Rage ?
 

Ive been a fan of the Rage for quite a while and Im looking to replace my current boat in the relatively near future. I have a couple questions about the boat.

My current boat is a Crownline 230LS. Its about 22ft of boat with a 2ft swim deck, 22deg deadrise, and its about 4300lb dry. Currently has a lot of stereo and gear, easily over 5000lb with fuel and and passengers.

I like the Crownline, but Im past due for owning a powerboat. I like the open bow option on the Rage, need space for the family. We are on Lake Conroe, north of Houston TX. For those not familiar with it, the lake is small (IMO) and mostly bulkheaded. On normal weekend, its rough and the bulkhead makes a chop that has no pattern or direction. The Crownline does well with 1-2ft of chop. Starts getting rough in the 2ft stuff. On a busy or windy weekend, its not uncommon to see 3+ft which is too much for that boat. On decent water, I can cruise 40-45, but of course, Id like more speed as well.

#1 - the Rage has the same deadrise, but has the stepped hull. Its also lighter, but longer. Can I expect it to handle the chop significantly better? If I can work it, I would move up to the Heat, but at this point I don't think I can fit that much boat in my slip. Rage would get tabs if it didnt already have them. There is one Rage I see on the lake occasionally, but Ive never been able to catch him not running. Would be great to take a test ride if I can.

#2 - May seem like a dumb question, but it looks like all the Nordics are thru hull only? Is there anyway to convert to Capts Call? I live on a cove and the capts call is nice for not pissing off the neighbors for early/late boat rides.

Thanks in advance

AW

I owned a 07 Rage MCOB w/496HO for 3 seasons and loved the boat although in rough water conditions like 2' or better it was not as smooth ride as I would have liked. It was not comfortable for passengers ridding in the bow in rough conditions. I had tabs on the boat just because they were on it when I got it. Personally I don't think they are a must have on a Rage. We boat at 6500 feet and I used the tabs when coming out of the water to get on plane faster. As far as sound mine had the angled tips in the transom corners and are under water when idling around the marina and docks etc. so sound was not much of an issue I'd be concerned about.

I sold the Rage in January and purchased a 2010 Heat w/600SCI Closed Bow. The Heat definitely has a better ride in rough conditions, obviously being longer and heavier. If you could make the Heat work I think you would be much happier in the long run given the water conditions you defined.

Feel free to shoot me a PM with additional questions or to discuss further.

Steven

ADub - I'm not real new to boating but just recently purchased a Cobalt 226 that is about the same length and weight as the Crownline -
I need some information because what you describe has been said in a few other posts.

I don't understand your issue in a 2ft wave - We've been in "those" conditions all day long in ours and it really is nothing to write home about. Now granted most (if not all) of the waves are coming in the same direction - depending on the winds - but our boat handles this without issue. We don't run WOT (mid to high 60's) in these conditions - but pretty typically- mid to upper 40's. (7.4mpi Bravo III)

thank you for the inputs and safe boating

3pointstar

Thanks Steven. I was able to do some searching on the exhaust and found some switchable muffler options if it comes down to it. My current boat is the same way with bow passengers in rough water and the interior layout of the Rage would force someone to have to sit up front or in the cabin. I know it would be a compromise, but another good thing about the Rage hull is the shallower draft. We are above full right now, but the last ~5 years, the water has been significantly down on Conroe. If I had a Heat, I would have had to pull it in August of last year, whereas the Rage and my current boat could still get out of the slip. Next time we go up, Im going to do some measuring and see if 28ft of boat will fit in there.

It starts getting rough in the 2ft wave size. Its not unbearable by any means, esp if its early in the day and the waves are due to wind (one direction). Once the chop gets over 2ft and mixed, it just sucks because you cannot position the boat for the best ride since the waves are constantly shifting directions. Add in a busy weekend and lots of wake to dodge as well....more boat, the better

IMO silent choice is about the worst thing you can put in a Performace boat. You've probably never seen one in a rage for several reasons, one big one being that was mentioned prior, the exhaust is under water at idle.

I don't have tons of time on my new to me Rage, however the time I spent up in Havasu idling through the channel with stainless marine manifolds on the 502 that I just removed, it was as quiet as could be until on plane. Installing a 650 hp 496 stroker with eickert headers and honestly doubt there will be much added noise as it exits under water. Actually very smart of nordic to design the rage and heat this way IMO.

Also keep in mind the Rage is faster than the larger Heat. It sounds like handling is paramount for you, and I understand that having a family myself. Would be great if that guy with the Rage could give you a ride. IMO what you are describing isn't truly too rough for a Rage, however the Rage and the Heat aren't big water boats like a true offshore 24 degree hull, ie fountain, Cig..... They are river/mid sized inland lake boats. Opinions are all over the place on this topic,so my advice is try both if possible. Good luck!

I love my Heat, honestly do. But she is not a rough water boat. Even Lake Travis will beat your kidneys to death on a semi-busy day. The Nordic Navy here in central Texas is growing well. We have some Rages and Heats. You are more than welcome to ride along with me for a Heat trial. Only a couple hours from you.

Thanks everyone for all the good info.

ADub I recently bought a Rage MCOB and have been to conroe with it twice, I live in Spring. I will be out there this Sat with a group of people, you are more then welcome to come meet up with us and take a test ride. Just let me know

Daryn

I will definitely take you up on that. Sending a PM with my details

Dlank and I werent able to cross paths this weekend, but I did measure the slip. The heat would stick out about 2.5ft from the end of the dock, the last foot or so would stick out beyond the roof. I forgot to see what the length would be like trying to back out of the slip.

I must say I do not understand your post. "Silent choice is the worst thing you can put in" ????? My Rage has silent choice and I think it is the single BEST thing I have put on my boat and I have lots of options on my Rage-Whipple, tabs, hydraulic steering, CMI headers etc. I run mine closed all the time except when I am going really fast.

What's so hard to understand? Silent choice exhaust isn't designed for performance boats as it increases the chance of reversion 10 fold. You must own a rage that exits the exhaust out the corners above the water line. Sure, silent choice is nice for canceling noise (if your exhaust is above the water line and you don't have an aggressive camshaft). If it's the under water exit, there is no reason to run silent choice as the water muffles things at idle. And under way/WOT we all know how awesome silent choice is....

I was trying to be polite, but from your reply I can see that is not in your nature.

Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and then defeat you with experience.

I have silent choice for 10yrs then Corsa electric 10 more years never a water issue with either one!I also thought the same way but long time Marina owner woke me up.If you choose to wire them open so be it??:confused:

Oh Jesus..... You need to relax and take a midol. If you were offended that's your issue, not mine, as that wasn't my intent. Silent choice is the number one cause of reversion. It's been proven over and over by people with years of marine Performace experience. Do you realize many here don't even know they have reversion, as they have been lucky, and also never taken the time to confirm, ie remove a manifold!?

I'm an idiot, and you sir are a prick!

Switchable exhaust systems other than silent choice/mufflers might be many times more expensive, but are a much better option than a true silent choice which utilizes a y pipe and can increase the potential to revert at idle with a camshaft with too much overlap. You won't find any Performace camshaft company who endorses the use of "silent choice". Other switchable systems/mufflers, sometimes, yes, but there are many factors that contribute to reversion.

If you like silent choice and don't have any reversion issues with your particular setup, great use it. However, it's not a system designed for a Performace marine application. Just because your system doesn't revert(most blown apps don't revert by nature) doesn't mean it's the optimal system. Again, many Rages/heats exit the exhaust below the water line, so muffling at idle is a non issue. Once on plane the swimstep helps to mitigate some noise, and who in their right mind would run silent choice at WOT in a "performance" boat!? Granted at that point there is no chance of reversion, but flow is severely impacted.

Calm down you two... take it to PM if you want to throw insults back and forth.

I honestly prefer a loud boat, but that is just me. A lot of lakes in Texas are adopting the 92 decibel limit, which is ghey, but the lakes I frequent have not started yet so I am good.

OP, glad you got to take a Rage run. Offer still stands for a Heat run if you want.

Guys, there really shuldn't be a controversy here.......
I've run Teague ST450s on my heavily modified "575" for years.
I've never had any isues with them at all. Like most performance boaters, I love the sound of big horsepower
engines at any speed, idle, midrange, WOT. My cam isn't exactly stock either........:) I don't use them much, but I do consider my fellow
boaters and marina slip boat owners/operators. I don't want to come off as "that ******* with the load boat". We have one lake here
(Center Hill) where fun police are trying a noise crackdown. I just flip them on when they are around and they never say anything.
Even I get tired of the racket sometimes after a long day on the water. It's a nice option to have.
Peace out,
Steve

Steve,

I couldn't agree more. However I'm referring to the silent choice that utilizes a Y pipe. Switchable is a great option indeed.

Borgie,
When people say silent choice, they may (?) actually be referring to that particular muffling system.
However, they may be referring to any switchable system as well. People have referred to my setup
as silent choice. It's like Kleenex or Aspirin..it's become a generic term.
BTW, a good friend of mine with a 29' Fountain and factory installed 575 with Merc/CMIs actually has
Merc silent choice. If it's ever had reversion issues, we've never noticed it, and I doubt Fountain and
Mercury would do it because of warranty headaches. Another friend has the same boat with a 525 and
Merc/CMI "sweeper" headers and Merc silent choice. Again no issues that we have detected.
There are multiple causes of reversion, usually an agressive cam profile with a lot duration and/or overlap,
combined with an exhaust system that is not designed for that cam profile. I would agree with you that
a custom engine that is on the bubble already with a certain cam/exhaust system could have reversion exaggerated
with the introduction of a restriction in the exhaust system, of any type. Of course then, which came first, the chicken or
the egg..........a motor/cam/exhaust combination prone to reversion, or an exhaust muffling system?
Regarding exhaust noise in general, whether we like it or not, and I think most of us do, if we don't police ourselves,
eventually the real police probably will.
Steve

Steve,

All great points and I agree, sometimes the term "silent choice" is used universally, and this is why I wanted to clarify that what I'm referencing is the Y pipe style, and not switchable. Very many factors are in play to cause reversion usually. Merc pulls timing to almost nada at idle on the 525efi and a couple other EFI setups. That's how they get away with a fairly aggressive cam and those headers. Learned this interesting fact from a long time engine builder. Some smart folks over at Mercury Racing for sure. I appreciate your input, as your posts are always to the point and resourceful. Cheers

So back to the Rage....

Dlank was nice enough to stop by and take me for a spin this past weekend. I definitely enjoyed the boat. I wouldn't say its vastly better than my Crownline in terms of softening the chop. The lack of a walk thru windshield and lack of the "jewelry" the crownline has definitely leaves the Rage feeling much more solid over the chop

Borgie you really need to read posts before going off. I have Corsa's like Greatguy66. Read: I run mine CLOSED!

You really just need to let it go and let this thread get back on track. Silent choice with a Y pipe doesn't belong on a Performace boat period. If you believe it's so great nobody will convince you otherwise. Personally I could care less.