"Lets do it" ... It's only $$$ ... you're welcome David. :-)

He can always make more money.

are you guys familiar the the sound that is made when air goes out of a balloon:whistle:?

Come on guys you can not beat the sound of four 2.5s
Singing !! I got all the footage from the shootout On a hard drive
David if you would like me to send it to you to copy then send back ! I had disks made lots of time involved tho,

Ouch...

We'd have to add another 27K to that Ron because I would want 4 engines instead of three so as to gain a HP advantage over what I have now. then subtract $40K+ for resale of present 2.5 280's for a total of only $91,500.00 !!! I think that I could do some sweat equity on this to knock off a few more thousand, also find a better price on the 400's (volume discount). Still a lot of dough for 10-15 mph faster?

Sounds good to me! When are we starting the new thread!
As you probably have already learned I would budget another 25% as nothing goes as planned. Oh yea forgot you will need 4 new R+R setbacks that can hold those monsters also! Figure $800.00 piece powder coated to match. Another $3200.00 dollars!
Also with the fourth motor add another prop, another steering plate, Tie Bar, different throttle box. Oops there goes that 40k for the used motors!

:picard1:Man I know what you're saying. When it comes to this high performance marine stuff money can fly! enough to make your head swim!
When you sit down and really think about doing a project, adrenaline can sometimes trick us into making stupid financial decisions. I know that I can count on my Skater brothers to reel me in and bring me back down to earth::traurig001: My wife thanks you too I'm sure;)
I'm now just going to have to turn my attention back to my pile of junk and make the best of it, Lol

How about four 300x power plants ?

Come on man you have a really nice boat. NO JUNK!
The last fact of money we all can relate to and now I am done.... Here is the equation

MONEY SPENT (Builds/Project, Ins, Fuel and Travel) Divided by Hours of Use = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ per hour!
Love these kinds of boats!!!!!

I know that money/work/fun ratio all too well. Ron, you mentioned the main ingredient as to why those of us here, do what we do. We LOVE this sport! You have to or you will not stay in it. It's a ridiculously expensive hobby!
I've been without it for years, missed it terribly and had to get back in. Let's all face it. It's a passion. that love and passion gets us through the the extra work, time maintenance and the breakdowns.(not mental ones hopefully). When I get frustrated whatever the current issue with my boat is, I just reflect back and remember what it was like when I was without. As I grow older I cant ever see myself being without something hi performance on the water. I'll be one of those older guys that we see with white hair and sunglasses with the bow aimed into the wind and throttles pinned forward and an ear to ear smile on my happy face, period. Yee Haw!

My .02 cents is I wouldn't do the swap David as it's to much coin for not enough return. Your hull is grossly under powered but I still love the setup.My friend Steves 36 with 2600 hp was a blast. Would run 160 everyday for short bursts, but ,I told him after running it in 3's with the occasional 5' I would be content if the boat only ran 115 mph which it could easily do with say 1400 hp total. The 400s' weigh to much in my opinion.I went from modded nicasil 260s' that would run 110 on my hull to steel sleeve 250 hp 2.5 ltr. Promaxes for reliability and YEARS of maintenance free running. We blew a 565" BBC every other poker run, with one exception, heat soaking the motors and lifting/breaking the ring lands. I changed my plugs last weekend after 3 years of maintenance free running on my promaxes.Once again my opinion if you outboard guys, like myself, want to run in the 115 to 120 mph range go with an modest power I/O like Skates' 338 hull.I know you will make the right decision for you David. Enjoy your Beauty and your Skater ! ;)

The Talon Guy

These boats are impractical from day one. Every boat is a project boat from day one. You should do exactly what you want and not look back. Having four 400 Verados is like having two turbines on a 46', impractical. So I say go for it if that's what you want. The maintenance and parts on these older Mercury's may soon make them obsolete. New power may provide the power and reliability you need. I would let the earlier applications work out the bugs and prove the change will be a good change.

Hey I know, if I can get you guys to sponsor me, this might be doable!

hey as long as there's no talk of switchin back to tripples like there was a few pages back . . . . . oh . . . . .wait a minute . . . . cut two off and put only one back on . . . . . ok maybe I could get on board with that :D

If Merc Racing ever wanted to have a boat that would garner attention running quad 4's..... THAT is THE boat to use as a test platform.

Too bad Merc isn't into LAKE X type rig testing. Prove the new power (with the additional weight) works on a Cat, their sales would go way up as they took away the reservation on an unknown experiment.

I like how you're thinking, but I tried that once with mercury awhile back when the rumors broke about the new 400 . Maybe I should keep asking, since "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Lake X was great in the day. I was sad when they moved out of there. I had some of my best memories in a short time getting to do some testing there back in the late 90's

There is room for a 5th 280....

No worries Dave, I cant go backwards!
Only forwards!:D:D:D:D:D
an order for FIVE 400's would get Mercury's attention wouldn't it!
I wonder what Peter would think of that though

WWPD. What Would Peter Do

I was going to add one more cent the other day, but, it seems Sams' 308 has beat me to it. Re-deck the hull and remove alot of the freeboard as they did on the Critical Lift 36 Skater with trips and stick with the quad 280s'.

Hey guys a quick question, will a really good chain saw with sharp chain cut through Kevlar? Lol!!!

:greenchainsaw:<<<36 skater????

Yes but no blood please

Hey, aren't these Mercury inline 6's???

Yes sir.The ole tower of power. lol. They actually ran pretty good. The old man had one on an old 23' Cobia fishing boat.I thought they were the coolest thing since sliced bread back in the day. DAMN IM OLD!

The very first fast boat I ever drove 16 foot 1000 tower of power I was 8 I think we went 46 mph on hamilton lake IN

36 skater project
 

I believe Paul Whittier is throttling and John Robinson driving the 36 Skater back in the day.

Winters in Ohio, MILES AWAY from ordinary :D

your beverage will freeze quick up there in that cr@p. LOL

Yes quite well actually.

Jon

Lovin the 15 Denali 3500. I would be driving a black one (2500) right now if momma didnt total her Denali xl in January. Now she is driving the 15 Yukon Denali and I am still driving my old Chevy Z71 1/2 ton.

It was my turn dammit!!! I think I will buy another boat...

I wont let that happen :D

Thanks, the silverado was starting to rack up the miles and the dealership made me an offer I couldnt refuse

I have the exact same truck in the little version same color an all ! Duramax?

Yes Tom, love the duramax

David, care to share more info on the hull changes/setup for this season? Also I heard buckeye lake may have a rough summer ahead, looks like it's time for you to bring it this way!

It has been pretty quiet in the da*****rcury camp! ;-)

Hi guys im probably going to go to alum creek lake this year. Buckeye is going to get a new dam, but water levels will be kept very low for approx. 5 years during contruction.

Ive got a new project going on with the skater

I just love how it's always four everything for you except wives!