World's fastest controlable Sidewinder

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-15-2024, 02:04 PM

This just might be the fastest drivable Sidewinder ever assembled.
No Chinewalk whatsoever.
Humble old 2.5, 200hp EE running 6k maybe 6100.
Old Yamaha drag prop that i cut the tips off.
Shown here in a 40km long river race.
73mph saw 75mph.

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Post a photo and details of a faster one

**aj06bolt12r** · 11-15-2024, 03:51 PM

Don't know anything about a sidewinder.. Why are they not drivable faster than 75mph? I'm going to guess that its a true v bottom and not a pad v?

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-15-2024, 05:16 PM

They are a radius bottom hull that were built for the recreational market.
50mph was a good speed for them.

**David** · 11-15-2024, 06:05 PM

Infamously hard to drive fast, but cool looking in their day. How did you resolve the chinewalk?

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-15-2024, 06:39 PM

I put a pad on it
Or more specifically I cut a pad into it.
Didn't actually add anything other than fairing.
The answer was in the hull the whole time.
They could go to 90mph with enough push

**David - WI** · 11-15-2024, 08:53 PM

Yeah, that was kinda the normal speed for a 20' Checkmate, Seebold, etc V-bottom with a stock 2.4L 200 back in the day... doesn't seem like a great choice of hulls?

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-16-2024, 02:36 AM

A simple mod turns them into a speedster.
A horizontal cut at the same level as the innermost strakes and in this case a vertical cut to finish the forward end of the pad.
That vertical cut forms a step but next time I'll just taper the pad forward and downward to the vee.
That area is out of the water at speed so doesn't do a lot.
Because that pair of short strakes become part of the pad, the pad has an unusual shape.
It is narrow for 2ft from the transom then widens to include those short strakes.
I think the boat gets it's stability from the aft ends of those strakes, which are now part of the pad.
The coolest thing about this boat is that people remember them for what they were and are taken by surprise when a 50 yr old show boat goes past at over 70mph.
For my next build I'll drop the entire bottom and floor out of one and replace the bottom in foam sandwich.
No floor, just stringers and a light but strong transom.
This will produce a 50yr old classic that will go toe to toe with the Australian 1750 Bullet.
I'm looking forward to this.

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**tlwjkw** · 11-16-2024, 09:37 AM

wasn't tha "infinity" a smaller (less freeboard) cousin to it?

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-16-2024, 01:13 PM

I've not heard of those.
In NewZealand we had a 14ft version called a Cheeta but they weren't popular.
Very few of them left and I wouldn't bother restoring/ modifying one.

**tlwjkw** · 11-16-2024, 11:49 PM

sidewinder i'm familiar with was built in Tx. (looked like yours) by del magic in tha 70's.. tha infinity jr. was built at same time, same company.. think it was a 14 footer with very low freeboard.. we tried runnin' 'em with tha short 150XS and were a handful and....... always wondered later on what one would be like if it had a "pad".......

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-17-2024, 12:44 AM

Like the Sidewinder, one of boating missed opportunities.
I shake my head at how different racing in NZ would have been if someone had flopped a mold and added some filling to it to form the pad.
That's all they had to do, put some filling in there and won races

**tlwjkw** · 11-17-2024, 06:18 AM

Originally Posted by NZ Sidewinder

Like the Sidewinder, one of boating missed opportunities.
I shake my head at how different racing in NZ would have been if someone had flopped a mold and added some filling to it to form the pad.
That's all they had to do, put some filling in there and won races

completely agree.. not jus NZ.. over tha years there's been a few come down tha pike that were like that..... keep us up with your progress please........ T

**Pulsare2400** · 11-17-2024, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by tlwjkw

sidewinder i'm familiar with was built in Tx. (looked like yours) by del magic in tha 70's.. tha infinity jr. was built at same time, same company.. think it was a 14 footer with very low freeboard.. we tried runnin' 'em with tha short 150XS and were a handful and....... always wondered later on what one would be like if it had a "pad".......

I owned a 16ft Sidewinder around 1979. It had a 150 TOP and it did chine walk. I built a hydraulic jack plate (you could not buy one back then) that used an OMC trim pump to lift the plate. Once it was raised about 5" the chine walk was gone. If I recall correctly, it ran around 67 - 68 mph with a 22P Chopper that was repitched to a 23+.

**tlwjkw** · 11-18-2024, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by Pulsare2400

I owned a 16ft Sidewinder around 1979. It had a 150 TOP and it did chine walk. I built a hydraulic jack plate (you could not buy one back then) that used an OMC trim pump to lift the plate. Once it was raised about 5" the chine walk was gone. If I recall correctly, it ran around 67 - 68 mph with a 22P Chopper that was repitched to a 23+.

yeah,, there were several that hung out at tha river back in 70's with that type set up.. most ran jus under 70 without a big rodeo!.. i had a "sled" that was 'round tha 70 mark with what ever tha biggest inline was at tha time.. even ran a speedy on it... was a fun deal...

**NZ Sidewinder** · 11-18-2024, 02:17 AM

Yesterday we put a 21 laser2 on it and went for a ski.
It was a blunt, thick old prop.
Gave it a quick squirt up to 60mph but the Rev counted was down in no man's land.
It's an EE 2.5 and I'm not sure if it has plastic big ends so don't like to run it that hard.
In ski trim the propshaft is about 4 inches below the pad.
In race trim the propshaft is 2 inches below pad running 6000rpm with a modified yamaha drag, ( not flash)