What will be the result of changing twin to single
 

26 Crestliner Rampage twin engine 350 ,260 hp.
I am plannig tgo rebuild to singel bigblock around 450 hp.

What will be the result??

Good or bad idea??

The result, a lot of work. thats a big boat for a single. You may upset the balance and make it bow heavy. What drive are you planning on using? What is wrong that has you concedering the the rerig? My first thought is it's not a good idea.
Jim

So you are going change the stringers and reglass the transom?????? sounds like a lotta work for nuttin. Small blocks are cheap and you could just add some HP to them for less money and a lot less work.

Hi again

I live in Europe everything is expencive.

1litre gasoline 2,22 usd (1 gallon 9 usd)
The service cost 3 times US prices

Fountain 27 Fever most of the boats are with singel engine
Same with Formula 27 Fastech

Even though the hull on the Crestliner are older it is only 26 feet and weight without engines are 4000 pounds

And the favt that I am buying the boat without engines and drives are also the reason that i consider a singel engine.

IMHO, it's a project you'll never finish once you see how much work is involved.

I have a local boatbuilder who rebuild the transom for a reasonable price.

From the test in Powerboat Mag the boat did 60 mph
with the twin smallblock 260 hp installation.

Well anyway, if I keep the boat as is I need to install 2 engines
and 2 drives.

DO anyone have any expirience with kind of the same experiment?? twin to singel??

I understand your concern of equipment, fuel, nd maintenance cost but I think the overall project does not make sense regarding the refurb cost and performance changes being considered. I'm not an engineer but my $.02

If it was me I'd be looking for a pair of nice, fuel sipping diesels in the 250 to 300 HP range. If you plan on keeping the boat for a long time the increased efficiency and reliability will pretty much pay for them. Just my $.02 worth........

Monoco20, given the situation it may not be such a bad idea. I would expect a little loss in performance. You may also need to change stringer configuration. Good luck.
Jim

To give a picture of the situation of the level of cost to the project.

I am buying the boat without engines and drives:

I have to pay around usd 6400 each small block (used 2000-2002 mod) around usd 3700 each bravo drive(used same year model). Aprox usd 20000 for the complet twin instalation.

Big block 350-400 hp usd 8500 and usd 4000 for the drive
Aprox usd 12500.

Rebuilding costs from twin to singel aprox usd 2500

Cosidering then the fuel cost usd 2,3 each ltr. and service
costs. I wil save a lot of money in a singel instalation.

The question is the loss of speed and preformance of the boat.

Sell that nice boat and buy what you want. The cost difference will be less than the cost of the work.

You can buy a lot of gas with the money you are going to spend on that project.

I have a friend that has a 28 ft. 1995 Wellcraft Martinique with a single 454 carb that burns the same to more fuel than my 38 with twin 502 mags at cruising speeds.

Had a 33' 10' wide cruisers inc, (14,500#s on the trailer) twin big blocks 55MPH a real dream of a boat. Went to a 31X10 wide cruisers inc single, took it to 560HP with a procharger (did it twice as I blew the first one) lots of $$$$ 48MPH 50 the day it blew. 11,500#s on the trailer and it uses more gas than the bigger twin. Why run the piss out of a single when you can run twins in the non-destruct range for less gas with more space?

I am in the same situation. I have a 72 Cig with twin 165's and a drive spacing of 25 1/4. When I have to repower, I will need to do transom work regardless of whether I op for a single or twin small blocks. I my case I will probably go with a single 496HO.

Doesn't it come down to what you want out of the boat, and what you're willing to give up to get it?
My suggestion, from a performance-whore perspective, would be to build a twin using SBC's and Alphas.
- the Alphas you can buy new on eBay for $2500 each
- the SBC's and parts are available internationally
- the ongoing HP vs gas$ isn't going away, so have a mild setup for cruisin, and radical for when JoeBlow pisses you off and you want to show some muscle.
Of course, this is from my perspective..

How about this..........

Glass the transom in, put a bracket on there with 2 outboards???

I have 2 really nice mild & fresh 280-290 HP small bocks Completly ready to drop in , they have Everything. I just listed them in the classifieds take a look & let me know if you are interested.

I would sell the twin and buy a boat with a single. You could do it for less money, time and frustration and have a better boat in the end.

Found a photo of my 1979 Crestliner 2655 Rampage.

Another

another

Thanks for all the replies
 

Hi
Nice pics. Donzi38 I think the rampage looks realy nice
and classic. A nice combination of preformance and daycruiser.
On the 19 of november I am going to Germany to inspect
the boat and decide, if I am buying it or not. Do you have
any tip for me what to check carefully? I am not going to
buy the engines ( twin 3,7 4 cyl mercruisers 170 hp).

I considering to keep the Alpha one drives, in case I go for
a twin small block installation. What do I need to do
with the gearing of the drives to adapt them to a small
block V8 when they have been used on the above mentioned
4 cyl engines? Are the rpm/gearing allmost the same?

Winter is coming in Norway now 32 degress and snow is in the air. Sommer seems far away at the moment. And my small baby See pic. is winterized and sleeps well

Another sommer picture

If you like the hull and the drives are the correct ratio and in good condition, why not buy it with the Alpha drives and purchase two new 220hp FI 4.3l Merc engines for about $5000.00 each. You will still have the benefit of twins with reasonable performance and economy. Those drives would likely need a gear change to work with V8 engines.
Have a professional survey done on the hull before you go all the way to Germany.

:cool-smiley-027:

FYI Alpha drives are 1.62 for the V-6, 1.5 for the V-8, and easily changed. You could always spend the money on the props instead.

The owner has send me a lot of pictures, as far as I can see
it looks ok. I have som more pictures on classic forum
the heading is Rear preformance boat.

By the way from oslo to Germany its a 90 minutes flight
and by internaet ticks it cost around Usd 110 so it is not so
bad.

The engines are 4cyl mercruiser 3,7 lit 170 hp
what is the FYI then??

Hi a tip

If anyone like the Crestliner Rampage 26, there is a hull
at eBay for a give a way price, it is a donation gift or something. Could be a project.

To far away for me.. and looks like a lot of work.

:sport009:

Twins to single is like a breast reduction.. why would anyone even consider it?

I suggest doing the job the way you want. I am a firm believer in modifying things to suit the owner. There is a lot of pride in the boat when the project is finished.
I suggest a Bravo 1 Drive with a 454 Gen VI crate engine short block, a cast iron high rise intake manifold from a 1960's Chevelle 396 and a marine Quadrajet. Use a marine approved mechanical fuel pump, L29 Vortec heads with flat top pistons and stock cast iron Mercruiser exhaust manifolds with thru-the-prop exhaust. A strong Comp Cams camshaft with 224/230 intake/exhaust duration on a 110 LSA. Mercruiser Thunder bolt IV ignition with a 24 degree ignition module.
You will have a very nice boat and you will be proud of the work you performed on it.
Dennis Moore

So what did you end up doing?

Do you guys realize this post is from "2007"

ooops,just noticed how old this thread is,LOL

Primrose path
 

This is what happens when there is no closesure...Monoco20's probably not even on OSO anymore!:lolhit:

That's ok with me, there are thousands of people visiting/reading this post and getting ideas from it.

We, that reply, are a small number on here!
Dennis

Its still a breast reduction even if it is an old breast.

For the benefit of Monaco20 if he's still around , Jim Wynne was the designer of the original 'Crusader' series that Crestliner did. There was a 17 , a 19 and a 24 .
I looked after a 24 with a pair of 170 Volvos (specially ordered) back in the early 70's.

Not sure if Jim was called back to do the 26 hull or whether Crestliner used their own in house people to stretch the 24 , but the 24 (and the 19 that I also had a lot of time on) were two of the best all 'round performing hulls that I've ever driven.

Single or twin , my guess is that Monaco is not going to enjoy what this hull can do unless he can get it to run an easy 40 cruise and at least 50+ top end.