Actually not sure if it is a garetta since I've found no model plate in the hull. That's just what the previous owner told me. But he said garetta 28 and when it arrived it was only 24 feet so not sure what to belive.

Jocke,

It was a 21' Nordic daycruiser V-drive that my dad built from a bare hull in '76. If I remember correctly, it was a 15% overdrive to the prop, turning a 13X13 prop. It would run ~85 on a good day: sucking fumes, two people, no gear/cooler, etc... Not at all comparable to what you're working on, but the comment was directly in response to your question about "high" revving engines. The 496HO that's in our PowerQuest regularly turns 5100 or so at WOT, and the 496 is a relatively low revving engine.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...61da559d2.jpeg
Yes. That little guy in the copilot seat is me. A looOOOoong time ago.

Thanks. Brad.

Cool boat! I was looking at those kinds of boats (mostly with jets though) before I bought mine as well. Decided to buy this instead because I thought those were a little too impractical with little space and not being able to run as well in rougher seas. They are and sound cool though.

Jocke,

FWIW.... You can call Merc tech and they can run your serial number and tell you just about everything there is to know about your engine. Forged/cast parts, 2/4-bolt mains, heads, whatever. But there are undoubtedly several here on OSO that can tell you that just from the model. There are a great number of very knowledgeable guys on here, of which I am NOT one of. Most of my knowledge comes from reading what THEY have to say. If they correct anything I've said, go with THEIR commentary, not mine. :ernaehrung004:

Thanks. Brad.

Yes! That's what I've gathered from here as well (not that you are unknowledgeable but that there are a lot of knowledge in this forum). That's why I posted. But since the engine was swapped (or at least block) I'm going to be looking for numbers on the block and heads later on this week and post as soon as I find them.

Thanks for sharing Brad...the old school family boats are a lot of fun. Back when a lot of guys built their own.

Tartilla,

Yup. I was 5yo when he built it. Good times. While I’m sure the plan was always to build a boat, it all started with a rough cast 6-71 blower, off a semi, (he had it polished) out of the TradingPost, and then it was like…. “Now what?” It had a Holley 1150 3bbl carb. Dad had a lot of the hardware made at local machine shops and designed/built the interior himself. The hull was originally designed for a jet drive, so they glassed in extra stringers and gussets to stiffen it. You could still feel it twist when dad stood on it. It had massive torque. We pulled five slaloms out one day. I was not one of them. It took about a dozen pulls for them all to come up without knocking each other over.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...d4c8fce37.jpeg

I can still remember the night they fired the engine up in the boat the first time, in my grandparents residential driveway, at about 1AM. They apparently couldn't wait until morning to give the key a twist.

Sorry for the hijack…… 🤷‍♀️

Thanks. Brad.

What Brad says about crank rods and pistons is spot on. Get a good foundation for your budget, and you'll have something to build on.

4 bolt main is obviously a better choice, but at a higher cost for your location. Splayed caps are an expensive option.

Figure out what you have...and the health of the bore/block.

489 @4.25" or 496 @4.375" stroke would both give you more power for the investment.

The big elephant in the room...is the exhaust. A Stainless Marine system runs about $3900-4000 US for the short length risers.

Used Stainless Marine BBC manifolds can be found here and the usual places.

I saw that EMI exhausts are a bit cheaper. Are they worse than stainless marine? I was also looking and saw that the ones with the taller risers aren't that much more expensive. Isn't it worth it to get those in order to be able to run a more agressive cam?

Based on your engine's serial number.

https://www.mercruiserparts.com/7-4l...v-8-1996-199-1