Originally Posted by
RotorHead
Hello Joe,
I have not been on here for quite some time, so I hope you don't mind me responding to your private message in open forum.
My boat is #2 and is the heaviest of all Tuffs. When Mark and I laid it up in 2003, I insisted on an extra layer of structural cloth on either side of the core.
Here are the set up specifics, as it ran 102 MPH:
Boat weight – 2280 lbs with fuel, oil and life jackets etc.
Engine – Stock 300 X
Gearcase – sporty 1.75
Setback – my solid-cast swim step 12" plus the Detwiler jack plate 6" - total 18"
Prop – 32" pitch Bravo
Steering – Seastar (Standard factory ratio)
Motor height – bottom of pad even with bottom of gear case
Subjectively; the boat made 4 passes in both directions and yielded roughly the same number each time. Handling characteristics were not ideal. The large diameter blade wanted to walk the boat to the right on acceleration and wanted to pass you on the left on deceleration. In my humble opinion, the authority of the skeg is too small for a large diameter prop to be surfacing.
The boat needs to be aired out and The "wetted" surface reduced to a minimum. Flight attitude as close as possible to 3° nose up with minimal trim utilized that's the balance that is critical and hence the 18" of setback. Clearly this set up is not conducive for big wave jumping. On occasion when I've had the opportunity to play in some moderate swells, The transom falls out of the sky midflight. That is the reason Mark offers the ballast tank as an option.
On a personal note, Mark is my friend and a pillar of morality! I don't know of a finer human being. If there was some misunderstanding during your business dealings, it would be due to lack of research. Mark is incapable of deception and it is with his consent that I write this.
Finally, as a fun fact my boat has turned into a family hauler, I have replaced the X with an XS, the sporty has 1.62 gears in it and my every day prop is a 26" Trophy. With my entire family and all the neighbors kids it runs 90.
Here's a picture of my 13-year-old Tuff 21, this year, with the new motor.
Good luck!