I'm a retiring hot rodder, drag boat, drag bike, drag anything for 50 years. Now I'm a Tuner.
Retiring and traveling with a boat. Y'all have forgot more than I know because our lake is about 37K acres and no traveling.
I've went from a 37 PC to this 47Gtx I can't get off my mind.
I come from the muscle car era of first car being a GT 350 with a Cleveland swap at 15 years old.

Snatch me straight to a more grown up place or guide me to my roots of a muscle type boat. I'm 66. Figure I have 10 years to live. Want a boat a babe or 2 might want to ride on

I'm hitting LOTO, Cumberland, Havusa, key West and all before I die. This boat has quad rotor Whipple's and is 557 inches. It's the solid white one everybody has seen. No telling the money he spent on it. Yeah I've looked at Suppercats for value and speed and I have a daughter who is a collegiate athlete wanting to visit the Lake. Guide a brother. Just opinions..thank you.

I'd buy a Cig Top Gun or 42 X with stock Merc power.

Stock power, shame on you Griff!

Do you want to go boating or do you want to go wrenching?
Even though you have experience in many forms of motorsports, offshore style boating IS different.
IMHO, pick something with STOCK, Mercury Racing power, that is easy to work on--for your first boat.

Replacing something a simple as a Sea Water Pump impeller can be a 45 minute job in some boats and a 4 hour job in other boats. And that's just a simple wear item that we've ALL had to deal with.

Go look at a LOT of boats, and go through the motions of replacing all the simple things on each one of them. Working on offshore boats is a WHOLE different animal than anything else you mention.

When was the last time you replaced the starter on a hot rod while standing on you head, with only one arm, while it's 105°F & 100% humidity, all while reaching through a 5-gallon bucket with a 4" wide hole cut out of the bottom?
No, I'm not joking because 'it be like that' sometimes.

If you pick up something with 700SCIs and #VI drives, you have plenty of drive capability for when you are ready to bump up in power.
If you pick up something with 525EFIs, you can always bolt on Whipples and upgrade the drive internals.

But the last thing you want to do is jump into this with both feet and your wallet, AND custom power that only 3 people in the country are willing to help you with when shlt goes "sydwayz".

I would look for a 39 cig with 700’s. 100 mph and very reliable. Very easy to bump up to 800-850 hp and they come with real drives. Great resale and a great riding boat. I’m on my third one, good luck with your search

https://www.offshoreonly.com/classif...un-o86966.html

This^^^^^^^

What years of OLs had good bottoms? Early GTXs were squirrelly? Someone smart inform us

You said supercar, may ask ICDEDP on here about going from a V to a cat.

There is a reason that you see so many outboard center consoles and so many outboard cats. Its the same reason that inboard boats are selling for what they are "people are tired of wrenching". I would suggest going to Key West. Observe and talk with owners that really run their boats. Pay attention to what they have for power and you will find that 95 percent of them are Mercury powered outboards, mercury 525s, mercury 700s, or mercury QC4s. Again, there is a reason for this and most people who do the Key West run have been involved with boating for a minute or two.

You mentioned something a babe or two might want to ride on...I have never met one that likes sitting around waiting on stuff to be fixed while the group continued on to the next destination.

Joe