so dale...what's your goal weight??? other than lite as can be, no frills, just seats and a steering wheel LOL. :lolhit:
Probably not as light as yours Craig! My bare boat is not as light as yours, that's why I am doing everything I can to keep the weight down with lightweight interior and rigging. Flat-deck Skaters are never as light as a standard hull-and-deck Skater due to all the material necessary to fare in the deck and hull. The windshields also add weight. Plus, mine being the first one, it is not as light as the ones built after it. So, long story short, even with just seats and a steering wheel in it, I'm hoping we can be down close to the 5,000# mark. Sounds like you're probably already there, or below that weight. Be careful with your rig at high speed, being that light with that large step at the transom is going to make your boat very light in the front with those heavy motors hanging off the transom (of course you probably already know that). You also don't have a 90" wide windshield creating downforce on the deck like the 318s do, which will make your 308 lighter in the front at high speed as well. I saw that you went to only 3.5" of setback, which is good, but I would hope you also moved your batteries up under the bow when you did the re-rig to counter the weight of the 400s. You see they blow over the X-Cats left and right - and those boats have a minimum weight of 5,400#s when they pull out, so they're no lighter than your rig. Good luck with your new setup, and keep us posted with how it's dialing-in for you!
Skater30
12-20-2016 11:38 PM
Originally Posted by AZMIDLYF
(Post 4511353)
Possible LOTO material Dale since you are pulling all the weight out of it and it might not be liking offshore anymore?
Oh no, it will still be liking offshore! I plan on using the large fuel capacity as ballast - I will fill the tanks when I plan on running in big water. Trust me, 1,200#s of fuel on board will make a huge difference in how the boat runs in the big water after the conversion to outboards. Especially in my 30, as my rear bulkhead (which is the rear/start of the fuel tanks) is 9" further forward than the 318s Pete is building specifically for outboards. It may hurt my top speed a little when I have full tanks, but will help me in the rough. When the tanks are low on fuel, it will have minimal effect on top speed. As for LOTO, my boat will never make it back there - it's just way too far of a haul for me.
