Fast Deck Boats
 

We have a customer who currently has a 280 Velocity with one of our 750s in it. Very nice rig, but the family is growing and the needs are changing. The Velocity is going up for sale and he's asked us to do a little homework on a 26-30 foot single engine deck boat. What's the one to own? I don't have any real experience in that field and I don't want to steer a friend wrong. He doesn't mind having to throw some HP at it to make it fast but let's stay with something designed to go fast, not a cruiser. Needs to be able to handle Lake George 1-3 weekend slop. I tried pitching an MCOB Sunsation or an open bow DCB, no luck. So deck boat it is.

Thanks for any real world experience!

I call my 29 Advantage X-Flight a Deck boat on steroids. They do about 70 with a 525 and can haul a ton of people. I've had 13 peeps in mine at one time. The sponsons actually trap air like a cat and help cushion the ride in chop. They are really popular out west, don't see many here in the midwest.

saw xflight at XT Innovations, That is one cool azz boat :cool:

The E-Ticket at the Shootout was pretty cool. It had twins, but I about fell over when he said it was a 150 MPH boat.

Here's one with similar performance capabilities of his current ride.


2006 Magic 28 Deck Boat powerboat for sale in Arizona

I've heard a lot about those, they seem awesome. Twin is the deal breaker though.


Keep em coming guys, thanks!

That is slick!

I will second the 29 X Flight. One of the smoothest riding boats that I have ever been on

Jason, talk to your customer Robb Maltempo. He is a customer of yours with the 24ft HTM from CT, He has a fast deck boat too and could send you in the right direction!

It looks like they have a 26 single engine in the works if the budget allows for a new boat.

https://eticketboats.com/boats/26-luxury-cat/

Bubba that link is from 2014. I know you're at times stuck in the past :coolcowboy:

I recognize some those area pics. :D
Your boat must be a blast in those back waters. Good for you !

.


Predator DB306WB

DeckBoat Widebody

length: 30 feet (swim platform not included in measurement, for I/O model only)

hull: true cat with center prod for driveline

beam: 9' 7"

layup: All composites

power options: single I/O 650 ~1,000 HP or twin outboards or twin small block




https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/...d434dfb7_h.jpg

The Pontoon or did he build another new project? Rob is the man!

That is a very good bit of info right there.

I met a guy this past weekend rafted up on Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh. Went from a 38 Fountain to a 24 Larson TTT tritoon deckboat with a single 400 Verado. The boat was amazingly plush and the most efficient use of 25' I've ever seen. The tubes were unlike anything I've ever seen. They were not round tubes but square. The boat runs over 50 and was smoking other runaboats and deckboats. The boat was rigged and sold by Aquamania in Alexandria Bay, NY. That is the home of the world champion turbine powered cat.

25 Triple TTT Larson Escape Pontoons

Playcraft seems to be the leader in extreme pontoons.

http://playcraftboats.com/

Advantage x-flights are good and they build a ton of them so there's several out there for sale. Also check out Howard, Eliminator Fun Deck, Hallett 285, and conquest. A couple out there with bigger power already, but depends on his budget.

He doesn't want a pontoon, that much I know. The X-Flight is really interesting. All it needs is a Whipple :)

I like the Laveycraft deck boats. If I was going to build new, this would be my choice. Here is one for sale out west

2005 LaveyCraft 28 Deck Boat powerboat for sale in Arizona

Anyone ever "hook" one of the X flights...?
Doesn't seem like I have ever heard of it so I am guessing my imagination is mis-guided.
Watching the videos it seems like it would be easy to turn too sharp at too high of speed and get one of the front sponsons to dip in and grab.
They look like a really cool combo but that seemed to pop into my head seeing them fly around.

Never heard of one hooking. My friend has over 700 hours on his and mine has almost 300 - the hull has never done anything stupid - but then neither have the drivers.

I love my X-Flight for what it is but bear in mind that they are very sporty deck boats but you are never going to mistake the ride and handling of an X-Flight with a ZRC. If you want a true high performance boat you need to look elsewhere.

The X flight flexes under a hard turn.

The fastest deck boat per foot is the howard- the largest deck boat per foot of boat purchased is the Lavey.

Lots of tape measure abuse in this category with almost everyone including their swim steps and the top of the boat vs the bottom - buyer beware.


UD

Lots of already big power deckboats for sale out west. Forgot about the Lavey! That would probably handle rough water the best, honestly, they're built like tanks. They run ~90 with 800hp.

https://mohave.craigslist.org/boa/d/...297508944.html

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/b...236959161.html

Used 2005 Conquest Boats Top Cat Ii, Nuevo, Ca - 92567 - BoatTrader.com

2006 Magic 28 Deckboat Whippled Mercury Racing 525. Nice Ride!!!!

Fast Deck Boats
 

Howard Boats

The others are not even close.... This is hands down the best built, fastest single engine deck boat made. With the 600 sci stock they will run about 88 mph. Whipple stage 3 puts them in the mid-90's.. Stage 4 is over 100 mph. There are a few that have ran over 120 mph but with massive power. These handle like they are on rails and fit and finish is awesome.

Lets discuss-
It is very well built, fit and finish is awesome - but I do not believe it is vac bagged so if one compares build steps this is missing.
(pretty sure I have never seen a vac storage system or bag machine at Howard but I could be wrong)

Its a much smaller machine than the Lavey length and height wise - which is basically 28 FT of boat and a 2Ft step so its a 30FT boat if measure identically.

The smaller and faster Howard is basically a 26 ft boat with 2 feet of overhang step and called a "28".

UD

Yes... sounds about right.. The Howard is smaller than some of the others.. especially the Nordic. They call the Nordic a 29'.. Mine measures about 28-4" overall. That includes the swim step to sponsons..

The bottom is based off the old 26 cat

The new 288 I am pretty sure is 28-8" long... I have not actually measured this one... just what I have heard.. the bottom is the same as the older Howard decks like mine.


That would be one of the reasons why the Howards are generally faster.. I think they are very similar to Magic's size but still much faster than their hulls. So who knows?

Never seen 2 Magics that were built rigged, or weighed the same- at the end those things were rigged all over the place as the hulls went to low bidders.

The Howard is as you said - a reused/tweaked cat lower with a different upper deck. Pretty much an open bow cat. Very nice fast boat.

The Lavey was built from the get go as a large deck boat with a unique upper and lower shared by nothing else in the line up.



UD

I really like to look of your X Flight. I have been looking to buy one. My wife can't handle the chop anymore due to health reasons, so I think this would be the perfect boat.

Not to throw off topic, but how is insurance on the Deck Boats that have a Cat Bottom. Is it difficult and more expensive to get. Or is it just based off of speed. Can't imagine a 150mph deck boat insurance is on the cheap side

Interesting thread. That Howard is SHARP!

The Howard is probably my favorite, love the 255VTX they came out with a few years ago.

I've never been on a sport deck boat, but am concerned that a real catamaran deckboat would not be a great ride at slower cruising speeds and yet I would not want to run the boat at faster speeds with a boat full of people either. For that reason I do like the Advantage X flight and similar hull Howard 255VTX, both are catamaran/V hull crossovers that I think would provide a nice ride at slower speeds. The Howard 255VTX can plane at slower speeds needed for surfing and other water sports so that hull is probably my favorite for my young family, but if your not into watersports and your crew likes to run fast then maybe a full tunnel deckboat is best for you. I just can't imagine it would be fun running 50+ sitting in the bow of a deck boat getting blasted by the wind.