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  1. #31
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    Racemore...I think this was the motor pic you were talking about. I had saved it on my harddrive a while back, thanks.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails smRacemore.jpg  
    Jason
    Outboard Junkie


  2. #32
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    Sterling Variations....

    It appears that there are several versions of the Sterling tunnel out there...

    Mine appears to be an exact copy (or copied) of a Liberator 19ft. 15" center sponson, slightly below (deeper in the water) than the outer sponsons.

    BLeonard has one that is a full tunnel, but it appears that his tunnel is shallower than mine - his tunnel height (difference between out sponson bottom tips and tunnel roof) is about 3" at the transom. Mine is more like 6" at the transom.

    Racemore, the version you show appears to be exactly like mine, with the center sponson removed (meaning a 6" tunnel height at transom)....

    So, the dilemna is, it appears that the "full tunnel" version is faster, handles better, and is better in rough water. However, I lose some flotation without the center sponson, and considering I am adding 400lbs to the weight hanging off the back (although I'm moving the gas tank to the bow...), but then I'm adding some height to the freeboard (at least 6" all the way around, and as much as 20" at the transom), so I should be fine.... We'll see - I have submitted some figures to aeromarineresearch, and hopefully he will be able to guide me into a good overall solution....

    -David, AxisMoto

  3. #33
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    Apr 2001
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    The center pod tunnel that you have will give you better low speed handling, better low speed accelleration and better weight carrying ability. They handle surprisingly well in rougher water. Also, there is a lot less chance of porpoising. The full tunnel would be better in rough water and might give you better handling at top speed, but may not handle well at slower speeds and may give you a porpoise at certain speeds. The center pod design on my old Daytona had too much lift. It lifted the boat completely off the water at over 92 mph. I had it almost to 100 mph, but it was just a hovercraft at that speed. There are trade offs both ways, but I like the center pod better for an all around boat. Don't knock it until you try it.
    1990 Cougar 25 MTR w/twin 300 PM's

  4. #34
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    Due to the better weight carrying capability, my plan has always been to keep the center pod.

    However, looking at several other designs, the center pod in my boat is unusually wide (15" at the transom), and this was due to the need to have room to mount a jet drive. In it's first iteration, the outboard version simply closed the transom and mounted a setback plate on the transom, and this is the version that I have (had?). Over the next few years, they produced a couple of different "full tunnel" versions - one appears to be exactly like mine, with the center pod simply deleted, others (such as BLeonard's boat) appears to have a shallower tunnel (at least at the transom), although I don't know if this is due to an overall shallower tunnel, or a difference in the attack angle (I have 14" of height at the nose, which is a fair amount of attack angle)...

    The 19ft Liberator, which is almost exactly like my boat, is known for it's overall balanced handling, and it has more like an 8" wide center pod (but similar depth, etc.).

    I am awaiting design analysis from Jim at AeroMarineResearch - pending his suggestions, I will either be leaving the center pod "as is", or will shave it to about 8" (and possibly changing the angle of attack - again, I am going to follow the design analysis results, otherwise I am just guessing...)

    I'm wondering - did your boat have the power to reliably push it over 100, and if so, was it the case that the handling became so light that it was at risk of blowing over? or?

    -David, AxisMoto

  5. #35
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    The Guru Speaks...

    Progress has been slow (just finishing up some surface grinding, and starting to go through my motors), while awaiting design analysis...

    I submitted drawing, pictures and design notes to Jim Russel at AeroMarineResearch to determine what the performance characteristics of my boat would be like after making the proposed changes (most significantly swapping to twin outboards).

    As everyone has stated, he agreed that twins on such a small boat was probably right on the edge of (sanity?), and extreme caution should be used when approaching high speeds.

    However, it did show that the hull should be basically stable until about 80 with a single engine, and this would go up to 95-100 with the twins.

    There was a lot more info in what he presented to me, and I will be rumaging through this for the next day or so to make my final plan of attack.

    For those of you going down the same road that I am, and making some changes to hull design and weight distribution, to go through this blindly (without relying on someone like Jim to offer real world design analysis) I can only say "rotsa ruck"! The information and understanding that Jim and AeroMarine were able to convey to me was extremely valuable - enough so that I am probably going to be buying the software so that I can run possible design choices until I've exhausted all of my crazy ideas...

    The final point - use Jim Russel's services and buy his software if you are doing any work on tunnel hulls!!! The alternative of "trial and error" is expensive, time consuming, and possibly dangerous...

    Look for new pics this week - if everything goes well, I hope to be installing new glass and foam by Sunday...

    -David, AxisMoto

  6. #36
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    Aug 2003
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    Mathiston, Ms
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    howdy...ive been lurking here checking out your work. it looks good. all of these threads on fiberglass repair are interesting to me. i like the model too. did you make that? anyway i was scoping out e-bay and ran across this and thought you may be interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=50439

    good luck on your project.

  7. #37
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    Ebay Boats and Models...

    There are at least two different Sterling Boat manufacturers - one (like mine) that was a Florida native, and the other (which made pointy nosed boats) which was native to So Cal. I am pretty sure the boat in the Ebay ad is a SoCal version, unrelated (except in similar name and era) as my boat.

    The model was done with straight balsa and crazy glue - they sell several glues specific to balsa modeling, and at the hobby shop that I visited, there was a selection of sheelts and blocks of balsa in every imagineable shape. From there, I just covered it with modeling clay, and "voila"!

    Now that I know my designs are at least plausible, I should start putting it back together this weekend (although we are 5 weeks into the project, and 3 weeks behind...)

    I also got my first jack plate today - a PL65 that needs a new actuator assembly. Has anyone had luck rebuilding these? (I got it apart easily, but even though everything looks ok, and the electric appears continuous, it "clicks" at best...) Or, if anyone has an actuator/pump assembly for (probably any) jackplate, talk to me... (Also shopping for helm, must be 3ci or bigger, and Lazer EFI setup...)

    -David, AxisMoto

  8. #38
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    That boat will go 90-100 with a single 260, 280 or 300 Merc. My 19 Daytona had the power to hit 100 mph with a single Merc 245 hp 2.5 (carb model) The hull packed so much air over 94 mph that it lifted completely off the water. I had friends tell me that they could see daylight under the entire boat at speed. Only the prop and skeg were in the water over 94 mph. It was basically in ground effect. With two people in the boat, I lost 10 mph. Top speed with 2 people was 88-90 mph on the gps, depending on weight of the passenger. 3 people I could hit 85 mph. Like most of our boats, it relied on light weight for speed. Weight is the enemy.
    1990 Cougar 25 MTR w/twin 300 PM's

  9. #39
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    Philippines
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    Sterling of Florida, which is still in biz today

    " www.americanmarinesports.com "

    built many different style of boats including pointy go fasts. They built an ltv copy and a V-King copy to name a few. Now they build Gambler bass boats and Sterling and Shearwater saltwater boats.

    BL's tunnel runs consistant mid 80's with 3 on board and a full fuel load with just a stock 235. It is a rocket out of the hole also!

  10. #40
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    Well, Bob Ackerbloom is still building boats, and one is called a Sterling, but this has little or nothing to do with our 19ft Sterling Carrera tunnel hulls - they don't make anything like it, and haven't for years (in fact, they never did - Sterling Boats went out of business and Gambler is a new company).

    It would be cool to see a "new" Sterling, but given the prices of outboards and general direction of the market, you can see why there aren't any...

  11. #41
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    Bob Akerbloom made a tunnel called carrera. His first tunnels had a centerpod, but they did not work good with outboatds. In 81 or 82 he redisigned the hull and took out the center pod. He even changed the sponsons for more lift at low speed. All you have to do to find where your boat was made is look at the serial number and it will tell you everthing. Bob made V-hulls and other models under Sterling. If you have XTL in the hull ID it was made by Bob. By the Manufacturers codes there is only one Sterling Boat. If you go to the website you sent me to and under the pics of his boat there is a magazine article that explaines it all.

    Nitrousdog
    Injection is nice, but I'd rather be BLOWN!

    19' Picklefork w Blown 482, 800hp
    23' Stingray w 550hp 509
    21' Sleekcraft sb 400
    24' Pontoon w killer jam system
    1968 Winns Flat Bottom

  12. #42
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    I think you misunderstood what I was saying - yes, Bob Ackerbloom as Sterling made the 19ft Carrera tunnel (I have one). Gambler boats (Bob's new company) makes a Sterling, but it is not a tunnel.

    What I meant was that Gambler never made a tunnel - the tunnels came out of Bob's former company, Sterling Boats.

    Yes, my hull is XTL.

    -David

  13. #43
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    Dave, how's the sterling project going? you never posted finished pics or numbers. dick.

  14. #44
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    Dave, here's some words of wisdom and advice on your transom rebuild. Contact Merrit Marine supply in Palm Beach and buy a sheet of 24lb density Mantex. It's a high density pvc coring material that is lighter than wood, can't be compressed and will never rot. Make a cardboard template of your entire transom to use for cutting the Mantex. Don't screw up..Mantex is expensive. You can use the excess Mantex Material for all kinds of extra support including stringers, bulkheads, transom knees, battery mount boxes, etc. You will wind up with a better built boat. See my threads on the floor/stringer replacement of my Pulsare.

  15. #45
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    What is the latest with this project........did it ever get finished ??

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