Ultimately there are just not that many 30 inboard Skaters out there & it appears that they were rigged about 50/50 Arneson vs. other. All the Arneson boats have come out real nice & performed well. I considered the Arneson upgrade myself but elected to go w/ a manufacturer matched package based on my ILMOR relationship.

Here I am selling my ILMOR Skater 30 but when I look at these NEW Fatboy 338's I'm like DAMN I could see myself in one of those.

can any of you give a perspective on the performance and feel of the standard 30 I/O vs 338 fatboy?

I can't b/c I've not even seen a Fatboy in person. I would think Rik from Arneson could or whoever does the sea trialing at Skater. Trevor had many hrs in my boat but I don't believe he's still there.

I would probably do Amensons. I've heard it really helps with weight savings and is a great set up. I'm not even opposed to 525hp a side. My boat will run 140+ now but it's really faster than I want to go on our lake. During the summer the damn PWCs dart in and out of everywhere. Thought I would have no issues this past weekend but there were a billion bass boats out. They pay less attention than drivers of PWCs so really 100 cruise and 120ish max suits me fine. We ran about 30 miles to lunch at low 100s. Felt fast. Felt safe. Felt fun.

I haven't seen one in person either but I should get a look at Helts in about a month...mostly from behind I'm sure LOL.

I would think a 338 with arnesons and the ilmor 570's would be a great package. I think those motors are very safe turning 6k rpm.

I hear you loud and clear Orthobam, obviously have to adjust for the conditions.
Damn Bass boat guys have fast boats so they like to see if they can keep up too!

Exactly what I was a thinkin'

Ilmors where expensive when compared to what I could do with custom power at the time. I got much more bang for the buck going custom with Brad Smith plus I got Brad. Mercury Marine was going to charge a $14K premium if I user their engines without their drives. I went with Brad and took the Mercury flag down in my man cave.

I'm sure they'd love to help you build your 100mph daily driver. Not many 570's out there but I know they seek opportunities.
I tried to put a pair in a Formula & Formula said No Bueno, it turns out they are super conservative w/ some sort of internal schedule for what the max power they'll allow in any of their hulls. I was thinking about a Formula 310FX5, my exit plan from the go fast world into something that has some more creature comforts w/o being a slug. It got Veto'd from Mr. Formula himself, Scott Porter. Supposedly can't even spec a 310 w/ 525's either. So that's my 570 story!