27 foot Excaliber

[Adventuredude]

There is a clean looking 27 ft Excaliber with 2 rebuilt 225 mercs for sale . What can anyone tell me about these boats ? It is nice out and I'm ready to go boating but my 3 boats need major work.
.

[johnmiffco]

what yr is it,,,,
Excalibur boats made them till 1982
then welcraft made them till 85
molds sold to activator
they are great rough water boats for offshore racing
skinny 6'6 beam with deep 26 deg deadrise
I have a 1985 version that the lower strakes go out the rear
and it lifts high at 70+
lots of boats were popped from the Excalibur hull
fountain made their 1st boat with the 31 mold
they love 1' and bigger chop
will chime walk at high speeds on glass from the deep vee
with good k planes and properly set up thay are great boats

what they asking for it?
which 225s 2.5 or 3
here is a pic of mine
everything but the fiberglass hull been upgraded
in 2011 till now
triple 260+ offshore set ups
I could be interested in selling as just picked up a 33 powerplay
319421

[FUJIMO]

what yr is it,,,,
Excalibur boats made them till 1982
then welcraft made them till 85
molds sold to activator
they are great rough water boats for offshore racing
skinny 6'6 beam with deep 26 deg deadrise
I have a 1985 version that the lower strakes go out the rear
and it lifts high at 70+
lots of boats were popped from the Excalibur hull
fountain made their 1st boat with the 31 mold
they love 1' and bigger chop
will chime walk at high speeds on glass from the deep vee
with good k planes and properly set up thay are greatboats

what they asking for it?
which 225s 2.5 or 3
And what did Excalibur "pop" their boats from?

[johnmiffco]

u tell us,,u probably know
in the 70s there were lots of hulls
popping up from others
I think farmer had some dealings with cary
but I don't know all the history

[FUJIMO]

All the Excaliburs were Aronow hull derivatives.

[johnmiffco]

that makes sense
as they love snotty water with the beam and deadrise
my bud sold his 41 race apache last yr ,,,,
and beside it it looks like a mini version on the bottom

[FUJIMO]

my bud sold his 41 race apache last yr ,,,,was aronows old warpath

ummm...no. I think you meant to say Ben Kramers Warpath.

[johnmiffco]

ummm...no. I think you meant to say Ben Kramers Warpath.

lol,,,,,,,,,ur right,,,,,
getting way too old to remember things,,,,dammmitttt,,,,,,
that 41 was fun to ride in

anyways the 27 ex is a good boat that takes rough water nice for its size

[FUJIMO]

lol,,,,,,,,,ur right,,,,,
getting way too old to remember things,,,,dammmitttt,,,,,,



Its o.k. John, we understand... Must be the styrene fumes, huh John? lol

[Adventuredude]

The boat is an 81 with according to the owner the last factory new old stock 225's left . Price is right I'm worried as always about the stringers and transome he's owned it for 15 years and hasn't touched the hull. I have a good moisture meter since I don't have a surveyors ear but still uncomfortable since its so old and already have 3 projects.How can I be reasonably sure chunks of wood are solid when I go look at it tomorrow ?

[Adventuredude]

Part of my thinking was I already have 3 of these 2.4 s on other boats and the lowers as well. So if blew something up in the morning could be back out boating in the evening.

[johnmiffco]

yea boat sounds all original
especially if has the 2.4 225s
would be a good find since price is right
does it have a splashwell or a gill bracket?
moisture tester is good
just looking for all stress cracks and tap testing transom and stringers
solid sound vrsing hollow sound,,,,looking at all drain holes for rot/ staining
walking all of floor lookin for soft spots
look at gill bracket bolts or motor mount bolts to see if sucking into transom or still solid
is about all u can do if don't have a glass guy u can take with u
back in them days most builders used good wood and lots of glass
they were usually thick and stout
look for the obvious that can be seen
at transom,under hatches and acess covers
again looking for soft spots and staining from rotton wood draining

[Adventuredude]

Great thanks for the helpful info. Owners says 16 hrs on 2 year old factory new power heads , looks super clean and he says he will take 8000 . So sounds like a great deal ? I have a good feeling about it but pictures do lie sometimes I've driven hours to look at some dogs.

[Adventuredude]

I didn't see much offset in the picture definitely doesn't have Gil brackets. Your 85 with trips has gotta be a fun ride , nice looking boat.

[johnmiffco]

cannot go wrong at 8,000 for a running 27
2yr old factory powerheads? wouldn't think merc would still have some old 2.4 225s laying around that long
but who knows
take some pics of the powerhead ,,,,,im inquisitive to see what they are
I got my boat 1 1/2 yrs ago
guy previous did a 100% restro
and had a new transom built back for v8 johnsons
as how it was built originally for,,,,
melted the motors and got mad
the 2 johnsons at 575 each is 1150lbs
the 3 racing mercs at 375 is 1125
so was a no brainer ,,,,added a good ballast tank with 12 gallon pr minute pump
transom pickups for the outside motors
the center skeg took out lots of chime walking
and 28 cleavers stopping motors at 8,000 window
makes it a wicked ride,,,lol
good luck with the boat
if get it
post up some pics
I have built many race boats
had buds say they wouldn't fit,,,,
well they do and inbetween some real k planes

319458

[Greg G]

Excalibur boats made them till 1982, then welcraft made them till 85, skinny 6'6 beam with deep 26 deg deadrise

6'6" beam? Not many USA built hulls have that. Is that a transom width or a true beam?

[johnmiffco]

that's at its widest point
if look at pic of top of boat,,,
the windshield is 5'6" wide
and there is 6" on each side of windshield of the top deck flaring wider to rub rail,,,,,
cannot see it in pic as windshield is to edge of deck there
so from flat of rubrail to rail is 6'6" at widest piont
the transom is at 6'
these were skinny deep vee wave cutters for offshore
I had 1 back in 1980-1984 with single I/o
and raced it and I could keep up with larger hulls
when this 85 poped up with original paint and fully redone
I had to have it ,,,,,in snot this 27 will ride like a 32
but u gotta drive it knowing its short

[Greg G]

The only 26 degree deadrise V I believe was ever made was Sutphens Rum Runner 26 footer.

[johnmiffco]

I don't know if exact 26 or not,,,i am not a historian,,,
do know these excaliburs were skinny and deep v
sutphens and magnums were skinny and deep
the ex as stated came from dons designs such as the magnums
mabe its 26 mabe its 24 ,im wrong quite often,,,,and don't mind if corrected
but its somewhere there,,,,,,lots of 26 boats were deep veed in 70s
do know they were fast snotty water boats
and when activator took the molds they did well with it for lots of yrs

[lightspeed]

I don't know if exact 26 or not,,,i am not a historian,,,
do know these excaliburs were skinny and deep v
sutphens and magnums were skinny and deep
the ex as stated came from dons designs such as the magnums
mabe its 26 mabe its 24 ,im wrong quite often,,,,and don't mind if corrected
but its somewhere there,,,,,,lots of 26 boats were deep veed in 70s
do know they were fast snotty water boats
and when activator took the molds they did well with it for lots of yrs

i did the resto on your boat hows it run with the trips on there???

[Adventuredude]

Cool so you might be able to add some insight about how to figure out if the transome is solid since you ripped one apart.

[lightspeed]

right after it was done http://i61.tinypic.com/2ahfzaf.jpg

[lightspeed]

http://i62.tinypic.com/2zi24a9.jpg

[lightspeed]

http://i60.tinypic.com/2955krs.jpg

[johnmiffco]

the 81 ur looking at is a flat deck Excalibur made by Excalibur man.
looks to be all original set up from when built
its missing its windshield
and motor steering is light duty for going fast
but with that set up 60-70 is probably what it runs
looks to be in good shape ,,,,,,,priced right to check out

mine is a newer 85 raised deck version
has no cabin ,,,flat dash with no cabin door,,,lower strakes out the rear and a notched/stepped transom

lightspeed I thought u did the resto
gotta say it turned out very nice,,,,,,awesome job hate to know what owner spent for everything new
and full rewire,,,,,,,,
I tried to find some history on the hull when it was originally set up with v8s
as can see inprints in gelcoat the drivers name ,,,,,Excalibur 27 and johnson outboard from the stickers
the guy that bought it from ur customer put johnsons back on
and everytime he got some speed he'd overheat a motor,,,got frustrated
didn't understand from 70 on the boat lifts 3" higher on the bottom strake
and motors starved for water
but good for me,,,i got a good deal on it for all the work put into it

I haven't dialed the boat in yet since I got it,,
been too busy with other racing ,work and other boats
I saw an opportunity to make something different when the mercs are tad lighter than the v8s
and it was ran that way with no ballast with the v8s
so knew would work with the trips
setting it up for our inland poker runs up the rivers and small bays 2-3' so I can keep up with my buds that cruse 60-80
with the center motor back on the vee to make it drive straighter at higher speeds
added 35 gallon ballast tank and 3rd battery in front
to be able to dial in for water conditions
converted gauges and controls for tripps
transom pickups for the outside motors
making a fairing instead of the winshield
to hold trim indicators ,and gps
added more switching,tabs,motors,ballast pump for passenger to adjust ride while I steer
custom made cleavers ,,,,,
10 speaker jl stereo and bling lights
with 12" offset boxes,,,,center motor 1/2 below bottom,,,outers 1/2" below last lifting strake
this set up realy straightens up a multy motor deep vee
just picked up another low profile deep vee
a sport deck 33 powerplay with built 572s
so focusing on it now
took it to tickfaw poker run last week and had a blast
ill keep u posted on how she does when I get back on it to really push it to what I hoping for
and again did a great job on the resto on this boat
I have taking it further with the add ons inside and out

[lightspeed]

I got the boat with 2 yamahas on the back it was originally raced with one V/8 on the back from what i was told,,, i did the rerigg for my self put those 200s on the back then sold it to a guy in NJ he sold it to a guy back to NY with no power and the guy put 2 v8s on it last i heard now u got it

[johnmiffco]

finally got some history,,,tks,,,,,
so it was originally raced with a single v8? ,,,
yes I got it from guy in NY that had the 2 v8s,,,he kept melting motors and got frustrated
I saw the stickers and the big transom and thought was raced with 2,,,,,,with no ballast in front had me stumbled,,,
now makes sense
I put in the ballast tank and the 12gpm transfer pump plus a 3rd battery just for that reason to help with cg
how did it do with the twin 200s on the offset boxes with the 8" step that's 20" offset
as why I set center motor 1/2" below which will be approx. 2+" below at speed with
have motors at 16 1/2 " centers,,,,able to get that with taking bungies off on inside cowls and offsetting outside cowl pans out 3/4"each
as I make my own cowls here,,,that gave me only 4" wider pr side with 3 motors than where u had the 2
so motors spread is only 33" to center for all 3 and I think u had the 2 at 25" centers with the alien cowls
they turn full tilt with out hitting and miss the k planes so worked out pretty good
I started with 3 3 blade 28 cleavers and had 2 4 blades custom built also
to try mismatching for grip,,,,,,1 4 in center 2 3 on outside,,,then 2 4s on outside with a 3 in middle
then mess with center diameter and pitch to get rpms same
want to have it dialed in for out texas outlaw challenge in june for the under 30V speed run category
could have bolted 2 on and went,,,but what fun is that,,,,small boat with trips just for the fun ov it
and if can pull to 8000 with the 28s will be flying,,,lol,,,stupid fun,,,,

[props4u2]

John,
My '81 Excalibur hull is identical to your's. Has the stepped transom, lower lifting strakes go back to the notch and a raised deck.
The dash does look lower on your's.
Mine does not have a door to the cabin either, open all the way like your's, but it does have a snap in canvas with a zipper opening to close off the cabin area.

[johnmiffco]

hey lee
as far as I understand
Excalibur boats man made only a very few raised deck versions before welcraft took the molds over
so that would be 81 as I think welcraft had molds 82-85
the late 70s to 80/81 they were the flat deck version
with the split dash for a cabin door with no step

the 81 he is looking at is the flat deck version on this thread
I had an 80 flat deck model way back then with I/o
lightspeed did a nice restore on mine when he had it
the dash is low and hard to get to the cabin area
but the factory build underdash it is low
so don't look as he lowered it as only like a 1" + lip from bottom of dash to factory framing
im building a fairing to get rid of the windshield and it wil have a 2nd tier in it
like a 41 apachie to hold more components
as adding a 5 slot indicator and a nice gps with nema 2000 in it to use gps screen as radio interface
and tie other things in the future if wanted

I bought this boat cause of the resto and original paint is still shinny ,,,bottom never been damaged
and the 27 was the 1st offshore hull I had so not many left today
be cool to shoot some pics of it

what u got for power

these are not the fastest hulls for a 26-28
but they do love snotty water
and will walk away from some other hulls even larger in the rough

[trix68]

How does the boat sit in the water when the ballast is empty? I'm thinking on 300 xs and the weight is a concern. Trix1968@gmail.com

[johnmiffco]

Ive gotton my boat dialed in pretty good in last few months
sets really good in the water,,,,,,looks like normal vee sitting
but I have no idea how it would sit with out my ballast
I hace a 31 series agm battery up there weighs 70lbs
then boat rides 1-3s nice with 12 gallon window say 100 lbs
ad in the tank and transfer pump another 25
so has approx. 200 up there for cg
rear water line is 1/2 way from bottom to rub rail
so im happy
when I run a long day I fill both tanks and through day pull 20 to rear tank
and if needed I have the last 12-15 to pull back
but ive never had to yet pull tank dry in front
the twin 300sx should be 100 lbs lighter
so if u put 100-150 weight in the front acess ud probably be real close on cg
adding weight to get boat right is faster than less weight not being able to stay in it,,,,,,,,,,,,