[QUOTE=da*****rcury;4271245]David, NOOOO!!!!! That will be great!! Look forward to it (125+) !!! See you at LOTO 2015 and Lake Tenkiller this summer???

[ATTACH=CONFIG]537712[/ATTACH] STR and I met for lunch a few weeks ago in Englewood and Jim actually pulled in with his boat. It is awesome to look at and a very nice piece. It has his own built motors and some strange drives on it, but NO I have never heard of a BIG number out of it, not like Razors boat at 150 on 700's and Arnesons.....[ATTACH=CONFIG]537713[/ATTACH]

[QUOTE=da*****rcury;4271245]That will be ALL GOOD David! :ernaehrung004: Any big boat with outboards hanging off the back running over 120 is hauling ass! And your four engine cat setup is one step closer to being one of the last ones around - Van pulled the four 2.5s off the back of his 32A this Winter and is re-rigging it with a pair of 3.2 Optis. BTW, who recommended and is doing your bottom work?

When Jim was starting the build on his 30, he kept bugging Rik to give him a set of drives on the cheap - and Rik wasn't having it. He also kept telling both of us how great the LS motors were, and how awesome his setup was going to be. Needless to say, he did his own thing, regardless of my and Rik's input from my proven setup, and his boat has never run a decent mph. And just so you don't think I'm trying to overstate the efficiency of my setup, the Sterlings in my 30 are 800hp aside, but it's also run well past 150. You're probably spot-on that it would run 150 w/ a pair of 700s though.

[QUOTE=da*****rcury;4271245]Yep. Most fun I have ever had driving a cat was a friends 36 skater 90 mph in 3s' with occasional 5. Once you get your hull dialed in Superdave she will be a weapon! I drove the 36 150 myself and 160+ in the passenger seat which was fun, but, 90 mph in the rough in a 36 is my sweat spot fo sho!

BTW, Dale Rayzor, thanks for the help and info on the Ghost, Timmy loves it and has been out several time already.....

Motor weight 135 lbs shaft hp 345- 600 depending on model shaft rpm at 100 % 6000 .
Stand it on end it don't care lol
Bolt this to a clamp on lower

Ryan who's 24 in the pic? Looks like a very nice rig

I think we need to move all these top speed stuff over the BS thread!!!! LOL I say let''s all go Tenkiller this summer and line them up. Outboards only. I only hope my old heavy 28 can run with you guys. May have to borrow some of Zero's Helium to lightnen the load. My money is on Skater Jims 28, but then again I am sure TK would argue his 24 may be quickest. Fun to think about all the blue smoke that would be on that lake and David's neighbors hearing 24 screaming 2 strokes over 6000rpm.
Kidding aside I have also wondered how Jims 30 skater runs too.
It is really nice looking boat.

Ron, What a beautiful idea! I'll get the gears in motion. All, just let me know when. I know we would all have a great time at Tenkiller. DK

Now we're talking, I can just imagine :party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048:

[QUOTE=Skater30;4271272]I didnt know that Van was doing that. His 32, when it was owned by Paul Whittier, was at lakeX one time when I was there testing props on my spectre. When I saw it there, I knew that someday I wanted to do a quad engine cat. I remember Big John saying how it accelerated like a champ boat. That boat is the boat that inspired me to do a quad engine 36!
Here are a couple pics of it years ago. I know it looks different now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WVjukhCE_c Here's a clip for us outboard guys!!! So much for I/O power when not having a lot of HP!!!

Those Quattro pictures were at our shop! The 24' in the other pictures is mine. Stock 200 Promaxes.... Family cruiser.

that's too funny Double Never once Said mine was the quickest bye any means, LOL ,I know how Jim's 28 runs !! FAST but anyway that would be a sight to see at tenkiller

Tom, I know you didnt but your speeds at LOTO are as good as anybody's with no real test time!!!!
Sure you just need a calm place to string that thing out.

[QUOTE=da*****rcury;4271381]Here are pics after Van bought it from Paul - both before he put canopies on it, and after. His 2.5s were all getting tired, so rather than spend the money to rebuild them all, he sold everything and put the money towards rerigging it with twin 3.2s. From what I've heard, the boat ran a 132 when Paul owned it, and never ran a big # like that after Van bought it. He put smaller wheels on it so it would accelerate really hard and top out just over 120. The few times we boated together with my first 28, he never ran it hard. And at this stage in Van's life, I don't think he even cares about going over a hundred any more.

Here's another for the outboard guys from the Big Cat Poker Run this year. In one video, we're passing a 32 Spectre w/ 525s and in both videos the 36 Skater is Todd Welling's, with a pair of 1,000hp blower motors in it. We ran him down and passed him, but obviously he could play with us when he wanted to. It's still a blast keeping the big inboard guys honest with our little outboards!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ey9sjeLVM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoVyqRKNfCA

[QUOTE=Skater30;4271707]Do you have any more pictures of those canopies? Looks like a bolt on kit of some sort.

I have to agree Toms 24 runs real good I like that boat! I do need to put up a better number at LOTO. I will be there this year hope to improve, the more outboards that go the better I do like the competition. Ron you should be in the mix as well. there are alot of fast outboards out there that we problably dont even know about.

Jim going to try and come up to Lake Lanier this summer. Would love to hook up and compare notes!
Not sure I want to do 15" mids because of where I boat and the motors being low to the water but hey you never know. Once I get a good baseline will start looking at phase 2.

I found this older footage of SkaterJim's run. He really airs it out at the approx. 3:00 mark!
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...%3DKH0rtGGo7kw

I just got some really big news today from a reliable source - Mercury is to release a 15" version of the new 400R in the Fall of this year. It's estimated to be 66 pounds lighter than the 20" 400R - which would put it at 612 pounds. Still too heavy imo for the back of a 28, but starting too sound sweeter for the 30'-34' cats! It would also now make a much better single for the smaller 22'-25' cats with the lighter weight and lower cg - imagine a 15" 400R on the back of an Argo or Twister!

Dale That would be great and I agree it will defintely help the cause. I do see it as a cost effective motor for a single engine small cat. I bet a 21 with one would run great. Maybe Pete can bring back the 24!!

550lbs is the weight of the V8 3.6 and 4.0 liter Evinrude/Johnson. A version of this motor V8 3.5 liter EFI 12inch shaft nitro/alchol motor holds the outboard speed record at 179mph and no one has been able to get with 30mph of it in the last 10-15 years!

two 300 e-tec rudes on an xcat overseas now :party-smiley-004:

Removing 5" from the mid removes 66 lbs? Am I the only one that thinks that numbers sounds aggressive (unless the mid is filled with concrete)?

Being a straight 6, would a 15" mid put the bottom cylinder(s) too close to the water on a 30'-34' cat??? I would be pretty concerned if used in anything other than "X-cat" conditions... :pacifier:

don't think the cylinder would be any closer...you just have one close instead of two on a v6 LOL. and yea 60+ pounds is a lot.

.


perhaps the 15" model is a collection of changes:

* lighter cowls
* ligher pans
* 15" mids
* different alloy brackets

I hope they do this. 450HP in 2016 500HP in 2017

dreaming on...



.

6" Omc f1 midsection, the motor ran on methanol and used nitrous to get up to speed, but not through the traps. The record is 176.56.
Interestingly, a little it's bitsy merc 2.5 i. f1 legal trim (read restricted) set the inshore kilo record of 160.12 mph. Pretty good for a roundy round boat as opposed to a purpose built kilo boat (hydro) with a liter more CID and exotic fuel.

Whatever the max engine height you have is with a 15" vs a 20" mid it will lower the overall motor height by 5"'s. Thus putting the #6 cylinder closer to the waterline. I agree with SS930.
Remember it is all about where the prop shaft is in relationship to the bottom that will not change once you get max height for water pressure figured out.
I also agree 60lbs is a lot. Maybe the 15" version will not have internal Verado steering and they are loosing the steering cylinder also on the front of the motor.

if you loose the internal steering you will need external...what's the weight difference there?

It would make perfect sense that Mercury would offer different versions of this new outboard like they have in the past with the venerable 2.5 Hi performance. It would be cool to see several options that would include a much lighter weight model that could be used by many of us in the19-28 ft category.

I was discussing this with a buddy today, and we think they're dropping that amount of weight by going to a conventional style transom assembly and single ram trim setup with the pump in the boat. I believe the 20" version is using a built-in hydraulic steering system, as well as the 3-ram trim setup that is all in the transom assembly. I agree that losing 66 pounds would be impossible through the mid and a powerhead diet alone. And I had my weight incorrect on the 20" version in my earlier post - it's actually 687 pounds as listed on the tag on the swivel bracket, so after losing 66 pounds the 15" version will still be 621 pounds (not a lightweight by any means, but better).

I have hydralic Jack plates. When i get my boat set for maximum top end performance at the higher positions the nose starts to settle down near 100 and as the transom lifts from this I loose water pressure even with the water ramps on my hull. We will increase my water ramp cut with my mods but I was also considering thru hull water pickups especially if I eventually change to the 400R to allow higher shaft position. I think a single B Bracket for both motors with 15" mids would lift both evenly and allow adequate setback. You could also raise motors to keep lower cylinders safe if thats an issue while off plane.

Thru-transom pickups would be a good idea on your rig Sam - have Chris install them while you're boat's at his shop. If I were after every last mph out of my 28, I'd definitely install them and rig up the low water feeds to the gearcases. I'd say they're probably going to be a must-have setup with the big 400R gearcases.

I have not seen thru hull on a 3.2 outboard Sportmaster. I remember the old 200"s with Bob's nose cones. It would be nice not to have to modify the gear cases as I have spares which would also need to be modified and would kill my resale values.

Where do I start?

Here's a pic of the one on my 21 Trick. The boat already had the thru-hull pickup and the fitting on top of the deck, that's why the routing was a little odd. But look closely at the gearcase - that's where you drill/tap the gearcase for the water line fitting. If I remember correctly, there's even a small dimple at the exact point where you drill into the water passage area of the gearcase. And if you want to sell the gearcase, just put a brass pipe plug in the tapped hole in the side of the case and it's back to normal. Shouldn't hurt the resale at all.

It's official, Your the best resource guy for been there done that on OSO. Thanks Dale!:boat::ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004:

Are you leaving the low water pick ups intact?

You're too funny Sam! After 15 years and 11 different boats that ran over 100, I certainly hope I learned something along the way! And yes, I leave the low water pickups at the bottom of the gearcase stock. Some guys weld closed two of the three openings to minimize drag - but that's taking it to the extreme.