OK so i am digging around looking for a good candidate for a pair of 30 horse Yanmar marine diesels i have laying around and while I was looking, I noticed this gem in the back of Marine Dynamics in their Englewood, Florida yard.

      Granted this is not a good candidate for my 2 engines but the price is reasonable enough that it would make an excellent candidate for a couple of other diesels that could be picked up cheaply enough. So Naturaully even though I wont buy it because i have too many projects going already. I had to get the props turning in my head and see what would be easy to do for a hardcore offshore racing vessel that would get pretty good fuel economy.

  So since the outdrives and engines have already been removed down to nothing but the gimbals, lets operate on the thought of using beefy Merc W3 outdrives. Accept no substitutes - this boat deserves it. Now this is an 89 model boat that someone had started to have a lot of work done on and stopped for reasons of moola, The interior, paint and all the seats are in really good shape, sitting at the helm is not as respectable as say a Wellcraft Scarab but it gives you a feel of comfort and solid control. My old 91 handled like a knife, bit twitchy, not the razor-sharp smooth of a Scarab but not a sloppy hog like a Defever or a Donzi either. In her class, Velocity has not made a vessel that handles this well since the early 90's. So rather than elaborate on that, this is the Velocity the drug runners look for when they just cant afford a Wellcraft Scarab. It is a light, well laid out hull that can be hollowed out quickly for offshore racing. The guys running the Bahamas on a regular basis seem to prefer these for reason of when equipped with a couple of GM diesels they can generally make the trip in comfort, on very little fuel compared to a Scarab with triple outboards. Me I cant stand a damn GM piece of crap diesel ('cept a few older Detroits) so let us get on with some cheap engine options.

    Now I have never been the buy a new engine for an old boat type of person. So I made a couple of calls just to see what was in our local junkyards that they would guarantee me would turn over... Glicks in Sarasota had a Ford 7.3l (444Cubic inch) out of a truck for 1500 bucks - guaranteed to start. Had to look in the newspaper but I found a 1 ton van with another 7.3l diesel for 3500 bucks (probably could talk them down but this was just a mental excersise anyway). Ok so thats 5 grand in engines that i could stick in but hey a couple of used outdrives are going to run into some cash too, plus you are going to have to add in some of the nice heat exchangers - you know the flush mount aluminium ones to cool them because raw water cooling is not a viable option in saltwater. Risers are cheap enough. sot that puts the entire engine and outdrive budget at around 15000 bucks and in the end you have a 70,000 dollar boat that will top around 85-90mph on about 10 gallons an hour. Kick in another 4 grand for Banks Turbos and you are back at 100mph on about 7.5 to 8 gallons an hour. Keep the speed down around 40-45 and you are sipping 3.1-3.8 gallons an hour  - I have seen this firsthand in a '90 model velocity that had a pair of 7.3's with turbos.

     But what about other options, say you wanted to do it right - OK crate 7.3's are going to run you somewhere in the 8000 dollar range (apiece) definitely worth the investment since they will still be going long after you are not.

    Nissan inline 6 Marine Diesels - keep them down around 150 horse apiece (that would be the same prop turning torque as 450 horse apiece if you went with gas engines) and you can throw 60-70mph no prob at all and the 120 horse Nissan Turbo diesel when turned up to a 150 (remember to crank the fuel to the injectors just a touch and only 2psi extra on the wastegate pop-off)pulls a whopping 2.7 gallons per hour (each) at 85% load - heck that is better mileage than my old truck! (remember this thing has some big tanks - we are talking Tamalipas, Mexico range here - no sweat at all.

     Could go with Iveco Marine diesels. Crank things up a whole lot too - a pair of inline 6 Iveco's throwing 200 horses apiece should set you back about 35000. have to stretch the engine cowl 4 inches to get tehm in there but you are back to a torque monster boat that will hit the 90mph mark no probs while at the same time only sucking down 7.1 gallons an hour total. back them off to loafing speed and you are cruising 40mph on maybe 3 gallons an hour total (could not find a complete enough performance chart to work all the math on the Iveco's working from numbers from an industrial hydraulic pump application) Now that is full gulf range - shoot to the bahamas for about the cost of driving your truck to Atlanta from Venice, FL. Cayman runner - Not a prob.

    Now as an intellectual exersize I did use real numbers based on power (torque output) of the original engines vs speed in this hull - compared the torque output to the diesels vs fuel consumption at given torque. I rarely get the math wrong. So what we have here is a little hotrod boat that one could concieveably put together in a couple of weekends for far less than throwing in gas engines and would get way better fuel economy.. light enough to trailer. Hardcore enough to run offshore and with range to wander the Islands or the gulf without worrying about the fuel running out before you get there (diesel is way cheaper when you top off in Mexico too).

    As a real world application I am seeing more and more Island runners converting to diesels because they are reliable, dependable and cost a lot less to run both in fuel and in parts. Of course I see a lot of guys buying these hulls, glassing in the back, adding a stinger tail and triple outboards too - but those guys always seem to be having some sort of work done on their boat while the diesel guys are out enjoying the water!

   This hull is for sale at Marine Dynamics in Englewood, Florida Call Mark at 941-716-4200 for a price - probably under 15 thousand or so .........less if you wave actual cash under their noses!

Guts and Balls -
We've all heard about people having guts or balls. But do you really
know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the
definition for each is listed below...
GUTS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met
by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask: "Are you still
cleaning, or are you flying somewhere?"
BALLS - is coming home late after a night out with the guys, smelling
of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the
butt and having the balls to say: "You're next."
I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions. Medically
speaking, there is no difference in the outcome since both ultimately
result in death.

  BARACK OBAMA

          The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:

My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:

When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

DR. PHIL:

The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH:

Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad.

So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:

We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us.  There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:

Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:

We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:

Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!  It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:

That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:

To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:

No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS:

Did the chicken cross the road?

Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the

chicken crossed the road, but

why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:

To die in the rain. Alone.

JERRY FALWELL:

Because the chicken was gay!  Can't you people see the plain truth?'

That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA:

In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:

Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:

It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:

Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:

I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% .........reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:

Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:

I did not cross the road with THAT chicken What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:

I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:

Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:

Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON:

Why are all the chickens white?

We need some black chickens.

this is just something I am tinking with it is not important to anyone else but in the end I will figure out how to autogen descriptions through writer.

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Last modified: 5/5/2008