As Seen In Speed On The Water, Issue 19; May/June 2016

Whether you’re a “take it or leave it” person, there’s no shortage of advice in the go-fast boating community. In my opinion that is a positive thing, but on the flip side, too much advice can be difficult to grasp and bad advice can be debilitating.

Whether it is advice on engines, drives, towing,
propellers, navigation, etc., what I do know is
that advice can and should come from several
sources. That way you can make an informed
decision after so many discussions or move on to the next resource if a resolution wasn’t found. And I’ll tell you what, it pays to have the wherewithal and confidence to ask for advice. Sam Tippens of Oklahoma City is a perfect example.

In May, Tippens sent me an email regarding his 2009 Skater 36 Flat Deck catamaran that he purchased less than two years ago. The boat, which is powered by twin Mercury Racing 700SCi engines coupled with No. 6 drives, was originally built with quarter canopies, but he added a wraparound windshield conversion kit to the 36-footer last winter. At the same time he upgraded to BAM 1500 transmissions.

Tippens explained the problems he has been dealing with.

“I cannot get the port engine water pressure TEAGUE’S TAKE right,” he said. “I’m running out of pressure at higher speeds. I’ve re-plumbed the strainers, installed larger crossovers, machined out the ‘slot’ in the transom to match the starboard, etc., but when the boat is going straight, my pressure on the port side starts dropping at around 90 mph.

“If I turn the wheel slightly, the pressure goes up to 45 psi on both engines, so I don’t think there is a restriction in the motor itself,” he added. “It works sometimes (marginally) and then just flat out doesn’t other times depending on sea conditions and loading, and, of course, guardian.

“It seems as if this pickup is not getting clean water,” he added. “I suspect the pickup is too far outboard or the step in front of the pickup is aerating the water at the point of pickup. I’ve looked at several of my friends’ fast boats and mine looks just like theirs. Could you suggest anything? I am curious of your setup in the AMSOIL boat. Thanks in advance for any help you could send.”

Based on his description, this is the advice I provided.

After a discussion with Vern Gilbert of West Coast Drives at the Texas Outlaw Challenge, Oklahoma performance boater Sam Tippens was able to locate an issue with his port-side hull water pickup channel.

“Everything looks normal except that your pickups are a little too high. The bottom of the tube should be about 1/8” to 3/16” below the running surface of the sponson. I can see that you are out of adjustment on the Skater-built water pickup because of how high the support is mounted. I believe that boat had 1075s in it at one time. There is no way they would have worked with the water pickups that high.

“It is important to have at least a – 16 crossover between the sea strainers to help equalize the pressure in turns. The trick is to have enough water pressure at cruising speeds while not letting it get excessive at top speeds. We build our cat sea strainers with a large pop off to help control excessive pressure. The problem with the 700s is that they will go into guardian any time the pressure is too low compared to power demand. In summary, you need to lower your pickups slightly and make sure you have an adequate pop-off system to control high-speed pressure.”

But the story didn’t end there. Recently, Tippens reached out and said my advice helped but didn’t solve the problem. Fortunately for the Oklahoma boater, he attended the Texas Outlaw Challenge in June and was introduced to none other than Vern Gilbert of West Coast Drives in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Gilbert has as much experience with Skaters as anyone around.

The water pickup channel in the 36-foot Skater was
not completely parallel to the boat’s running surface.

Tippens said he went home after the event and checked a few things more closely based on his conversation with Gilbert. He noticed that the channel that is in the bottom leading to the pickup is not parallel to the running surface. The water was “skipping’ over the channel at high speeds.

He decided to epoxy it in and machine a new channel that was true to the bottom. Problem solved, thanks to his quest for advice. The oddest part about it, according to Tippens, is that the channel in the bottom was always assumed to be right.

“This boat was rigged by professionals,” he said. “You would have thought someone would have caught this before now.”

Assuming everything is good to go, score one for the advice team. In true team spirit, Tippens’ advice came from a variety of sources and he’s made several contacts because of it.

–Technical editor and offshore racing world champion Bob Teague is the owner of Teague Custom Marine in Valencia, Calif.