Sutphen Speed
 

We know Sutphens are great big water boats and proven in years of offshore racing with many wins. What speeds are you getting and with what hulls & HP? And what speed do you start to “drive it” with the 26 degree bottom.

I’ll start – 26 Rumrunner, T 2.5efi OS, 85mph, around 75 you need to keep it centered.

Late 80s early 90s i had the last 30 Rich made .Tripple Merc outboards (240 hp each.)The boat ran low 80s with 3 people and half a tank of gas.Today with the new stepped hulls that sounds slow BUT back then you were flying if you got near 80 out of a v bottom.Great boat i miss it alot.

For me on a 26 hull mid 80’s is more than enough fun! Trip 2.4’s must have sounded great on your boat. Where is it now??

hey guys....
some guys at branford river marine thought that a 1987 26 with 2.5 bridgeports ran in the high 70's (78), 26 i/o's (350 mags) ran around 70...(mine does that)
..an outrageous from the same era according to a friend who's dad had a couple (one kaama, one trs, i think) with twin 440's was also good for the high 70's...according to a friend...i think the kaama boat did low to mid 80's...
but i'm getting old and could be mistaken...
c

Harrah’s, Tsunami, Buckshot all 34’s that kicked but in the big water of the APBA in the 90’s. I made it a point to visit Key West for the Worlds just to see the Sutphens run and win their class. What HP and speed did they typically see in smoother 2-3 foot chop?

Untill the big water kicked Buckshots butt ! :D

What was the response from Rich ??

Sutphen Speeds
 

I spent the day on the Hudson river running with James Gang. He has a 31 with triple 300x motors. The water was perfect light chop and he saw 96.2 on the gps. Pretty awesome in a 16 year old hull.

There's a story behind that one. If the boat was left alone it would still be racing.

After seeing the pics I was wondering what the story was?

Thats awesome Morgan!!

With that much structural damage on Buckshot if I was the builder, I would want to do an analysis of damage and create improvements in hull / stress design. I would think Rich did!!

So what was the reason???

Hi Dan Merry Xmas
I was reading through the site & saw this. What is the story behind this, Im interested if you know.
Jim

Merry Christmas to you to Jim!!

Dan
Thanks for the info. I figured it was something like that. I have a friend that went crazy like that and got away with it only because he cut the HP in half so the hull had a much easier life. I know it first hand cause I ended up buying the boat next and beat the heck out of it. Looking forward to boating with you guys again. If you guys are ever interested in running the Hudson, jump ship for a while & Ill take you for a ride in my cat.
Jim

Yea, we will def. have to boat together again next year. The Hudson and your cat sounds like a plan!:D In return well have to give you a ride in the Cig or Sutphen.

Sounds good

Sutphen Speed-26
 

The 26 In Race And Pleasure Form Would Run 93 To 98 Mph Depending On The Weather. The Engine Was A 509 Supercharged-brovo Drive. The Boat Ran Like It Was On Rails. I Took The Same Engine And Put It In A New 31 - 85mph On Gps. Incredible Handling

Sweet!! Would love to run with you sometime next year. You doing any poker runs with the newer 31??

I Have Been Working Converting A Barn To A House For The Last 6 Years. I Have A Dry Sump 572 1000-1200hp Engine In The Boat. Just A Little More Rigging To Do. With The Single Engine And Drive The Boat Has INCREDIBLE BALANCE. Will Be Running In Several Poker Runs This Summer.mostly In The N.E. Pete Nopper Expressed Interest In Racing His 26 This Year Again.

Wow!

Had a neighbor in Clear Lake, TX with a 40' Sutphen back in the 1990's. Ran 108 for 2 summers. Then worked all winter on improvements. Next summer he hit 109 and the news traveled across the lake like it was a huge accomplishment. Took him about 3 weeks to come up on a plane. It was very fun to watch.

Was that Kirt Harbour you're talking about??? I saw that Sutphen come to Conroe when I was younger. BAD A$$! It got me hooked on Sutphens.

Yep. He also had a little Velocity. It was fast also. When he sold the Sutphen, he put one of the motors in the Velocity. It was almost too fast.

i remember that day,3 good looking sutphens ,side by side.

lets get that boat done,then the good times can be had again.:evilb:maybe canada again.

Hey, Ern Happy Holidays 2-U and all OSO posters ! Jay--:D