32' Midnight restoration project
 

Restoring 1982 32' Midnight express from twin arneson drives to triple outboard. I have been working on the project for 1 1/2 years so far. I have the bracket installed, Just finished rigging all the gauges & installing control boxes. Working on the steering system & putting the engines togethor . Will have pictures downloaded this week.

any pics yet??

Arneson drives are they gone

Here's a video to inspire you. Look at the 34 seconds mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsrH..._order&list=UL

Pictures finally starting to be posted. first pics of the transom being filled for bracket. some of the other pics are of boat being rigged with outside engines mounted & floating in the water. more pics to come soon.

Craig

thank you for the video, I am very inspired . My project is slowly getting back on track. I tried to findout out some info on the Marine Machine boat but received no response. I hope someday to meet up with Bing to talk to him person. I sure hope he will give me some insight on setups. more pics soon.

These are pics of the boat floating with twin engines light on fuel. I was checking on floating heights. I also took boat for ride with twin engine set up , prop set up was al wrong. I made a special tie bar to run it. It was a very sweet running boat. I haven't got a third motor yet. I got some new props to try out. as soon as we get some more water in my lake to float boat again, I am going to test it out again. I have some more interior pics coming.

Pictures of the boat being put togethor. The engines that I put on the boat were 25" motors & I had to convert them to 20" shafts. The old engine room just has a floor in it right now, not sure on how I am going to put a seating arrangement in it. more pics coming soon.

more pictures, progress is coming along very well. I hope to have more pictures tomorrow.

Found an old picture of the boat when it had the arneson drives on it. I would like any other pictures of the boat if anyone can contribute. Thank you. Craig

Very cool!

Are there any other boats like this one out there?

Getting boat ready for sea trial again. I put a set of 26 choppers on it to try out. I hope we have enough rain to bring the lake up another 6 inches to sea trial. Will get some pictures of it running out.

Cool Project. Really like the old Mid Ex hulls, classic looking lines. You should have a nice amount of room for the rear seating too, maby an L or even a U shape. Keep the pics coming.

- Marshall

I was thinking about making another 3 man stand-up bolster then adding a back bench seat. I am waiting on the next sea trial to see how boat performs before figuring out back seat arrangements. will keep you pisted on next sea trial. hope to be testing one day this week.

I finally got enough water in the lake to sea trial boat again. I ran a set of 24 choppers on it. I turned 5400 rpm's with no trim running 56.1 on gps. I tried running the boat with a little trim & the temps started heating up. I need to fill the top 2 holes on the lower units. I am doing 1 step at a time to keep everything straight. I am very thrilled on how the boat is handling. I can't wait till I get the third engine for it.

Pictures of running boat on the lake today.

More pictures of running the boat.

more pictures

more pictures. Next lake test is next weekend.

Looks awesome Craig! 56 w/twin clip on's in a 32' boat is amazing!
Can't wait to see and run with it in person.
Love the classic offshore lines.
Gary

That looks awesome and nice #s to boot. 56mph with 500hp? Any idea what the hull weighs?

Thanks - Marshall

56 mph with 400hp. I am hoping to have third engine on it within 2 weeks. I was told that the hull alone with power is about 3000 lb's but I havent had it weighed yet. I am going to weigh it once all the power is on to know what I have.

Craig

I found another old picture of the boat before restoration with outboards.

I just done installing center engine & test running on the hose, everything seems to be right. sea trial tomorrow with pictures.

Nice...

I put the boat in the water yesterday for sea trial. I ran the boat , it popped right up on plane but the center engine went right to overheating. I am going to have to put a lower water pickup on it or miracle plates. It is always something with testing & tuning.

The boat is sitting about 5 inches lower in the rear with the 3rd engine installed. There is no fuel in the bow tank right now. Once I get the overheating problem fixxed, I will put some fuel in the bow tank to see how she floats. The project is moving along just fine with just a few minor setbacks. I will get more pictures of sea trial soon.

Craig

looks good.

The engines are all the way down to lowest mounting point. The counter unit is mounted on the stbd side. I have the engines turning inward. I knew when center engine was mounted that I might have cooling problems. I have a bolt on low water pickup that I got from Scott Portta many years ago & I am going to try that first before going to try miracle plates. I am just not sure if the low water pickup will stay on at high speeds. I tried calling Scott last year to see if I could get some more but they discontinued making them, not sure what the problem was but they had a great idea. I am off to Bimini for the weekend so I will be back testing & tuning next week, I will keep you posted & I will take a picture of the bolt on low water pickup.

Craig

Here is a picture of the low water pickup that I am going to install on the center lower unit. I hope it works to fix the overheat problem. Will keep you updated next week with next sea trial.

Craig

Awesome stuff Craig! Can't wait to see it in person.
A cooling trick I use on O/B's jacked to the moon is to plug the top 1/2 of the water intakes. This keeps the pump from cavitating and forces it to pull from the bottom only.
Motors are high enough on this Sonic that w/same set up as last one it struggles to bite hard enough to plane but does not over heat once up.

Call Hydromotive 330-425-4266. They used to make a low water pickup nosecone that worked great.

Another good source. http://www.bobsmachine.com/Products/...ne_Bigfoot.cfm

Scott is very innovative, I plan on having it installed this week , weather permitting.
I went as Crockett, We had a Blast over there, weekend goes by way to fast, I was there from Thursday morning till today. We had a great crossing both ways. We got lots of Lobster, freezer is full. Sundance Marine does a great job on making sure everybody has a good time & the goombays were flowing. I will keep you updated as progress goes this week.

Craig

First picture is a picture of my Sundance 26 that we took over to Bimini & second picture is me on the right at the Miami Vice Bash in Bimini.

Another attempt at solving overheating problem on center engine, not solved yet but engine not overheating at 4000 rpm's but soon as you turn up the rpm's with engine trimmed all the way down, temp starts rising. Rains have come & washed out the rest of the day, doing some work on the trailer, leaving boat in the water overnight. Taking a gps with me tomorrow morning to get a speed test. Will keep you updated tomorrow.

I sea trialed boat this morning 74.6 mph gps. I am happy with the speed so far. I need to find some more props to tryout. Still having overheat problems, But discovered after pulling boat out of the water that the low water pickup that I installed is blowing out the silicone and letting the water to bypass it. I guess there is alot of pressure there. I have a set of miracle plates to install. That is the project for this week. Will keep you updated on next sea trial.