Eating my words :) 1972 25 Seafari Project - Page 4

FishStretcher · #1 05-07-2013, 07:59 PM

I need a trailer. Or I need to sink $700+ into mine.

Briguy · #2 05-07-2013, 11:51 PM

Wow, what a score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Mom grew up in Cherry Hill.
I think I can speak for everyone saying "We're all jealous!"

Hope you make your dream come true with that one. I'd have nabbed that in a heartbeat. That 25 is sooooooooooo sexy, in a nerdy hot girl with glasses kind of way!

strick · #3 05-13-2013, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briguy

That 25 is sooooooooooo sexy, in a nerdy hot girl with glasses kind of way!

This is one of the best quotes ever on CSC.

strick

cdavisdb · #4 05-08-2013, 03:06 PM

If its a two barrel, pretty minimal power. You would need to prop it for 20 knots cruise, maybe less. With a 4 barrel its closer to reasonable, but no speed demon. One good thing, torque is more important that HP, and I think, at cruising rpm, a 350 is a 350.

The boat is very sensitive to adding weight. Load it heavy, vacuum at cruise goes way down and I don't think the 2 barrel will work. For sure, get a vacuum gauge, or you are likely to eat the engine up.

My 350 is about 285 hp, with a duoprop and is near perfect for the boat if not loaded heavy. If I was going to load it down all the time, I'd need to reprop or go to a bigger engine.

seafari25 · #5 05-08-2013, 05:19 PM

Congrats, Tim, on a great find, at a great price!

Connor is right. If you can get about 18-20kt cruise, I think you will be happy with that. Being at the low end of power options for the boat, I plane at about 15-16kts and top out at 27-28kts. I find that operating the boat above 20kts is more work and tend to keep it around 17-18, so as said above, I think you will be satisfied if you can get similar performance as ours. Ours is a 327 chev with a II drive. Honestly, I don't actually know the HP. I had always been told 288 or 290, however, that is what Connor is pushing and his is much faster. If ours is, in fact 290HP, than I assume our stern drive is geared differently. Nevertheless, I have always been happy with the performance.

Looking forward to your progress. When I first became a member, there was virtually no info on 25's. Now, thanks to guys like Dave, Connor and Strick, there is tons on here. I assume your thread will become one of my fav's as well.

Brandon

Bigshrimpin · #6 05-08-2013, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

If its a two barrel, pretty minimal power. You would need to prop it for 20 knots cruise, maybe less. With a 4 barrel its closer to reasonable, but no speed demon. One good thing, torque is more important that HP, and I think, at cruising rpm, a 350 is a 350.

The boat is very sensitive to adding weight. Load it heavy, vacuum at cruise goes way down and I don't think the 2 barrel will work. For sure, get a vacuum gauge, or you are likely to eat the engine up.

My 350 is about 285 hp, with a duoprop and is near perfect for the boat if not loaded heavy. If I was going to load it down all the time, I'd need to reprop or go to a bigger engine.

It's a 4 barrel Holly carb. 99% sure a TRS gimbal based on pics. There appears to be some sort of electric shifter mechanism . . . big clunky thing that mounts at an angle.

Looks just like this one STERN DRIVE MC II-TR

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Mercrui...item19d6e64615

OilFieldMan · #7 05-08-2013, 07:46 PM

Be careful putting too much time into the ford motor. I had the 188hp in a Searay that I dumped way too much time and energy into it.

Most time's besides alternator/starter I was able to use a 70's era mustang for parts. But often times parts were either expensive heavily used or hard to find. But I also was coupled to a 888 outdrive too which was hard to find parts. I think you said you were coupled to a TRS. I think I still have a few parts off that old ford motor I think valve cover gaskets and the alignment tool.

cdavisdb · #8 05-08-2013, 09:14 PM

Got to disagree with my distinguished neighbor down the road. Outboards have their place but not on a 25. Raises the CG too much on a boat that is already tippy. I have a friend that owned one long ago. He put twin outboards and a (nuts)tower on it. Lightning fast, but he said it rolled something awful (including a bad snap roll, which the I/O boats don't have). His wife refused to go out on it.

gofastsandman · #9 05-08-2013, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Got to disagree with my distinguished neighbor down the road. Outboards have their place but not on a 25. Raises the CG too much on a boat that is already tippy. I have a friend that owned one long ago. He put twin outboards and a (nuts)tower on it. Lightning fast, but he said it rolled something awful (including a bad snap roll, which the I/O boats don't have). His wife refused to go out on it.

Cut the deck and put a straight shaft in there? Where we live makes perfect sense.
Still spinning,
Us
Yikes

FishStretcher · #10 05-08-2013, 09:54 PM

Offer me a good price on mine and I will replace it with a 260HP Cummins/Mercruiser/VW TDI that is lighter than a 350 chevy in a heartbeat. Or a small home equity loan...

From what I learned working for a boat builder- it is all in the props. A 300HP 350CID engine doesn't make 300HP unless you can absorb full torque at that operating point. And prop efficiency can be from the 40s to 74% (or worse). So a 60% efficent 200HP drive goes as fast or faster than a 300HP 40% efficent prop. Engine power is input, not propulsive power.

A $600 prop and magic bottom paint could be the ticket with that engine.

Volvo IPS props are SO thin, you would think they couldn't be fully machined from NiBrAl (Bronze) on a horizontal CNC machine. But they are. And at thousands each, they still seem to be worth it. They are transmission and tires all at the same time.