SPEEDBOAT MAGAZINE
WEEKEND PARADISE!
CAT We Test Wild Tunnels SEE PAGE 18
4 SUPER
CHARGED Our 1,100-hp Power Project MARCH 2016
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Roomy, reliable and 100+ mph on GPS. Welcome to the quintessential deckboat. Your next boat purchase is an investment in both your family and yourself. Make the right choice.
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The 29 Deckboat with twin 400s. Luxury and style at 100+ mph! LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA • 800.279.5398 • E-MAIL: sales@NordicBoatsUSA.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS March 2016
COLUMNS 10 RAY LEE 12 ALEXI SAHAGIAN 14 JIM WILKES 16 GREG SHOEMAKER 56 READER RIDES 60 NEW PRODUCTS
FEATURES
18 FAST 4SOME We kick off our 2016 Performance Evaluations with four screamin’ tunnel boats from DCB, Eliminator, Shockwave and Interceptor.
38 WAR OF THE WORLDS Rough water, barrel rolls and the agony of defeat—all ingredients of Key West’s SBI World Championships.
46 SPEEDBOAT LEGENDS This month, we induct master hull designer Rusty Biesemeyer into our Hall of Fame.
50 BADASS 548 BUILD, PART 2 Tom Orseno at Pro-Marine of Lake Havasu wraps up work on our 1,100-hp powerplant.
BRETT’S COVE 64 OLIVER’S TWIST Matt Oliver’s red-hot Hondo is the envy of all who encounter it.
66 WEEKEND PARADISE The owner of Lake Elsinore’s hottest RV Park opens his venue to the V-drive crowd. Cover photo by Todd Taylor Table of Contents photo by Todd Taylor 6
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Speedboat.com To find your nearest location to purchase a copy of Speedboat Magazine go to: www.WheresMyMagazine.com
Published by DCO Enterprises, LLC Publishers Ray Lee ray@speedboat.com
Chris Davidson chris@speedboat.com
Editor Brett Bayne brett@speedboat.com
Senior Tech Editors Jim Wilkes jim@speedboat.com
Alexi Sahagian alexi@speedboat.com
Tech Editors Greg Shoemaker Jim Wilkes Valerie Collins National Sales Ray Lee Director ray@speedboat.com Art Director Gail Hada-Insley Helicopter Services Fred Young
70 WHAT’S THE PROBLEM, CHILD? The world’s quickest TFH slumped in 2015, but Eddie Knox vows to get the team back on top.
72 SHEL RAISER Drag racer Todd Ebert is proud of his career—but even prouder of another racer: his daughter Shelby.
fyoung@live.com
Photographers Todd Taylor, Pete Boden, Randy Nuzzo, Kenny Dunlop, Paul Kemiel, Jeff Girardi, Mark McLaughlin Operations Manager Michele Plummer michele@speedboat.com
Subscriptions Valerie Snedeker valerie@speedboat.com
76 TOM PAPP MEMORIAL
Webmaster Craig Lathrop
Friends, fans and former customers pay tribute to the late, great boatbuilder Tom Papp.
Web Design Wes Nielsen
craig@speedboat.com
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Editorial: Speedboat Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. All manuscripts, materials, photographs and artwork submitted are at mailer’s risk and must include self-addressed envelope with proper postage if requested to be returned. All letters sent to Speedboat will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes, and are subject to Performance Boats’ right to edit and comment editorially. All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole or part is expressly forbidden, except by written permission of the publisher. Postmaster: Send address changes to Postmaster: Send address changes to Speedboat Magazine, 9216 Bally Court, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730.
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OBSERVER’S SEAT RAY LEE
Vee for Vendetta
According to Wikipedia, the African penguin, the giant panda, the loggerhead sea turtle and the Tasmanian devil are all currently on the endangered-species list. Perhaps the vee-bottom performance boat should be considered for inclusion there as well. This is hard for me to accept or even comprehend. I am a proud vee-bottom guy, and I think that I always will be. But the popularity of the high-performance catamaran, or “cat,” has far surpassed the classic vee-hull vessels in the last several years. Of course, manufacturers like Cigarette, Outerlimits and Sunsation may disagree with this, but it seems that the trend has greatly swung towards these dual-sponsoned hulls. At least according to some of the performance boat builders that I’ve spoken to. “It’s the ‘cool factor,’ ” says Hernando Rodriguez of Cobra Performance Boats in Montclair, CA. “It’s the hot rod of the water.”
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Which I suppose it is. There’s no question that today’s cats are cool. And FAST! With speeds easily running over 100 mph with only mild horsepower, the appeal is undeniable. Horsepower to horsepower, you are guaranteed to run several miles per hour faster in a cat than you would in a vee-bottom. But what about room in the boat? Most cats leave a ton of unused space. Vee-bottoms usually come with finished cabins, ranging from simple to downright luxurious. Complete with beds, lounges, galleys, heads and sometimes, even air conditioning! “It doesn’t matter,” the cat congregation declares. “It’s a fair trade-off… Lighter and faster is better.” Thane Tiemer of Nordic Boats in Lake Havasu City, AZ says that they’ve been busier than ever building their line of fast cats. “I’d say we’re at 99 to 1, cats over vees lately,” he says. “Most of the boats that we’ve built in the last few years have been cats. We actually had to
build a stock vee-bottom just to show customers the model.” West Coast powerhouse DCB has built its entire esteemed brand around fast, immaculate catamarans. Skater, MTI and Mystic have done similar on the opposite coast. There’s no question that the big, fast cats are impressive, fun to watch and generally the show-stealer at all of the big events. But other than speed, are there other reasons to choose these water rockets? Yes, says Speedboat Magazine Test Team driver and industry guru Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine. As a longtime convert and multi-time champion racing these catamarans, Bob swears by them. “They’re more stable, they’re safer, more efficient, use less horsepower and get better gas mileage… I think they get a bad rap from the insurance companies and don’t deserve it,” Teague says. Insurance companies infamously charge higher premiums for the catamaran hulls than the veebottoms. So, is this a trend, or are the vees dangerously close to being extinct in the world of high-performance boating? Can the vee-bottom survive with such odds stacked against them? Fear not, my fellow vee-bottom loyalists! Let us boat…UNITED! For there is still nothing like a well-built vee bottom boat, especially when out in the big, rough waters of Anywaterway, USA. I believe the vee-bottom will be around for many, many generations and that it will surely never go the way of the Dodo.
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ON THE DYNO ALEXI SAHAGIAN Cooling Craze Dear Alexi: I am having a cooling problem with my small block MerCruiser engine. I have changed the impeller and water pump on the engine itself, and it still immediately gets really hot where the buzzer goes off and has popped off a line, spewing water into my bilge. I am very frustrated. I went to the auto parts store and got the GM replacement short water pump three times, and each time I check my impeller, it seems fine. I’m pulling my hair out! I hope you can help. Devon Beams Riverside, CA
Let’s sort this out and understand a few key things. Keep in mind that it is a good sign that your water pump impeller is working and has throughout this mess. It means it is getting water somehow and staying cool. Let’s look into the water pump on the engine recirculating water. One mistake a lot of folks make is not realize there are pumps that are designed to work backwards depending on the belt routing. It sounds to me like your pump is recirculating water in a reverse direction fighting the raw water pump over pressurizing the lines and eventually bursting them off the flange. This is what can happen if you have the wrong direction pump going on. You mentioned auto-parts store. They would not know if the pump you brought in was a left or right hand direction, as they look identi12
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cal from the outside. The best thing to do is look online or at a manual or even a placard on top of your engine if it is there and sees what the belt routing from the factory was. With this info, you can determine whether your engine is running the pump backwards or not. Once you get this correct knowledge then you will need to seek a marine dealer and get the correct water pump from a dealer that stocks either Mercury Marine or Sierra Marine water pumps for your engine ID number. Once you do this you should be good to go. Please make sure once you’re done that you have sufficient water flow out of your exhaust tips and let it run to temp in the driveway assuring all is well. Again, the pumps look the same but one has a reverse impeller in it on those certain year engines recirculating pumps.
each temp and pressure gauge to assure your system is precise. We see often a 20-30 degree difference in OEM vs. the manufacturers’ gauges, yet when you run their senders, it’s spot on! We also see a variance in the oil and fuel psi gauges of 10 psi in some cases. So, my ultimate recommendation for this is to purchase the matching senders for each gauge that requires one in your setup. I would focus on pressures and temperatures; the others don’t have compatibility issues often.
Idle Woes Dear Alexi: I have a name-brand big horsepower EFI engine with all of the best parts in it. It is in a smaller ski race-type boat. It is a 557 cubic inch engine with a psi supercharger and an EFI system. It has a Autronic EFI controller and 16 fuel injectors. The bottom injectors are in the port and the top
Gauge-Swap Issues Dear Alexi: I have a Hallett ski boat with a 496 MerCruiser engine. I bought gauges online and installed them myself and they look nice. I then went to start my engine and it seems as though the pressure gauges and the temp gauges are reading way off. The place said they were compatible with my engine. Your input would be great, since my emails have gone unanswered. Thank you! Joe Shute Parker, AZ Most of the gauges made these days are designed to work close with the factory senders. However, we always recommend purchasing a sender kit with
ones are above the supercharger. It has two 2,000-cfm throttle bodies on it. My builder dyno-tested the engine and ran it in the boat with a lap top and it runs well everywhere but idle. No matter what, it won’t idle consistently! It has two IAC
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V-DRIVE TECH JIM WILKES
Crusader V Drive Help Needed Dear V-Drive Tech: I have a Crusader V drive that is in a 1970 Arena Craft family ski boat. The boat was a Tahoe Boat that ran at 6,200 feet of elevation. The V-drive is stamped 1.15. I brought the boat down to sea level and really could get much top end. maybe 38-40 mph at 4,500 rpm. I started thinking maybe the boat is being under driven by the V-drive because it was a Tahoe Boat running at a high elevation. I pulled the V-drive out, and sure enough, it seems to be under driven by .15%. Can the gears be reversed to be under driven as mine is? If so, is it just an easy gear swap top to bottom to bring it back to the 1.15 ratio? Steve Michaels Lake Tahoe, CA There were a few different styles of the Crusader V-Drives made so for me to tell you what you should do might not be correct. You didn’t mention if you had a in-out gear style shifter or is it a direct drive with the use of a transmission? Some of the Crusader V-Drives can be turned upside down. This is the quickest way to change from under to overdrive. Don’t worry about running the gears backwards just make sure you use a good gear oil with a good EP package in the oil. EP stands for extra pressure. Lucas Marine M8 gear oil is a great choice.
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Next you could take the V-Drive apart and might be able to reverse the upper and lower gear. You will need to check the shaft size. Crusader made upper shaft sizes from 1 1/4 to 1 5/8 what this means to you is if your lower shaft is smaller than your upper shaft you won’t be able to switch the gears from top to bottom. Same size shafts means JACKPOT. Finding gears for this make of V-Drive will be tough but you can always have a set made $$$$$. Good luck Steve. If you need more help call me.
Blown Out Aluminum Pipe
Dear V-Drive Tech: Please check out the attached photos. Have you ever seen anything like this? I have cast aluminum OTs, water cooled and the right side pipe looks like it got super-heated, bubbled and split at the top bend. The left side had no issues. This was after a number of (10 maybe) high-load launches and half-mile runs. The plugs all look good...I pulled the water logs and each exhaust port seems sooty black, so it does not appear to be running lean on that side. Water was running through the log the whole time, as far as I can tell, and the motor was not overheating. FYI, only the bottom channel of these OTs are water cooled, this split happened at the top. Thanks for any help. Andrew Garfield Goshen, IN A number of things need to be checked to make sure block pressure is equal on both sides of the water lines. This will require you to install a pressure gauge on the exit side of the water lines leaving the block. Check one side than the other a see if any differences in pressure. It looks like you have SS lines on your engine and OT pipes. You need to check all the hoses and fittings closely for any corrosion. Water sets in the hose and fittings at the lowest point and over time will block water flow. FYI it is a good idea to drain the exit lines after a weekend of boating. We try to drain the block and cooler lines after each outing just for that reason. Andrew when you take you broken OT pipe off look inside your exhaust manifold and see if you find any traces of water. This might help with your OT pipe problem. Water in the manifold might suggest a broken water transfer tube in the OT pipe.
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JET TECH GREG SHOEMAKER Motor Mount Question
Dominator Bowl Detailing
Dear Jet Tech: Please refer to the photo of my motor mounts. I don’t really like the looks of them. They don’t seem strong, and the one already looks bent or sagging. I know that the weight of a average big block puts a bit of strain on stringers and motor boxes over time with these mounts. Are they
Dear Jet Tech: I am in the process of rebuilding my late-model Dominator 12S and have some questions. I found out why I got such a deal on aluminum jet boat as the previous owner sucked up some rocks and they were not nice to the impeller or the bowl. I intended to replace the aluminum impeller with a stainless one so it didn’t hurt my feeling when I found chunks missing from the back side of the impeller. The bowl has a few dings on the leading edges of the fins. I figured that it would be a good time to detail the bowl. In all my research, it seems that everyone just sharpens the fins but I feel that smooth flowing profiles disturbs the water less. What should I be striving for? Sharp or somewhat rounded? Edward Carelli San Jose, CA
simple to install and reinstall? Are they as dependable or as strong as a traditional four-point cast mount or rail mount kit? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks! Nathan Priestley Phoenix, AZ The type of mounts you have are a three-point mount setup. The problem you have with the side mounts bending is very common. As you can see, the weight of the engine will cause the side mounts to sag and over a period of time and eventually the mount will fail. Three-point mounts made it easier for the rigger to install the engine during the manufacturing process. My suggestion would be to install a four-point mounting setup or, if your budget permits, to purchase a full rail kit that will eliminate this problem.
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When rebuilding a jet pump for the river that has had rocks run through it, it would be customary to detail the damaged area as well as you can with a porting tool and call it a day. The purpose of the bowl is to straighten the water when leaving the backside of the impeller. Sharpening the leading edges will help the flow out of the bowl, which will help in acceleration. Don’t expect a night-and-day difference—it’s just not there. If you really want to get serious, you can extrude hone the bowl, but this is very costly, and unless it was a race boat, it won’t be worth the expense.
out intake gaskets, so he put breathers in the valve covers with lines running to the exhaust to remove the pressure. I don’t want to do this on a boat. What are my options? No PCV...will a catch can work? Or do I need to get a vacuum pump? Travis Pecci Los Angeles, CA I’m not sure why installing breathers on the valve covers would prevent the intake gaskets from failing. Are you sure it was the intake gaskets or was it the valve cover gaskets? Sounds like you had a lot of crankcase pressure. If this is the case, a good set of upright breathers mounted to the front of the valve covers would likely solve your problem.
Any Info on Silverado? Dear Jet Tech: I have the opportunity to buy a boat. It’s a ’79 Silverado with a naturally aspirated big-block 454 and a Berkeley jet drive. I have searched for a few days and can’t find anything about these boats! The price sounds right (even if I need to put some work into it)...I just know nothing about them. Good hulls? Reliable? I’ve been around go-fast things my whole life and would really enjoy getting into a boat. Any info would be appreciated! Tom Friedman Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Valve Covers Dear Jet Tech: I recently bought a 396 small-block Chevy stroker from a buddy. He had it built put it in a drag car made a few passes with it and lost interest. I’m in the process of freshening it up, changing the cam and a few other things so I can put it in my aluminum jetboat. He said it always wanted to blow
Silverado Boats were built during the late ’70s and early ’80s in Anaheim, CA. Greg Covin was the owner. As I recall, he had three or four models. If you have the 19’ Flatdeck, you have a boat that is very similar to the 19' Hornet or the Carrera Eclipse. This hull, if set up correctly, will give you good performance and a nice ride.
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Fast 4some Speedboat 2016 Performance Evaluations DCB
Eliminator
Interceptor
Shockwave
Earl Crowe, Kenny Dunlop, Brett Bayne, Greg Shoemaker, Chris Davidson, Tony Scarlata, Dennis Martz, Jay Forbes, Ray Lee, Jim Wilkes, Alexi Sahagian and Todd Taylor.
Photos by Todd Taylor
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Late last year, the Speedboat team descended upon Lake Havasu City, AZ, for the latest round of our Performance Evaluations, testing eight mean machines—the first four of which appear on the following pages. All four are tunnel hulls, and all but one—DCB’s M35—are high-performance deckboats. We’d like to extend special thanks to all of our hard-working team members who helped make this latest round of tests an unqualified success! Look for four more evaluations in our May 2016 issue. speedboat.com
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M35
DCB
Brute force, luxury, comfort, styling, speed... Dave Hemmingson and his team didn’t leave anything out when creating this amazing catamaran.
What happens when brute power our first official evaluation of the M35. earn its flawless marks? Start with their immaculate attention to detail, with its collides with captivating style And it was worth the wait. Armed with a pair of Mercury Racing trademark sleek lines, sharpened front and comfort? You get DCB’s M35 Widebody, an infusion of supersonic power and luxury styling. Tooled through 2008 and formally introduced at the 2009 Los Angeles Boat Show, the M35 was truly the culmination of everything DCB has been working up to at that time. Since then, the team has introduced the equally impressive M31 (look for our review of that in May). Though our test team has encountered its sister ship in past issues, this was, astonishingly enough, 20
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1,100-hp engines, this mean machine not only accelerates from zero to 90 mph in 20 seconds flat, in addition you’ll find yourself maxing it out at its 160-mph top speed in a blink of an eye. And when you get there, it’s a thrill ride you won’t soon forget. The M35 somehow manages to top anything DCB has brought to us in the past, earning a perfect “10” from our test team, including world-renowned driver Bob Teague. The Package: So how does DCB
wings and plush Euro styling on full display. The M35 has been tricked out with a staggering amount of optional bling, upping the ante from its already massive list of standard features that include poker-run bucket-style seating, snap-in carpet, premium steering wheel, Livorsi gauges, interior lighting and a blueprinted bottom running surface. DCB has produced about two dozen of M35s so far; our test boat speedboat.com
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DCB M35 Length: 35'4"
Beam: 9'8"
Engines on test boat: twin Mercury Racing 1100s with #6 drives Price as tested: $748,845 Optional equipment: Engine upgrade, Mercury CNC five-blade propellers, aerator kit, Mercury Racing custom painted blocks, gelcoat upgrade, carbon fiber, carbon Kevlar, carbon bulkheads upgrade, intercom system, interior upgrade, partial Alcantara interior upgrade, etc. Top speed: 160 mph @ 6,500 rpm Dave’s Custom Boats 1468 N. Magnolia Ave. El Cajon, CA 92020 (619) 442-0300 dcbperformanceboats.com
performance evaluations
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DCB M35
The M35 has been tricked out with a staggering amount of optional bling. The new interior design was absolutely riveting, with elongated stitching and uniquely cut patterns inside it, including a half-vinyl, halfAlcantara theme.
“When you back off the throttles, it’s almost like turning a switch off on the motor,” says Bob Teague. “This boat decelerates very well. Reaction is great.” 22
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was brand-new out of the factory, with two more being assembled during the time of our test in October, including a fully capped pearl-white model powered by twin 1350s. Standard power is the Mercury 565 with Bravo One drives, but although the M35 is most typically outfitted with either 700s or 1100s, three built in the last year have had 1350s, with two more currently on order. Of course, one of the big differences between the 1100s the 1350s will be the sticker price—around a $80,000 difference. But according to DCB, customers who gravitate toward the 1100 package like the fact that they can run 89 octane, as well as the 160 mph speed right out of the box. DCB is one of the only manufacturers to make 3/4 acrylic engine hatches standard on one of their models—practically every one of their M35s and M31s has had them. Purely from an aesthetic point of view, it’s a dazzling feature. (Both the acrylic in the engine hatches and the beautiful wraparound windshields are supplied by Acrylifab Plastics of Riverside, CA). We’ve never speedboat.com
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seen a wraparound windshield with such astonishing clarity. To quote Bob Teague, “It’s like watching Panavision.” All of DCB’s interiors demonstrate the team’s devotion to exemplary craftsmanship, but whoever was in charge of this M35’s interior must be a kind of mad genius. The new design was absolutely riveting, with elongated stitching and uniquely cut patterns inside it, including a half-vinyl, half-Alcantara theme. When our evaluators got a look at it, jaws were dropped. Performance: You won’t believe the performance and handling that this thoroughbred brings to the water. The plug-and-play installation makes starting a breeze: Just press a button on the DTS wireless shift and throttle setup, and the state-of-the-art twinturbo engines hook right up. Open the glove box, arm the system, push the button—you don’t even have to hold it, just touch it—and both engines start right up. After bringing the M35 on plane, it’ll load up nicely. That’s your cue to bring the trim up to about a 3, which
we found to be the sweet spot for cruising between 70 and 75 mph. Continue to throttle it up, and the acceleration is like a dragster. “From 70 to 140 mph, the boat was incredible,” says test driver Alexi Sahagian. “That’s the beauty of having the twin turbo motors—there’s a lot of torque, which works well with a boat that’s not too heavy. There’s a lot of lightweight components in this boat that helps it drive extremely well.” Meanwhile, test driver Bob Teague expressed his enthusiasm for virtually every facet of the boat’s construction and drivability. At speed, he admired the way the fast response of the digital throttles during deceleration. “When you back off, it’s almost like turning a switch off on the motor,” he says. “This boat really does that well. Reaction is great.” He also raved about the way the M35 cuts through boat wakes at 140 mph. “It gets across the stuff pretty good.” Teague awarded the boat a perfect 10 out of 10, singling out stability, tracking at all speeds, sensitivity to trim, overall maneuverability and steering wheel torque. SPEEDBOAT |
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Eliminator 28' Fun Deck Here’s an 82-mph deckboat that earns stellar marks in all of the handling and performance characteristics—and it looks great, too!
Fast-forward to 2016, when the best- to Speedboat. Widely considered to be the The 28' Fun Deck’s popularity can most influential builder in the selling model in Eliminator’s stable is custom West Coast speedboat very likely the Fun Deck, a 28-foot be attributed not just to current boatsegment, Eliminator of Mira Loma, deckboat that strives to bring happi- ing trends, but to how well Eliminator CA, virtually revolutionized custom interior, gelcoat, hardware and setup, catalyzing the appeal of our industry. Company founder Bob Leach solidified Eliminator’s reputation as a performance powerhouse by popularizing a line that included a mini-cruiser, the low-slung 19-foot Daytona tunnel, the step-bottom Eagle design, and numerous deep vees and catamarans in every engine configuration you can imagine. 24
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ness to the whole family by giving mom and the kids room and comfort, while dad gets to achieve some truly impressive wide-open throttle action. If you think that’s only a cliché, think again— a quick interview with Keith Hitchcock, the Eliminator customer who bought our test boat, reveals that’s precisely the mindset within his own family: “My wife doesn’t like the speed as much as I do, but she’ll get over it,” he confided
has sculpted, appointed and rigged their craft—they’ve listened carefully to their base and are equipped to customize the boat according to their needs. For example, Hitchcock asked that the batteries and battery shutoffs not be installed in the engine compartment, but beneath a rear seat and exit steps in the stern. That relocation gave the owner more room adjacent to the engine, and Eliminator’s willingness to speedboat.com
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Eliminator Fun Deck Length: 28' Beam: 98" Engine on test boat: single Mercury 565 Drive on test boat: Bravo XR Base price: $165,000 Price as tested: $225,000 Options on test boat: Thru-hull exhaust, full hydraulic steering, Monster gauge upgrade, etc. Top speed: 82 mph @ 5,500 rpm Eliminator Custom Boats 10795 San Sevaine Way Mira Loma, CA 91752 (951) 332-4300 eliminatorboat.com
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Eliminator Fun Deck
Our evaluators praised the dash layout, which features an optional upgrade to Monster gauges. Speakers feature LED lights that you can actually see glowing during the day. Another smart upgrade: full hydraulic steering.
“It’s fast, gets on plane well and is cool-looking, for sure, but this thing is really a crisp-handling boat. It leans into the turns, and it turns on a dime.”—Bob Teague 26
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oblige him is one of the things that attracted Hitchcock to the Fun Deck. The Package: Eliminator escalates the fun factor by maximizing the seating configuration on the Fun Deck. Rather than offering an ordinary rear bench, you’ll find a jump seat located directly behind the starboardsize driver’s seat. There’s a corner gap for the rear-entry stairs, then a roomy bench that wraps around the port side all the way to the passenger bolster. “Ultimately, the seating was the real selling point for us,” the owner says. “Also, it has a lot of storage, and I liked that the mold is a single piece on top rather than a bunch of pieced-together parts. I love the way it handles with the integrated hydraulic steering in the drive; we liked the fact that the engine hatch was flat, and the stairs at the back of the boat aren’t too steep.” The aforementioned storage includes two large areas with doors in both bulkheads, two large lockers built into the nonskid floors and additional storage beneath the benches. Located from stem to stern are 10 speakers that are speedboat.com
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part of the elaborate optional sound system the owner ordered. Hitchcock designed the interior of the boat with some subtle blue colors, giving it a very clean look. “We kept the colors pretty conservative,” he says. “Since we boat mainly in Havasu, we didn’t want it to get hot. I want to show it off—I don’t want towels lying everywhere.” Our test crew graded the layout and appearance of the Fun Deck very highly, and had to really nitpick to find a flaw—and it’s a trait shared with many of the deckboats. “Sometimes when you walk down the middle of a boat like this, it has a little step down,” notes test driver Alexi Sahagian. “If you’re not paying attention, you’ll trip on it. I always recommend that the builder put some kind of a marker on the floor, or a stripe or something, because if you can’t see the step, you’re bound to take a fall.” (In the case of the Fun Deck, there are two steps from the bow down to the cockpit.) Performance: Our engine was a Mercury 565 with an XR drive spinning a lab-finished 28"-pitch prop,
which turns out to be a primo package. “Probably the nicest thing about this boat is the way it handles,” test driver Teague says. “It’s plenty fast, gets on plane very well and is cool-looking, for sure, but this thing is really a crisphandling boat. At any speed it leans into the turns, and it turns on a dime. It’s really good.” He got to 64 mph in 20 seconds; top speed was 82 mph at 5,500. “It’s hard to do anything wrong,” Teague continues. “If you turn this boat upside down, you’re dumb.” He awarded outstanding marks to all of the handling and performance characteristics, including slalom turns at all speed ranges, tracking, sensitivity to trim, visibility and throttle response. He also called the Eliminator “a very comfortable boat,” and praised the boat’s dash layout and placement of controls. Sahagian echoed Teague’s kind words, giving kudos to the Fun Deck’s planing, turning ability, stable ride and overall performance. “It’s a typical Eliminator—it just runs straight as an arrow,” he says. SPEEDBOAT |
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Shockwave 22 Deck Boat When you’re working with a smaller canvas, it helps to utilize every precious inch. And that’s exactly what Shockwave Boats has done.
Credit Shockwave Custom Boats stern-drive configurations, Shockwave (forward-facing cushions permit two of Corona, CA, with investing in President Bob Anderson confides that lucky passengers to stretch out in the a product that was already terrific— the jet setup is a particular favorite of bow section); port-side driver’s helm their 22’ Deck Boat—and making it even better. Introduced in 2008 and recently redesigned, this is a model that really makes the most of its 22 feet: the front of the boat has been transformed to add extra room for seating, while the transom has been revised to fit the bigger and newer I/O packages. That being said, Shockwave opted to deliver us a jet-driven version of this impressively speedy and roomy rig; although the company builds a fair amount of 28
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customers cruising the lower river. The Package: The 22' Deck Boat has ample room, enough for 10-11 total passengers. That’s pretty impressive for a 22-footer, and it’s an undeniable selling point to customers who will also be attracted to the sticker price ($59,000 with no frills and standard power). The boat’s layout is relatively simple. From front to back: there’s an elongated bow with a walk-in entrance for easy access; lounges on both sides with room for two or three adults in each
with Livorsi carbon-fiber gauges and a few rows of switches, with a chicken bar and glove box on the passenger side; in-floor storage, and finally a rear bench. Under the hatch, we found a zippy Cadillac CTS-V LSA 6.2 engine (550 hp)—an upgrade from the standard 6.2 or 5.7. The engine compartment is nicely carpeted and totally sano, while the cockpit features a nonskid surface with no carpet. Finally, the transom sports a swim platform with nonskid surface to speedboat.com
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Shockwave 22 Deck Boat Length: 22' Beam: 98" Engine on test boat: Cadillac LSA 6.2 (550 hp) / Dominator jet Base price: $59,000 Price as tested: $86,400 Optional equipment: engine upgrade, CMI headers, hydraulic Place Diverter with wheel switch, setback pump, upgraded stereo system, bow and stern cap, Livorsi carbon-fiber gauges, etc. Top speed: 68 mph @ 5,400 rpm Shockwave Custom Boats 1800 Capital St. Corona, CA 92880 (714) 287-3455 shockwaveboats.com
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Shockwave 22 Deck Boat
The port-side driver’s helm features Livorsi carbon-fiber gauges and a few rows of switches, with a chicken bar and glove box on the passenger side. We liked a lot of the little “creature comforts” that Shockwave has provided, including a shower built into the port-side sponson up front.
“This hull goes over the wakes and stuff pretty darn good for a jetboat. And you never lose sight of the horizon—visibility on plane is great.” —Bob Teague 30
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reduce slippage. Gelcoat on the 22' featured a mix of white, blue and grey; attractive but nothing very fancy. Our dash layout was serviceable but quite compact. Everything’s right in front of you, which means the steering wheel will obstruct the view of some of the gauges. Evaluator Alexi Sahagian singled out the driver ergonomics: “Everything is nice and smooth—I like the foot placement and the throttle position for the driver.” The seats, while comfortable, were a teensy bit more vertical than we’d have preferred, but that’s all part of the tradeoff while maximizing space in a smaller boat. We liked a lot of the little “creature comforts” that Shockwave has provided, including a shower built into the port-side sponson up front, numerous cup holders, plenty of storage throughout the boat and an upgraded stereo system that included cool speakers provided by JL Audio of Miramar, FL. Performance: As we mentioned, our tester came with an upgraded powerplant: a Cadillac LSA 6.2-liter engine speedboat.com
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with shoe and ride plate, setback pump, hydraulic Place Diverter with wheel switch, CMI headers and Dominator jet drive with jet-pump inducer). It’s a nifty setup, and around the docks, the 22' behaves like a typical jetboat. “You have to give it a little throttle to get it to do something, and the reaction time is a little different than a stern drive,” observes Alexi. “Thus, it requires a little more throttle input.” The 22' comes up on plane fairly quickly and is nimble and dependable through all of the speed ranges. “A brand-new driver must pay attention when he gets up on plane, or you may notice that it has a tendency to track around,” he adds. “It’s sensitive to throttle.” We put the Shockwave through our usual series of slalom turning, and found it to run well. At low speeds, you’ll be able to turn around for a skier with no problems. The Shockwave doesn’t feel like it wants to bite or dig in during the turns like a stern-drive boat sometimes will. “It’s almost like the jet-
boat has a little bit of slip that allows it to be more user-friendly in the slower speed slalom turns, which is pretty neat,” Alexi says. The 22' gave us a good, solid ride in the higher speeds. We got it to just a couple of mph shy of 70 on GPS in about 20 seconds, which is pretty respectable. “This hull goes over the wakes and stuff pretty darn good for a jetboat,” said test driver Bob Teague, who praised the Shockwave’s throttle response in the low to midrange speeds, as well as the boat’s sensitivity to trim and visibility coming on plane. “You never lose sight of the horizon,” he says. “Visibility on plane is great, except it’s a windy boat. So I’ll give it a 9 out of 10.” Overall, much depends on how you want to use the 22'. If you’ve got a place on the river where the water is shallow, or if you want a deckboat but don’t want to worry about propellers, this is the boat for you. It’s attractive, it doesn’t rattle, its handling capabilities are solid and it goes over boat wakes with ease. SPEEDBOAT |
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Interceptor 28 Kool Kat
Here’s a deckboat from the new kids in town— they’ve done their homework and are offering a roomy rig with scads of storage.
Attendees of the recent Los test team observed about the Kool Kat many of the 28-foot boats,” according Angeles and Lake Havasu boat is that it’s a large boat with more of a to evaluator Alexi Sahagian. Interceptor shows are likely to have caught square design than some of its com- has clearly tried to distinguish itself sight of the “new guy in town”— Interceptor Custom Boats. The builder has been proudly showing off its three models, including the 28' Kool Kat deckboat, which has proved popular enough to inspire the creation of a 25-foot version to be released later this year. This was our first “Interception” of one of the Corona, CA-built rockets, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to share it with you. The Package: The first thing our 32
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peting models—its lines are a bit more “abrupt” in the front and back, giving it something not unlike a shoebox appearance. But that’s not a dig by any means, especially given that Interceptor’s gelcoat work is a genuine thing of beauty: yellow, orange and red flames fade out of a purple-blue hull, with matching accents throughout the interior—it’s a definite eye-catcher. The boat is voluminous on the inside, with oodles of seating space, “more than
from its competitors by rethinking the floor of its deckboat. Rather than the usual white nonskid surface, they’ve incorporated more than a dozen smaller rubber grey nonskid inserts into the fiberglass floor. While we worried that these panels might get a little hot in the sun, they offer at least two major benefits: first, they signal to passengers where there the height transitions in the floor are—a big plus—and second, several of these inserts are also lids to speedboat.com
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Interceptor 28 Kool Kat Length: 28'
Beam: 102"
Engines on test boat: 520 Mercury Racing engine with XR Drive Base price: $99,990 Price as tested: $144,990 Optional equipment: Engine upgrade, full hydraulic steering, half cap, Monster gauges, engine compartment upgrade, windshield painted trim option, fiberglass seat back upgrade, billet seat upgrade, upgraded stereo system, underwater lighting. Top speed: 70 mph @ 5,350 rpm Interceptor Powerboats 1451 Pomona Rd Corona Ca. 92882 (951) 737-9801 icbboats.com
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Interceptor 28 Kool Kat
Our Kool Kat featured all Livorsi gauges with Mercury Smartcraft system installed. The standard 8.2 Mag was upgraded to a single 520 Mercury Racing engine with Bravo drive. Seating, dash layout, comfort and storage all received top marks from our test team.
“Handling in the slaloms is a 10. It goes across the bumps and wakes pretty good and tracks well all the time. Maneuverability is as good as it gets for a single engine.” —Bob Teague 34
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storage areas in the floor. “It’s actually a good idea,” says Bob Teague. “I’m curious to see how they’ll hold up. It’s the first time I’ve seen that in one of these boats, all the way through.” Speaking of storage, that’s another of the Interceptor’s assets. There’s no end of storage on this boat. During our photo shoot, our camera crew had their work cut out for them trying to document every single storage space on the Kool Kat—just when they thought they were done, another one was discovered. There are areas to hide away innumerable supplies on this craft; in addition to the aforementioned floor lockers, you can stow items under the seats, in both bulkheads, in the glove box, even in one of the rear-entry stairs. (All of the floor lockers come with a nifty recessed pop-and-twist lock, a masterwork of engineering ingenuity.) After entering the flat, extra-wide front end, passengers step down into the bow area containing large couches with forward-facing seats. Those are adorned with cupholders, chicken bars and speakers, and these seats are speedboat.com
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extremely comfortable. Directly behind them are bulkheads with large storage areas; the starboard-side configuration has both a door on the side and a liftup top; the back of the helm’s controls are easily accessible through this entry. Dry-land inspector Greg Shoemaker awarded near-perfect marks to virtually all aspects of the Kool Kat’s layout, accommodations and construction, from the dash layout (a perfect 10) and overall interior to the seating arrangement and passenger comfort. “It looks like they’re going in the right direction,” says Teague. Performance: Standard power on a Kool Kat is the 8.2 Mag, but ours was equipped with a 520 Mercury Racing engine coupled to a Bravo One drive; the setup features Imco’s full hydraulic steering. On the water, our test team couldn’t help comparing the Interceptor with Eliminator’s Fun Deck (reviewed on Page 24 of this issue), with its simliar bottom design and overall handling characteristics. That’s a ringing endorsement in and of itself. One
major difference: this boat was loud. “Firing it up, it sounds like a race boat,” says Alexi Sahagian. “Around the docks, it wa almost unbearable, but after you get up on plane and you’re going 30 mph, then it’s fairly quiet and not so bad anymore.” Bob Teague concurred: “Needs mufflers!” Sounds like an easy fix. Putting the Kool Kat through his series of slalom turns and all of the speed ranges, Teague came away impressed. “Handling in the slaloms is a 10,” he wrote. “It goes across the bumps and wakes pretty good, so good marks there. It tracks good all the time, there’s no steering wheel torque, and maneuverability is as good as it gets for a single engine—10.” He also gave perfect (or near-perfect) marks to all of the boat’s handling and performance characteristics, singling out the Interceptor’s flawless turning abilities. Acceleration was decent; we got to 62 mph in 20 seconds, with a top speed of 70 at 5,350 rpm. We’re looking forward to our next ride in a Kool Kat, and highly anticipating the introduction of the 25-foot model. SPEEDBOAT |
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Photos by Pete
Boden & Ray Lee
Rough water, barrel rolls and the agony of defeat—all ingredients of Key West’s 2015 SBI World Championships.
WAR WORLDS OF THE
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Left: Superboat class entries (including #21 Performance Boat Center, near lane) tear up the water in Key West. Below: the Twisted Metal team gets the party started.
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he usual “offshore battle royale” unfolded in the country’s Southernmost city in November as the big
raceboats vied for World Championship cred on the rough Atlantic Ocean waters. Key West is the end of the line for the Super Boat competitors in November as they clash in seven different classes during three days of dramatic racing. The season’s big winners were speedboat.com
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the pair of Team CMS Motorsports machines—both MTI hulls—which took first and second place overall in the Superboat Unlimited Class. Lucas Oil Silverhook and Miss Geico rounded out the top four in the class. WHM Motorsports grabbed World Champion honors in Superboat Class; they were followed by Cleveland Construction, Team Amsoil and STIHL. Meanwhile, Superboat class competitor HP Mafia, a 38' Skater, did not finish
after barrel-rolling in the first turn during Sunday’s final race. Anthony Smith and his son Anthony Jr., 22, crashed hard, landing upside down; fortunately, they were rescued quickly and escaped serious injury. Other 2015 World Champions included Hooters Instigator (Superboat Extreme), Sun Print (Superboat Vee), Talbot (Superboat Stock), 2nd Amendment (Manufacturer 3) and Crazy Chicken (Manufacturer 4). S P E E D B O A T | March 2016
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War of the Worlds
Superboat Above: Abov ve: World Cham Champion WHM Motorsports, with Billy Mauff (owner/driver) and Jay Muller (throttles).
Ed Smith (driver) and Shawn Smith (throttles) of Cleveland Construction nabbed second place in Superboat class.
Fourth-place entry STIHL, a 38' Skater featuring Robert “J.R.” Noble (owner/ driver) and Mark Kowalski (throttles).
Bob Teague (owner/throttles) and Paul Whittier (driver) of Team Amsoil came in third in Superboat class.
Fifth-place entry Broadco, a 40' MTI, with Chick Broaddus (driver) and Grant Bruggeman (throttles).
Left: Performance Boat Center’s Mark Waddington and Brett Manire. Below: their 38' Skater, driven by Lance Sutton and throttled by Myrick Coil. The boat finished sixth in Superboat class.
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Superboat Stock
World Champion Talbot Excavating, with Kyler Talbot (owner/driver) and Jay Muller (throttles).
BBR Blakes Brothers Racing finished third in Superboat Stock.
Superboat Unlimited World Champion #3 CMS prepares to slay its competitors. The 52' MTI features Bob Bull (owner driver) and Randy Scism (throttles).
Papa’s Pilar Rum, a 32' Doug Wright hull, finished fifth in Superboat Stock.
#03 CMS (below, near lane) finished second and Alex and Ani (far lane) finished sixth in Superboat Unlimited.
Left: Marc Granet (driver) and Scotty Begovich (throttles) pilot Miss Geico, a 44' Victory. The boat finished its class in fourth place.
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War of the Worlds
Second-place finisher Twisted Metal Motorsports, a 40' Fountain.
Superboat Extreme W ld Champion World Ch i H Hooters t IInstigator ti t (near lane), a 40' Fountain.
Superboat Vee World Worl ld Champion Sun Print, Prin a 29' Extreme driven by Gary DeCiuicies and throttled by Steve Miklos.
Second-place finisher Phantom, a 30' Phantom.
Third-place finisher LSB Lilly Sport Boats.
Manufacturer 4
Manufacturer 3 The World Champion 2nd Amendment team: throttleman Neil Wobbe and owner Joe Vaughn (left). Below: Chris Gone Wilder came in third.
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World Champion Crazy Chicken (above), a 28' Extreme featuring Dee Early (driver) and Anthony Silveria (throttles). Fourth-place finisher Maxed Out, a 28' Joker with James Jackson (driver) and Mike Yowaiski (throttles).
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War of the Worlds Mafia Mayhem
Superboat class competitor HP Mafia, a 38' Skater, flipped on the final day of racing. Owner/driver Anthony Smith and his son, Anthony Jr., escaped serious injuries. PHOTOGRAPHY: PETE BODEN
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by Brett
Bayne
This month, we induct master hull designer Rusty Biesemeyer into our Hall of Fame. Rusty showed a natural design talent from the beginning: The first boat he built, a nine-foot, three-point hydro, won the Outboard National Championships in 1953.
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alk about new technology all you want, but in the full-contact world of circle-boat racing, where handling counts for everything,
Rusty Biesemeyer’s flatbottom design still lives large more than 30 years after his death. Absolutely dominating in K-boat racing and Super Stock when he released it in 1970, the double-straked Biesemeyer Sprint boat remains, in its various permutations, the go-to hull for today’s serious flatbottom racer. Famous for its ability to carve hard in the turns and unleash blistering, natural speed in the straights, the Sprint held every competition K-boat and SK record worth holding at various times, winning countless races and innumerable championships beneath the likes of Julian Pettengill, among others. But the Sprint boat was only one of more than 15 groundbreaking hulls designed and produced at Biesemeyer’s Phoenix-based boat shop, a prolific haven of creative thinking that overflowed into drag and circle racing, as well as the production ranks. The most dominant K-racer in history, Cold Fire, was perhaps the most famous in a heap of championship-caliber Biesemeyers. It is this natural acumen for design, backed by a supreme level of commitment and ingenuity that propelled Rusty Biesemeyer into a true “Speedboat Legend,” where we officially induct him alongside other master hull designers of his day. Biesemeyer’s prolific imagination and savvy, seat-of-the-pants engineering was not contained to the race course. He was a trailblazer in early production of fiberglass perfor-
This boat, called the Pied Piper, was built for Jacque Pettijohn. It won more ski races than any other 16' Biesemeyer boat.
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mance boats and designed and built one of the first daycruisers—if not the first. And his Caribbean ski boat, tooled in 1960, set new styling standards that were quickly emulated, and their appeal has proven immune to the test of time. Of course, there was constant crossover between the pleasure- and race-boating realms. After his brother Bill introduced Rusty to boats in 1953, his vocation of exotic cars took a turn toward the water. He showed a natural design talent from the beginning: The first boat he built, a nine-foot, threepoint hydro, won the Outboard National Championships in 1953. His natural inclination was to add power, and that led to the creation of an all-wood Ski Racer in 1954, which was rigged up with a Studebaker off a hydraulic clutch. In 1956, Biesemeyer released one of the first (if not the first) all-fiberglass production inboards, a 16-footer, reportedly the first to be mocked and molded with compound curves. An offshoot design that capitulated into a modified, “double bubble” four-point hydro-powered by a stock 358 Chevy, was the first boat to run 125 mph in the quarter mile at Long Beach Marine Stadium, in 1959, beating Mickey Thompson in the final round. One of the early, dominant race boats of the day, the Pied Piper, was owned by Jacque Pettijohn. A series of milestones would follow in the Biesemeyer’s wake. Biesemeyer was forever experimenting, breaking new ground. In 1967, he built a flatbottom with strakes on the bottom. Two years later, the 21-foot Day Cruiser emerged. In 1970, the Sprint hull instantly accelerated peak speeds in the serious racing ranks, and, in 1974, the Murphy-Biesemeyer 17-footer emerged and instantly became the world’s fastest unblown gas flatbottom. Biesemeyer would eventually sell his molds to Julian Pettengill, who successfully produced the 18-foot Biesemeyer for a number of years. Rusty Biesemeyer died in 1984, but his legacy lives on.
Rusty at Biesemeyer’s first boat show in 1958, soon after they started building their 16-footer.
Right: This 18' “double-bubble” inboard was displayed on the showroom floor of Phoenix Marine in 1960. Frank Weaver did the upholstery work on this innovative model.
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Speedboat Legends
Left: Rusty and Bill beside one of their new 16-foot outboards. Below left: The first 16-foot outboard out of the mold. Bottom: Jeff Worthen’s Biesemeyer at the 2011 V-Drive Regatta.
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Right: a Biesemeyer on display at the 7th Annual Route 66 Hot Boat and Custom Car Show in Needles, CA.
Left: a vintage ad for Biesemeyer’s 18' ski boat, which featured a 90" beam. By this time, the boats were being sold by as many as six dealerships.
Rusty drives this boat with Jerry Huntley and Dan Biesemeyer behind him.
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BADASS 548
BUILD PART TWO
Tom Orseno at Pro-Marine moves our 1,100-hp powerplant to the dynamometer.
I
Above: Orseno with our engine. Right: our Dart cylinder heads.
n our January issue, we simple to just disconnect the water line gave you a look at the start and fuel line and battery and pull the of a new engine build headed motor out. The fuel pump isn’t mount-
up by Tom Orseno at Pro-Marine (Lake Havasu, AZ). In the first installment, he began assembling the engine for Speedboat editor/publisher Ray Lee’s Lavey Craft. His goal was to build a new 548-c.i. motor using components from JE (pistons), Dart (block, heads), Eagle (rods, crankshaft) and Comp Cams (camshaft, valvetrain, belt drive). All of the raw materials and parts were laid out in Part 1 and we saw the engine start to take form, with the crankshaft, cylinder heads, etc., installed on the block. We begin Part 2 with the engine about three-quarters of the way assembled. Orseno continued the basic assembly of the engine by wiring and plumbing the motor, running the lines to the fuel rail, returning lines through a fuel cooler to the fuel filter, bolting on the fuel pump, installing the valve covers and installing cylinder heads, oil cooler, EFI system and supercharger. Orseno used a custom mount for the fuel pump that mounts on the engine to keep things in place. The oil cooler was mounted directly on the motor: “It’s all custom plumbed with lines that are made here to fit so that when you take the motor in and out, it’s really
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ed on the stringers, with the oil pump mounted somewhere else—it’s all selfcontained on the motor.” The 1,200-hp fuel pump was provided by Aeromotive of Lenexa, KS. The Dart Cylinder heads were assembled at Pro-Marine; they feature a 245-cc intake chamber and 1-300 exhaust intake valve with a spring pressure of 150 (seat) and 400 (open). Our oil cooler was provided by CP Performance, a 13-plates system that has been designed to bolt to the Bravo bell housing: “Instead of using a tube oil cooler, this is a plate oil cooler, which is a significant improvement over the tube oil coolers that you often see in a boat,” Orseno says. Once the motor was completely assembled, Orseno built a custom EFI wiring harness for it. “Everything was cut to length and fitted so there were no extra wires,” he says. “Everything was nice and neat on the motor, and the wire loom was all heat shrunk to protect it.” It was decided that a Whipple supercharger would be the ideal complement to our dream machine. This 4.5-liter unit features a brand-new manifold that’s port-injected, rather than the injector being located behind the blower. “It’s a real nice manifold design,” Orseno says.
“All of the inlets are radiused for better flow. Plus, the 4.5 has got a better snout than the 4.0 Whipples.” Installing the supercharger was relatively simple: Once the manifold was bolted on the block, intercooler was installed, the supercharger was sealed with O rings with eight bolts to hold it on. After that, the fuel rails that are on the manifold were plumbed to the pump and on the supercharger itself. Orseno then hooked up the throttle position switch to the ECU. The build progressed quickly and efficiently, and before long, the motor was ready to be fired up and put on the dynamometer for tuning. A critical component of our setup is the XFI 2.0 ECU from FAST Marine. Orseno cut and stripped a custom wire loom at Pro-Marine to ensure that everything was cut, stripped and heat shrunk neatly and cleanly. Aiding Orseno in the calibration of the ECU was performance guru Ben Strader, who acts as a consultant to numerous engine builders and race teams. (Text continues on Page 54) speedboat.com
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Above: The 4.5 Whipple Charger. Right: Our in-progress engine build. Below: Orseno bolts the unit on to the engine. It’s a relatively simple procedure.
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Badass 548 Build
Ben Strader (left) takes crucial measurements on his laptop once the engine is put on the dyno (above and below). He uses the laptop to check the actual pressure in the cylinder while the motor is running, as well as the temperature.
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Badass 548 Build
“Ben uses a machine that allows us to check the actual pressure in the cylinder while the motor is running, as well as the temperature,” he says. “It acts as a spark plug, and he can review the data after a pull. He can see detonation in the cylinder, pressure rise and decline in the cylinder, and what the temperatures are while it’s running through the combustion process.” Orseno ran our engine to 6,000 rpm, and after a day of tuning, total horsepower generated was 1,110 hp. In our final installment, we’ll install the engine in our boat, break it in, and see how fast it goes and how it handles. “When we built his last motor, it was about 850 hp, we picked up 250 hp, he’s probably going to gain about 15 mph,” Orseno says.
Strader’s data shows pressure and temperature readings on the dyno.
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Left: A look at the finished dyno sheet shows rpm, horsepower, FHp (friction hp), fuel consumption, etc. The dyno starts at 3,500 rpm, holds it there for 3 seconds and takes all the readings. The dyno then opens a valve, lets it go to 4,000 and repeats the process. “I do a three-second step test so I can take more accurate readings,� Orseno explains.
Sources: Pro-Marine 2750 Sweetwater Ave Ste 8 Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406 (928) 505-3966 JE Pistons 8 Mason Irvine, CA 92618 (714) 898-9763 jepistons.com Dart Machinery 353 Oliver St. Troy, MI 48084 (248) 362-1188 dartheads.com Eagle Specialty Products 8530 Aaron Lane Southaven, MS 38671 (662) 796-7373 eaglerod.com Comp Cams 3406 Democrat Road Memphis, TN 38118 (800) 999-0853 compcams.com Whipple Superchargers 3292 N. Weber Fresno, CA 93722 (559) 442-1261 whipplesuperchargers.com
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Reader Rides By Brett
Bayne
38' Cigarette Ben Abeln Imperial, MO
L
ongtime friends with Brett Manire of Performance Boat Center, Abeln was offered a job at the shop when
Manire purchased the company; he’s sort of a jack-of-alltrades who’s equally proficient at detailing, trailering, driving—anything that needs to be done. He originally owned a 25' Regal (with a 454 and Bravo drive) that went about 55 mph; that was traded in for a 30' Baja (64 mph) and a 33' Donzi (75 mph) before Manire cut him a deal on the Cigarette three years ago. “It’s been a steady speed upgrade every time,” he chuckles. “Since I started doing the poker runs, the Top Gun has always been my dream boat,” he adds. “I like the 525 package with the XR Sportsmaster shorty drives, so I’m pretty happy. It gets me to nearly 90 mph.”
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21' Nordic Ken Bowen Coto de Caza, CA
Bowen, an Orange County realtor, raced in APBA and OPA for years with his friend David Tierney acting as crew chief. Competing in Factory II and Super Vee classes beginning in 2001, Ken raced an enclosed 38' Donzi in 2003-04; in 2004, Bowen captured a five-point National Championship. The next year, he raced a 388 Skater in Super Vee, and Tierney has pulled Bowen in numerous Catalina Ski Races over the years. “The cool thing about the 21' Nordic is that it’s like being in a 30' vee bottom,” says Tierney. “The boat just runs like you’re in a much larger boat than you’re really in. Nordic really hit the nail on the head—the bottom design and the sharp entry are phenomenal. The boat’s got ballasts so you can run it flat out in the ocean, and it runs great. It’s pretty awesome how well that boat handles the big water.” At press time, Bowen—a longtime board member of SCOPE—was recuperating from surgery. The entire staff of Speedboat wishes him a speed recovery! speedboat.com
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Reader Rides 22' Shockwave Kyle Hanenberg Ehrenberg, AZ
Kyle Hanenberg and Ethan Sullivan have a fair amount in common. Friends for many years, they are both married and have kids around the same age. They live in the same neighborhood alongside the Colorado River near Blythe, they’re both electrical contractors with their own businesses, and—you guessed it—they both own 22' Shockwave Deckboats. Hanenberg previously owned a 21' Shockwave vee bottom, but after taking a ride in a buddy’s Ultra cat, he
22' Shockwave Ethan Sullivan Ehrenberg, AZ
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became so enamored with the catamaran’s handling and performance that he visited Shockwave and started shopping for a different model. “I wasn’t too thrilled about the LSA engine, but Bob Anderson at Shockwave took us for a ride, and the ride was really awesome,” Hanenberg says. “I like the way that it rides better than the vee. It’s smoother through the chop and you aren’t double-jumping wakes.” In addition, he has a new-found appreciate for what the LSA engine can provide in terms of speed. “We were only getting about 55 mph in the vee with the 502 engine,” he says. “I’ve gotten as much as 73 mph out of the new boat. That’s pretty cool.” Hanenberg enjoys boating with his wife Maryanne, his 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, as well as Sullivan and his family.
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New Products BRETT BAYNE Enhanced Trim Tabs New trim tabs from Livorsi Marine (Grayslake, IL) are now available with a brilliant powder coat finish and private label options. Tabs are built from CNC machined billet aluminum and are Mil-Spec hard coat anodized, topped with a powdercoat finish and 5 anodes to prevent corrosion. OEMs can add their company logos laser-etched on the powdercoat and anodized finish. Livorsi's billet trim tabs stretch across the boating spectrum; models are available for performance boats, center consoles, cruisers, workboats, runabouts and military boats from 20 to 50 feet. The electronic sender models are capable of reading trim indication with compatible NMEA 2000-compliant systems and Mercury VesselView. The electronic IP68 sensor used on these tabs directly plugs to Livorsi's
New Inducer Impeller Place Diverter & Controls of La Habra, CA, has pulled the wrapping off its latest 316L Stainless steel Inducer Impeller. The unit’s non-shrouded design flows as
LED Position Indicators for immediate indication. Hydraulic cylinders are designed with dual seals and 1500 PSI working pressure. Bolt patterns include a direct factory replacement for Mercury 950 trim tab and a smaller Livorsi bolt pattern
for center consoles. Transom angles on these tabs may be adjusted without the need for special tools making these tabs easy to install and modify for your application. For more information about Livorsi trim tabs or indicators, visit livorsi.com.
much 25% more water to the main impeller. This literally pre-loads the impeller full of water reducing voids and aerated pockets of air allowing the jet drive to harness all the power the engine can deliver.
These impellers are most famous for turning ordinary boats into extraordinary boats through amazing holeshot acceleration. Another key attribute is the ability to overcome “spinout,” which is when turbulent water conditions produce gulps of air causing an impeller to basically loose traction. The ability to reduce these conditions is unmatched by anything but an Inducer Impeller. Finally, the Inducer Impeller creates a phenomenon similar in likeness to that of an automatic transmission or overdrive type scenario by using the Inducer Impeller. Matched with a jet’s primary impeller, a person can have the best of both worlds in both holeshot and top-end performance. If you’re looking to make a great jetboat, look no further than Place Diverter’s Inducer Impeller. After having set national speed records and countless hours making jet-driven boats perform, Place Diverter is sure to have a winner with this new product.
For more information, contact Place Diverter at (714) 870-7140. 60
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Livestream Tech
Alexi Sahagian, owner of Boostpower USA of Newbury Park, CA, has been tapped to participate in a weekly 30-minute online livestream chat to discuss various high-performance topics. Sahagian, author of a regular tech column in Speedboat magazine, will cover a wide range of marine-related subjects, including engine internals, setups, powertrains, EFI, dyno sessions, etc. “Our ultimate goal is to give back knowledge to the public and promote technology and concepts used to push the industry forward,” Sahagian said. “Also, we plan to promote our EFI and enginebuilding school in 2016, full force.” For more information, contact Boostpower USA at (805) 376-6077 or visit boostpower.com.
Blower Manifold From Blower Drive Service (BDS) of Whittier, CA: big-block Chevy tall-tech street blower manifolds, designed to be fit without the need for spacers and feature an intake height of 4.750". The intake has solid sides for added strength and rigidity, tented floor for improved air flow and is capable of accepting up to a 1071 blower. Extra material has been added around the ports to allow port matching. BDS Tall Deck Chevy blower manifolds are designed for stock factory heads (but not Vortech heads). Each unit includes backfire valve, thermostat housing with 180 thermostat, and water neck and intake gaskets. They’re available in polished units (Part #BM-3026TP), retail-
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New Products
ing for $693.50, and unpolished (Part #BM-3026T), retailing for $568.50. For more information, contact BDS at (562) 698-7213 or visit blowerdriveservice. com.
Revolver 43' Center Console Revolver Boats of Milano, Italy, is set to release a 43-foot center-console model with a new, innovative design. Officially formed in 2010, Revolver showed off its stylish 42-footer at the Florida Powerboat Club’s poker run back in 2013, and it appeared on the cover of
our March 2013 issue. Now, after launching two boats on the international market—the 42R and the 44GT—the Revolver team is reportedly close to introducing a high performance model, the 43CC center console powered by outboard engines. The new model was designed by Italian designer Alberto Mancini (AM Yacht Design), who also designed the successful Revolver 44GT. It will be specially geared toward the USA and UAE markets, in addition to others. The new Revolver 43CC picks up on design elements introduced in previous models and inspired by the super sports car world, with the rear spoiler reminiscent of cars from the 1960s. It combines versatile on-board spaces typical of an open boat with the excellent performance and handling that have become one of the brand's hallmarks. For more information, visit the builder at revolverboats.com.
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Brett’s WEEKEND PARADISE New Year’s Bash at Lake Elsinore
ALSO: • Tom Papp Race • Shelby Ebert • Problem Child
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Twist & Shout
Matt attt O Oliv Oliver’s Olive liver’s ver’s er’ rred-hot hot Hondo ndo do o iss the th he e envy e env envy yo off all wh who encount encounte encounter counte unte nter ter ter er it. it
Photography raphy phy hy y by by Robert Robe
Ojeda
M
att Oliver was 19 when he caught the speed sickness. His
first ride was a Sanger Bubble Deck that he used on the river for many years. While attending a race in the late 1970s, he met Blown Alcohol Flat competitor Rod Corning of Wasted Nights fame. “The team was having an issue with the boat, they couldn’t get the keyway back into the rudder,” Oliver recalls. “I asked Rod if he would mind if I tried repairing it. I got in and fixed the boat. It turned out that he lived in Whittier, CA, and I lived in nearby Brea. He said, ‘From now on, you go with us.’ ” After racing with Corning for a year, Oliver bought a Hondo flatbottom (painted by the legendary Dick Vale) in Bakersfield and raced that for a time. Next up was another Sanger, which he campaigned in both Comp Hydro and Super Eliminator classes. In 1990, competing in Blown Gas Hydro, Oliver crashed his boat, ending his racing career for decades. Then, about six years ago, he came across this Hondo flatbottom and decided to restore it from stem to stern. Lew Larson built a blown 496 for the rig, Billy B touched up the paint job, Brad King performed all of the pinstriping and lettering and Full Throttle of Corona, CA, did all of the powdercoating. At press time, Oliver was planning to drive Oliver’s Twist in the ADBA race in Parker, AZ—his first race in 26 years. Matt thanks his brother Richard for his help, as well as wife Ardis and mother Pat.
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Built by Lew Larson, Oliver’s blown 496 features closed chamber steel heads and a set of 950 carburetors on top. “The boat runs really hard for what it is,” Oliver says. He expects to reach a top speed of 130 mph.
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d n e k e e w
PARADISE The owner of Lake Elsinore’s hottest RV Park opens his venue to the V-drive crowd.
F
ans of the National lake. For the sixth year in a row, in fact, V-drives. “The jetboat guys give me a Drag Boat Association Addington has hosted an informal get- hard time, but I’m working on a date just (NDBA) circuit may re- together for the go-fast boating crowd for them,” he grins.
member the career of Wade Addington, who campaigned #309 War Paint in in Comp Flat and other classes through the 1970s and 1980s. He’s raced at all of the major venues, from Firebird and Lake Ming to Chowchilla. Still passionate about speedboats, Addington purchased the Weekend Paradise RV Park in Lake Elsinore, CA, and has transformed it into the premiere performance/hotrod place to stay on the 66
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at his park, which includes a beach area and barbecues. It all started after he purchased the park: “As soon as I did, a couple of my buddies said, ‘We’re not doing anything on New Year’s Day. Why don’t we come out?’ Five turned into 15, 15 turned into 35…and it just kept growing,” Addington says. “It’s the one day a year I never charge anybody for anything.” Indeed, he and his wife barbecue hot dogs for attendees, all of whom own
The Jan. 1 event has grown in part due to the efforts of his friend Dave “Jocko” Giacomino, who has a strong presence online and in the forums, while Addington remains proudly computer challenged. Promoting the event has paid off, with dozens of boats coming out to join in the fun, including the old Cole factory boat Spooky, fully restored by new owner Steve Faist and making its first appearance after two years. speedboat.com
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Photography by Mark
McLaughlin
Left: Dwight Ivy brought his 1983 18' Kurtis runner bottom, powered by a blown 468 big-block Chevy. Below: NJBA racer Danny Cannon.
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Weekend Paradise
Above: James Stevens 19' Howard v-bottom, powered by a blown BBC. Above right: Tony Scarlata in his Canyon runnerbottom, powered by a blown, injected alcohol BBC. Right: Bill Spurling in his 18' Daytona, powered by a blown, injected and intercooled BBC.
Below: Dwight Ivy races an unidentified jetboat that somehow wandered into this V-drive event. Bottom: Jeff Bogart in his Got Flat runner bottom.
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Above and left: Mike Phillips in his 1970 18' Wriedt 18’ flatbottom Flat Wriedt, powered by a blown 440 Mopar. Below: Steve Stuart catches some air in his 1981 Howard, powered by a blown BBC 427. Bottom: Steve Faist is the latest owner of the old 18' Cole runner bottom Spooky. It’s powered by a blown, injected alcohol BBC. Bottom left: Patrick Kelley in his 1972 Sanger shovelnose hydro, powered by a blown intercooled 540 BBC.
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What’s the
The world’s q quickest TFH slumped in 2 2015 2015, 0 5, 5, b but utt Ed E Edd d Eddie Knox Kn Knox ox x vows tto get ett b back ack ck ko on top.
PROBLEM, CHILD? A
fter amazing success Speedboat asked Knox what happened— he’s marketable and he isn’t afraid to in drag racing with and his strategy for getting back in the keep his foot down. Yes, there were some
drivers like Dale Ishimaru (who captured the 2006 World Championship) and Daryl Ehrlich (who racked up several more), Eddie Knox’s Problem Child team seemed unstoppable…until Ehrlich and replacement driver Joel Webber walked away from the race course. So last year, Knox hired Todd Plate—who had driven for him in Top Fuel during the early days of Knox’s career. “We were out of money and needed somebody who could bring some support,” he says. The reunion seemed like the perfect resolution. But last season turned out to be a problematic one for Problem Child.
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winner’s circle. Here’s his report: “We had lot of failures. One of the main issues is that my parts are a decade old. We’ve never had a real influx of cash along the way, but as long as we were winning, and not blowing stuff up, and selling T-shirts, we were able to get by. Financing is a big problem. To run in this class and be successful at it, it takes a good chunk of cash. It often reminds me of Granatelli trying to win the Indy 500— it was always a $5 hose clamp in one race and a $10 part the next race. A little bit of human error and a little bit of old parts. “But we’re going to stick with Todd Plate in 2016. He represented us well,
races we should have won—prize money would have bought new parts—but he did a good job in his freshman year. I just have to give him a better vehicle he can win with. I’ve gone entire years with one explosion, but last year, we blew up eight engines. “We have some irons in the fire, but we have no significant sponsorship going into this year. As much as I probably should park it for a while and heal up, the reality is that if you’re not out there, you’re not going to get any sponsorship. In a nutshell, we’ve got to get our act together and we need some money to do it. I’m not giving up.” speedboat.com
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Top right: Knox with son Eddie Jr. and daughter Amanda, both part of the Problem Child team. Middle right: Driver Todd Plate, Eddie Knox and Todd’s father Bill enjoy some quiet time at the track. Bottom right: Another engine explosion—and money down the Savannah River—at the Augusta Southern Nationals.
Photography by Mark
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Shel Raiser Kansas native Todd Ebert is proud of his drag racing career—but even prouder of another racer: his daughter Shelby.
T
he apple, as the say- at 133.952 mph for the win in Quick ships under his belt, and he has raced ing goes, doesn’t fall Eliminator class in Chandler, AZ. The #4 almost every class in drag boat racing up far from the tree, and qualifier had to run some pretty impres- to where he is now. I think he’s one of
perhaps the best proof of its veracity is Todd Ebert. Ebert started racing in 1989 and he has been behind the wheel of virtually every kind of boat. He’s racked up championships in connection with numerous groups, from CSDBA and SLDBA to SDBA and Lucas Oil, and has been named ET Driver of the Year twice. Last season, driving Another Wet Dream, Ebert ran a time of 6.094 seconds
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sive times to get through the tough field of 19 boats, and he succeeded with flying colors. His triumph can be enjoyed in January’s issue (“In the Zone,” Page 76). But this is a story about Ebert’s other triumph—his daughter Shelby, an upand-coming racer who is quickly becoming a legend in her own right. “I’m his daughter, so of course he’s my idol,” Shelby says. “But he has won so much. He has at least ten champion-
the best racers out there, but of course that’s my personal opinion. But I’m very proud.” Undoubtedly the feeling is mutual. Born and raised in Wamigo, KS, Shelby attended her first boat race when she was only a couple months old. When she was 3, her parents sold Todd’s old boat and bought his new boat. “As the new owners of the old boat were taking the boat down the driveway, I ran after it, speedboat.com
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Interview by Brett
Bayne Photography by David Gillen
Shelby shares the wheel with young driver, Amira, who races with the Junior Drag Boat Racing League.
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Shel Raiser
shouting, ‘Bring me my boat back!’ And ever since then, I told my parents that I wanted to race a boat just like my dad.” By age 13, Shelby was given the gift of a Sea Doo, which she raced competitively beginning at age 14 in Personal Watercraft class, winning one championship. At age 16, Todd bought her the boat she’s been racing for the last four years. She started in the 10-second bracket with a blown engine. “We couldn’t really slow the boat down enough to run the ten seconds, so we struggled quite a bit,” she recalls. “The next year I was old enough to run 9 seconds, and I ended up getting the runner-up championship in SDBA and in Lucas Oil. That was extremely exciting.” The following year, Shelby moved up to Pro Eliminator class. “It was unex-
pected, because I thought I was going to run one more year in Top Eliminator,” she says. “But we moved up and ran Pro Eliminator, and ended up winning both championships. The year after that, she opted to stick with Pro Eliminator and ended up winning both championships again. “We just bought a Pro Mod for me to race next year,” she says. During the 2015 season, Shelby won the first four races she competed in. “We started out strong, and won the very first race we went to,” she says, “Then we just kept going.” Her goal was to sweep the season, but a broken engine dashed those hopes. “It was still awesome to win that many races back to back to back,” she says. She says that one of the reasons she’s so passionate about racing is the tightknit nature of the sport and its partici-
pants. “That’s what’s unique about the dragboat racing community—we’re all basically family,” she says. “I feel like I have like hundreds of parents. And I’ve met some of my closest friends through boat racing as well.” She credits two crew chiefs, Barney and Selden, for helping her stay focused before a race if she gets the jitters. “I do get nervous before I go into the water—I tend to pace around a lot. But my team members and my dad all have different ways of keeping me calm,” she says. “But after I get back into the water, it’s just me out there. I’m in my own head and I’m not nervous anymore.” In addition to racing, Shelby attends classes at Kansas State University, where she’s studying to earn a degree in business.
Above and below: Shelby competes last year in Marble Falls, TX.
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Below: Shelby was featured in the dragboat association’s 2015 calendar. Bottom: her boat’s lavishly adorned transom.
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Below: Shelby with father Todd Ebert. Bottom: with her beau, Cody Springer.
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Tom Papp MEMORIAL Friends, fans and gearheads pay tribute to speed guru Tom Papp at Lake Elsinore
Photography by Mark
McLaughlin
T
here were more longsleeve shirts and jackets worn than in most Southern California
lake events, but that’s to be expected when the event takes place at the beginning of January. While the weather in Lake Elsinore was questionable at the beginning of the day, by late morning the heavy fog had burned away and all was well for participants of the annual Tom Papp Memorial, an
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informal gathering to pay tribute to the beloved boatbuilder George Thomas Papp. Attendees experienced virtually no wind, glassy water (surprisingly clean!) and sunny skies for the event, which kicked off in 2007 when a few boaters organized a gathering as a way of dealing with the passing of their close friend and mentor. A few phone calls later, it was decided to spend a day on the water. There were only a dozen boats at the initial get-together—boats that Papp
had worked on—but that number has continued to grow with each passing year. It’s a day to tell stories and remember the creator of the Stealth line, who always passed his vast knowledge on to friends and customers to help make their boats go faster. The fun-loving spirit he instilled in others is stronger than ever, and one has to look no further than the latest annual gathering of fellow jet boat aficionados to see it. Thanks to all of the folks who turned out! speedboat.com
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Below left: Shane Westerfield in his Blow’n Smoke Pro Eliminator Cole tries out the newly rebuilt 10-liter Arias motordriven machine.
Jeff and Stephanie Conrad pull up to the beach with Lucky the dog. Left: Bambi and Amanda dance on the deck.
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Tom Papp Memorial
Craig Haller gets some air with rider Pat Faul. Craig recently just purchased this beautiful Cole flat out of Arizona.
Frantic Rat, with Mike Lawson at the wheel testing the new tuneup.
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The back end of Stevie Rubideaux’s beautifully painted Instant Insanity flat.
Tony Scarlata (above) shoes his Hart Attack blown flatty past the shoreline (left)
Mike Lawson’s Frantic Rat sits peacefully on the trailer before going out.
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Tom Papp Memorial Steve Rubideaux gets a little “out of the seat” here as he passes by the shoreline.
Wesley Morgan’s Margarita sits between the daycruisers as Brian Forester and gang enjoy some refreshments on the beach.
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ON THE DYNO ALEXI SAHAGIAN [Continued from page 14] motors for the idle that are working and a crank trigger and for the life of us, we can’t get it to idle consistently. The bottom injectors are 160 pounds per hour and the top are 55’s and I run e85 and race gas. Please help as we are frustrated! Wayne Nerwin Perth, Australia For sure, we need to fix this, because EFI is meant for good startup, good idle and the implementation of safety features to protect your safety and investment. Let’s start by talking about the ignition. I imagine you have a crank trigger and some type of cam sync. If so, make sure it is synchronized with the software. It is a basic check but highly overlooked especially after new engine break in time. Make sure the engine is matched to what the software commands. The other topic to look at is the fact that if you are trying to tune the idle with an O2 sensor-it will usually not work on a big motor with big overlap at idle. They usually need to be toggled off until 1500 or more rpm and at times a specific sensor temp. So, make sure idle is not in closed loop. It will not work well on most engines like this. Once this is sorted out, have a look at your idle injector pulse actual numbers in the grid of the ECU mapping table. If it is 1 millisecond or below, beware! Most injectors actually go haywire pulsing below 1 millisecond and will do weird things and actually dribble fuel out of the injector etc. Keep a close eye on that. It is most common with larger injectors on dual fuel engines like yours. If you take an injector out and test it and the results are failing, go to a smaller injector on the bottom and perhaps bump the top injector psi up or size. After you do this, you will need to retune the idle and meter the rest of the range to assure safe air fuel ratio. So, with that said have a look into the basics and make sure that your sensors are all working properly and be assured the basic parameters are all set and you will soon find the culprit.
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