I have no pics of the new boat, that would be customer service/support.

They must have read the last one😀, I got a picture. Thanks Tony.

Houston ........... We have boat. :-)

Went up to Skater during the “Winter Storm”. Tony spent the whole day with me, Lunch with Pete, Tony, and the crew, now that’s a blast. The boat is progressing nicely, they are working 7 days a week on it. The quality is excellent. Getting close.

Congrats Jim. Looking forward to seeing it on the water!

How about the beautiful finished trailer that I saw!!!!! This thread is about to get going!!!!!!

Zero Patience ?
 

I think Jim's doing a "Great Job" (patience) :D

Patience, yep you need that with Skater. At the New Years day fun run weekend. Ron brought over his Skater. So I asked a great friend to bring the new Skater trailer down to Sarasota for a test fit, using Rons Boat. (He is brave). I measured while he got unstrapped, it looked a little tight at the fenders, so i removed them. Rons Skater slid off of his trailer, then onto mine. It fit great, and Ron was suprized how much easier a tunnel support trailer is to load on to. I made some adjustments to the fenders last week and its reasy to go to the snow and pick up the new boat. If only the boat was ready....

Made up some stringer mount battery holders this morning. The bottoms were purchased on ebay for cheap. I made them light, but strong.

The trailer looks "Killer" your axles look to be right, what kind of tongue weight are you going for?
New screen name ideas:
1. Ultra Patience
2. Extreme Patience
3. I'm just kidding, and kinda jealous, what a blast building from the ground up. :ernaehrung004:

thank you, trailer weighed 2480, tongue weight should be 1000 pounds or so with the boat on it, the Dually wont mind.

Even the dog, Lucky, is waiting on a boat for the trailer.

Pictures do not do the trailer justice. That thing is very stout! I know where I am getting my next trailer when this one gives up. Jim did a phenomenal job! It is awesome. Not sure if you all noticed but he installed a pair of Lumishore underwater lights for backing up in the dark of night in the mountains of NC too.

Countdown is on for Feb 9th Departure MI!

We are getting very close.

Did you have to pay extra for the crew at Skater to specifically only use green painter tape on the new boat???
Or is that an honorary tribute to the 28??

Are you running "fins" on the aft running surface???

Great progress - how long do you think before you can splash it once it's out of Skater?

.



hot stuff right there!


love those 400's !

Curious what style props and pitch will make it on this cat. The Mercury CNC only goes up to 34" pitch.

I heard Dewald is developing new CNC props similar to Mercs, but not sure where that stands





.

Stay Tuned! A lot of tricks to try! :party-smiley-004:

6 weeks

It looks like those "fins" are extensions of the tunnel to prevent pressure blowout from the tunnel in the final step (mind has gone blank for it's proper name) I've thought about that for quite awhile. Is that what they're trying and if so have they done it before or are you a test case?

Those fins help keep spray off the inboard side prop in a turn, it's something DW has been doing for a while. Grant incorporated them on Matt's 368 and it looks like they have followed suit on this build. Also looks like they have made a change to the notch in the transom as well. Ron, correct me if I'm wrong please.

Is there any changes to the dash or interior area?

Can't wait to see the finished product! Best of luck!!

Those "fins" are referred to as "air traps", as they keep the air that is compressed in the tunnel "trapped" after the transom ends at the notch (which is 18" forward of the transom on a 308). They have been putting air traps on air entrapment hulls (tunnels and hydros) for as long as they've been around, they are nothing new. You don't typically see them on pleasure boats, as they are somewhat fragile and vulnerable to damage - the manufacturers don't want customers coming back for warranty work constantly. Plus, on boats without a notched transom, there is no need/place for them - unless you have a tunnel extension. My inboard 30 was built with these "air traps" built onto the tunnel extension of my 30 back in 2005 - and still has a portion of them after the conversion to an outboard setup. For guys wanting the most out of the performance of their rigs, the manufacturers will do things that are out of the "norm".

That's funny Daren, we each have a different answer to these "fins". I don't doubt that what you are describing is an additional benefit from the fins, but I know for fact that they are also there to trap the air in the tunnel longer for more lift. My Kurtis 501 hydro has them under it also - they run about 3' past the sponson trailing edges to keep the air trapped between the sponsons longer for more lift.

Everything Dale said and just trying to make a good showing and keep up with all you guys!!!!!!! LOL

It's great to see the constant improvements made. The competitiveness and strive for better, efficient designs is so fun to watch!

I agree it is always fun to strive for that last MPH! I truly enjoy working on these boats and set up myself.
It’s time to figure out some new stuff with 400r’s. Anyone can buy props!

I recieved “the Call”. It is complete, I heard Pete himself worked on it 2 days to finish it up. Headed out tomorrow to pick it up. Then off to PPI for lightweight interior.

Fantastic!!! We saw your badass new ride when we were there in mid December. I can't wait to see it completed. Safe travels

Hey Jim, don't forget we need pics of it leaving Skater today! :)

hopefully the roads clear up a bit for you. snow and salt covered here currently.

also.. WE NEED PICTURES!

Awesome Jim. Safe travels and phots please😎

It’s a long drive to Michigan from Florida, lots of snow, terrible cold. But I got it. 4 degrees, heavy snow, iced bridges, and a native Florida Driver.

Trailer fit like a glove,

"Very Cool"

Pretty Cool Kirk,
Had you been here beginning of last week
you could have missed all this great weather.

FL will feel that much nicer when you return.

Come back for summer boating though!

Jon

Well I drew out the dash, cut the holes, West Systems coated the raw openings. Next some assembley. Got the rig tubes installed, and steering hose plates.

The adjustable angle Hardin Marine, rigging tube adapters work great, I did not want the entrance to be on the deck, it had to be in the splash well.

The only way to go. Nice job Jim. Not sure why Skater puts them on the deck of the 308. Looking good my brother

Looking great!! Are you doing any kind of graphics or paint? Congrats on your new badass ride.

yes, it will go to Kinetic Anamation, after or during interior