New to me 23' Eliminator Daytona

[HydroSkreamin]

A stripped California 23 with no transom or stringers(don't need the stringers) will weight 900 pounds, Wisconsin 800 pounds.

My Shawano, WI built boat weighed 770 with no floors or transom, but wet stringers still intact. I'm pretty sure it was in the 550 range with the stringers out, before I took all the core out. It was such a flimsy, creaky potato chip I didn't want to risk damage weighing it with absolutely no structure.

Please share with us how you strengthened the running surface to not run stringers. Did you foam core them?
I couldn't even stand on the inside of mine even when the original core was in, and definitely not when it was out.

Would you care to share where your CG was when you had the large setback on?

Also, what was the overall weight when you ran this setup?

Thanks

[tunnelfun]

Oh my. Lets start with the simple answers. The only experience I have with 23 Daytona's is the three that I owned.
One corrected California, one corrected Wisconsin and one stock Wisconsin. The corrected Wisconsin boat had a lot of added weight from poor layup in a lot of bad places. The California boat was built much better than the Wisconsin boats.
I replaced all dead balsa in the sponsons with 3/4 inch. Beveled and stopped 1 inch from the edge. Tunnel tops were good.
The stringers are not needed because the boat has 6 built in from the mold.
I don't know the CG because I set boats up based on what it needs to be after evaluating on water performance prior to dial-in. I new after the first run with a stock 23 and v8 that the boat was a pig. Top speed with 12 inch set back was 65. And so much trim the motor was crabbing at any motor height. No gas, one person.
I new from the start the boat needed the full weight reduction program.
You will have to estimate the overall weight. Start with 700 and add it up. I never did, it was what it was.

Here's what went back in.

No stringers. Not needed with full bulkheads. I beat on the boat at 80 in 3 footers for 10 years, no stress cracks.
No partial bulkheads, they crack the sides of the boat when it flexes. And without the most important full bulkhead at the dash it will flex, a lot. The bottom pumps. The floor does not stop it.
Three FULL bulkheads. Full 1/2 inch at the front. Full 3/4 inch with crawl thought hole at the dash (MUST be full or it will break, factory had two partials, thats why the sponsons are bowed in). Full 1/2 inch at the back seat.
One piece 3/4 plywood across transom laminated with one piece 3/4 the width of knee walls. 3/4 knee walls go from transom to rear bulk hear.
Motor bracket bolts through transom "directly to" knee walls with "many" 3/8 bolts and big washers.
3/8 sub floor over just the center sponson. No other floor anywhere.
Two 25 pound front seats complete with integral bases, one 40 pound rear seat using rear bulkhead for support. All reused factory covers.
Two 36 gallon aluminum box gas tanks at the transom. Boat got 2.8 MPG.
One 30 pound battery.
Hydro steering.
Aluminum anchor.
Coast Guard package.

Know, about that center pod. I cut mine 6x60 to accommodate a surface v-drive. Shaft through the back notch. Worked great. But, we mounted the 275 V/8 before the v-drive install to gather info for the v-drive angle. The outboard test did not work, at all. BIG porpoise problem. But it told us everything we needed to know for the v-drive set up. Got it right the first time. 15 MPH faster than the same motor in the same boat with the standard v-drive.
I have no idea what a full weight 400 HP boat will do with the bottom cut. Because, with the absent sponson area you lose part of what keeps the compression under the boat.

[HydroSkreamin]

Tunnelfun, thanks for sharing your setup. You obviously focused heavily on weight, probably removing around 600 lbs from the boat. With that focus on weight reduction, and your knowledge of what the bare hulls weigh, I'm struggling with the fact you've never weighed the boat, especially the difference between OB and V-drive. I guess if you really don't care about the number, I get it.

You're the first person I've ever gotten any real number answers from on any forum on these 23 Daytonas, and I appreciate that. Obviously my path is different, I will share the good, bad and ugly when I get it running here shortly.

[tunnelfun]

I didn't want to leave the boat unattended in the water while I went to weigh the truck and trailer. My lady was so tolerant of my hobby I didn't want to ask her to baby sit the boat and to have to answer all the questions from the nice people at the dock. I weighed 800 pounds in bags coming out. I weighed the bare hulls in the garage. Then put the list above back in. I would like to know exactly what they weighed finished but once it's done it's done. All I could do at that point was be mind full of the daily load.
I went the full diet route because I saw an opportunity to be the top dog on the river in 1988. The big inboards couldn't run with it on the long haul and the little Hyrostreams and what not's couldn't take the water outside of the lagoon. Nobody else was running much over 100 then anyway. This boat did it in two foot till the gas was gone. The only boats that could do that were running twin 280 horse 2.5's. They were not interested in running 100 MPH for 100 miles. To many scheduled rebuilds. Or melt downs.
The boat had a full interior, to look at it you would never know it had been put on the diet.
I just sold a 23 with twin 400 V/8's. I was a tough decision. I could have maximized the boat but wasn't sure I wanted to do the work just to have a full size 120+ drag boat.
So I sold it and now have a 26 American Offshore, twin 300 Promax. I runs a lazy 100. I put one of those on the diet also, it ran 110 with the same power. Sold it to a good friend. He put 200's on it. Ran 80, not bad. But he got restless. So he now has 300's. And is going for props.
I think the 23 is the best single engine runabout I've ever driven. It cost a lot of $$$$$ to go from a 23 single to a 26 twin.
I miss my single 23. To bad we didn't have 400 hp motors...………….

[engineermike]

Tunnelfun, what was your gear ratio and rpm with the 275?

[tunnelfun]

1.62 gear? And 6400 to 6700 on the tach. Rev limiter clipped. 275 OMC
1.65 gear? And 6400 on the tach for the 300 Merc.
Props from 28 to 32.

[berdes]

Tunnelfun, what was your gear ratio and rpm with the 275?

Mike, When you were running twins what style props did you like? I understand needing some bow lift, would you suggest a chopper with a lot of rake?
Same ? for you tunnelfun, and would you both recommend switching to a single? Maybe a 350 Verado? Thanks for all the info.

[tunnelfun]

The heavy weight boat single V/8 wouldn't run with any prop with 12 inch set back. The V/8 case is a small skeg case, not good. Leads to motor crabbing. Bigger skeg helped but didn't fix it because of positive trim needed just to go 60. A pig. Didn't run with 24 or 30 inch set back. Might work.

The heavy twin 200 needed coppers to run 80. Little trim needed.

The feather weight twin 200 ran 95 with anything. No trim needed at 12 inches back.

The feather weight single 1979 Merc 200 carb needed a 28 chopper to run 80 at 24 inches back. Little trim needed. This was a great setup. 4.2 MPG at 80 on regular gas. -------------------Should have gone 225 Promax for 90 MPH and called it good at that point--------------------------.

The feather weight single 300 Merc and V/8 ran 100 with prop at 24 inches back but Bravo's. Both 3.2 MPG wide open.

I wouldn't run any single on a heavy 23 with less than 24 inch set back, maybe 18 for the big 400?

I wouldn't re-rig a twin to a single without getting the weight out.

I wouldn't re-rig a single to a twin at all. Not with the new 400 and feather weight combo available. Probably run north of 115. But LOTS of work. And worth it.

[engineermike]

I only ran bravo1’s on the twins but didn’t spend much time on setup. The single hates bravos.

if you went to a single, I wouldn’t recommend anything without a sportmaster (speeds over 80). In new motors, that pretty much leaves 250r, 300r, and 400r. The 300r with weight removed would be interesting but if you left the hull alone the 400r makes a good combo.

Im running 12” setback and wondered if more would help. I run 2-3 deg trimmed out for max speed. It’s just counter to what everyone else seems to do with cat hulls.