a friend of mine is looking at 2 boats that are almost identical,except for power,one has 496 power,the other has hp 500s.he plans on installing whipple superchargers kits on the boat after purchase.the boat with the hp 500s is a little more money,so he is not sure what direction to go.im just looking for thoughts from you guys,which one would you buy,and why.

everybody loves hp 500 s

The 496 will not be reliable with the supercharger.

I'm not a fan of the 496...

The blue engines win , bolt blowers on and go .

had a 25 ol with a 496 NOT HO, with a procharger on. ran 70-72 mph. also had a 25 ol with a HP500 whipple, ran 80-82.

I'd choose the stock HP500 instead of 496 with blower to run close to same speed

What he said.

i won't do a Whipple on a 496 anymore without internal mods (pistons, rods, etc) The Whipple kit is awesome, but the bottom end isn't designed to handle it. You will have a better chance with less than 5 psi. It's just my preference to not do them anymore. I'm not saying to not install them, I just won't do it unless we go in the bottom end.

The HP is a different story. Bolt them on and go. You will be thrilled with them.
Eddie

Does the stout N/A cam and high compression compromise this type of blown engine?

The cam isn't that big (222/230 .576/.598), but it is on a 110 center. Ideally, I wouldn't run that camshaft, but that doesn't mean it won't work. The compression really isn't that high (it's suppose to be 8.75, but they are usually a little lower than that). Again, ideally, with the cast iron heads, I would put the compression a little lower so that I could spin the blower faster. That would give it a little better distribution from bank to bank. If it had aluminum heads, I would raise the compression some.

It will work just fine and easily make 700+ hp all day long. It's not what I would do if I were building it from scratch, but it will certainly work, and work well.
Eddie

Thanks. I've been drooling over the 525 Whipple kit for awhile now.