Have boat manufacturers gone NUTS ?

[Billr2019]

outboards

We purchased a used 2016 Ranger Tug R-27 with the inboard diesel late last year in Washington.
Also visited the Ranger Factory and I asked why they now hang a 300 Yamaha OB (on the newest models) on the back instead of the inboard.
The answer: Customers want to go faster and faster.
Manufacturers are not nuts but the buyers certainly are!
Manufacturers are only keeping up with the demand.
In my opinion, they look ugly and change the whole appearance of the boats.

 

[BandB]

Ah, to be young!

I'm currently wanting a 36' boat with a 27 hp inboard. Of course, it is a sailboat!

On the other hand, I'm also wanting a new mid-engine Corvette as well!

Jim

Wifey B: First Corvette I've ever lusted after. Our girlfriend and CEO, Jenn, is a Vette Fanatic and the moment it was announced she ordered one. All 40,000 they can make for this year have been sold. Biggest Vette year since 80 something. It's just a hot car. We can't copy her anyway, she's got to be the one Vette girl in our extended family. But other sports car owners have long made fun of Vette's and no more.

 

[C lectric]

What, none of you ever had a fast car or raced? Raced planes or speedboats or motorcycles. Racing sailboats. Fast boats have been around since the first boat was ever produced. The quest for speed has simply carried on.

All that you have to do is look at the current crop of cars with 400, 500, 600 hp on the street.

I remember articles from 30 yrs ago about some fast boats being built in the '80's. Could reach 50 knots and were 70 ft and cost several millions of dollars which was huge at the time.

I normally pay little attention anymore because I've lost interest as I got older, I can't afford it and never will, and I actually like the boat I have now, USUALLY, except when it causes trouble. HMMM.


I agree no one is crazy, that quest for speed is normal. It just shows in different ways.

 

[Mako]

It's tough to get turned on by vettes and cigarettes when every three weeks you get knocked off your feet by 17 million hp. The beauty is that YOU guys (the tax payer) pay for the fuel!

But seriously, my wife and I are content to cruise at a leisurely 8.25 knots, which I can afford to fuel.

 

[Spinner]

So let me ask the few women on this site...... Does seeing a guy with a boat like that make you think "oooh, he's the man for me"? Or does it make you think "wow, he must have a small pee pee"?


I'm just wondering who people owning these boats think they are impressing? It seems to me they are only impressing other people like them, and not the women they are hoping to attract. Actually just the opposite.

Nope nope nope! Those are go-fast toys, nothing I would care to ever be around!

 

[Miz Trom]

So let me ask the few women on this site...... Does seeing a guy with a boat like that make you think "oooh, he's the man for me"? Or does it make you think "wow, he must have a small pee pee"?


I'm just wondering who people owning these boats think they are impressing? It seems to me they are only impressing other people like them, and not the women they are hoping to attract. Actually just the opposite.

Mr. Twisted Tree:

I will quote from that great philosopher Van Morrison:


All the girls walk by, dressed up for each other
And the boys do-the-boogie-woogie on the corner of the street
And the people passin' by, they stare in wild wonder
As the inside jukebox roars out just like thunder

Mr. Morrison is describing that invincible+strutting-yet-insecure feeling from his younger days.

My most basic observation about these super-high horsepower boats is that some, a small minority, (definitely not all, but some) rather wealthy folks are trying to recapture that fleeting illusion of immortality that they held for a few moments during their youth. And some people, both men and women, are inexplicably attracted to this overt display of wealth and speed, but why I don't know.


And others just want to get there fast, and can afford it.


Cheers,

Mrs. Trombley

 

[stubones99]

GH Bush had a Fountain

Remember GH Bush had a Cigarette I believe.....so you dont have to be a goober either.

If I recall correctly, he had a fountain, not a Cigarette, but small difference, either way...

Fidelity IV, President George H. W. Bush's Fountain 38 CC equipped with Triple 300 Verados. President Bush is an avid boater and fisherman. This is his fourth Fountain.

 

[sunchaser]

Reality factoids:
- Tesla owners love the speed and acceleration rush bonus that goes with the green label. Kudos to Musk
- Bikinis, fast water toys, grooving loud music and guys with open wallets are a popular mix
- A peek in one's garage may reveal sympathy for multiple outboards
- Chariot races with multiple horses were a big draw 2,000 years ago
- The fast break remains a winning basketball strategy
- Speedy receivers win Super Bowls

 

[FF]

"I think a better question is "have the customers gone nuts?". The boat manufacturers are simply building what the market demands."

You bet , we are just off the Caloosahatchie in Fl and every year there is a fishing contest near by.

EVEN The fish killers have 2-3 BIG outboards !!

No babes to impress.

 

[kthoennes]

I've been thinking about this thread. I'm far too old now to have any interest in attracting 20-something bikini babes, but I do like something about size and power. I drive (used) Escalades because I like the size and power and 18 or 20" wheels that can bash and climb through snow drifts. 6,600 lb vehicle. I'd drive a Hummer but they're ridiculously uncomfortable and claustrophobic. I have considered a Ram 2500... Completely unecessary I know, but I have the power to bash through ugly storms. And one of my favorite moments in life is standing at the helm, moving the two shifters down ever so slightly and feeling 600 hp of power far below my feet, easing 26,000 lbs of boat out of the slip.

So I do think aesthetically the outboards lined up like Chiclets look really silly, but okay, fine, if that's your thing.

 

[Coastal Cruiser]

Fast cars, like fast women, will never be a thing of the past.

 

[Moby Nick]

"COMPENSATOR" (#13 above) would make a good name for a boat; has a nice ring to it.

 

[hollywood8118]

Its not manufacturers, it what clients want.
If a client wants a fast offshore boat that is reliable and cost effective they hang 4 300 hp outboards vs 2 600hp inboards. Reliability and the amount of time to keep it running in top form is less. If they miss the real sound of a fire breathing monster they stick with big gas v-8's (my choice). If you have the money to go fast the fuel used is inconsequential.
I am a self diagnosed boat addict, Sail or power, fast or slow, bigger is better. I have had too many hulls to really count, my dad is responsible for my addiction by getting me started with a 10' hydroplane when I was around 6 or so. One of the reasons I like deliveries is I love to drive different boats.. the foil assisted 4000hp cat last year was the pinnacle, although I have driven other boats that were close.. a 19' 2000hp hydro was definitely the fastest.
Just because a type of boat isn't to YOUR liking doesn't make it wrong or bad..personally I have utter disdain for kayak's.. but we still own 4 of the damn things.. the Admiral loves them, so I dutifully keep the Pygmy and Chesapeake light craft varnish perfect.
I had a period that I went through numerous boats like the pic below and I will admit I was never more frustrated with a series of boats, nor did I ever get more enjoyment from boats either ( sounds like the typical correlation I see between relationships of boats and women).

This no doubt will rekindle the quest for the perfect wood deck flatty to restore.. dammit!

HOLLYWOOD

 

[Woodland Hills]

Woah! A v-drive flatty! I never thought I’d see one here! There is nothing that sounds better than car engined boats, although 12 cylinder Detroit’s come close.

 

[BandB]

Woah! A v-drive flatty! I never thought I’d see one here! There is nothing that sounds better than car engined boats, although 12 cylinder Detroit’s come close.

All of those on the lake I grew up on were built by Holman Moody Engines in Charlotte, NC. They were once the official racing contractor for Ford and won a couple of Nascar championships with their own cars. They're still alive and well.

We had a couple of Rayson Craft boats that ran 90 mph on the lake, some Allison's that were fast, but the coolest was when they took a normal boat and converted. A former racer owned a Correct Craft. A bigger boat than Nautiques at the time, a 20' or so family boat. It had a chrome polished Chrysler 330 engine (or something like that. I'm not an engine guy) as it had been a show boat. It ran very nicely at around 45 mph. They worked on it with the owner one week and had it turning far more RPM, more like a race engine would turn, and the boat topped 70 mph. Then they converted it back to what it was, no worse for the wear.

Living in the middle of Nascar country you saw some speed. Several drivers have homes on the lake.

 

[psneeld]

I feel the need for speed....

Which one wins?

Got to admit...both are cool as sh**.....

 

[Benthic2]

......
If a client wants a fast offshore boat that is reliable and cost effective they hang 4 300 hp outboards vs 2 600hp inboards.......

I understand this on boats that are 25-30 feet long. It frees up a lot of space in the hull, but on these 50 foot cigarette/fountain type boats there is plenty of space for 2 big blocks, which I would think would be tens of thousands of dollars cheaper.

 

[psneeld]

I understand this on boats that are 25-30 feet long. It frees up a lot of space in the hull, but on these 50 foot cigarette/fountain type boats there is plenty of space for 2 big blocks, which I would think would be tens of thousands of dollars cheaper.

The thought is that unbolting an outboard and hanging a new one is faster than a blown inboard.

These people dont worry about the money, they are just tired of an incredibly slow industry to resolve major issues.

Plus where do you get 2 big blocks of durable output that meets 1200hp?

 

[hollywood8118]

I understand this on boats that are 25-30 feet long. It frees up a lot of space in the hull, but on these 50 foot cigarette/fountain type boats there is plenty of space for 2 big blocks, which I would think would be tens of thousands of dollars cheaper.

Bulletproof big blocks for boats in the 600hp range can cost over $75k each and you have to hook it up to a 30+k drive, outboards are cheaper.
You can weekend warrior a 600hp BB but it will turn into a grenade in a offshore boat.
HOLLYWOOD

 

[hollywood8118]

Hot boats are a crazy way to spend LOTS of money, For a time I helped sponsor and crewed on a blown alcohol hydro race team.. 400lb hull with a 4000 hp motor. The life of a blown alcohol race motor is just a few minutes.. of course they run for under 10 seconds in a heat. I have been over 100mph a few times but in all honesty it is over my comfort zone. B&B, I grew up in central Cal in a town that help get drag boat racing on the map.. all of us had direct drive v-drive boats.. crazy times!
Oh the innocence of youth!
HOLLYWOOD

 

[BandB]

Hot boats are a crazy way to spend LOTS of money, For a time I helped sponsor and crewed on a blown alcohol hydro race team.. 400lb hull with a 4000 hp motor. The life of a blown alcohol race motor is just a few minutes.. of course they run for under 10 seconds in a heat. I have been over 100mph a few times but in all honesty it is over my comfort zone. B&B, I grew up in central Cal in a town that help get drag boat racing on the map.. all of us had direct drive v-drive boats.. crazy times!
Oh the innocence of youth!
HOLLYWOOD

Over 90 is beyond my comfort zone as the level of control is so low plus objects in the water. The Rayson Craft went to Holman Moody after every time they were run, generally needing some hull work as anything you hit at that speed messes things up. On the other hand, I'm very much a fan of running in the 50's and 60's. I've felt very in control on the boats at that speed.

 

[Art]

Nuff Said! -

 

[mvweebles]

If there were no penalty for capital or operating costs, I suspect majority of us would go for speed, though I concede there are those such as myself who just like life at jogging speed. But that doesn't exclude outboards. The small Rosborough 26's for example came in I/O, inboard diesel, or (my preference) outboard. The new generation of OBs are impressive, and I love to see the different thinking. I was a bit aghast when I first saw the Great Harbor 35 with OBs, but after initial impression, it made a ton of sense to me.

Peter

 

[Woodland Hills]

Bulletproof big blocks for boats in the 600hp range can cost over $75k each and you have to hook it up to a 30+k drive, outboards are cheaper.
You can weekend warrior a 600hp BB but it will turn into a grenade in a offshore boat.
HOLLYWOOD

Not always true. My 550hp BBC was 540cu in and was set up to run on the 87 octane fuel at Lake Powell. I had 300 hours on it when I pulled it and put it into storage for later use. Hydraulic lifters, 4-barrel, Dart alloy block, heads, intake. I had it built by Larry Peto in Tucson for just over $15k over a few months. The block and intake were bought used as was the exhaust. The crank was from my core engine as were the Carillo rods. The power figure was from a dyno run, not a guess. With a shade more compression and high test fuel 600hp would be possible.

 

[angus99]

I have always lusted after one of these, even carrying a picture of one in my wallet over my girlfriend’s photo. (what do the women on the forum think of that?)

The 1966 Cobra SuperSnake is one of two built by Carroll Shelby. It boasts 800 hp, 0 to 60 in three seconds and is street legal. He sold the second one to Bill Cosby who, terrified after just one drive, returned it. A subsequent owner was killed when he totaled it. This, the surviving model, sold for $5.5 million at Barrett-Jackson.

So here’s the conundrum: I still love this car (as a semi-retired porn star*, I don’t feel the need to compensate) and would love to drive this around a track or on the salt flats. I’m sure it’s got something to do with something I yearned for as a kid. I have no such yearning for a boat with six outboards on the back. For whatever reason, the boat seems like a vulgar display to me while the obscenely over-powered muscle car does not. There is no logic to my reactions, so it must be one of those “eye-of-the-beholder” things.

*just kidding

 

[smitty477]

I have always lusted after one of these, even carrying a picture of one in my wallet over my girlfriend’s photo. (what do the women on the forum think of that?)

The 1966 Cobra SuperSnake is one of two built by Carroll Shelby. It boasts 800 hp, 0 to 60 in three seconds and is street legal. He sold the second one to Bill Cosby who, terrified after just one drive, returned it. A subsequent owner was killed when he totaled it. This, the surviving model, sold for $5.5 million at Barrett-Jackson.

So here’s the conundrum: I still love this car (as a semi-retired porn star*, I don’t feel the need to compensate) and would love to drive this around a track or on the salt flats. I’m sure it’s got something to do with something I yearned for as a kid. I have no such yearning for a boat with six outboards on the back. For whatever reason, the boat seems like a vulgar display to me while the obscenely over-powered muscle car does not. There is no logic to my reactions, so it must be one of those “eye-of-the-beholder” things.

*just kidding

I always liked them as well - so I built a replica of one that was very fast but more modern suspension.
It was real fun but was less fun then the small boats we had that could go relatively fast on the water and yet share that speed with a number of folks.
It is very much in the eye of the beholder.

 

[hollywood8118]

Not always true. My 550hp BBC was 540cu in and was set up to run on the 87 octane fuel at Lake Powell. I had 300 hours on it when I pulled it and put it into storage for later use. Hydraulic lifters, 4-barrel, Dart alloy block, heads, intake. I had it built by Larry Peto in Tucson for just over $15k over a few months. The block and intake were bought used as was the exhaust. The crank was from my core engine as were the Carillo rods. The power figure was from a dyno run, not a guess. With a shade more compression and high test fuel 600hp would be possible.

There is a big difference in motors designed to reliably run in a offshore hull over 600hp each that a lake boat. You are correct that one can build a 600hp v8 for around 15-20k that is N/A and carbed.. but most now are supercharged, injected, burning race fuel, running a very impressive digital controlled ignition system to keep the motor happy while having the crap kicked out of it.

HOLLYWOOD

 

[Woodland Hills]

I always liked them as well - so I built a replica of one that was very fast but more modern suspension.
It was real fun but was less fun then the small boats we had that could go relatively fast on the water and yet share that speed with a number of folks.
It is very much in the eye of the beholder.

I am a real believer in replica of valuable cars that can be actually driven and not just admired. My passion is for smaller engined cars, scalpel over sledgehammer, so I built a Lotus 11 Le Mans car replica a few years back:

 

[Woodland Hills]

There is a big difference in motors designed to reliably run in a offshore hull over 600hp each that a lake boat. You are correct that one can build a 600hp v8 for around 15-20k that is N/A and carbed.. but most now are supercharged, injected, burning race fuel, running a very impressive digital controlled ignition system to keep the motor happy while having the crap kicked out of it.

HOLLYWOOD

I’m guessing that those motors make a lot more than 600hp!

 

[twistedtree]

To each his own - I agree.


I was just struggling to understand why someone who want a boat like that. Now I think I better understand.


I guess there was a reason I sat with the geeks in high school, and not the cool kids.....