1989 24' Banana Boat
 

I got a 24 Banana with a single 1989 Mercury 200 hp on the back. The motor has got 230 hours since new and is all stock. No jack plate, stock lower unit and a 23 pitch (I think) stainless 3 blade prop.

Anybody got any idea how to make it go faster with a small budget .

My co-worker has a 22 Baja sport with a 1984 200 Mercury and his rig is 3 mph faster and he rubs it in my face.

I kick his ass in the waves, but I wanna get him when it's flat too.

Help...

Put a 300 on it and sell me your 200!!! i had one ,with the 200 went about 50,then i put on a v8 300 and went 63 good luck,a fun boat and loves rough water tripps :D :D :D

What is a small budget? You can always strap another 200 on the back and have a safty of twins :D:D

Jon

A jack plate will give you the best bang for the buck. A nose cone wouldn't hurt either.

Nose cone and Jack plate
 

How much do you think I would gain with a Jack plate and a nose cone?

If I go with that which is the best, CMC, Gorilla, Land & Sea?

Is a used Jack plate okay or am I asking for trouble?

Thanks for the response.

The only jack plates I've ever used are from Bob's Machine Shop. They work flawlessly. Used would be okay, just make sure to give it a good inspection.

I would GUESS both might give you between 2-5 mph???

Here's the link to Bob's.

Show us pics of your boat :) . My buddy had a Bananna, it was bad ass....sold it before he had a chance to rig it :mad:

Bob's Stuff
 

Thanks for the tip.

I called Bob's. They are gonna put a nose cone with low water pick up on my lower unit and fix my skeg at the same time.

Next is the jack plate.

What do you think, 6" or 10" of set-back?

Once I do all this, should I get a different prop?

Thanks...

Pictures
 

Yea, I got a picture right here, just give me a minute to figure out my scanner.

Oh **** my boss is coming, I gotta go...

Here is an old photo. This was prior to the restoration.

Nice looking boat!

I would go with 10" set back....but that's just me.

Might be worth while playing with a few props. If possible, borrow or test'em before shelling out the $$.

Sounds like a fun project.

This is my Rabco with a Bob's jack, nose cone and low water p/u. Although I prefer inboards and Arneson drives, this outboard boat is a scream.

That thing looks like it boogies.

I like your throttle and shifter. I have the old quicksliver set up.

Is there a place to get good used stuff. Like controls, trim tabs and other parts?

Thanks for the advice on the 10" set back.

I noticed the nose cone package had two choices, either one or two hoses. Which one do you have? Which one is better?.

Air Dog,

Forget the Bob's, Mercury makes a cescent gearcase out of aluminum. Buy the casing and have your guts put in. The Bob's stuff is bonded on and never seems to stay on. Alway's peeling off and not as hydrodynamic as a merc casing without those hoses hanging out the sides.
That will get you better water to the prop, However if you dont jack it up your not taking advantage of the nose and low water pick up. And yes with these mods you would improve your prop as well, that is where you will find the speed. You will be taking advantage of the extra rpm gained by the nose and its height.:cool:

Bosco,

I like your idea better.

Any idea where to find a hollowed out lower unit like your talking about?

Air dog

Comeon Air,sell me that 200,just kidding,but if u ever decide to----- call me,hey they sell a low water pickup-nosecone that bolts on l looks pretty good,made out of plastic or some other tuff stuff if your intrested let me know here and ill hook u up tripps


ps looks good white,if you want to see a pic of mine,go to the photo section,look for bloopers,then the red boat with the dog on the beach :D :D :D

Dog: I helped build that boat. How'd I do? (Could be a dangerous question, I guess:D )

But seriously, having worked at Banana Boat Ltd for several years, I had become a major fan of them----certainly a fantastic rough-water 24 footer.

The above suggestions are all good, as there are some ways to tweak it for a few more MPH, depending on your budget.

The reality of it is, though, that the Banana has, if I'm not mistaken about Bajas, a subtantially deeper V than the Bajas do, which, HP for HP will always make it a much better boat in the rough, and a bit slower on smooth water, as the Baja will be able to get more air under it in the smooth stuff.

You throw a 300 on there, or another used 200, and you'll be flyin'.

Until then, just race him in the rough, and you'll kick his ass every time.

Good luck!

Air Dog check screamandfly.com fo lower unit housing several for sale. I would use as much set back as I could get. I did a project like yours years ago. Setback surfacing gearcase chopper prop lots of adjustment. I think I picked up 5-8mph.
Good luck:frog:

mmwalters - Thanks for the tip on screamandfly. I called a few
of the listings. Hopefully a used one will hold
together.

Tripps - That red Banana looks fast. Did the back seat come that
way or did you do some reconstructive surgery to the
back deck? My back seat is really close to the two front
bolsters. Not much room for spilling margaritas.

RiskyBiz - Thanks for building my boat. I especially like how the deck is glassed to the hull on the inside. I went down to Pantera boats in Miami and the owner was raving about how he glasses them together. Is was nice to see that my 12 year old rig was built as tuff.

Do you know how to strengthen the transom for the outboard version Banana with knees?

I think I am leening towards bolting on another 200 Merc.

Sorry tripps.

Air Dog: I have a buddy that has a used jack plate that is like new. It is a Land and Sea unit. Let me know if you are interested and I will go over and talk to him for ya. (978) 985-0639

Jon

mmwalters,
Can you expand a little on the "surfacing gearcase?" Is that the same as the crescent mentioned above? I assume one would have to run a small hub / surface piercing prop? (cleaver) 3 or 4 blade?

ASD 6 Simply put, the motor is lifted so that part of the prop is out of the water at speed. On your boat you would want the propshaft about 2'' below the bottom of the boat to start. A surfacing high rake propeller is a must, A chopper or cleaver. In your case a chopper would most likey be best.. You will need to spend the time to dial your set in and test props and of course low walter pickups.
goodluck:frog:

Given a little more thought, a bravo one four blade would make a good prop, very good out of the hole and good top speed. Not as fast as a chopper but better all around use. Talk with one of the prop experts on this board for better advise. Matt from throttle up or Darin at Housten propeller.

Hey air,yes,it was reconstructive sawsall surgery!!! it was a inboard boat so i just cut it down to the height i wanted,bolted in some plywood and i did make a cushion for it.AS for your transom problem,you could use tiebars to the stringers,my friends boat has that. one of the problems that boat has is the stringersfrom the front dont meet the transom. i dont know if they all are like that,but the ones i saw were.my boathad stringers that stopped 6 feet from the transom and then new ones started like 6 inches from the other ones to the transom,they were not tied together except for the fiberglass over them,but that was a i/o boat and they used the rear stringers for motamounting platforms. your right,it is tight back there,do you know how to fiberglass? that xtra 2 feet makes a big difference,nice project for you,and while your at it raise the transom up to the deck(lotsa fiberglass work) with wood,aluminum plate the outside,put a nice stainless bracket on it,tie bars to front stringers,and you will like the ride change.my buddys boat,on the transom,and mine,2 feet back,rode complety different,but were same speeds.one more thing,the deck flexes alot,up and down right? i made abulkhead under it and stopped flexing. good luck,but just useit tripps

Hey Tripps, I knew you would be on this thread!! Your always trying to talk about and show your BANANA!!:eek: :eek: :crazy: Nice boat air dog.I've had a couple of rides in tripps and Ralphs. both handled great in rough water and ran in the mid to upper 60's. Ralphs has the tie bar system on it to stregthen te transom. I don't know who made and installed it but tripps probably knows. I do know it was nicely made. twin 200's would probably make that boat screem.

Banana's with Brackets
 

Tripps,

I never noticed if my stringers went stem to stern or not. I do like your idea of slicing and dicing the back for more room.

Did it make your top deck structure any weaker?

Does outboards on a bracket make the boat any faster? I am guessing that it would since the prop or props are in smoother water. When you said the ride was different with a bracket what did you mean?

Try this
 

I have a 24 foot carrera, probably the same bottom as your banana.. Origanaly had an IO.. Doubled and reglassed the transom and hung 30 inch setback, stainless marine bracket ..
Cant say enough about this bracket , Room to walk around right at the motors, extra flotation and built like a sh&% brickhouse..

Brackets
 

That thing looks fast!

Do you run that on Lake Winni?

How long did it take you to reglass the transom?

How fast does your rig go?

I am really starting to like the idea of twin 200's as opposed to a giant single.

Few Banana questions..comments..
 

riskybuisness...i forgot your real name.sorry....did all the Bananas have the hull to deck joint glassed like air dogs? .my hull is for sale on e-bay now because im going to buy an i/o banana i found. i loved the outboards but i want to try something different...and my father didnt like mixin the oil on the high perf motors.any problems i should look for on the i/o boat?.TRIPPS..your bolsters look a little higher and beefier than mine..where did you get them?where did your windshield go?

bannana stuff
 

Hey too slow,those bolsters were aftermarket,meaning from (somewhere),and believe it or not,but i pieced that boat together. somebody gave me a deck and i found a used bottom!!! almost like finding a winning lotto ticket!!! the windshield i didnt have but it looks good with them onthe boat.
and air,its a big job but as i described it above,but the room you will get is really important. and as were talking about bannanas i forgot to tell you guys about my other friend that has a 600 cubic inch bbc in it and goes 85+ heres some eye candy 4 you guys[IMG]scan0002.jpg[/IMG]

Banana Boat Non - Pics
 

Still can't picture to post to board... Anybody know how???

I wish i could hep TRIPPS....because i wanna see those pics
 

Wow Tripps..thats is amazing about the hull and deck story...and it looks good to...any pictures of you doing the project?...is the pic your trying to post of that big block banana?...

Crap, I CTRL Z'd my entire post away... Oh well, I'll just have to retype it..

Air Dog.

You want plenty of setback. I'm guessing 12 to 15" of setback. No kidding. You want to get both the weight and the leverage factor as far back as you can. You want to be able to carry the bow high and the boat loose at top speed with only a small amount of positive engine trim. This will allow more thrust to PUSH the boat forwards instead of a high trim angle trying to push the stern down into the water in an attempt to lift the bow...

Height: Propshaft centerline 2" below the pad sounds like a good start. Remember, though, that for each foot of setback, you can lift the motor another inch...

Prop: Merc 3-blade Chopper over-hub will most likely give you best topend. They have great bow lift and great surfacing performance. They also have the worlds most steering torque when jacked very high. You may find that a 4-blade Chopper gives you a more tolerable setup.

Lower unit: you don't need a low water pickup OR a nose cone. Very few applications under 75mph will see any speed increase from the cone. Most "miracle" increases with a nose cone are due to the raising of the motor height, and not due to the cone itself. You will need to make sure you are getting good water to the side pickups, though. If you have the plastic inserts in the side pickups, then simply replace the inserts with the performance inserts that have a metal plate over themj to trap the water at high x dims. If you don't have plastic inserts in the side pickups, then you may need to epoxy the top water hole closed and file a groove in front of the bottom hole to "guide" water to the holes from the bullet. In all cases keep an eye on your water pressure.

A good 15" jack plate will cost around $300. That's cheap for what it will do for you.

* An over-hub Chopper prop will behave completely differently than your current prop. You will need to come "out of the hole" at around 4500 rpm. There's nothing WRONG with this setup, but a lot of guys are freaked out about it. Once on plane, the Chopper will bite nicely. Try it, you'll probably like it. If you DONT like it, then you can swap to a Mirage Plus or thru hub Chopper style prop. They will behave more like what you are used to but you will give up some topend.

The screaming out of the hole Chopper is really cool once you are used to it..

You can ALWAYS add the nosecone if you insist, but be aware that I lost 3 mph when I added one. I also know a handfull of others that lost speed - they only gained speed when they raised their motors up where they should have been in the first place...

hey too yes,im tryin to postem but havin no luck,the pic is of my friends boat with a v-8 and i do have some pics of putting the deck on the hull and refoaming in the gas tank back in,wish me luck finding them,they are (somewhere). by the time i find them maybe someone will tell me the seceret of how to postem. but now for football and coronas,hopefully ill win some pools tripps

Air Dog
 

The carrera does 80 ish ..Twin 200's slightly tweeked so maybe 220 a peice.. Saving for 2.5 offshores ..a new truck.. a bigger house :D O sorry was I rambling.. The transom took me about 6 months but I am the master of procrastination and wanted to get it right.. Yes only on winni ..I have a place in Gilford.. Were do you boat ?

Pantera1

Wow 80's with twin 200's. Carrera's must be lighter than Banana's.

From what I hearing on this board, if I bolt another 200 on my rig then I will only go around 70. :mad:

I am usually out off the coast of New Hampshire in my boat. I have a high stress job and each wave I smash into is a person at work that pisses me off. My wife is from Cape Cod so when I am not in nautical therapy of the Isle of Shoals, I am slamming my way from Hyannis, MA to Nantucket or Marthas Vineyard. I find that if I scream at the top of my lungs while wave pounding, it has a more healing effect.

"Oh you don't like the way I manage my department? WHAMM! HOW BOUT A BANANA BOAT UP YOUR A$$!!!!. YA! YA! LITTLE PIGGY!!! :hothead:

Sheesh, Air !

You don't need a jackplate!
You need a pole sticking off the bow of the boat that you can strap co-workers onto (like that second MadMax movie..).

Dunk 'em real good into that next big salty wave...

Mcollinstn
 

Dude, thats a good idea.

Hey by the way, thanks for your advice on tricking out my therapy chair.

Now I am looking at twin engine bracket / swim platforms.

Why just spend a little money right?

Therapy
 

Ya thats why ive spent hundreds of hours , plucking fiberglass from my skin etc..
The stainless marine brackets are pricey but worth every penny..
You will see close to 80 with a pair of 200's and the right props , 75 anyway ..Then theres all the tweeking , nose cones, 175 heads, jetting etc etc..I started at about 72-73 and tweeking has got me to see 81.5 on the GPS..

200 Merc's
 

What year are your motors?

I guess I will have to get two of everything when I do this, (dual shifters, steering, etc.)

What is a 175 head?

if you are going to utilize a bracket , the best money ever spend would be on a "porta bracket" i have one on my single v8 outboard 24' banana and a twin version on my own 28' and a tripple on our 31' all with v8's hanging on the back. fyi

175 Head
 

Cylinder heads from a 175 merc.. They have a smaller dome and boost commpression a bit ..Ya two of everything ..it gets expensive ..Ebays a good place to find some stuff ..Ignition harnesses etc.. This board is also a great place.. I got a brand new zero effort twin throttle and shift with trim in the handle for a third of what I would have paid at the dealer ..