Skater Fatboy 338
 

How many have been built?

This boat intrigues me. I don't want it with 2400hp. I think it would be great with 1400 or so hp.

I think a nice 120mph boat (not 160mph) would feel "right" in this rig.

The seating, lines, and design look elegant. It would serve my needs 90% of the time (the other 10% would be in the 40).

Things that make you go Hummmmmm…..

[ATTACH=CONFIG]521379[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]521380[/ATTACH]I was thinking just 2, but I don't believe the other is an Arneson boat.

1400hp is going to be a lot closer to a 140mph boat or a 130+ boat w/ any load.

Keep in mind that most 30's are bravo boats, to my knowledge only the 1st built (silver prototype) mine & the one in the classifieds have SSM type drives.

If Hmm turns into satisfying 90% of your needs mine is for sale. Not quite as pretty as the newer models w/ wraparound windscreen & bussel but quite a bit less expensive & turnkey.

Pretty boat. I would build one though. I want the full windshield and 6 place seating.

Yes the additional seat a result of the Fatboy widened tunnel.

If… I ever built a boat it would be something that could be sold reasonably easy. We also have basically the same personality in this hobby. That is "what's next". Therefore, I think a moderately priced, reliable, fast 338 fatboy with 6 seats, non merc power (see moderate price), basic non cartoon or theme paint schemed boat could be enjoyed for a few years and not take a huge hit when the next boat bug came around.

I just ran my boat last weekend around 100mph mostly and 120mph occasionally. More than fast enough for me on my lake. That's why I love the idea of this boat.

Unless a mftr was desperate or you supplied most of your own running gear not sure you could buy new & not get hurt. I expect to lose well over $100k including the drive upgrade which in my opinion & at the time I thought for sure would bring value since there's no other Skater w/ SSM out drives & trannies. bravo's on a cat w/ 1400hp was no bueno! Keep in mind mine was USED when I bought it.

I was wrong!

Two with Arnesons and one sitting in the mold at Skater. I think Pete was building an extra wide 338 late last summer but I haven't seen or heard a peep?

Of the inboard powered ones, only two don't have Arnesons. Nascat and Connie's were rigg'd with Bravo's.

If you could get a pair of naturally aspirated 650's (most people's 700-750's only really make this anyways) and a set of Arneson's you will have a very reliable boat still able to reach your speed goals. The boat is really stable at 120-140 range.

Didn't you mean DO have?? What about JimKidds 30?

Two made so far and at least one in the works. Pete has a plug for a 12" widen 338 ready for the mold to be made. I don't know if that's done yet

I was originally going to use dry sumped LSA's but the project fell through when the valve train would not hold up to sustained use over 5400 RPM. I still think it would be an awesome package for the reasons you mentioned. We figured 120 at 5400 rpm with the Arnesons.

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!

I don't doubt that & this will forever be the scenario when shopping price, H.P., name brand or resale. Just depends what's most important to you.

There's another thread going about praising ILMOR & someone chimed in that they have over 400hrs on their ILMOR 625, having only replaced a starter. When you spread the cost out over time it probably levels the playing field & ultimately circles right back to personal preference.

I am sure that's a business $$$ decision for merc, but I'd like to see the business model on how that pans out over the long haul...guessing that broken drives covers the loss of business due to a no sale on just an engine. maybe they know they wouldn't sell many bravo's at all if they did that LOL.

Good Point LA, I know Merc has done a good job of minimizing their NXT drives being parted out or mated to non-Merc power. Not that the NXT is bulletproof but certainly a better solution than the Bravo or Bravo equivalent by others.

Don't be surprised to see ILMOR introduce a drive to be mated to their V-8 line. (this was the other problem for Formula, they offer a warranty on the whole boat & probably didn't want to have 2 different companys to turn to in the event warranty work was required)

Sorry forgot about Jim's!!

Here's a direct quote from an email from Dale to me about his 30'...

"The boat has run a best of 158, and I guarantee it has some left in it, as I have only had a total of 4 different sets of props on the boat, and none of them were ideal for an ultimate*best top speed. Not to mention that I have never even run any of the new CNC props on the boat. What I really like about the props on the boat right now are the 100 mph cruise at 4,000 rpm. 150mph is only 6,000 rpm, so I'm not stressing the motors at all (they're good to 7,000) and I rarely run it to 150 and above.*FYI, the motors are built for 91 unleaded pump gas!"

Is this Dale R. who owns Skater 30 #1 (a.k.a. Prototype) or someone that owns a Fatboy?

Yes it's from Rayzor

running 100mph at 4g's that's nice!!!...that will get me to 65ish in my v bottom LOL. 308 with Outboards not sure... how much HP does he have??? can't remember.

I'm pretty sure the answer to that question is somewhat censored publicly!

Sterling's dyno, for what that's worth, under 800 each.

That's quite a bit more than what I was told (by DR) & much better aligns w/ the top speeds attained. I found it a little hard to believe he could go 20mph faster w/ less H.P. His boat maybe lighter than mine & the Arnesons worth some but 20mph on less H.P. seemed like a stretch.

I'm way less secretive & much more the full disclosure type b/c at the end of the day there will always be someone faster than me, there's no trophy or $$ involved & I hope that others benefit from what I share no different than I have from those who also chose to share.

Dale doesn't have 100 hp more than you do in your boat total though. And 20 mph is more than 100 hp in most boats. You probably spin your engines harder than Dale does as we have 6K chips and they kick in at about 5800 and you can feel them as the boat just drops a bit when it's on the limitors. Never had a chance to pull the chips for a higher speed, although we get about 3% slippage with the old pre CNC prop's that Merc made.

Weight does't affect top speed by that much. That being said he is about 6,800 lbs dry I believe.

The hp quoted was more like 625 but it's all good & so not important any more. ILMOR Gen 3's only spin like 6200 max. I also run 1.50 drives for acceleration over speed b/c the # of MINUTESI ran my boat at WOT or top speed over the period of a boating season simply doesn't make sense to set it up that way. It's cool to know what # one can post but once you've done it the thrill is gone unless you plan to keep investing more money or tinkering.

For the first inboard 30 ever built his boat runs very well.

734-456-3600. Ask for Jessica or Ian and run some numbers. Sounds like a killer "smaller" setup!
Nick-

They're all good. Would love to run Louie's and Sam's boats... That would be awesome side by side with those two especially considering the power difference between Dale's and those would really make a seat of the pants kick and Dale's boat has extremely good acceleration but those two must be something special. When Mike at Skater ran Sam's boat he said it was a blast. The new owner is going to love that thing!

Didn't Jim run a pair of the Ilmor 570's late last summer in his boat? Wonder how it ran?

Here's a better question I asked myself when the 338 was announced knowing Rayzor's 30 ran 150+mph...

At that speed in a 30' cat, would I really want more tunnel compression (more boat out of the water) with the same power let alone with considerably more power?

Just food for thought...

Fortunately it hasn't created a problem as the boats are safe and stable.

Yes Jim did test the 570s

Dales Boat is just awesome.

NASCAT- his interior is basically 5 seats, no real side panels or other stuff... But like Rik said, not a huge weight difference.

I would really like to see one up close as well!

Hey Rik- what's the build status on Public Enemie #1s 338?... Aka Oso member F26