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How fast? (severe newbie qustion)

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#22 ·
blkkat said:
someone once told me (I apolgize for no source) that a cheap way to see it is that after a certain speed it takes X amount of horsepower to go another 1 mph. and the X is like 50 horsepower or something.
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Every boat is different. On a BIG offshore boat that was made to crush waves 50hp may only be 1 mph. On a smaller cat it may equal 5-6 mph.
 
#24 ·
#25 ·
gewtersnake said:
Yeah, im familiar with triple digits and i'm sort of modeling my project around his... but im a little confused. Are you guys telling me that this celebrity andretti that does 60~65 mph stock, won't 75 mph with some high torque twin 383s as opposed to the stock twin 350s? Triple digits boat did 56mph stock, and now look at it... Just bare with me and assume that buying a 40k boat is out of the option.
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I'm not familiar with the hull but IF it is running 65mph with 540hp you will need at least another 100-125hp per side to crack 75mph. If it is only running 60mph currently you will need at least 150-175hp more per side.

So, yes it is possible but how much will it cost?
 
#28 · (Edited)
MarkyMark said:
this looks like it's already setup pretty well.....

http://www.speedwake.com/newclassifieds/showproduct.php?product=1002&cat=77
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This idea is good. If you bought this boat then you could get a feel of performance and if that is REALLY what you want. As performance increases, handling and many other factors change with it. Then if you didn't care for the feel this boat is nice for selling and you get your money back to try again.


Or you can get a ride on a boat in the performance range that you are thinking of and see if that is what tickles your fancy.


The Celebrity Andretti is a performance equipped boat and it has a nice appeal but some serious money, like twice the purchase price, would be required to get it to the speeds that you are thinking of. I see the boattrader listing in Port Clinton Ohio, is that the boat?
Purchase $10K plus rework $20K is a $30K that you may or may not like.
The link to this single engine boat that already runs at the speeds you mentioned is less than that :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:



My .02 :bigsmile:

Good luck
 
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Discussion starter · #29 ·
Wow, I'm learing alot here.... I've always been a car guy, but this is a whole diffrent ball park. Yes the one in port clinton, oh is the boat. Price is Right, and it's not a bad lookin boat. I have found very little as far a literature about the boat on the internet aside from a few guys on here that have one.... does anybody know anything about them?
 
#30 ·
gewtersnake said:
does anybody know anything about them?
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A friend of mine has a Celebrity and I almost bought one a few years ago but it was out of my price range.
Celebrity is a well made boat that I would rate above a current production sea ray. When the family business changed the company started into center consoles and got away from bow riders etc, then got bought out.


If you wanted to buy this boat is could be pepped up with some typical upgrades but its performance range would only be tweaked, it would not be a huge gain. It runs in a good range as is. You could enjoy that boat just like it is for a long time.
 
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#31 ·
Hell, you can buy my boat for "low teens" and have a 70 mph ride right out of the gate ---- and a hull that will respond to performance increases AND a 502 engine that will be easy to pump 600 hp from.
 
#32 ·
gewtersnake said:
Wow, I'm learing alot here.... I've always been a car guy, but this is a whole diffrent ball park.
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EXACTLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Different. I have been a car guy, circle track, drag race but the water is VERY different. Making power on the water has three dramatic concepts that you should read alot about before trying to build a boat engine.....reversion, detonation, displacement........water that is. I would call these three the biggest challenges to building power on the water.
 
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#33 ·
I've done what he was thinking about doing only on a slightly smaller scale. 201 Liberator - 52 mph boat. Small upgrades - 55 mph boat. Major upgrade with 350 built into a 383 - 65 mph boat. More upgrades with exhaust manifolds, new carb, miscellaneous - 68 mph boat. Blowing drives - 0 mph boat!!!

Upgrade to Bravo 1 drive and engine tuning - 70-72 mph boat. More $ and I can have a 75 mph boat. A lot more $$$ and I can maybe get to 80 mph. That would be about it.

Would it have been better to just buy a faster boat to begin with? Yep. Did I know at the time, that I was going to want to go 70 mph on the water? No. Has it been fun doing it this way? Oh, yeah. Do I surprise a lot of people with a Libby going that fast? I sure do.

If you really have your heart set on the boat, go for it, but heed everyone's advice. If you know for sure that you want to have a 75+ mph boat, you probably will be better off financially if you buy a different boat.
 
#36 · (Edited)
blackhawk said:
201 when did you blow a drive?
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The better question is: When didn't I?
I blew the upper gears before I had the motor built into a 383. Then approx 20 engine hours later, I blew the lowers and the lower gearcase. I figured the drive was old and fatigued.

I then had good luck for many hours (over 1 year of use) until fish line got wrapped around the propshaft at speed and grenaded the uppers. I hate fisherman that throw fish line into the lake.

I had the uppers replaced, but grenaded them again just after the break-in so I decided it was my fault and I didn't break them in properly.

I then had the uppers replaced again and had great luck with the drive which was always on the ragged edge. 2 summers of light use and babying the drive (about 40 hours) before the gears went out again. I decided that I had enough of repairing the Cobra drive so I didn't do it again.

I kept the boat out of the water and skipped 1 whole summer. I then bit the bullet and upgraded to a Bravo 1 drive. I now have over 40 hours on it since last August without any drive problems. KNOCK ON WOOD.
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
well thanks for all the advice guys, I've really learned alot here. I think I'd rather spend a couple 2 or 3 thousand at a time over the course of a couple years the 30k or 40k all at once... I've got NO expericence modifying boats and I'm sure once I get one, I'll be asking alot more stupid questions! Thanks again!
 
#38 ·
My .02

If you spend 30-40K now, in a few years if you want to sell, hopefully you can get a decent amount of $$ back. If you buy a 10K boat, dump 20K into it, you can kiss most of that 20K goodbye. You probably will not see one penny return on any mods when you go to sell the boat.

Good Luck!
 
#39 ·
Super24 said:
My .02

If you spend 30-40K now, in a few years if you want to sell, hopefully you can get a decent amount of $$ back. If you buy a 10K boat, dump 20K into it, you can kiss most of that 20K goodbye. You probably will not see one penny return on any mods when you go to sell the boat.

Good Luck!
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I started typing out the same reply, but decided to give up....

I'd even venture to say that if you buy a 10k boat, dump 20k into it that you would be able to sell it for 7500 and lose the 20k+

Buy a 30k boat, be able to go 70, use it a few years, sell it for 24k and lose 6k.
 
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