Wellcraft 27' Nova 3 with 383's....how fast?
05-14-2012, 11:34 AM
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Wellcraft 27' Nova 3 with 383's....how fast?
Hey guys, just curious...picked up a real nice shape Nova 3 this Spring with fresh built twin 383's dyno'ed at 450hp each and spinning Mirage 3-blade 23 pitch props. Dry weight is claimed 5600 lbs I believe, and haven't had her out yet but just wondered what you guys thought I should expect to see on GPS on a good day...Thanks! 
nova 3 verry slow hull Ihade one bought a 26 scrrab 1996 a year old with a 454/385 ran 70 all day nova ran 50 tops with 350 mags
05-21-2012, 12:03 PM
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Well, had it out yesterday and in a 1-2' chop I hit 68 mph on the gps with 5 people and 3/4 tank of gas, so thinking should hopefully be able to hit 70 with a few less people and less fuel. Boat ran great all morning, but in the afternoon the port engine started running terrible and wouldn't spin past 2500rpm. Tried limping it back into the launch on one motor and after about 10 min, that motor also started sputtering and wouldn't rev up like it should....thinking might have water in gas (since it was sitting for almost 2 years while motors were being built by previous owner, the joys of buying someone else's project 
) as it doesn't make sense why both motors would be affected if something was wrong with one of the carbs, etc. Maybe the intake screen in the tank is clogged? I doubt both fuel pumps would go bad at the same time...going to start with draining the fuel seperators into a clear container and inspecting the fuel, and installing new filters. Anybody have any thoughts? Just weird that it ran great in the morning for about an hour and then when I went to start it back up in the afternoon it immediately experienced this problem...But having a boat with a big block previously, I was very impressed with the handling of the small blocks in this size boat. Would expect the stock 350's @ 260hp to be a bit of a dog in this platform, however!
Side note, with the engines being dyno'ed proir to installation in the boat at around 445-450hp each, do you think I have enough power to turn 25 pitch props? Not that I really have any need to go any faster, more just out of curiousity. Thanks!
) as it doesn't make sense why both motors would be affected if something was wrong with one of the carbs, etc. Maybe the intake screen in the tank is clogged? I doubt both fuel pumps would go bad at the same time...going to start with draining the fuel seperators into a clear container and inspecting the fuel, and installing new filters. Anybody have any thoughts? Just weird that it ran great in the morning for about an hour and then when I went to start it back up in the afternoon it immediately experienced this problem...But having a boat with a big block previously, I was very impressed with the handling of the small blocks in this size boat. Would expect the stock 350's @ 260hp to be a bit of a dog in this platform, however!Side note, with the engines being dyno'ed proir to installation in the boat at around 445-450hp each, do you think I have enough power to turn 25 pitch props? Not that I really have any need to go any faster, more just out of curiousity. Thanks!
Last edited by jck3120; 05-21-2012 at 12:06 PM.
05-26-2012, 07:43 AM
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Not sure where you get your info, but the nova 3 is the brother to the scarab. Both boats with same power ran the same speeds. My stock 86 nova 3 running factory 23p cleavers ran 63 on gps, now with mildly built motors turning 23p mirage+ i see 74mph.
05-26-2012, 07:52 AM
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Well, had it out yesterday and in a 1-2' chop I hit 68 mph on the gps with 5 people and 3/4 tank of gas, so thinking should hopefully be able to hit 70 with a few less people and less fuel. Boat ran great all morning, but in the afternoon the port engine started running terrible and wouldn't spin past 2500rpm. Tried limping it back into the launch on one motor and after about 10 min, that motor also started sputtering and wouldn't rev up like it should....thinking might have water in gas (since it was sitting for almost 2 years while motors were being built by previous owner, the joys of buying someone else's project ) as it doesn't make sense why both motors would be affected if something was wrong with one of the carbs, etc. Maybe the intake screen in the tank is clogged? I doubt both fuel pumps would go bad at the same time...going to start with draining the fuel seperators into a clear container and inspecting the fuel, and installing new filters. Anybody have any thoughts? Just weird that it ran great in the morning for about an hour and then when I went to start it back up in the afternoon it immediately experienced this problem...But having a boat with a big block previously, I was very impressed with the handling of the small blocks in this size boat. Would expect the stock 350's @ 260hp to be a bit of a dog in this platform, however!
Side note, with the engines being dyno'ed proir to installation in the boat at around 445-450hp each, do you think I have enough power to turn 25 pitch props? Not that I really have any need to go any faster, more just out of curiousity. Thanks!
) as it doesn't make sense why both motors would be affected if something was wrong with one of the carbs, etc. Maybe the intake screen in the tank is clogged? I doubt both fuel pumps would go bad at the same time...going to start with draining the fuel seperators into a clear container and inspecting the fuel, and installing new filters. Anybody have any thoughts? Just weird that it ran great in the morning for about an hour and then when I went to start it back up in the afternoon it immediately experienced this problem...But having a boat with a big block previously, I was very impressed with the handling of the small blocks in this size boat. Would expect the stock 350's @ 260hp to be a bit of a dog in this platform, however!Side note, with the engines being dyno'ed proir to installation in the boat at around 445-450hp each, do you think I have enough power to turn 25 pitch props? Not that I really have any need to go any faster, more just out of curiousity. Thanks!
