|
Any History On This 390?
Used 2007 Velocity 390, Alva, Fl - 33920 - BoatTrader.com
This would be my first Velocity, anyone have a background on her? I have dialed it down to a 388 slingshot or this Velocity. I've always done custom motors, big power one off stuff and I'm just tired of the problems, I'm willing to lose some speed for reliability. I have really only a few concerns with this boat. First off being ilmor engines and availability of service if and when a problem arises. Also worried slightly about sound. I like loud, never heard an ilmor. Just heard some videos and they sound very similair to v8 at idle but almost sound like they get quiet underway. Don't like that the back seat has bolsters, I'm hoping maybe I can rework that? Also, haven't seen it in person yet but will. Cockpit looks cramped for a boat that size, I'm guessing due to the staggered drives, plus side is sunpad looks huge, which we spend a bunch of time on. Guy says boat runs in the 80's shouldn't this boat be seeing well into the 90's with the right props? I've heard these velocity hulls will run. Another thing I really like is the Konrad drives. I will never own another bravo product for as long as I live lol. |
This is the "Rocket Man" boat (with goofy Rocket Man graphic removed) which was originally owned by a Velocity Sales Manager is 2007. The McCloud interior was a custom upgrade and unique to this boat. I'm pretty sure it has a Kris Cruz (not sure on spelling) paint job who did great work. It was probably 1 of 3 390's that ran Konrads from that time frame. The Konrads gave very good reliability but did cost speed. If it has 5 blade props, the drives were set up high to help compensate and it may not pop up on plane depending on the prop selection (hydro's are more slippery than maximus). The staggered set ups are great in rough water and will track a lot better than the Slingshot but Slingshot may be faster than the 390's Konrad staggered set up. Ilmors sound really unique at speed sort of like an Indy car. The Ilmor's are quite a bit more fuel efficient than the Mercury V8's. I saw that Kenny H. also has this boat listed in the OSO classifieds. Kenny will provide a truthful assessment as he's known the boat since new and can comment on it's current performance.
|
Thanks for the info Revelocity. It does indeed seem after doing more digging that the Konrads scrub 4-5 mph or even more, I thought for sure this would be a 90mph boat staggered with that kind of power. For piece of mind though it's an acceptable trade off. The boat does have 5 blades on it as you have suggested. The hustlers I am looking at do seem to be a bit quicker and many have arnesons which I've owned before and love. I have however read plenty of warnings on the handling on some of those hustlers. Some of them can seem to get hairy at speed. Never had an ill handling boat and not really looking to. I think I'm going to be going down to take a look at this boat, and if things go right get a survey done on her.
|
Bought the boat, Charlotte is now home for it. She is in beautiful shape but as mentioned the konrads definatley cost some speed I only had it out a few times and mid 80's seems to be about it, unacceptable for me. Kenny has stated going to XR would pick up maybe 10 mph but in no way would I consider living on borrowed time with those drives. The boat is currently back down in Florida with Kenny getting some minor things done. There is also a very very good chance we will be putting Arneson's on the boat. I've had arneson before and consider it superior to anything merc offers, it is both more efficient and much less weight than a #6. RIK at arneson and Kenny are hashing out some details and Kenny will be reaching out Steve Step (hope that's spelled right) to consult with him as well. No idea what sort of speed I would see with that set up but I'd think this would be a very reliable 100mph boat easy. If the arneson won't do the only other viable option is a #6. Keep everyone posted... half the fun for me is modding lol. And oh yea, all that rocket man stuff is coming off the trailer lol, the darn cockpit carpet says it too, it's in good shape but it must go. Considering Sea Dek as I'm doing the swim platform already. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...cc591a0450.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...514aa6a2c2.jpg |
Big Congrats and welcome to the Velocity family.
Padraig |
Welcome and congrats. Looks like you are on Lake Norman? Arnesons would be very cool but you may do alright with Bravos on the lake if the Arneson project doesn't materialize. The 390 is a drive friendly pad hull. I believe Steve Teeter did OK on Lake Norman with his heavier 410 with the same Ilmor package and Bravo XRs. Clearly if you want to go above 620 HP than Bravos is not the way to go! Best of luck and enjoy your boat!
|
My '08 390 with twin, staggered 525's and XR's only ran 83.7 when I got it home. I never felt like it fully got back on the pad until I installed a 2" drive spacer. Even then, I wanted to try a 3" spacer, but never got around to it before I sold it. My boat didn't have the stand-offs, though, which should help with the leverage. On mine, the drives were installed really high and it ran 6-blade Herings. With the spacers, I switched to 4-blade, labbed Bravos and ended up at 85.2, but lost about half the roost. That was a huge part of the appeal of the boat and the new owner removed the spacers to get it back. :)
|
Originally Posted by Revelocity
(Post 4637978)
Welcome and congrats. Looks like you are on Lake Norman? Arnesons would be very cool but you may do alright with Bravos on the lake if the Arneson project doesn't materialize. The 390 is a drive friendly pad hull. I believe Steve Teeter did OK on Lake Norman with his heavier 410 with the same Ilmor package and Bravo XRs. Clearly if you want to go above 620 HP than Bravos is not the way to go! Best of luck and enjoy your boat!
|
It is Wylie, I'm on the lake up north on the Charlotte side a little north of the plant. I've thought about moving over to Norman for the boating but just don't want the longer commute, especially with all the construction up there now. bravo, imco, all of that stuff is just a no go. Only thing I ever had good luck with were B Max drives. The hours are very low but if it comes time to rebuild I will have imco (ilmor not imco) upgrade to 725 from the 625 I'm currently at. #6's are now on the table. Kenny and Steve met up today and talked about my options. If I undertake this they will both be involved. The goal is a very reliable 100mph boat. They aren't really trying to steer me one way or another but both seem to be preferential to the #6. I think sometimes people may not recommend outright an Arneson because they just don't have a lot of experience with it. Plus let's face it. The reality is there are so many out there it would likely be the "easier project" to get fully set up and running right. The flip side to that is for me personally, I've purchased an Arneson before and I think they are, as I mentioned before a superior design to the 6. Less mechanically complex, lighter, Etc etc. plus having Rik there at the factory, being the super awesome resource he is, leaves me no doubt we can get the arneson dialed in. The one other thing is the #6's are reman and the arneson would be brand new. I think there is a lot to be said for factory new regardless of who rebuilt them. Here is the only reason for the 6 that may bear some weight (they are dry sump btw), Steve in speaking with Kenny seemed to be concerned about how lift with the arneson. My boat already runs extremely flat and struggles to get on the rear pad. Definitely don't want to make that more of a struggle. They of course don't have any direct experience (I don't think) but it seems a valid concern. I have read about some bow lift issues with arneson in the past. Rik's view on it is that bow lift will not be an issue. He stated that hering and merc now have expanded the line props and have certain rake specifications not previously offered a number of years ago, leaving those issues in the past. The last consideration here is resale. I know I'm breaking out the $$$ but when I do sell this boat (and I do seem to move through boats quick). Which will have better mass appeal? I'm not sure but I guess I'd have to lean towards the 6?? I was considering slingshots for the only reason there were some with Arneson's on the market, however I may not be the norm. Merc owns the market clearly but are they more desireable? Not sure. im going to start a thread in the general section and see if I can get some additional input I haven't thought of. Nice to see some NC people here! |
Too bad that Merc no longer offers the NXT drive package. That worked great on the 390. A 700SC boat ran at 114 MPH (don't recall if that was a staggered boat) and handled like on rails at 100+ according to Steve. The NXT drive added around 15 MPH compared to a friend's side by side engine 390 with Konrads and 800 HP. You are right that Velocity has very limited experience with Arnesons. You'd basically be getting into a R&D project with unpredictable results. Steve and Kenny are great to work which certainly helps but you can expect trial and error - as was the case with the first NXT boat. On the other hand #6 are well understood by Steve from years of race set-up experience including at Lake X. Not an easy decision for you weighing the potential vs. risk trade-off of the Arneson compared to going with the #6 fully knowing its pro's and con's.
|
Believe they dropped the NXT because it wasn't a great package. Similar cost to the 6, and not as reliable, therefore gave no real advantage over the #6.
I think the resale would definitely lean towards the #6 over the Arneson's. The Arneson's would definitely be cool, but you may have to be more patient to get the setup dialed in perfectly since it hasn't been done (to my knowledge) in the 390. With the efficiency of the Velocity hull, a set of 700-800 hp motors, and a pair of #6's, you'd have a bullet proof package. Are you going to have them clean up the bottom and check for straightness? Wonder if there's a slight rocker to the hull that's keeping it flat. Or maybe, just because it's staggered, the CG is a little skewed and not letting it get on the tail. Should be a cool project to follow along with, and you're in good hands with Kenny and Steve. |
Kenny nor Steve have told me to check the hull yet but I'll mention it and see what they say. The major concern those two have with the Arneson is not enough bow lift. Though with my staggered set up and at my power level I don't know if I have enough to really get back on that pad anyways??!!??
I've done alot more investigating on improving the efficiency of the Konrad Ace drives because I don't want to throw money into the wind but even Konrad has told me there just isn't really anything left to gain. It's already a high X with the drives pushed pretty far back. Blue Printing might gain something very small but told me not to waste my money. We are still figuring out details and the costs invovled on both the arneson drives and 6's. Seems to get more $$$$ with every phone call lol. I will see what develops over the coming days. |
Just curious to see what kind of speed gains you expect to see from the #6 set up? The boat will be gaining some weight by the time you're done. I can only imagine how well that boat will track with big diameter Speedmaster props.
|
The guess with either set up is 100 mph give or take. I would venture to guess a dry sump #6 would weigh about the same as the Konrad but if not it's gaining weight in the right area. My boat has almost no bow lift to get on the pad so weight that far back would actually help me. Plus with the dry sump design of course I'll be picking up a ton of hp and efficiency vs the Konrads. On the arneson end of it it is the most efficient of the two plus it actually weighs a ton less. Combined with the light weight of the ilmors it would really be a light set up.
Either way, it should be a big improvement, if it doesn't hit 100mph that's fine, but it would be nice :) |
Just posted this is the general forum but wanted to keep you folks updated in case you don't go on there....
Arneson Surface drives are on order. They are both a great product, both have some positives and negatives. Came down to wanting to support people that have supported me over the years and Rik from Arneson has always been there for me. The other large draw is that the Arnesons are new, the 6's would have been re-built. Finally, if I were to have a problem no one in my area is equipped to work on a 6, however should a problem pop up with the arneson the design is so simple my guys here can help me, avoiding having to take the 6's off and ship them off. I'm excited to work with Rik again on this project. I will keep everyone posted. Also, if you have or know someone with some 17.5 or 18in diameter 30 pitch props for sale please let me know. I'll be on the hunt for some used ones as I may need more than one set |
Good luck! Please keep us updated on this project. Looking forward to grateful results.
Padraig |
Just waiting for the Arnesons to be produced but doing a bunch of other things while the boat is down there. One of the things I am investigating is a little lip windshield to go on top of the solid cowl to help keep the wind away. Something similair to what I see on alot of cigarette's. Kenny sent me a picture of a 410 that had one but I guess whoever made it may not be doing so or in business anymore. He is investigating but just wondering if anyone has a lead or has one that could point me in any direction.
|
Here is the 410, no idea who own it. Kenny does but didn't say.....I think it matches the lines of the boat and doesn't detract from the looks one bit.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...psyytohfyl.jpg |
I believe he is/ was a member on here. Had a build going than stopped posting. I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out. If I remember correctly blown 600ci Fords.
|
That would be Excess Energy (member name) - Bob Powell.
|
Originally Posted by Revelocity
(Post 4649743)
That would be Excess Energy (member name) - Bob Powell.
|
Just an update, waiting on parts.....don't know if this terminology is correct but it looks like we will be filling in the transom and starting fresh back there. We weren't sure if the Arnesons were going to fill the holes of the Konrads and it looks like they won't. I'm not really all that disappointed because now we can mount them exactly where we want them. Found a bad suprise, motors are out, pressure tested the headers....found two leaking, not happy but glad we caught it. Getting ready to order some props if I don't find a used set here very very soon. Hering all the way on the props. The boat also had some paintwork done, in the one picture you can see a big white radio antenna, had that taken off, along with a gps antenna and a sirius antenna.....filled and painted. Had literally a few scratches and had all of those tended too as well.
I'm hoping the boat will be ready in a few months, considering keeping in rack storage in FL over the winter and flying down there to do some boating on the weekends. Thinking about the storage facility near Sanibel, Ft. Myers area or Miami.......not really too sure. Charlotte isn't that cold but it's still cold enough in winter to keep all but fisherman off the water. |
Transom is de-rigged, transom work begins Monday I believe
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...3d7d03b89f.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...65309682e0.jpg |
|
velocity 290 SC
hey guys, new to this site. got my eyes on a 290 SC. own a 26 scarab now with a 502 merc stock. any feedback on the velocity would be cool. thanks!!
|
Hey Elwood, probably should start a new thread but short answere is Velocity are great boats. The 290SC is fast and roomy. Give us some more details and someone will likely chime in with more info,
Padraig |
Thanks for getting back sir. I'm new to this. How do I start new thread? Thanks for you're help...
|
so, the ones im looking at most have the HO in them. wouldnt want any less power. i have never been in one. heard cockpit is noticbly deeper, and a lot easier to drive with the hydraulic steering. just curious as to how they run? the cabin is what im looking for also. any input would be great! ill take call from owners if you guys are that bored. i boat on lake erie up in buffalo new york. 7168646285. names danny.
|
|
What a swift kick to the Jimmy. Funny that he always posts about how superior his product is but cannot deliver said product.
|
Hotstang46 - so sorry to see such an interesting, ambitious project end up where you needed to completely wash your hands of it. Best of luck recovering your downpayment so you can put this in the rear view mirror.
|
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:50 AM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.