For any given target speed, is it generally more cost effective to spend for a lighter hull (vectoryply kevlar hybrid laminate, infused vinylester resin, etc.) or greater horsepower (O/B or I/O)?

Thanks.

Spend the money on an efficient hull and upgrade the power later if you want.

Thats right ,you can,t make a boat lighter in weight (maybe by grinding off a few hundred pounds ) but you can add horsepower any time

cost effective?

you do realize you are on offshoreonly, right?

Exactly

The key is hull efficiency. My 38zrComp is avg weight for a 38 foot boat but hp for hp is one of the fastest v hulls out there. The first time I ran it, I was amazed at the acceleration and then also how long it took me to slow down once I came off the throttles. The boat just glides like it is on ball bearings.

Pretty aerodynamic looking boat too.

You can read threads on here all day long about people putting CRAZY power in slow hulls and still not going very fast. Not to mention constant motor issues and broken drives.

If speed is your priority, start with a fast hull.

+1

Some of these boats are not designed to go any faster than 80mph.

just because a boat is lighter,it,s not always faster,get a proven hull design to start with,then think about how fast u can afford to go,in most cases,the wallet dictates the speed.