how much hp make sense in a 32´baja?
 

A friend of mine told me, that 2 x 500 hp in my little boat will be too much. The 454 mag are fine.

Is this possible or just a story? I just want to know if boats can get unstable or unsecure. or something else happenz.

I do not have experience with more than 230 hp, so please forgive my question. :party-smiley-004:

How much is right?
 

I would not say a 32ft. Baja is a little boat and equipped with two 500HP engines instead of two 300HP engines would not be any sort of problem unless your drives are old and in bad shape. I think most here on the forum would agree that Baja's are realitivly big, heavier than most, performance boats and having a 32ft. with your current power might be a bit underpowered. Two nice reliable normally aspirated 500HP BBC engines would be a great addtion. My opinion only.

I seen 32 foot boats with twin 1200 HP !!!

How stupid is your friend ????? It can never be enuff !!! :D

I actually think that twin 500's would be perfect for ya ,,,the Bravos should be fine and the 500 package is very reliable.

You should be able to see 80 + MPH with 5oo's

There are 32' boats all over with twin 500's. I would expect with that power, you would run in the 80mph range after its dialed in with props.

Yes, boats can become unstable at higher speeds. It can also happen at 65mph though.

I used to have a 320es, hence the screen name. As far as I am concerned they are unstable at speed, stock. I never liked the way the boat handled, but 500 a side would make it more interesting.

Agreed.

The big pad, and high center of gravity make it a handful.

The 32 Outlaw/caliber/magnum on the other hand
is a different boat, it will handle the power fine.

Your friend is a pu s s y!!!

...do i have the wrong boat?

Nothing wrong with the boat. It just was never intended to run 100mph. Enjoy it for what it is.




Darrell.

500 hp cost money. And if i do not like a boat, I would not invest in it. As you say it is unstable at higher speed, it will not be better with more horses. At which speed it became instable?

Did someones else have the same experience with the 320 ES?

A friend of mine had a 93' w/502MPI's,
he complained how squirrely it was, and how it
would do weird things.

I thought it was probably just him til he had me drive it.

We were running 70-75ish, I started to slow down,
brought the drives in a bit, and it fell off the pad, heeled
over to the port side running surface:eek:

I held it straight til it settled back down.....it wasn't
a real fun experience.....kind of like driving on ice.

Later, we switched the props to outside rotation,
that helped quite a bit, but still was kind of unpredicatable.

This boat didn't have external steering, I don't
know if it would have cured all the looseness it
had, but it probably would have helped.

He later bought a 32 Outlaw w/the same power.

Although it might have been a tick slower, at least
you could drive it at ease at any speed in any water
condition.

If you're set on adding power to a 320ES,
I would make shure you have full hyd. ext. steering
and 380 k-planes, and outside rotating props.

All of that may make it a driveable machine at the
speeds it will run.

Too much? You gotta be kidding.
 

I will have to defer to those that are more familiar with the particular boat, but it would seem that a 32 should be able to handle that much power if set up right. I have been running a Baja Hammer with a 468 that the builder claimed put out 500 HP for the last 5 years. While it is a handful, hydraulic steering made it controlable. Best speed on GPS speedo was 79 - 80 down river. It definately makes the adrenalin pump, but adrenalin is a perfect drug. I pulled it out this fall have a 540 with 600 HP being built. If you can't use it all you don't have to push the throttle all the way down, but it is nice to have when you need it.

I know the 89 force 32 had a vee no pad does your boat have a pad or straight vee? I see its a 91.

Chris, My cousin has a 1988 32' Baja. He bought it with Merc 454cid/330hp engines in it. He has since then upgraded the engines to 461hp @5100rpm and 510 foot pounds of torque @3800rpm. It now runs about 69-71mph with a 25" 3-bladed prop.

If you want to see his 32' Baja run....here is a link--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyco5Ep5wHc


Look for his boat at 3:46 and it will show his boat running at speed in calm water----it looks to be very steady.

Nice vid! I like the white ninja at the end! :drink:

A 320es is just not a speed demon, but it is a good boat & I would not be afraid of 500 a side in it.
I was in love with a red & black 320es that was on LOTO named the "Flaming B!tch". Never could get it bought.
The 322 was even worse with handling, but 500 a side isn't even getting close to being dangerous.
Go for it!

Whats really the problem? It has a nice, deep V and the whole shape looks like it should be stabile. What is the problem? How can i fix it? Maybe big trimtabs?.. and which boats are basically better?

The big pad and the high center of gravity.

Full hyd steering, 380 k-planes and outside rotating
props is how I would set it up.

32/33 outlaws handle much better.

Don't be so afraid of what people tell you,,,,if u whant 500's stick them in ,,,then go from there and dial the boat in to your compfort,,,,,,,,,u will see its not that bad.

The dialing in part will tell u if u need longer tabs or boxes ,which props and all that,,,,,,,untill u dial it in u have a long way to go.

I had a 33 PP with twin 650 HP race engines and everybody told me i am nuts,,,,the damn thing was fine in every way.

Its what u make of it not what other people did with there boats.
Every boat has up's and down's and the biggest issui is that most of them are dialed in wrong !!!!:ernaehrung004:

Chris, did you see the video link I posted on Post #14??? I am not sure if there have been any design changes between my cousin's 1988 32' Baja and yours, but if you watch the video does it look like my cousin's 32' has any problems with dual 461hp engines in that hull? It sure looks pretty good and steady to me.

The dead calm water really shows how the hull rides at that speed. He had just planed off and trimmed the drives up and was still gaining speed as he was going by with 4 people in the boat.

I think a 32' Baja would be a safe enough platform at speed with dual 500hp engines if that is the power you wanted.

I am not afraid because I am not a racer, i just want to have fun with my boat and no get into trouble. I do not have that much experience in boating, so i ask a lot and i am learning a lot.

thanks

ARE U SAYING RACERS ARE AFRAID ????? !!!!! LOL


No i understand,,, but with a fast boat u can always drive slow ,,,,a slow boat can't go fast though !!!!

So Hp and tourge are good to get out of the hole aswell ,which is more fun if u can exselarate faster with a 32 foot boat .
Then just run it easy untill u get used to it and u will improve yourself and get more feeling for the boat and can go faster.
But if its way underpowerd like a cruiseship u never have as much fun because your buddys will always be faster.

I would set it up with the 500's and go from there.:ernaehrung004:

That's a 320 Force ( predecessor to the 32 Magnum,
Caliber, outlaw) they are a nice handling boat.

The 320 ES is actually a 30' boat with a molded swim
platform

this is a 320 ES
http://www.powerboatlistings.com/view/4589

Flege on here has a 32 with HP500 in it, he might chime in and give you what he thinks.

His is a Force not and ES.... different boats.

i have offers for hp500 longblocks for 13.500,- and new 496 plug and play for 20.000,-

but i am undecided if i should not try it first with the 454mags. if i decide, i always can make a change. My wife will be happy if i do not go for more.

Rookie question@kaama: how far do you trim the drives up?

Irish Tornado has some low hour (40's or something)496 HO's complete ready to go......$15K for the pair.

Like Jaytee is saying. The 320es is not similar to the force, outlaw or caliber, which are the same basic hull. The 320ES is an extremely deep boat with a large pad, that apparently isn't large enough. They ride up on the pad, then fall off. Very unpredictable handling. Turning the props in makes them TERRIBLE, turning out is better. I loved the room and looks of the boat but hated the ride and handling. Honestly, I would take my 24 outlaw in the rough over my old 320es, at least I know what it is going to do. I have no problem putting more hp in a 32' boat, just not that one. Hell, I have more HP going in my 24' than I had in the 32. :D

Thank you:drink:

All you cheerleaders telling him to add power to
it, need to drive one of these....I guarantee you'll
change your mind.


It's not a setup issue, it's the design of the boat.
( yes, you can add things that might help, but it's not going
to overcome some of the design issues of the boat,
performance wise)

I'm all for going fast, but if you can't control it
the potential it has for speed is useless or deadly:eek:

I too loved the room and lines of the 320ES, but
I couldn't deal with the ill handling, compared
to other boats that were out there.

Chris, In my cousin's 32' Baja I would NOT know and I am not sure if he has trim/tab indicators.

Now, on my boat....I cannot quite remember, maybe about 6-8 on the indicator. And you must know I have -2" IMCO shorties on extension boxes with 5-bladed props.....so, it does NOT take much trim for my boat to throw a rooster tail. :)

What do you mean with pad? do you talk about the flat space underneath the boat?

How could i be able to fix the problem for more stability? hugh tabs maybe? Anyway, i will not invest in bigger engines untill i have a stabile boat. Thats for sure.

I read on this forum about "chine walk" and i could not allocate it. also i could not find the word in a translaion program. Is this the name of the problem?

The pad is the flat spot at the rear bottom of the hull. Pads are there to help increase speed. When you get up to speed, the pad will be about the only part of the boat touching the water.

I think you are worrying more about making changes to the boat before you're even comfortable with it. How much seat time do you have in the boat????

Get comfortable with it with the power it has and you will learn what it will need when you want more speed.

you are absolute right, griff, but its winter....

and i am a very confused, that people who have experience with this boat, tell me that the boat should be unstable.

It starts to chine walk, then it heels over
and stays there.

It's like being banked over like you're in a turn,
but you're going straight.:eek:

Take it to a fiberglasser,,or fly mine over to you and have him or anybody u know glass a Thru -V- over the Pat on the botom.

All issuis resolved !!!!

Or make the botom strakes wider !:ernaehrung004:

I even know a guy in germany that could do that for ya ,,,may even be better then buyng engines and little less expensive.
His name is Carl Class in Worms Germany owner of Classperformance boats.
Tell him a german guy from USA send u.

VERY TRUE after the 500s check your prop shaft height if it 6 to 7 1/2 '' from theedge of the hull there deep/ in a single you would measure from the pad. so if your twin is deep go for a set of 1 to 2'' shorties it helped my ol out a lot.

I think your cousins hull is the same as the 88 87 89 force it looks it with a vee keel. his is more like the 89 280 sport in looks and hull. full hdy steering would help also.

do other boats not have this pad? the flat spot on this boat is only 6 or 7 inches wide and 5 ft long.

I had a 99 Donzi 33ZX with twin 500HP carbed motors and Bravo drives, Great trouble free combination and lots of fun to drive!