Im looking at upgrading to an 97 HTM with possibly 970hp.
I was able go for ride few weeks ago boat ran low 83. Owner didnt want to air it out, Im a novice with this setup so was wondering if anyone in the Midland MI area with more knowledge on this could maybe help. Planning on seeing it again wednesday 15 in the morning.

Thanks Tony

What kind of help are you looking for? With 970 hp it should run well over 100. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable to run it that fast in the conditions that day or maybe he never runs the boat much harder. If this is your first cat or your first boat approaching these speeds, take it slow and possibly have someone with some cat experience give you some tips. Things happen fast, be careful and never let your passengers determine how hard you run the boat.

Agreed also it should run over the triple digit mark . Example - My 25 Warlock cat runs 83 gps with an HP 500 which is 470 hp at the prop .

Dennis rogers had his for sale too in the late fall, BIG power 1200hp, procharged, seems I have heard it runs in the teens, if you want to talk to him I will put you in contact. His boat might be gone now, price he was asking was only about what it would cost to build the motor , haven't heard for sure if it sold, Smitty

Probably has a speed it starts porpoising at and he did not want you to experience that. Check that everything is tight and Take another test drive. What outdrive? He might be afraid of grenading it. This needs a serious outdrive if you want reliability!

I had a 25 ft warlock with quad rotor 1000 HP and it would do 115-120

the boats too old!!! htm redesigned the hull a few times after 97. keep looking if you want an htm look for a late 2000 to late 2001 those are the best yrs before the owner passed. (not in a 24 btw). that 97 will most likely have wood floors and be more prone to rotting. i bought a june built 2001 htm ss24 and it was my first cat. i freakin love this boat!! the only negative and it might be with all cats is it handles like a party barge below about 45-50mph but handles like a porsche above that. i run the river we live on at 80-85 around the curves, the boat actually leans into the turn at that speed. i have the htm 565ci N/A bbc (650hp) in my boat with an imco sc upper and lower. the motor desperatly needs rebuilt but it still runs 101-102gps with 2 people and 1/4 tanks gas. please p.m. me if you have any questions. hope this helps, good luck

thanks for the input. I did get the feeling he was bit nervous in the boat. The boat ran better over 55. I will be checking it out more tomorrow morning. Dont want to have to rebuild motor right away. Been told he has wrong blower on it which maybe holding it back. I guess, if a motor guy was free to help check over would help.

With that much HP it should run 110 plus. A friend of mine has one that runs that with around 700hp.