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  1. #1
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    JUST GOT MINE HAVE A Just TWO QUESTIONS !!!

    I am brand new ( 1st Boat) , I just purchased a 1978 Sleek Craft with Berkley Jet Drive. It used to have an Olds 455 but that motor is gone ...They boat was UNREAL fast before the previous owner did not drain the water and left it outside in the winter.

    THe Jet pump howver looks great !

    Q1 : I was wondering what would bolt up to that drive besides a 455, and is it worth buying the headers and pump and all that if I have the 455 stuff.

    Keep in mind I do not need to go 80 ( or Even 50 ). I just need to pull a skier.
    I have a guy with an old car with a VERY strong 455 for cheap but was thinking along the lines of a Chevy 350 ( but do not think the headers that are in the boat would match ). The stuff in the boat is in GREAT shape, and if the 455 is ok for a CRUISER ( Not BALLS OUT ).

    Q2: Can you Stand/Lay on the bow ( sunbath to show off ).

    THANKS FOR ANY HELP !!! I LOOK FORWARD TO A GREAT SUMMER !!!

  2. #2
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    Jets are terrible for skiing. Pulling power is poor, the skier can slow the boat down a lot while making a cut, and the wake is washy and turbulent, requiring an extra long rope, which can be unsafe. An olds with a 455 is probably only going to get you 60-65 mph tops with proper setup, maybe less with a typical stock Berk pump. You really need to sell it and get a good outboard. But, of course, thei forum is big on the outboards, so everyone here will have that bias. Welcome to S & F!

    -Chad
    '89 Hydrostream Vegas XT, '90 Merc 2.4 Bridgeport PCU EFI
    My YouTube videos________My Flickr photo gallery
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  3. Thanks KIRCHNER thanked for this post
  4. #3
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    Sell and get an outboard LMAO

    Well that wasnt very constructive, Didnt answer my quetions


    .....

    Shouldnt you be in a different board.

    Do you go into XBOx forums and tell everyone they need a PSP.

    First, Outboards have props, and I saw a 6 year old ride his bike into his fathers trailered outboard striking the prop and causing MASSIVE head trauma. Have read about many accidents where people were injured skiing due to a prop strike. PLUS OUTBOARDS LOOK GAY !!! Chicks dig the jet boat and long closed front they can lay on. (( I bet he owns a Bayliner LOL ))

    Second : As I said in the last post , I DONT NEED TO GO 65MPH on the water, especially pulling a skier ( ever try to ski at 45 )

    Also, I an NOT an Outboard mechanic, so the ease of rebuilding car engines suits me.

    ALSO, A BIG POINT is REPAIR of the drivetrain. Have you ever tried to repair and outboard? Look at a Berley Jet pump and the way they are built. DAMN BULLET PROOF !

    SO ............ IF anyone who isnt biased or trying to talk me into an outboard please .....

    THANKS for the Reply,

    PLus

  5. #4
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    Your best (primarily cheapest) route would be another 455

    I would go through and at least freshen it up before installing it though. It will have a MUCHharder life than it ever had in a car. Some headwork and a better (more suitable) cam and valve springs would be a good idea too. There are also a few oiling system mods that are desirable on an Olds motor as well. Mondello Performance is a great source of knowledge on these beasts, http://www.mondellotwister.com/ .
    Rickracer

    Sunshine Syndicate Member

    There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."


    [img]http:/

  6. #5
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    What I was trying to say, is that Scream and Fly is heavy into outboards. The jet boat forum was added a while back, but isn't frequented too much. Look at the forum index, and the dates of the threads. I'm only trying to help you, honestly, I'm not bashing. 99% of the people here view all the forum categories at once with the "New posts" or "today's posts" feature. I didn't even notice that this thread was in the jet/v forum at first.

    Coming onto ANY boat forum saying you purchased a jet and want to pull a skier, is like posting that you just got a MasterCraft and you want it to go 80.
    I told you the truth. A Mastercraft was not made to go 80, and a jet boat is a poor ski boat. Skiing behind any jet boat is torture. Speed control is nearly impossible with the drag of the skier tugging from behind. The jet wash will knock your feet right out from under you, even with the nozzle buried. Big blocks get terrible fuel economy, particularly where most of the power and thrust is lost due to slip.

    Now, car motors are cool in the right application, a little noise is OK in the right places. I've seen some bad ass jet boats, but they aren't being used for skiing.

    What if your kid smashes his head into your pump nozzle? What if you run over your ski rope and jam your pump? hard to "trim it up" and untangle that one. Props aren't unsafe for skiing when you use them responsibly, just use some common sense when you've got people in the water or getting and and out of the boat.

    Outboards are easy to re-build, they don't have camshafts or valves or belts.

    You can get a decent turn-key outboard for $4000-$7000 if you shop carefully, and you can still go fast if you want to. You can get an older inboard ski boat in the upper end of that range if you really want to ski, and they're even simpler to work on than a jet, and very reliable. And WAY better than jets OR outboards for skiing.

    Typical 150-200 hp outboard, decent for skiing, 60-80 mph top end
    Typical 200-285 hp ski boat, excellent for skiing, 40-45 mph top end
    Typical 210-400 hp jet, terrible for skiing, 50-65 mph top end

    Seriously, I'm just trying to help. If someone talked you into pouring big money into that boat to "make it good for skiing", I would feel terrible for not having tried to convince you NOT to...
    '89 Hydrostream Vegas XT, '90 Merc 2.4 Bridgeport PCU EFI
    My YouTube videos________My Flickr photo gallery
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  7. #6
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    i smell.... a troll.
    > Stainless steel Merc cowling plates - $110 shipped TYD - LINK <

    1979 16' Action Marine/2.5L Merc S3000 - Metalflake Maniac
    1984 18' Contender Tunnel/2.4 Merc Bridgeport

    "Where does the love of God go, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"

  8. #7
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    THANKS for the Advice !

    I really appreciate the good advice. I am also buying a prop boat so I can take place in some fishing tourneys in which the jet boat would not work.

    The truth is I got this boat for $500 ( With a decent tilt trailer ). All the headers and pump look great and he just put in a Berkely full rebuild kit. THe wheel turned the nozzle freely and smooth and the shifter moved the gate with ease.

    The man iterally said " Drop a 455 in it and she will pull tommorrow. Of course this is not how ill do it. I will be placing a cam, valve springs, lifters, bearings, alternator, distributer, new copperlined gaskets, starter, and carb to start. Then a dress up kit and probably an aftermarket oil cooler and pump to feed the heads better.

    I won an award in college for Engine Rebuilding so freshining the motor is a snap ! I have a buddy with a dyno and everything ! I plan to do a full rebuild just cause I can.

    This is however WELL beyond what I need to do to get what I want from it. If I can just troll around the lake looking cooler than some old 60s outboard ( which was my FINANCIAL alternative ). I cannot afford $5000 for a boat, I can however buy up old motors for $100 and shove them into this one with relativley little effort........

    All the leather is in it and in good shape, the owner just forgot to drain it before storing it and now its busted.

    I just need a boat to pull beginners ( like 25 is the most speed they need ).

    QUESTION : To BLOWER or Not to BLOWER ? Like I said .. Dont need speed, dont need power, So wouldnt a simple air scoop and tall intake look good to the unknowing ?

    I dont want to Race, I like to see the girls from cruise mode, and from what I can tell at the lake they like to see Jet Boats !

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by airocraft
    I dont want to Race, I like to see the girls from cruise mode, and from what I can tell at the lake they like to see Jet Boats !
    I guess that's OK until you get passed by a boat with a 90 hp outboard with the girls watching.

    I was into car motor boats first and believe me, you will have more fun with outboards. Two-cycle engines are lighter, faster, sound better and once you get used to them, easier to work on. Put the jet boat together, sell it to make some money and find an outboard project. You will thank us.

  10. #9
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    Engine change!

    First the olds engine has not been produced for over 15 years.
    So a good strong core is going to be hard to find.
    And for the quaility of parts avaible and price of olds verses Chevy engines.
    I would purchase a new set of Bassestt headers and a bell housing for the Chevy engine. You can purchase a 502 complete for around 6k new!

    And that my friend would be a great engine for that aplication!

    Al
    “The bitterness of poor quality & service remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”

  11. #10
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    I had a 20' Sleekcraft Aristocrat and I thought it was a great ski boat.
    The one I had was the tunnel hull model.
    http://www.hotboat.com/image_center/...cratTunnel.jpg

    A strong skier can pull the back of the boat around some, but the pulling power to get a slolom skier up was plenty strong. I had a mild 454 chevy with a blower and it ran 94 mph in the 1/4 mi drags. I put in a new pump, it had an e pump and I put in a Dominator pump.

    I haven't skied behind an outboard for a while so I can't offer a good comparison.

    21' Eliminator Daytona V-Drive
    1800 HP turbocharged lake boat on E85
    Clock cleaning and wagon fixing

  12. #11
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    ^^ HE ^^ has the baddest jetboat on Earth...
    '89 Hydrostream Vegas XT, '90 Merc 2.4 Bridgeport PCU EFI
    My YouTube videos________My Flickr photo gallery
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  13. #12
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    Blower???

    Looks like turbo!

    I'm trying like hell to find pic's of my jet boat!

    Driving me crazy!

    Al

    Stupid me, i did not click on link! Now the link, that boat got's the BLOWER!!! Looks great!!!!
    Last edited by The Big Al; 04-01-2006 at 12:09 PM.
    “The bitterness of poor quality & service remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”

  14. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by pyro
    ^^ HE ^^ has the baddest jetboat on Earth...
    I don't know...what about this one? 1400 hp, 1200 ft/lb of torque, AND AN AFTERBURNER!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails docking.jpg  

  15. #14
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    The making of Unchained's twin-turbo outboard-killer...
    http://www.michiganhotboats.com/technical/turbo1.html
    '89 Hydrostream Vegas XT, '90 Merc 2.4 Bridgeport PCU EFI
    My YouTube videos________My Flickr photo gallery
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1706097519

  16. #15
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    in 1980 I had a new Sunkist Tiger with Berkley Jet and a 506 cid Ford, twin Gale Banks Turbo's, Intercooled.
    Boat had a 454 new. Traded the engine for the Ford Kit complete.

    Boat would hall ass, but after 20 hours it would beat the bearing out of it.
    had 20 lbs of boost.

    Boat was Blue and Metalflake orande with silver pin.
    Orange interior.

    I'm still hunting the pic's!

    I pulled it with a 1980 Turbo Trans AM!
    “The bitterness of poor quality & service remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”

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