Wow.

The 30’ Skater and the Fountains are off the hook.
Gorgeous and way impressive #s for the Fountains.

In the cost associated w/the Skater project, a large part of that expense was for a restoration not the conversion.
That cost would be there regardless of power.

I love, as most of you know, this avenue of thought, and it is up to the owner to determine what it will become.

When I lived in Fla you’d see guys that screwed a plywood patch over the outdrive hole in the transom, screwed on a home made bracket, hung a motor and headed out.
Many even left the insides the same! As in motor box etc 😂

The design of the boat/transom determine part of the complexity of the conversions.
Done right, it’s not for the faint of heart.

But as stated above, compare the cost of the Skater resto/conversion to a new one.
On top of that, the owner now has EXACTLY what he wants.
No consolation on colors, gauges, power, etc, etc.

I think if it’s a hull you really like, that gives comfort in that decision.

I know when I restored my 24’ twin OB Sonic in Fla, outside........, I almost gave up, twice.
Both times my wife said, let’s go to the Miami show and buy a new one.
She was sick of my *****ing.

We went both times, and both times went home w/o.
Both times I found “A” boat that I thought would work.
One was $90k and one was $140k.
I couldn’t justify that expense so went home and finished the Sonic project.

When done, for me, it was the perfect boat.

If you have that boat but are sick of fighting the drives, motors, maint, Svc access....., etc, here’s a viable option.

As the word spreads, I’d expect to see shops specializing in those conversions.

I remember yrs ago the TV show, “Ship Shape TV” did a single inboard to twin OBs on an Armstrong Bracket on a classic 25’ Bertram and it totally changed that boat.
it did everything better.

One key aspect I see is getting the C of G where it needs to be and that takes knowledge and experience.

The new 42’ Formula cruiser has its triples at least 3’ back!

Cool stuff and can’t wait to see what the future brings.

Keep the pics and stories coming.

Skater30, how do you like how your boat runs w/the OBs compared to before??

There is one of them.

Converting some of the smaller fountains with tiny cockpits wouldn’t be a bad idea.

With the frequency of boats coming up that are parted out with a soft transom, the I/o or O/B conversion is at a tipping point as there is not much give on MPH

You’re somewhat limited in engine options and horsepower if you’re a real speed freak.

The most you can fit on a 8’ beam v bottom would be triple I6 verados which could take you up to 445hp ea. Still a pricy proposition new. Not like scouring used drag race engine parts and rebuilding your own outdrives cheap, but not terribly far off.

I've often thought about doing a conversion to OB, but I haven't seen any high performance V's done. I'm running 700hp BBC in a Velocity 280 and hitting 90, would 2 350's get me there? Also what about fuel economy? I get about 2.5 mpg at 55mph, every boat test I've seen OB's barely get half. My last OB was a highly modded Chrysler 150 on a 16' Larson Senza. When I trimmed it up a little and punched it out of the hole it would come out of the water.

If both are fuel injected I wouldn’t expect one to be particularly better than the other. The verados are supercharged and dragging 2 gear cases through the water, so I could see them being worse.

An NA outboard setup like Suzuki’s that can lean burn should beat 2.5mpg. They’ll do 2 on my 35’ boat.

Try to find some numbers from a 30’ twin engine pad bottom CC to get an idea where you’d be. I’m guessing you could beat the Econ numbers of a boat like that.

Pretty sure there is one being built right now so we should see.

I have thought about it when the current motors are ready but my issue is that to do it right would mean moving the bulkhead back and redoing a lot of glass work.

I can not do that, so a set of long blocks seem much cheaper. By the time I would pay for all the glass work, than re rig it isn't worth it on a 32 fountain. Even the 42's that have been converted haven't changed the engine bay, at least not that I have seen. If you can do the work, that is a different story.

Theres a velocity 30 with twin OBs. It’s blue. You should try to find out the numbers.

https://www.offshoreonly.com/classif...ck-o74518.html

Id bet this boat runs good