Southwind 18' Jet Questions

[78Southwind]

I have read a lot about the original Southwind 18' Jet on the boards and wanted to ask some questions and confirm some of this information.
What do you guys find is the best set up for a good ski/river racer? I probably would like to reach around 75 MPH. What do you need to reach this speed (rideplate, shoe, loader, drop snoot, pump set-back, HP and ect.)?
My Southwind is a 78 and doesn't have full stringers is this going to create some sort of problem for me?
What kind of HP can the 18' handle without full stringers?
I have also read that the 18' was unstable at 80+ MPH with severe chine walking is this true? Some that I have talked to said it is around 90 MPH were it starts to walk.
As always thanks guys.

[Danhercules]

I have about 500HP on mine and am at 70. I just put a loader on her and sill have not had a good run with her. I am guessin I will be close to 75. We shal see.
Jack at MPD told me the 18 will chine walk at 80+. Nucking futs told me the same. He did say he knows how to get rid of it though. I will be hittin him up when I get there.

[LakesOnly]

I would think a good amount of horsepower and a pump with loader and diverter, and 75 mph is attainable in the original jet. Also, taking out the hook will do wonders...
My 18-foot Southwind has gps'd 85.3 without shoe or ride plate. It is a lighter lay-up than your boat but the hull bottom is the same.
LO

[Nucking futs]

Hey 78 where you get the the pic of the 18 in your posts?That pic was taken at the disneyland hotel for the boat show.

[78Southwind]

NF
I just cropped it from the brochure. What year was that picture taken? Do you have any old school pix of southwinds? If you do post.

[Nucking futs]

Yea i have some oldie and i will get fourq to post on our site later.I also have pics of the lightning tunnel single seaters too!Where did you get the brochure at?Those were taken in 78 i think and also have all the price lists with the options and i wish i could find some boats for the price they cost new back in the day. :D

[Squirtcha?]

My Kachina is rumor'd to be a splash of the Southwind bottom. I'm currently running mid 80's and haven't had any problem with chine walk. I've got a pretty good hook in the bottom too, which might be masking the problem. I don't know. Mine's also setup with a shoe, rideplate, and snoot so that might make a little difference.
Hoping for 90's this winter. I'm going to switch from an AB to a B impeller and either attempt a bottom blueprint myself, of pay to have it done (haven't decided yet). I've also heard that extending the innermost strakes to the transom will cure the ill handling problems of the Southwind 18 / Kachina (they stop about 1.5' from the transom now).

[Nucking futs]

I've also heard that extending the innermost strakes to the transom will cure the ill handling problems of the Southwind 18 / Kachina (they stop about 1.5' from the transom now).[/QUOTE]
Thats what im talking bout.It does work and in your case squirtcha i think the hook is keepnig you planted to the water.You might get a little more speed when you do the bottom and it might get a little loose on you and i think we have had this topic over in rjb last year didnt we?Well i look forward to meeting you at c3b...Tim

[Squirtcha?]

Yupper...... you're the person that turned me on to all that good information, and I appreciate it. Always great to learn new stuff about my ride.
Once again the board and it's members proves itself to be our best source of information.
Thanks
Also looking forward to meeting.

[MudPumper]

78 Southwind,
My motor made 485 hp and 551 lb/torque on the dyno with 9.3/1 compression. I have an MPD worked Dominator pump with an A/B impeller spinning 5100 rpm at 76.3mph gps. I have a loader, short droop, and diverter. I have a little bit of hook and no shoe or rideplate.

[78Southwind]

I am bringing this thread back because I am finally in the middle of my engine build. What would be the performance and drive ability gain or differences between a pump set up similar to MudPumper’s, Squirtcha’s and Lakesonly’s? I am not sure how much HP everyone is running but I am sure they’re not to far from each other.
MudPumper is running the short droop snoot
http://www2.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/1653IMG_0384.JPG
Squirtch is running the long PC droop snoot
http://www.homestead.com/jetboat/files/p1010006t.jpg
Then he ran the snoot
http://www.homestead.com/jetboat/5.5_degrees.jpg
Lakesonly this looks like the long droop snoot
http://www2.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/350Boat_Stern_Pump.jpg

[Nucking futs]

Well it seems to me everyone is differnt on there set up for what works for them (at this time).
I drove dans boat at cbbb and let me tell you its quick for a ski boat and it turns on a dime.. :D
I also drove pauls boat at cbbb and its no sloutch either.Pauls boat gets loose and he knows it.I addmire a person with a sack to drive a loose boat but, His boat would really benifit from a shoe and ride plate.you would have a better chance to dial in the ride.
Mikes boat gets it too, seen it many times just watch the FC2 vid.
Jerry, why you want to go fast? your always doggen behind !!! :eek:

[tahitijet]

Hey Jerry it's my understanding that ever boat even from the same manufacture will act differently to differen't hardware. My boat doesn't work well at all wtih a droop. I'll be trying a snoot next summer but it works for 2 of the 3 above. granted we all have slight differances in our setups and my pump is set back and bottom is blueprinted which probably makes a big differance in hardware. I'm sure HP, rpm, and how the pump is working has some effect on hardware as well.
jack and duane both told me the boat would benefit from a droop/snoot of some sort just they were not sure if the droop or snoot was the better option in my case. If you want to try one before you buy you can use mine when i switch to the snoot.
oh yes and as far as the high speed chine walk i was told to widen my inner most strakes. I was told it started in the mid to high 80's. I widend them but have not been towards 90 enough yet to know if it worked or not.

[78Southwind]

Jerry, why you want to go fast? your always doggen behind !!! :eek:
Yep it's sad when Roger is even faster than me. :argue: I am not really wanting to go fast but the upper 70's would be nice. I talked to Rivertard and he said he felt that the ride plate didn't realy add much speed to his Southwind. He said if he was going to do it all over again he would have just added an inducer (maybe that would help with the wheelies.) :D

[78Southwind]

Lakes Only is running a reg droop. The long ones are very hard to find if not impossible.
Is that a regular Berkeley?

[78Southwind]

jack and duane both told me the boat would benefit from a droop/snoot of some sort just they were not sure if the droop or snoot was the better option in my case. If you want to try one before you buy you can use mine when i switch to the snoot.
A couple ***boater's have told me that if you don't have a ride plate and shoe that the short droop snoot may be better than the regular Berkeley droop snoot because the regular will tend to drag and slow the boat down. Which are you using right now the short or regular? I have the regular Berkely right now but I would like to try the short as well.

[tahitijet]

it's a regular. but i have a ride plate. Jack told me just to run a straight edge off the bottom of the boat and make sure its above that straight edge. It will take a little ways off the back of the boat before the water begins to break back up. If you want to try it your welcome to.

[Brooski]

Yep it's sad when Roger is even faster than me. :argue: I am not really wanting to go fast but the upper 70's would be nice. I talked to Rivertard and he said he felt that the ride plate didn't realy add much speed to his Southwind. He said if he was going to do it all over again he would have just added an inducer (maybe that would help with the wheelies.) :D
Hey now, so why you have to start bagging on me? :angry2:
I was quicker than Dan too, but I never let Futs drive my boat so he couldnt comment on it.
I am looking for a short droop also. Gonna try that when I put the G bowl on the boat. :idea:

[tahitijet]

this is before any wedge and with the ride plate off. There is alot of distance from the keel line to the pin at the diverter. with the ride plate on set at 4* up and no wedge there is a little over 3/4" from the plane of the rideplate to the pin.
I wouldn't think that the water could curve quick enough to make the droop drag but the experts would no much better then I would. I have 4* down wedge on this now and with the ride plate on at 4*up and the diverter in the 2nd to last click down I can feel the hardware drag.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/709P3260290-med.JPG

[78Southwind]

Hey now, so why you have to start bagging on me? :angry2:
I was quicker than Dan too, but I never let Futs drive my boat so he couldnt comment on it.
I am looking for a short droop also. Gonna try that when I put the G bowl on the boat. :idea:
I knew that comment would get you out of Lurker Mode. Were your ears ringing. :rollside:
So what are your plans Roger just going with a G-Bowl and a short droop snoot or are you going to add a set-back pump, rideplate and shoe?

[78Southwind]

this is before any wedge and with the ride plate off. There is alot of distance from the keel line to the pin at the diverter. with the ride plate on set at 4* up and no wedge there is a little over 3/4" from the plane of the rideplate to the pin.
I wouldn't think that the water could curve quick enough to make the droop drag but the experts would no much better then I would. I have 4* down wedge on this now and with the ride plate on at 4*up and the diverter in the 2nd to last click down I can feel the hardware drag.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/709P3260290-med.JPG
If I decide not to go with a ride plate, shoe and set-back pump. What droop snoot would work best? I have a Berkeley regular but have heard the short one would work better.

[moneysucker]

Psycho Squid ran the HotDog Boat pretty quick. PM Him for #s and what he had on it. Might help. His was an 18 SW too.

[Brooski]

I knew that comment would get you out of Lurker Mode. Were your ears ringing. :rollside:
So what are your plans Roger just going with a G-Bowl and a short droop snoot or are you going to add a set-back pump, rideplate and shoe?
Heard a loud ringing in my ears. :supp:
Yup, G bowl and short droop and an unknown wedge. Not gonna spend the bucks for the setback, shoe and rideplate. I have a ski boat, not a race boat. :D

[Danhercules]

Roger is gonna be long behind me now. I happend to suck a rock the last weekend out in Bythe. Now the pump is commin off, gonna go to a split bowl, and a droop/snoot with some wedge. I have a hard time getting my boat out of the water. When it dose, she flys. (for me anyway LOL) My best GPS is just shy of 75. But I need the right water to do it. I need to unstick my hull. I know doing the bottom would help but I am not gonna do that. If the droop/snoot with wedge dont do it, no big deal. I am very happy with my boat the way it is.

[Brooski]

Roger is gonna be long behind me now. I happend to suck a rock the last weekend out in Bythe. Now the pump is commin off, gonna go to a split bowl, and a droop/snoot with some wedge. I have a hard time getting my boat out of the water. When it dose, she flys. (for me anyway LOL) My best GPS is just shy of 75. But I need the right water to do it. I need to unstick my hull. I know doing the bottom would help but I am not gonna do that. If the droop/snoot with wedge dont do it, no big deal. I am very happy with my boat the way it is.
You have a hard time getting it out of the water cuz you have a FORD in it. That and a bunch of Coors Light. :eek:
So it looks as if we all will have the split bowls next season.....hmmmmm
Looks like I will have to Kung Fool Dan again!! :skull: :p

[sleekcrafter]

This will fix all your problems :devil:
http://racingjunk.com/exec/ca/view/493592/495ci-BBC--Drag-Boat.html
Sleek

[Nucking futs]

stumbled on these cool single seaters that were made for Jan @ lightning mfg.
Made a few with the tunnel bottom as well.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/1638single_seater.JPG

[Squirtin Thunder]

Cool pics Tim those look like around '76 or so. What year were those. Is that the same Lightning that is making the copies of the STV and Mirages ???

[MikeF]

The silver and black one looks bitchen! Great design. :cool: Would not want to work on it though, no room!

[hack job]

Cool pics Tim those look like around '76 or so. What year were those. Is that the same Lightning that is making the copies of the STV and Mirages ???
i believe that jan is the guy that makes lighting headers and rail kits. :cool:

[Gearhead]

i believe that jan is the guy that makes lighting headers and rail kits. :cool:
http://www.youngbloodjetboats.com/xtrapics/lm.jpg
I believe you are correct. Lightning Manufacturing. They have been around for a long time manufacturing some nice pieces through the years.