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1994 speedliner 17 ft tunnel hull 100 mph >

1994 speedliner 17 ft tunnel hull 100 mph

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1994 speedliner 17 ft tunnel hull 100 mph

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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:04 PM
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Default 1994 speedliner 17 ft tunnel hull 100 mph

I just bought this boat from a guy who worked for Bill Wiles (wild bill). Bill use to race tunnel hulls back in the 60's and 70's. He quit racing and started a shop, he also designed these tunnel hulls and had them built by speedliner( I think they are called sea jay now). Mine was built by sea jay. I also knew Bill back in the early 90's, I worked in his shop in Denver Co for a while. Last time I saw Bill he was working on this boat, he was pretty proud of this boat. He died a short time later. his wife tried to run the shop but not with much success. She sold the shop and the boat in about 1996. Troy, the guy I bought this boat from worked for the new owner( who turned out to be a pot head and ran the business in to the ground), Troy bought the boat and started to build the engine up. The engine is a 225 evenrude that runs on race gas. I will try to get some pictures on this thread. I took it out last weekend for the first time. The lake is called jumbo reservoir, it really is not very big so all I could do was short runs, the elevation is 3800 ft. The boat is set up for skiing right now with a 24" pitch prop, It ran 78 mph on the speedo and 5800 rpm. I am sure it would run faster with a little longer run. The other props are a 26" pitch and a chopper prop that will push it to 101 mph at a 3500 ft elevation lake by Ogalala nebraska. I don't think that I will ever have the guts to go over 80 mph in this boat, it seems to be to fast for the design, does anyone have any thoughts or experience with this particular design? I am going to try to post some pics.
thanks
jim
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:06 PM
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:07 PM
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:08 PM
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:09 PM
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:16 PM
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That's pretty wild, I bet driving that is a rush! I bet the boys over at Scream and Fly would like to see that. Good luck with it.
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Old 09-11-2008 | 11:33 PM
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tell me when ur ready to sell
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Old 09-12-2008 | 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by racesdad
tell me when ur ready to sell
Mike, Thanks for the reply!
It makes me feel better about my purchase to know someone with your racing back ground has some interest in it. It is a special boat to me since I worked with Bill and he has past away. I learned a lot from bill, he knew outboards like no one I've met since. I am sure there are more knowledgeable people now but I have'nt met them yet. You will be the first to know if I decide to sell this boat. I know it would be in good hands. I sure enjoyed visiting with you and your father at the reunion! You have a great race boat!
thanks!
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Old 09-12-2008 | 12:57 AM
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That's a very cool boat! I've never seen anything like it. Boat looks clean, too.

Congratulations, and have fun.

Michael
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Old 09-12-2008 | 01:23 AM
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Very unusual hull. Not much sponson depth, be careful in any water over 18". Take somebody with a video cam with you when you splash it. I'd like to see how it runs.
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