Outboard skater BS thread!
 

figured we cluttering up enough other peoples threads with or BS :hitfan: and outboard questions :confused: that this was needed.:daz:

we can rag on each other, share info, and keyboard race here without F'n with the other guys threads LOL.

the more I run the outboards, the more I like em, but of course I would like 100+ more reliable HP per side right now lol. I still wonder why one of the outboard manufacturers has not stepped up the performance in the offshore outboards yet?

does anyone know if the 250 sho Yamaha can be bumped up? I have one on the bay boat...seems to be pretty stout!!

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I've heard that a 400HP Rude will be released to go head-on with the Merc's Racing 400HP

[ Evinrude Hi Perf V6, not the 400HP, but looks cool with short mids ]

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/.../andy_Etec.jpg




[ Merc's new big V8 racing engine ]

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...psc664fdc0.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...30648247_o.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...cprototype.jpg

now that's SHORT mids LOL.

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Some folks may just want a better handling boat and not necessarily more HP

this can be achieved by using other maker's props, shortening the mids, changing the ECU, and blue-printing the lowers




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Having a lighter rear may also aid in good running characteristics.

Has anyone played with lighter steering components in the rear? The tie-bar and the wing plates can easily add close to 100 lbs in the rear.

What other materials can be used for the tie-bar?





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So Craig, now that you have some seat time in the Skater, how are you liking it? Comfortable enough to be an everyday boat and get rid of the Sunsation?

noli, I have not done a thing to either of the skaters. I have only run them as I got em. I do think the 308 could use some tweaking on height.. maybe able to raise them a little more, and of course props... Not sure if anyone makes lighter wing plates or tie bars..worth looking into.

John, the 308 IMO is a much better everyday boat than the 28. It is huge in comparison. the ride is better due to that. now for hauling azz, the 28 hands down. its a little hot rod even with the 260's instead of 280's. patti is still not sold on the cat's so the sunsation will stay for now. she is coming around though, think she would be more comfortable with a wrap around windshield.


forgot to add noli...F that cable steering on the E-tech LOL that's crazy!!

That victory looks to have titanium wing plates and tie bar. Many stern drive cats already use Ti tie bars.

Craig, Great job on the thread! Sure there will be a lot of BS on here!! LOL... We all can keep dreaming of a 400hp Mercury Racing outboard in the near future that will not sink our boats. That thing that went to Dubai is a hybrid for now. Not to mention butt ugly. The go to Yamaha guy who builds a lot nasty motors is Hydra-Tec. Ask for Wayne Worthy. Nice guy. They work on Mercury's also. Who knows maybe I'll have a set 400hp motors one day...

the thread idea came to me a while back I just never did it till we started clogging up andy's LOL, but I kinda feel like we're the redheaded step child of skater LOL and don't really fit in at SF either.

A local guy put new 250sho's on an older 25 eliminator he stripped and re-rigged, guess I should look him up and see how it's running. I did notice the Yamaha stuff on the website when I went to check out his seal and vent kits. On that note...why doesn't the expansion tank have a vent???? when I pulled both my lowers I felt/heard a touch of pressure release when I disconnected the line form the shift seal quick coupling!

Maybe we need our own web site? "Scream and Rebuild" :lolhit:

That Merc V8 looks very heavy.

Why arent we hearing more about that "Seven" outfit with the caddy motor, and why didnt they call that company eight"?

I will gladly give up .25 mph to have hydraulic steering over rope and pulley. WTF?

Did Mike actually do that? I knew he was talking about it but thought it was cost phobitive. I know its on a 'toon but I love dad's SHO. Very impressive engine.

I would never join a club that would have me as a member.

scream applies to me but not rebuild YET lol. Hope that's many more hours in the future for me:coolcowboy:.

seven marine is a heavy beast that along with the price tag is what's keeping them from being used IMO. they did rig a 39 Nor-tech CC with trips 89.7 http://www.seven-marine.com/news/fir...en-marine-557s

just to compare

557-------Dry Weigh 1094 lbs. 557hp prop shaft power @ 5400rpm

300xs---- --- 505 lbs.-534lbs. 300 drive shaft hp @ 6100

I originally wanted to use Seven Marine OBs on a 32 flatdeck but the weight cost and lack of local maintenance support made it a no go. Later when I decided to use the LSAs on 338 build it was all good until they went to the dyno. GM also stated that prolonged use above 5400 RPM would lead to catastrophic valve train failure. So that being said I wonder about longevity if the LSA on an outboard application.

BTW the cost of a crate marinized LSA and ASD 7s was less than a Seven Marine OB and lighter!

thought I remember seeing pics of it??? maybe not LOL.

I have been on a few CC with 7 marine engines and not all that impressed. Like Skate we have entertained the idea of a 32' Cat with twin 7's but the cost is ridiculous. Also not sure how all the weight hanging on the back will hold up. CG would really tough.
I agree with Craig, outboard skaters are the step child here on OSO. On scream and fly we do not fit in either. So now we have a home!!

This is going to be a sweet thread, outboard skaters may not lay down huge top speed numbers but they are great boats and they really started it all for catamarans.

What i cant believe is how so many power sports have products that continue to improve in efficiency and power where outboards seems to have been moving much more slowly. I mean the 300xs is a great motor but it has been unchanged since 07.

Someone needs to build a widened 30 like the 338's but with triple 300xs!!

That's right, Peter started out with the outboard skaters, manufactured and perfected them for years

Good thread. Weight/COG are everything; rope and pulleys are for sailboats.

http://sharkeyimages.zenfolio.com/im...24787854-2.jpg

Jayboat took a pic of a 30 or 32? triple outboard at Havasu this year. Anyone know how it runs? There is a 308 with 300x which was for sale, add said 112..is that lagit?

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o56457-en.html

I know the outboard cats don't put big numbers up BUT we can run 75-80 all day long and not stop at every marina for gas LOL.
I would think a 400 hp factory backed outboard would be a big seller not just for the performance cats but the CC market too, which is huge if you figure in all the fishing CC's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB30DtZqre4 Ck out this link of a 32' Wide Body with triples. Definitely getting with the show. Boat started out as twin engine. Peter does not like building triples but this thing is bad a$$ and low maintainence.
I would think a 30' Skater with triples would run in the mid 120's.

what is Mercury using as the base for the 400? is it off the LS or something completely new?

why does he not like triples? I'm sure the third engine is restrictive for the tunnel in some way. David...what did peter say about your build? did he share any thoughts and ideas on getting it dialed in?

Several years ago I asked Peter to price a 36 and 32 Skater quad outboard for me. Chis declined and said that due to the potential for transom problems from running in rough seas at higher speeds they didn't want to go there.
However Jay Pelini was interested in building me a 36 poker run edition with quads. I remember it was actually a very tempting, but with 3 daughters and a lot of other stuff life got in the way of going through with it.
When I finally wound up with the 36 skater triple. I talked to Peter extensively about it.
At first he said "why do you want to do that"? and he added "you should call Paul who at the time had owned the 32B with the quads and see what he says".
Well I did, and he was not very enthusiastic about it and mentioned things like poor cruising characteristics and loud high revving howling emanating from it while trying to cruise the ICW in Florida
He ended up removing the quad 2.5s and rerigging with twin 300xs and then eventually selling to I believe flightclub. I was able to buy a few steering parts from the quad set up and use them on my skater.
After discussing with Peter further, he starting liking the idea for the additional engine. He said " that big 36 could use the extra power".
Long story short, he was right, the 36 is a lot bigger and bow heavy compared to even the 32b. Remember it is 99.9 percent of them go out the door with big heavy inboard power. So adding the extra weight of another 2.5 to the transom, probably helped.
Running it last summer, it handled and cruised beyond my expectations.
As far as dialing in, I'm just going to see where it can ultimately go with the top end

I do not think we will see a 400hp Mercury outboard that work in our application anytime soon. I know the are working on something for CC market which is huge but the weight of the motor will not make it practical for a small cat. According to people I have spoke with the 300x platform was a true racing motor that was destined for 400hp at some point but EPA regulations killed it. Then came the 300xs. The compressor alone eats up about 20hp according to DBR.
Regarding the boat in the classifieds it belongs to a good friend of mine. He was the owner/throttleman for the Mobil 1 28' Skaters. Won a bunch of races and championships in his day. We all grew up together in S. FL racing/running offshore on the weekends. I have rigged both 28 race boats he had along with a 24 that he got as his first boat. He would not post something that was not true. I believe the boat ran 112mph. May not be a real world everyday number but if it ran 112 it would easily run 108 or so on any given day.

That is discussed somewhere here on Oso, I believe it is based on the Verado

Seeing the cable pulley steering reminded me of my earlier boating days when I had a 20 ft Allison River race drag boat with a mariner 2.5 260 SS.
Cable steering is quite common on SINGLE engine race boats. Wheel feedback is optimized and component inspection is easy with much of it exposed.

I suppose when you are getting up and running on a padded boat that cable steering is the best

The motors LU in the tunnel takes a beating and with the weight savings 375# for 2.5s', I think the twin 300x or 300xs is a smarter choice. I enjoy running in the ruff. 1s' to 2.5' lake chop at 80 is a rush. I don't care anything about going over 100mph in anything smaller than my 25' Talon. I looked at several trip 32 Skaters before buying my Talon and was going to pull the center motor and keep as a spare. Balance is everything with the outboards except when you talk about Davids 36. It dwarfs the 30s' and the 28s' looks like a dingy next to it. My dream boat is the 36 Skater "Critical Lift" with trip 300s'. They took some of the freeboard out of it. My friend has the 36 i/o Skater sister cat. The outboard 36 is in a warehouse somewhere in NJ iirc. A member offered to get in touch with the owner if I was interested. Too much coin, I assumed, for a gubment employee. Anyone have a spare righthand rotation 2.5 lower case the want to sell? I will purchase complete i you only want to sell complete. I destroyed mine hitting debris at 80 a month back.
Great thread! One day I will have a true tunnel outboard! Until then the Talon is no slouch.

Bob

That critical lift is a fast hull. I had a chance to look at it extensively one year at key west worlds.
Comparing it to my 36, it looks like it was almost cut in half when it comes to freeboard/frontal profile.
I have the freeze frame vids of the 2001-2003 offshore races in which critical lift was involved in some of the races against my 36 formerly known as snakeman racing. In the rough snakeman seemed to have a edge, but in calmer conditions critical lift was very fast and hard to beat. When that boat was advertised in classifieds I believe the ad stated 120+.

yep!!! cut down a pretty good bit compared to yours lol

[ATTACH=CONFIG]523494[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]523495[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]523496[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]523497[/ATTACH]

That's my wet dream David! I have the videos and was there in KW in 2003. We are closing in on 180 mph in her sister. I hope to try again soon hopefully with Johnny T on the sticks if I can pursuade him. We saw 160+ two years ago and ran out of lake on lake Norman. I will have to check out your cat racing David as I am sure I have the video.

Hey Bob, that sister 36 you're mentioning, is that Garth Tagge's or lightning jacks ?

They also work well in small aircraft for 100+ years. 16' potato chip laser with a hot 260 looked into running dual cables, I prefer hydraulic. Either way if I never again experience running a small v north of 95 regardless of wheel feedback I will remain happy.

Roostertails & Cocktails owned by Steve McEachern out of Charlotte NC. Met Garth in his 36 two yrs back at Lake Lanier PR.

Cable steering is still used in alot of outboard racing configurations. We have drags this weekend on my lake and there will be several Allisons, Hydrostreams an other hull mfgers running cable steering. As you pointed out. It's easy to service and maintain and most important its lite.

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