Opinions on the Vector V280-R?

[bizarre]

It's a cool looking boat, and plenty fast with an Ilmor 625. I'd be running it offshore (Florida), but the only tests I've read have been on lakes.

[Musashi]

Amazing boats, can't speak for the Vector build quality as not seen one of theirs up close, though they are in a long line of builders that have collapse in producing this boat.

Check out the designer, ocke mannerfelt (http://www.ocke.se) hull is a true marvel of design being proven with countless world titles and championships. boat is very capable offshore but you need to know how to drive them, they are very forgiving but do have little quirks, can punch the bow in quiet often. best performance is offshore, anything under a 2 foot swell and it doesn't lift off the water. currently one racing round britian, doesn't get more offshore then that

[bizarre]

Collapse? You mean go out of business? That's too bad, it's an innovative machine. Too innovative, perhaps. I'm sure the unusual appearance turns off many people.

Thanks for the url. The Vector looks to be a derivative of the B-28.

What do you mean by "punch the bow in"?

[David]

Tuff 28 is a lot faster with the same power.

[catmando]

Collapse? You mean go out of business? That's too bad, it's an innovative machine. Too innovative, perhaps. I'm sure the unusual appearance turns off many people.

Thanks for the url. The Vector looks to be a derivative of the B-28.

What do you mean by "punch the bow in"?1) I think Chris Reindl may be out of business building the V24 raceboat. He has taken his website down. :(

2) Yes it is, same hull different deck.

3) He means the boat can stuff its bow in rough water. I have also seen it barrelroll under high speed turning(Doc Santiago was famous for doing that back in the old APBA days). If the wings dig in too deep they will roll the boat over.

Having said all that, the owners and people who have raced the boats have little but praise for it. The 28 will run with much bigger boats even with just one engine. APBA had to give the Batboat its own class because it ate up any other boats it raced with, either twin engine or single engine classes.

My biggest gripe with the Vector is its huge price tag, $260,000 with the Ilmor 700. :eek: :(

www.vectorpowerboats.com

Check out the Gallery pics that's the awesome Hot Boat photo shoot. Fine lookin' honeys!! :D

[bizarre]

Tuff 28 is a lot faster with the same power.
How much is "a lot"? The Vector goes a speedy 90MPH with an Ilmor 625.

[bizarre]

He means the boat can stuff its bow in rough water. I have also seen it barrelroll under high speed turning(Doc Santiago was famous for doing that back in the old APBA days). If the wings dig in too deep they will roll the boat over.

You're scaring me. Just how how dangerous is this boat?


My biggest gripe with the Vector is its huge price tag, $220,000 with the Ilmor 700. :eek: :(
Where did you get the price? It's not on the website.

That's quite a premium for the 700. Powerboat Mag had it priced at $171k with an Ilmor 625 in Dec '06. By comparison, I'm pretty sure a comparably powered Skater would be more than that, a lot more if you want paint and billet controls like on the Vector.

[catmando]

You're scaring me. Just how how dangerous is this boat?

Where did you get the price? It's not on the website.

That's quite a premium for the 700. Powerboat Mag had it priced at $171k with an Ilmor 625 in Dec '06. By comparison, I'm pretty sure a comparably powered Skater would be more than that, a lot more if you want paint and billet controls like on the Vector.Unless you yank the wheel hard over in a high-speed turn you're not going to make this boat do anything dangerous. I've seen these boats(V24 raceboats) fly around the course lap after lap with no problems. It flies level when it leaves the water because of the wings balancing the boat. I saw one pic where the boat launched off a big wake and was up over 10 feet in the air, but it was absolutely level in flight. Like I said, everybody loves it. Teague and Tomlinson really enjoyed flinging it around in that Powerboat test.

Yes I was shocked as well when Powerboat tested the black boat with the 700 at $260K. I think a lot of the price increase has to do with the weak dollar because the last I saw, the 700 was only $10K more than the 625 which is still a lot but nowhere near that $90K Vector increase.

Chris Reindl was the man for the Batboat race rentals back in the day. I think he still lives in Cincinnati. Why don't you give him a call? He may know where a 24 is for sale. I would start with a 24 on the lake so you can get used to how the boat handles.

But I'll tell you this; there's very few boats, even 30'ers, that can run with a 24' Batboat. And don't worry about overpowering it either. 700hp is no problem for it.

[bizarre]

I just watched the Powerboat Magazine video review of the Vector. Impressive performance with the Ilmor 710, but the price was an astonishing $260k, up $90k over the 625 in only 18 months. Ouch! Plenty of west-coast custom boats pushing that price range these days, though. An Adrenaline V30, for example, that Powerboat tested costs $284k with twin 525s, and has worse performance despite being up 340 HP. The Vector does have a pathetic 55 gallon fuel capacity. You can't run all day on that, and it could be embarrassing having to refuel in the middle of a 60 or 70 mile poker run leg. Still, the reviews on this forum make me a lot more positive about this boat than I was before, so thank you.

[catmando]

Oh that's right $260K. :eek: :eek: How anybody can justify that much cash layout for a 28' single engine boat is beyond me. :rolleyes:

[bizarre]

Oh that's right $260K. :eek: :eek: How anybody can justify that much cash layout for a 28' single engine boat is beyond me. :rolleyes:
I guess you're paying for uniqueness, because there are plenty of small cats that can give you similar top speed (not sure about acceleration) for a lot less cash, albeit at the cost of a much higher insurance bill. A top-line cat like a Skater or MTI also carries a huge price premium over other brands, so the Vector is not unique in that regard.

[catmando]

I guess you're paying for uniqueness, because there are plenty of small cats that can give you similar top speed (not sure about acceleration) for a lot less cash, albeit at the cost of a much higher insurance bill. A top-line cat like a Skater or MTI also carries a huge price premium over other brands, so the Vector is not unique in that regard.Yes look at the new 30Skater with 700s at $527,000. Half a Mil for a 30' boat. And the only thing standard is the hull and deck. Everything else; powertrain, gauges, seats, fairings, hardware etc is 'optional'.

Well I'm going to email Mr. Jardine and ask him why the huge price increase. I could MAYBE understand $35-40k more with the 700...but $90k???

[bizarre]

Yes look at the new 30Skater with 700s at $527,000. Half a Mil for a 30' boat. And the only thing standard is the hull and deck. Everything else; powertrain, gauges, seats, fairings, hardware etc is 'optional'.
Wow, that's insane! I hope that 1/2 Mil is a ready to run boat.

[Blizz]

How much is "a lot"? The Vector goes a speedy 90MPH with an Ilmor 625.


The Tuff 28 went 95.5 with a Merc 525efi

[Musashi]

the B28 crusier was designed by ocke soon after the race boat, same hull just different deck and slightly different lay up. first produced in sweden and raced with a volvo penta stern drive and won a few more titles to prove the design hadn't effected the performance. i believe the cruiser version was then produced by Armada powerboats, though the race version has always been held in sweden. Armada also produced the V-24 and tried to run that.

They are a boat you have to learn to drive, although very forgiving they have very different characteristics, espically in cornering. once got in a v24 with a F1 circuit racer which was very interesting but boat taught him a lesson.

the round britian racer averaged 60 mph with twin xr2's, but with a heavy fuel load and VERY BIG offshore seas. so be interesting to hear how they run with the ilmor, think the last volvo one did over 80 mph.

[bizarre]

the round britian racer averaged 60 mph with twin xr2's, but with a heavy fuel load and VERY BIG offshore seas. so be interesting to hear how they run with the ilmor, think the last volvo one did over 80 mph.
90 with the 625, 97-100 with the 710. I wonder if you can fit an Arneson Surface Drive to one, they're usually good for another 5-10 MPH.

[Rik]

90 with the 625, 97-100 with the 710. I wonder if you can fit an Arneson Surface Drive to one, they're usually good for another 5-10 MPH.

I just did one in Sweden, a Bat 28

[bizarre]

I just did one in Sweden, a Bat 28
That's very nice. What kind of performance increase did you get? How extensive/expensive were the modifications? Did it create any handling problems with the boat?

[Rik]

It's a race boat and had a Bravo originally I believe and that was a problem. So the owner converted to a #4 or a # 5? He blew a few of these up which surprised me with an 800 hp naturally aspirated engine.

So he has changed to the Arneson.

Sea trailed this week. Boat ran 102 best with the Speed master. Has reached the same 102-104 speed but needs a larger pitch propeller now so propeller testing starts.

I do not know what all he did as far as modifications from the Speed master to the Arneson. I know he took his time as he re-did the engine also.

Pic of the engine with the #5 and the picture with the Arneson, he changed to CMI headers with the Arneson.

After Mercury comes back from their shut down we will get a new larger pitch propeller. The boat handles well he says and steers great and gets on plane fast. So.... The right propeller will give him more speed.

[lcp20.8]

i have personaly seen the boat and it is a small looking 28' boat. not very tall, perhapse this is why it is so fast....

mabey try looking at a LAVEYCRAFT 28' EVO. same size but much bigger looking. with powerboat mag it ran over 100mph with ilmor 7-10
this hull has won many offshore races and world champion ships
http://www.hotboat.com/gallery2embedded.php?g2_itemId=5400&g2_page=1

[bizarre]

That Laveycraft is a very nice boat. Not as cool looking as the Vector, but quite a bit less expensive.

[lcp20.8]

That Laveycraft is a very nice boat. Not as cool looking as the Vector, but quite a bit less expensive.

ya i guess if the wings appeal to you. they're not for me
and personaly i think the lavey is a better rough water boat and the EVO cockpit is bigger then the vector
also, i think the lavey is a better built boat. the black/candy red vertor i saw, you could see the bolsa core imprint on deck and sides, kinda looked like a checker board, through the fiberglass and paint...

[bizarre]

ya i guess if the wings appeal to you. they're not for me
and personaly i think the lavey is a better rough water boat and the EVO cockpit is bigger then the vector
also, i think the lavey is a better built boat. the black/candy red vertor i saw, you could see the bolsa core imprint on deck and sides, kinda looked like a checker board, through the fiberglass and paint...
Hot Boat describes the Vector as foam coring and Penske board, with alternating layers of fiberglass wetted with vinylester resin. No balsa is mentioned. The Vector website also claims wood-free construction. In contrast, Hot Boat says the Lavey is 3/8" balsa coring with quad-directional fiberglass. Where did you see that Vector?

[lcp20.8]

Hot Boat describes the Vector as foam coring and Penske board, with alternating layers of fiberglass wetted with vinylester resin. No balsa is mentioned. The Vector website also claims wood-free construction. In contrast, Hot Boat says the Lavey is 3/8" balsa coring with quad-directional fiberglass. Where did you see that Vector?

ok well then you can see some kinda ripple/wavy lines all through out the deck. i saw it at the test trials at havasu
the evo is also foam cored...

[Musashi]

Ocke does spec a divinycell foam for all coring and structure, however he also spec'd this in the european V24's and i have seen a few of those with balsa coring. depend on the builder staying with the spec

[larslindroth]

Wonder if You found Yourself a boat? If You're still in the market, then this has been for sale for a while and is the first EVO built. Was a bank repo and saw that it was for sale a year and a half ago for $89,000. Might be able to take it off their hands for something close to that? I wish I was a player for this one. 1/3 the price of a new Vector V280-R!

https://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/photoGallery.jsp?slim=quick&currency=USD&units=Feet&seo=0&checked_boats=1965195&boat_id=1965195&back=/core/boats/2006/Lavey-Craft-28-Evo-1965195/N-a/NV/United-States&boat_id=1965195

:reddevil:

[bizarre]

Was a bank repo and saw that it was for sale a year and a half ago for $89,000.
It looks like the bank decided that since it didn't sell they should raise the price to $110,000 in order to attract more bidders.