Watch out for debris in the water. The lake levels here are extreme and are pulling logs off of the shoreline. I hit a log at 80 and destroyed a sporty case. I have been going out on a jetski and dragging anything I see around my area on the lake back to shore. LA did you ever run the 28? I am still on the fence about your 28. I run my Talon hard in the rough and am scared I would break your 28 in the rough. I have no experience in a 28, but, do have some in a 24 Skater and 25 Motion which delamed at the back of the tunnel. It was repaired and is fine now.
Have fun and keep your eyes on the water.

Screw Merc or get screwed by them. They wanted 2400.00 for a case and they all are poris as hell. Mine weep out the side also as have several friends cases. I picked up a complete fatshaft lu in good shape for 1400.00.

A 28' in the right hands is a wicked boat in the rough

A 28 Skater will smoke a Talon in the rough water any day of the week. If you had issues with a boat coming a part it was due to tank issues or some not sealing the boat properly and water getting to the balsa. That is the only problem with the boats. If someone cuts corners it can hurt you.
I run my boat in the ocean now for almost 4yrs and not one stress crack anywhere. Peter's boats are built very well until it gets into the hands of someone taking short cuts and sub standard repairs. After that it is all down hill.

I have been out in my 28 quite a bit but not in what I'd call rough water... 1-2's.... boat flat hauled aZZ in that lol. skater delaminate?????...NEVER lol.:party-smiley-004: double can tell you all about running in the rough, he does it all the time I believe.
my hull was inspected at skater when the tanks were done so it's a sound piece... 260's run strong. hit this on the GPS with no problem and throttles not pinned to he dash :drink:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524307[/ATTACH]

oh...don't mind the fuel gauges they were not working. Had to put new sending units in it, I had about 1/2 tank in port and starboard lol

I know a 21' Skater will smoke me in the rough. I wasn't questioning the capabilities of a 28 as I have friends that have had them. My Talon will run in up to 2.5' seas which a 21 Skater, in the right hands is impressive for it's size. When I had 260s' on my Talon initally I could run right with my friends 25 Motion a 114 mph (Skater copy), but he could have a mixed drink in one hand and float over the rough where I was having to drive my cat.
I tried to workout a deal on Brians 30DW (now Don's) but, we couldn't get the numbers right. Check out his pic's where he cut the lid off. If money was no object i would buy a 32 DW but, on my lake it wouldn't be any fun. I know a 28 Skater, 28 Profile or 30 Motion is in my future. I love LA's 28 hands down, as it is and wouldn't change a thing on it. I have a Ruck ported 260 as a spare powerhead. If I can get one of my friends to buy my Talon I would be rollin to La. I just can't justify having two cats in my mind. Hell. My custom chopper that I built has been sitting in my living room since 2007 as it's worth pennies on the dollar now and I'm not giving it away. I love running fast in the rough and the 260s are all the tunes I need. You guys have assembled some badass 28's. Enjoy.

The Skaters will delam, as will anything not maintained properly or abused as my friends 2000 36 was just repaired and is back at TNT.

Understatement of the year! Sam's was immaculate when I saw it in person.

Good luck in your search. Just be careful and really inspect any Skater if you choose to buy one. As for all the copies they are just that. Copies that do not perform or hold value like a Skater!

Don't do it!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524322[/ATTACH]

:lolhit:

I want some of that action!!! I will take the one in the box.
You should rerig the 30 with triples so we can see how it runs!!! Would love to try it.

I need two of those engines, complete. Thanks :)

ooooohhh yea just what I need!!!!

my 300xs's are missing the aluminum thingys on the bottom...:poopoo:...do I need any of those??? :confused:

did you sell them with your 28? I remember you having all that listed...did the guy get it all or are you keeping them for a rainy day?:party-smiley-004:

parts for my lowers came in yesterday but not going to get em back till first of the week soooooooooooo I guess I'll have to run the 28 this weekend :evilb:

That's a shi*ty position to be in haha....enjoy. ;)

yea I know :crazy:...lol...but it beats sitting at the house listening to all the other boats the river out to the lake :evilb:

well my starboard engine bit the dust late yesterday... coming off plane almost home and it died. fired it back up and found out why it died...did not sound good,shut it back off...after pulling the cowl I found some aluminum pieces...hole somewhere in the block I'm sure, I didn't take the time to find the new air intake...limped home on the other drowning my sorrows LOL.

does merc sell just the power heads?? if so do they come with warranty?

this is the biggest piece I pulled out that was resting in the lower engine cowl c couple more smaller pieces. I'll examine it closer this afternoon. it was dark by the time we got it back on the trailer and to the house. was tired, depressed and somewhat numb by then:ernaehrung004: LOL

[ATTACH=CONFIG]529595[/ATTACH]

That just sux!. I have been there more than once.

Bummer.

You should be able to by complete and / or "Long Block" power heads.

Sorry to hear Craig. How many hours did you have on it?

Looks like an identical scenario as experienced. I'll be interested to know what cylinder went south. Mine was #5!

I suppose you COULD look at the bright side...you have a couple other boats to play with!

I did a little research. From what I've read I can by a long block from a premium Mercury Dealer but not a complete bolt on, that info was from 2012. Not sure on warranty though. May go ahead and do both if I can get some warranty. ill get hours when I look at it tonight.

yea but I really like the 308.:evilb: the 28 really is getting lonely and needs a new owner...the susation in fun with group to run around on and chit chat... that's why the wife and I would like to get a cruiser though quite bit slower but be able to have a real bathroom and A/C lol.

LAr, Let me know when you want to sell the Sunny. I might want to check it out.

Craig,
Not sure if you got my email but will have numbers for you tomorrow on the short block.
Sounds like you stuck a piston and ripped the rod right out of it. Could have leaned out for some reason. Would be good to know how many hours are on the motors. If you replace just the short block I would have all the injectors checked as well as inspect the fuel system carefully. Especially if using ethanol based fuel.
If you can determine what happened it would help prevent happening to the other motor.

I did get your email Ron. Thanks again for the help. As far as I know I have only run non-ethynal fuel. The Fuel Dock is the only place I've filled up and he always has premium non-ethonal fuel. Could faulty oil injection been an issue? How are the cylinders numbered so I know which one failed?

I didn't look at it last night. It's the busy season for me till January so looooong days here. On that note...any of you guys doing Key West this year for the worlds??? It'll be my first time down for it have been wanting to make it for quite a few years now.

Flight plan, get with me on the sunny if you're interested. I had it listed with a friend, add expired and have not relisted. It's been a turnkey boat from day one. cruise at 3000-3500 rpm and run in the mid 50's to 60. Did a little upgrading but nothing exotic to the engines except headers and had mark boos dyno and retune after they were installed.

Mercury sells undressed powerheads. Come with a standard 1 year parts and accessories warranty if purchased from an authorized Mercury dealer.

never mind guys I have two on order...may need a little help getting the cg right but it should haul @ss with these babies on it :party-smiley-048::lolhit:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]529651[/ATTACH]

what kinda engine is that?

.

I'm curious too. Looks like a V-8 with exhaust manifolds whose exhaust pipes are directed down and to the rear?

Looks like a chevy 6.2 with aftermarket fuel injection.

I have gone ahead and purchased two Mercury Power heads. can't wait on those 500# 400hp dream engines any longer...summer will be here before we know it!!!

powerheads arrived...will be a week or so before the shop has room. 3 CC's getting brand new 300's. there were 10 new ones sitting at the shop when I ordered my powerheads! lots of $$$$$ on the ground LOL.

It's about time to get that thing in the water!!!!

LA, After all my research and discussions I have come to the conclusion that two things contributed to my 300XS failure. 1. Too much idle on the "broke" motor due to a gearcase issue on the other one which caused me to idle back to my dock (approx. 1 hour). This is the consensus with Mercury corporate and my master mercury tech who I have a lot of respect. Mercury break-in procedure warns against ANY idling until broken-in. 2. Nass cowls WITHOUT the DBR upgrade. Joe at DBR claims that the ECU just cannot compensate for the ram-air created at hyper 100MPH speeds. He says Mercury has them tuned to the lean limit to pass CARB emissions. Just a word of warning if your are stressing your motors at high speed. I found this condition to be true on a multi-port injected 351 in my Donzi that I highly modified. Got a tuning program (Tweecer) and a base tune which put it back in the sweet spot, eliminating the very lean condition. Then was able to fine tune the map for air/fuel, spark, etc. The ECU just could not compensate for the increased air flow. My two cents. David

Hey David Interesting comments but I would have to say I do not agree with some of what they are saying only based on my experience with my motors over the course of 4yrs.
1) I live in a area where in the winter months there are long idle zones for Manatee's we never see! I have idled my boat for over hour at time with no issues. I have had friends with these motors on a offshore fishing b boat and they idle for 4-5hrs at time. Again no issues.
2) I kinda agree with DBR and I dont. Would you agree that if you are located at a high elevation where the air is thinner the motor would run richer? I believe based on the ECU's of today there is enough compensation to make up for the cowlings. If you look at Jim's (Zero's) Skater he has been running those cowlings for over a year with no issues and no DBR upgrades ( or so he says LOL). The boat he rigged spent the summer in Canada with the cowlings also. No issues. However air flow at a 100 could be sort of a ram air effect but keep in mind the cowling is not totally sealed and it will relieve some of the pressure through the drain holes. With Jim's help in a few weeks we will know for sure if the DBR upgrades hurts, helps or does nothing when I bring my boxes to the keys and we do a test. Craig, once the powerheads are broke in make a run, shut it down and do a plug check. Another option is install pyrometers like I did and you will see if the motor goes lean at anytime. I feel they are a necessity.
3) Lastly I blew a powerhead also with Stock set up no mods when they were new also. Not to mention there is another blown up 300xs powerhead at TNT recently off Gary Balough's 32 Skater. These things blow up plain and simple. These are really production motors built on a assembly line not at Mercury Racing like motors of old.
4) Lastly I agree with the breakin is important, good oil, quality fuel, and I run ACES in my motors along with Boostane now also just for kicks. Some of the big cat guys down here have reported good results with it on the 1350's.
Good Stuff guys,

Cool! Your perspective is always welcome! I am just trying to share and learn. Cheers, David