maintenance cost to the outboards is looking attractive these days. General maintenance can be done by yourself.

Outboards = Import Cars
BBC = American Muscle Cars

Not trying to offend the outboard guys but there is not replacement for the sound of a BBC or three.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...b5affd129a7c8b

What in the design of the outboards make them so much more maintenance free then say a modern LS motor?

No outboards are closed cooled are there?

If Nortech can take a wide beam, 39' long, non-aerodynamic center console and get it to run 97mph with four Mercury 400R's, I would think that a true closed deck, 8'6" beam, performance boat could run close in speed with twin 400's..or maybe tripples. Until the performance boat builders jump on board the outboard motor trend we'll have to wait and see. If I could afford a pair of 400R's, they would be hanging off the transom of my classic Checkmate 2800SX and I could almost guarantee the boat would run into the 90's!!!

Alot of good points here. But, will these boats hold their value in say 20 years? What happens when these 300-400hp outboars are all blown up? With any inboard boat, jimmy the shade tree mechanic can pop an automotive based big or small block chevy into his old resin bucket and go boating. Thats what i did and many of my friends did. Budget boat with accessable and affordable parts.

I hear alot of talk about ease of maintenance and how its cheaper to maintain an outboard. But how about in the long run? How much is a major overhaul on a big outboard?

I know im really speaking for the "black motor" crowd here but i still think its pretty cool that with a motor originally out of a dump truck, a few bucks, and a Jegs catalogue you can do some pretty cool stuff. I think its because of this reason that alot of older I/O hulls find their way back onto the water. At least around here...

yes there is.

being out every weekend and not in the bilge fixing broken parts more often than not. The sounds is great but missing out cause of repairs is not worth it.

You do realize American Muscle cars got really bad from about 1974-1992 right? I only pick 1992 because the Vettes were 300 HP, the Viper was out, etc. Other than the Grand Nationals (6 cyl turbos) I can't think of any muscle car left out of that 18 year gap. Corvettes/Camaros/Mustangs were 200 HP +/- in those gap years.

While I do generally agree with your sentiment, there were quite a few laughable years in American muscle car history.....

Can anyone answer this one? I always here that they never break but why not? What's in the design that makes them so much better?

Not down here. It is the EXACT opposite in the Penis of the US.

Outboards are king and repair with quality is common. Inboard is hard to deal with and find someone not looking to rip you off.

I own a black motor boat and am stuck at the dock broken well more than my outboard buddies. Not that it breaks often but it has been enough to ruin more than one hands worth of fun days on the water for one reason or another.

SOUND. It makes my heart pump! After you start one up at the dock, you get to look forward to cranking over the other one.

What do you do? Throw the 3000 hour outboard in the trash and buy another one for 20K, go crazy buy 3 for 60K and enjoy 5 more years of warranty. You can't rebuild a pair of 525's for 60K if you include new exhaust (that will crack in 3 more years) and you haven't even touched the bravos.

I can't think of a boat on OSO running a motor originally out of a dump truck.......

and praying it starts too! :D

The guy around the corner that builds all the demolition derby motors can't walk into Auto Zone and grab a set of bearings/rods/electronics sourced from supplier X/Y/R.O.C. for an outboard. That itself is part of the reliability factor.

I think there’s a very solid reason why there is – and isn’t – more high performance boats powered by outboards. I can sum it up in two words: power to weight ratio. (There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that cannot.)

If you look at 18’ – 24’ high performance boats, I think you’ll find that the overwhelming majority are outboard powered. Why? As I stated above – power to weight ratio. You simply cannot beat the power to weight ratio of an outboard on these smaller boats. Hell, a Mercury 300XS (heavy four stroke) on a 22’ Progression will run just under a hundred miles an hour. A Mercury 2.5 EFI Offshore (light two stroke) on the same hull will run around 90 MPH. (Oh, and the sound of one of those weed whackers at full song …) You simply will not touch those numbers with an I/O powered boat without silly levels of power.

A funny thing happens when you get bigger than about 24’ though. To get big numbers, you have to start clamping multiple outboards to the transom. Why? Again, power to weight ratio. You’re just not going to find reasonably light outboards putting out over about 300 HP. But when people start multiplying the number of motors on the transom, complexity, weight and cost skyrocket. And, adding a second (or third, or fourth …) motor doesn’t double, triple or whatever the speed. In fact, it gets counter-productive pretty quickly. And there’s only so much beam to work with on a transom when adding outboards.

But when you’re running I/O’s with today’s technology, it’s pretty easy to get well over 1,000 HP out of a single big block. Sure, you’re going to have to run Number Six Drives to handle the power, but a pair of monster twins will trump four or five or six outboards any day of the week. And as much as I hate to admit it, they’ll sound way better too.

So maybe if you could find reliable, high HP (well over 1,000 HP) outboards, maybe you’d see more of them on larger high performance boats. Just my 2 cents.

#1 - Simplicity of 2 stroke engine, cant speak for V-Rods or other 4S outboards
#2 - they are designed to run at high rpm, my motors can run all day at 5-5500K
#3 - pretty sure my whole motor is anodized aluminum so corrosion is greatly reduced vs steel block,
#4 - I dont know they just have a track record of running 1000 + hrs, maybe better R&D from mfg's?

They are far from indestructible but it is not uncommon for OB's to run 1500-3000 hrs, just like a long block you can replace a powerhead pretty easily.

Like I've said a million times for a salt water boater they are far, far superior IMO

Weight Vs. Power & Torque.
Up until the composite lay ups, vacuum bags, steps, and high hp outboards there was no comparison. That only evolved over the past 10-15 years. Look at the weights of a 38' boat in 2000 vs. now, no steps & sub 300 hp outboards.
Today, this may change and Nor-Tech is on the forefront of it with their hybrid boats.

It was between a 33 powerplay OB boat and the cig when I was looking to buy again. Ended up with the cig and big cube BBC's but still think about the O/B boat and how easy it would be.

When I can buy a new boat it will be a closed deck OB boat

Ok cool.

Let's look at this 2 strokes, yes simple and power to wieght is great. But what is the highest stock 2 stroke right now 300?

There are plenty of old school SBC and SBF 300 hp motors with 1500 plus hours. Granted you still have the outdrive and it is more complicated.

Closed cooling helps on the corrosion.

Over 1000 hours are we comparing apples to apples? Or are we comparing 500+hp with 250-300 hp? Even the black BBC are in the 400 plus range?

Don't take this wrong guys I just want to know the engineering reasons the egg beaters are so much better.