88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I'm upgrading from the current run-a-bout to a decent boat for the lake. I found an 88 22' Regal Velocity with a 7.4L and Bravo1. The boat has a clean survey and new paint and interior. I have read though the posts of good and bad with Regal taking over production for a couple of years. I currently have a Regal and we have loved the boat, without having any problems....so far. I'm wondering if anyone has had any major problems and any insite. I have heard it is a mildly fast boat (mid 60's) which is plenty fast for me, but if anyone has some inexpensive tips on a better performance it would be great.

Thanks-
Chris
(Newbie)

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

The 22' Regal Velocity is a good boat. I had an '89 for five years and loved it. It had a 330HP 7.4 and would run right at 70 MPH. That boat with a 7.4 is also very good on gas ~10 GPH at a cruise of about 40 MPH. Good luck

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I had an 89 o/b....big fun...in retrospect, I should've kept it!!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Anything in particular to check on it before dropping the cash? Any insightful tips before I hand over my kids college funds?

Chris

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Nothing specific comes to mind. Just check it over good and look for any potential signs of wood rot on the interior just because of the age. Also, in the '88 & '89 time frame Bravo drives had just come out, so the boat you are looking at might have been an Alpha drive boat originally. A lot of Alpha boats have been converted over the years. As far as price, I would guess an '88 would fall somewhere between 8-13k depending on the condition of the boat.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

It has the Bravo which I was told came with the engine. The vinyl and paint are also new. Hopefully, it's not a lemon....

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

That picture you posted is a 23' Velocity. That is a different animal. The 23' is a 22' bottom with a taller deck and a molded in platform that was added by Regal once they bought the 22' molds from Steve Stepp. I had a 22' like the previous picture that was posted with the outboard. I knew a few people who had 23's and they indicated that it was a decent performing boat, but not like the 22's. I have no personal experience witht the 23'. From what I hear though the 23' is not as fast as the 22' with equivalent power.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

..it looks to be much heavier/larger than a 22

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Call Sreve Foulk he has a sweet 22 with a pumped up v8 for sale,it probably is one of the nicest 22s on the market in the country,the only reason he is selling it is he just bought my 280 when I purchased my 320,give him a call you will not be disapointed,more performance than you will ever need and it is a Velocity not a Regal,no pun intended. 302 836 1313
732 904 2289

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

My brother has a Velocity/Regal just like your picture. We live in Vancouver BC Canada so he runs 90% in the ocean.This is a very solid boat in rough chop. I think they are slightly bow heavy but the right prop will fix that.I would not hesitate to buy one especially with updated paint and interior.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I had a 91 Regal/Velocity 23' 6". It came with 454/365 mag with Bravo 1 and Full latham hydraulic steering. It was a nice boat and very economical. It would run about 72-73 (75 Speedometer) trimmed out. It was very fast and stable for the power.
The fit and finish was not the quality of the new ones, but it had the basic pad bottom hull as the ones today.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

the regals are built very strong and solid! unlike the velocity today!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Maybe you should go and find the Regal owners section. Or better yet Lets see some pic's of your (strong and solid) regal in a poker run, I don't believe I have ever seen one at the poker runs I have been in.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I don't know what the promblem is with rock hard, but he is an idiot.
I loved my regal velocity and enjoyed it very much, but it ain't close to the quality of the real velocity's. I could see throught the side of the hull in my regal. The fiberglass was paper thin. The boat had some stress cracks from pushing it to low 70's in the rough water. However, I still enjoyed it. I did not bash regal, because it was what it was. If you do not like the velocitys of today, then get the hell off this thread and go play with your fountain.
If you have nothing to add, say goodbye.
Steve

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

steet the idiot just got on oso to bash velocitys i looked at all of his post he even pulled up the old thread about stepp and started it up again .rockhard go play with your beak boat you know the ones that spin and roll and throw every one out i am not a fountain basher but let it rest and just enjoy oso and dont try to start something you can not finish :blaster:

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I've had mine out for the past several weekends. For the price I paid for the thing, it runs great and looks good. It runs in the mid 60's on the GPS with a 23P, but next weekend going to try a 24 & 26P Bravo to see if it will plain faster. Maybe next year upgrade the power to a 502 for a little more top speed. I haven't noticed any stress cracks and running a 1M spot light down the side there are a few thin spots, but they are very few and far between. My CG plate states Velocity on it not Regal, but the Vin is Regal.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

chris enjoy your boat i know a few people that have ad or do have a 23 and they have enjoyed theres one just ot a 28 off of a member on this board that is getting a new 29 built seems like a lot of velocity owners end up having more than one

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

bash is right! I have sold over 2,000,000 dolers worth of velocity's over the last two years and now i am involved in a lawsuit over steve not standing behind the product that he puts together. i have had to pay thousands of dollers to keep customers happy and repairing their boats and it's a bunch of crap! if i really wanted to bash the boats that you are so proud of i would post all the pictures i have. done bashing now!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Dollars, With That Much You Should Have Learned How To Use SpeLcheK:rolleyes:

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I am willing to bet you are full of ****. If you had sold that many velocitys, then I would have not had a chance to buy one myself. Go somewhere else to type your bull****. Better yet, come on to Lake Norman. I am readily available to address your needs.

Steve Teeter
4878 Moonlite Bay Dr.
Sherrills Ford, N.C. 28673

P.S. Call if you need a map

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

getting kind of defenseive aren't you! I sold half the boats that are in steves new flyers. the 39 in the new flyer was ours and they forgot to mount the steering correctly and the boat broke the steering loose at 85mph and almost killed everyone onboard including myself. the boat spunout throwing everyone like pinballs inside the boat. velocity did not follow the directions and mounted the zieger steering to the bravo drives using only the three bolts that are designed to keep the end cap on the bravo drive. no studs! it was supposed to have 4 studs!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

And You Are Advertising Velocity's For Sale On Others Sites Why?

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

part one... the 22 velocity is a cool boat (either the regal or velocity). The new 22 velocity are really cool with the 300x on it, just hang on tho.

part two... Rock Hard is a pretty good guy. He hasn't had the best luck dealing with Velocity as one would think. He has sold a ton of Velocity's up here. I love my boat 2002 280 w/496HO (204 trouble free hours), I have some small stress crack around the swim step handle (not a big deal, but), Velocity said they will fix and that is cool, but it took a bit to get that answer. But I can say I've seen the quality of workmanship go down since I bought my boat. Which really makes me sick. Because I would love to buy a 390 with 525EFI, but After the last two boats (both friends of mine) that have hit the water. Both have had problems, and not small ones either. I would think the factory would step back and check the QA process. Oh, and FYI I'm not a step hull fan.

PS.. The local reputation of Velocity is being hurt because of just a few with problems that should have not left the factory.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

rock hard,

Please do us a favor and keep your problems with the factory between you and them. We're on this forum to enjoy Velocity, not take shots at them or each other.

Thanks in Advance for you Cooperation.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Sorry for the thread hi-jack….

But I find it disturbing that some of you don’t wants to hear about crappie workmanship, and or crappie customer service. I personally want to hear about the good and the bad. And how the bad is being handled, I’m somewhat new to the sport but some of the answers I’ve heard lately are pretty outlandish. (And this is from several manufactures). In my opinion if I’m spending the money on a new boat it should be built right. Does anyone not agree? And what I’m talking about is having voids in a foam cored boat (good friend is going though this now), using the wrong length screws (And having them poke though the leather, and the gel), not installing part as directed by the suppler. I’m sure other manufactures are having the same problem. I know I deal with it daily at work, and I constantly revise installation processes and drawing to fix build/installation problems. But as a consumer I would like to hear about it and how the manufacture is addressing the problem.

Back to lurk mode..

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I Owned A 1988 23'6" Regal Velocity For 6 Years With A 454/bravo. It Was A Solidly Built Boat And Consistantly Ran 65+mph. The Boat Had Alot Of Room For What Was Truely A 22' Boat. The Added Swim Platform Was Smartly Integrated And The Boat Had Great Lines Visually. The Only Drawback Was Regal's Cheap Materials Used Under The Vinyl Work Which Is Easily Fixed. I Would Love To Have That Boat Back With A 500hp!!!!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

What do you mean when you say the "cheap materials under the vinyl"???

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

The Regal boats were not hand laid like the stepp boats. They were mainly made using chopper gun technique. Therefore, they were a little heavier. In addition, biaxial and triaxial glass was not extensively used in the lay-up process.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I owned the 87 Regal Velocity with 454 and alphawith nose cone 6 years 225 hours zero stress cracks. 80 hours were from LOTO wish is wash board pounding. Only issue I had to through drill windshield screws and put on lock nuts. Put on a high rise manifold on a 330 and you can get 70 plus out of this boat all day long with a 23P.

I have a 89 Velocity 23'6" Bravo one with a supercharged 454 550 HP engine and manifold referenced 800CFM Holley has 25 hours and hydraulic steering. Runs low to mid 80's. Boat has 217 hours no stress cracks. Floor is solid as a rock. Seats still original. Have not had time to use it much since I moved and started new job. My wife wants me to sell. Willing to part with it reasonably. (936) 639-2178

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Anyone Know Of Any 91 Or Older 22's

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

There was one at a boat place in Lewisville TX off I-35. Can't remeber the name trader johns or something OB going for around $8500 think it was an 88. Think it had the Evinrude 235. Never had a chance to run the OB version. I still have an old 1989 regal spec book on the velocitys. OB version weighis around 1000 lbs less should flat out fly. My old 22 from 1987 sold in 1986 had the Steven Stepp Velocity 100 mph stickers back at rear hull claiming worlds fastes V Bottom said it was made in Sanford FL plant not regal Orlando plant. Given my druthers having owned both the 23'6' velocity 230 is the better ride dryer less wind and integrated swim platform makes it plane quicker. Only 150 lbs heavier than the 22 I/O per the old 89 Regal brochure. Balsa cored triaaxial glass in both. Seats are better in the 230. Old 22 had marine pywood buckets versus the glass in the 230s. Had to reweld the AL seat posts a few times in the 22. Finally Welde it so it wouldn't turn. The 22 was louder and turned more heads. Cabin sucked just had pads and no air circulation. 22 guages were cool ran all the way over to passenger side. Scared the hell out of your passengers with the speedo staring them in the face. Teakwood interior and swim platforms was maintenence hassle. Deadrise in 22 was 22 degrees where the 230 was 23 degrees per the brochures so it is not a complete knock off of the 22 as some claim. First year of the 230 was 1985 ran till 92 I believe Softer ride though it wont set on the pad as quickly or smoothly. Never have run the 230 as hard as the 22 yet. Older and wiser I guess. Always wonder what happened to my first velocity. Sold it while in CA. Probaly still tearing up the Colorado River The 22 is like running old L88 vette convertible compared to late model ride of a new vette as the 230 feels. Refinement is the word in comparing the two.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Velocityet, When I Stated "cheap Material Under The Seats" I Was Referring To The Wood Used Under The Vinyl In The Gunnel Padding And The Rear Bench Seat And Engine Hatch. The Plywood Was Not Glass Encapsulated And Therefore Had A Habit Of Rotting, But I Still Loved The Boat.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I have a 1987 Regal Velocity o/b, and it's a great boat. I had it in lake michagan, and it's rock soild. It runs 60 w/21 pitch mirage, and the motor is the original yamaha 225, 63mph/w 24 raker 3 blade. I want to sell it . there are pics. on scream and fly. The boat eats up rough water a


nd is cheap on gas, and you can tow it with a car. 239-437-9480

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

that isnt a VELOCITY problem THAT IS A PDI ASSEMBLY problem and if you didnt catch it then you SHOULD have been killed..... you spout off about quality issues but yet you fail to take the time to DOUBLE CHECK your boats and VARIFY that they are assembled correctly... you of all people should know better, and Im the one called the idiot on the local forums..... that is a big DUH... DUHBLE check.... had you caught the probles the FIRST time then you might have had more suport from the factory and a lawsuit may not have been necessary... but since you didnt you are just as much at fault as the person at the factory that used 3 rather than 4 bolts /studs.....

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Vmax I'd love to see that 89 info. I just bought a 30 and would like all the info I could get my hands on. Thanks.

Also there is a nice looking 90 23 ft for sale at foxchapelmarine.com

Mark

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I would like to thank all of you who posted to this thread! The good and the bad. You have convinced me!
Boating is supposed to be a fun experience. But this Velocity site has convinced me that not all people that boat are out to have an enjoyable time.
Seems like a few of you think that because someone else has a different opinion than yourself, that they a personally insulting you.
Grow the F%$# up.
It's their personal opinion. You know the old saying;
"Opinion's are like *******s, every has one!"
This thread was one person asking about a certain boat, and everyones experience with that model, year, engine specs, ...
This is a place to share info, not personal attacks. If you disagree with someones opinion, fine, state you opinion based on facts, not personal bias.
I will say one other thing, this thread alone has convinvced me not to buy a regal or a velocity. Guess why???
I don't care for the owners of them!!!!!!!!

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I am not sure what liking or not liking the Velocity owners have to do with buying a boat but if you have questions about Velocity boats .... call or visit Steve Stepp at the factory. He is a good guy and will take time to talk with Velocity owners with or without problems and with potential customers with questions.

Good luck with what ever boat you end up with.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I'm the one who started the post...My '88 with the tired motor (600 hrs) ran mid 60's all day long. I replaced the motor last winter with a 540. So far haven't run it, got a Cig this spring. I can say that the boat is built like a tank and I have had no complaints about it. Solid, quality built and people can't believe the thing is almost 20 years old. We'll use it this spring as a day boat and use the Cig as a weekend boat. I post speeds with the 540 when I finally get the engine broke in.

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

Panic Button, that sounds cool! You have any pics of the boat even under-construction pics would be cool

Re: 88 22' Velocity-> Good, Bad, Indifferent?
 

I have a 85 that was completely redone in 03 and rigged with a 250 xs pic'c are @ www.hydroillusions.com look under specialty.

Boat run 77/78 all day long 80 light on fuel.
These boats are awsome, I just wish it was a little longer some times.(no jokes guys)

Boat is for sale.

Thanks,
Tom