"*e#c" wrote in message
...

On Jan 2, 11:11 pm, JustWait wrote:
the other day got me looking. When I was young my neighbors had a boat
that I was told was a very limited edition. IIRC it was 17 1/2 feet
long, and green. It had a walk through bow with two half cone (batmobile
type) windscreens in front of the seats. The cockpit was very elaborate,
like a jet airliner. The boat had fins on the back like a Batmobile too,
the bat was deliberately and shamelessly designed after the Batmobile..
but the main event was the dual blown Chrysler 454's that ran the
sucker... We used to go waterskiing behind it at like 1/4 throttle

Anyway, I am going crazy trying to find more info on this boat to see
how close my recollection of it is.. The boat would have been new around
probably 1970 or so... Has anybody here heard of one of these, any info
available, trying to find out who made them, a picture or something to
tell me it wasn't only a dream? Thanks, LOL!

"Twin , blown 454s" in a 17 1/2 foot boat. ? Sorry, I'd have to see
something that overpowered in person, or a good photo. I cant believe
that. There just isnt enough room. The Beam would have to be 10 feet.


Lots of twins less than 10' wide. My buddy has a duel diesel jetboat that
is less than 10' w. 25' long.

On 1/4/2012 1:09 PM, JustWait wrote:
On 1/4/2012 12:57 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:13:06 -0500, JustWait
wrote:

The manufacturer of that boat probably was sued out of existence, and
rightfully so. A boat of that size with the kind of power you described
is inherently unsafe in many ways. Those two engines you described had
to weigh at least around 600 pounds each.

Racing hulls (which this was) are registered under different regulations
for safety and such... I was young but I remember the boat clearly. The
one "concession" I will make in the description is that they may not
have been 454's... Thinking back (and I didn't know **** from engines or
cars back then) and compared to what I know now, I am betting they were
350's or similar... I keep remembering too that it may have had a
throttle pedal as opposed to a hand operated lever, that is real fuzzy
though. Just for reference, this would have been 1972-74. The boat would
probably have been either new, or very close as they bought new boats
every year or two and moved up in size. This one however was smaller
than the one preceeding it and the next one was back up around 22-26
feet or so. I think it was an aluminum Starcraft with a cabin...

The maximum trailerable beam is 102 inches, a spec which most boats
under 24 feet or so comply with. I've seem a few 24 footers with
twin 350s and you can barely work on the engines, don't see how you
could cram them into an 18 footer unless it was unusually wide. I
believe 454s would be totally impossible. With transmission, a
typical 454 goes around 1,000 lbs plus or minus, and is something like
6 to 8 inches wider than a 350 if memory serves.


Well, like I said, they could have been smaller engines but there were
two and we towed it, and it was smaller than the towable 22-24 foot
starcraft type aluminum they towed...

It would be nice to come up with some pictures or docs. on the boat. Our
recollections can fade and become fuszzy over time.

On Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:19:37 -0800, "Califbill"
wrote:

Lots of twins less than 10' wide. My buddy has a duel diesel jetboat that
is less than 10' w. 25' long.

===

Lots of diesels suitable for that kind of boat are straight 4s or 6s,
much easier to cram in side by side than big block V-8s.

On 1/4/12 3:22 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:19:37 -0800, "Califbill"
wrote:

Lots of twins less than 10' wide. My buddy has a duel diesel jetboat that
is less than 10' w. 25' long.

===

Lots of diesels suitable for that kind of boat are straight 4s or 6s,
much easier to cram in side by side than big block V-8s.


The boat that was the subject of this discussion was a 17 to 18 footer,
with twin V8 gasoline engines of uncertain displacement. My knowledge of
boats is far from unlimited, but I have a hard time imagining a boat of
that length having sufficient beam or structural integrity to handle two
V8 engines connected to shafts and props. I've seen jetboats of around
that size, maybe a bit longer, with a single V8.

It just seems to me that a 17-18' boat with twin V8 engines could only
be named "Daddy's Lil Tort."

As I mentioned, my father for a short time sold a line of fast
speedboats around 24' long and equipped with two V8 engines. But those
boats were a hell of a lot larger than the 17 to 18 footer under
discussion.

In article ,
says...

On 1/4/12 3:22 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:19:37 -0800, "Califbill"
wrote:

Lots of twins less than 10' wide. My buddy has a duel diesel jetboat that
is less than 10' w. 25' long.

===

Lots of diesels suitable for that kind of boat are straight 4s or 6s,
much easier to cram in side by side than big block V-8s.


The boat that was the subject of this discussion was a 17 to 18 footer,
with twin V8 gasoline engines of uncertain displacement. My knowledge of
boats is far from unlimited, but I have a hard time imagining a boat of
that length having sufficient beam or structural integrity to handle two
V8 engines connected to shafts and props. I've seen jetboats of around
that size, maybe a bit longer, with a single V8.

It just seems to me that a 17-18' boat with twin V8 engines could only
be named "Daddy's Lil Tort."

As I mentioned, my father for a short time sold a line of fast
speedboats around 24' long and equipped with two V8 engines. But those
boats were a hell of a lot larger than the 17 to 18 footer under
discussion.

Structural integrity wouldn't be a problem. There's also a chance that
the engines could be offset in the fore and aft direction, but not much
on a 17 footer.

On 1/4/2012 1:36 PM, Oscar wrote:
On 1/4/2012 1:09 PM, JustWait wrote:
On 1/4/2012 12:57 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:13:06 -0500, JustWait
wrote:

The manufacturer of that boat probably was sued out of existence, and
rightfully so. A boat of that size with the kind of power you
described
is inherently unsafe in many ways. Those two engines you described had
to weigh at least around 600 pounds each.

Racing hulls (which this was) are registered under different
regulations
for safety and such... I was young but I remember the boat clearly. The
one "concession" I will make in the description is that they may not
have been 454's... Thinking back (and I didn't know **** from
engines or
cars back then) and compared to what I know now, I am betting they were
350's or similar... I keep remembering too that it may have had a
throttle pedal as opposed to a hand operated lever, that is real fuzzy
though. Just for reference, this would have been 1972-74. The boat
would
probably have been either new, or very close as they bought new boats
every year or two and moved up in size. This one however was smaller
than the one preceeding it and the next one was back up around 22-26
feet or so. I think it was an aluminum Starcraft with a cabin...

The maximum trailerable beam is 102 inches, a spec which most boats
under 24 feet or so comply with. I've seem a few 24 footers with
twin 350s and you can barely work on the engines, don't see how you
could cram them into an 18 footer unless it was unusually wide. I
believe 454s would be totally impossible. With transmission, a
typical 454 goes around 1,000 lbs plus or minus, and is something like
6 to 8 inches wider than a 350 if memory serves.


Well, like I said, they could have been smaller engines but there were
two and we towed it, and it was smaller than the towable 22-24 foot
starcraft type aluminum they towed...

It would be nice to come up with some pictures or docs. on the boat. Our
recollections can fade and become fuszzy over time.

Yeah, and I was young and didn't know from engines or boats back then so
I have little reference...