The blocks should be fine, although I predict there will be a catastrophic oiling failure and a switch to dry sumps in the future of this development program.

Engine installation,

After making engine mounts and re-doing the mounts in the boat, I decided that the driveshaft would have a better chance of living if the engine was moved over a few inches to help with alignment. After making a new set of mounts to move the engine in towards the center of the boat caused the intercooler to hit the side of the tunnel wall. We looked at it for awhile trying to decide which would be easier, take the intercooler off the engine and remount it, or cut the core out of the tunnel wall. We decided it would be easier/quicker to cut the tunnel wall then to remake all the piping and brackets on the intercooler.

Here is the markings of where it hits, cutting the glass and core out, vacuum bagging 14 layers of carbon fiber down, little bit of body work and now the intercooler clears.

Perspiratiion
 

I have been following this thread for a year now and have read every post on this and the previous thread. As with most successful endeavours great things are 90% perspiration and persistance. I commend you Tyson (and you Tristan for living with this level of obsession 👍). You guys are amazing and are at a level beyond my most obsessive endeavours so far.
That business with the engines after so much work really rocked me. Moving on after something like that takes great strength.
Anyway great work and I wish you many records,

Ok Tyson, I have to ask. How thick is the tunnel where you cut the notch? What is the impact on strength in that area now. Clearly you have calculated it will be fine or you would not have done it. But that leads to the question. If it will be plenty strong still. Why is it so thick to begin with?

Love the thread and dedication, I look forward to new post with progress everyday. I kind of chuckle when I sometimes accidentally go to the first page of the thread and the 1st post says "We are finally in the home stretch"! Yet here we are 18+ months later and your still cutting into the hull, even crazier is its not cause its just been sitting in the corner...I cant even imagine how many hours you have into this boat!

John

So i saw a picture today on the skater facebook page.... looked like this has just been out on the water. or was it an older picture?

I looked on the skater facebook and could not find a pic of it, but no it was not out on the water. I took it to the water for a day or two the end of last year with the factory cummins marine engines, besides that it has not been in the water. I have the new engines here at Skater and I am not leaving till I have it running again. I think it will take me about two weeks to have it running again, so maybe by the end of next week.

Drive plate:

We originally made the adapter from the cummins flywheel to the Teague HD crash box drive plate, and I built my transmission input shaft with the 10 Spline crash box size. But the new transmissions use the LHP Mercury/Bam spline and Bam had us some HD drive plates made with more/stonger springs. The problem is they were a little bit bigger dia and the spring plate was bigger dia so I had to clearance the adapter on the dia of the drive plate and the step where the spring plate sticks out.

The original drive plate had 8 springs and was rated for 1450 ftlb's, the new drive plate has 10 springs that are a little stiffer and on a bigger dia. and rated at 2400 ftlbs.

Drive plate 2:

The splines on the drive plate were basically the exact size of the transmission shaft, and exact size does not fit. The drive plate would barely start onto the shaft and lock up, even with grease on it. I had to tape up the drive plate and file each tooth and then sandblasted the splines to take down a tiny bit of dimension, then press it on and off the transmission shaft and file the spots were you could tell it touched. The drive plate needs to be able to slide without binding or it can take out the pump on the transmission.

I saw it as well but it was on the skater boats group page on facebook :) nice pic tho !

yes it was however now that i go back and look at it. it does not have the little Fin/radar arch or whatever you want to call it on it.