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View Full Version : looking for a Tahiti guru



Bubbledeck
05-21-2001, 08:56 PM
now that i've found this site, maybe there is someone out there that can help me.
i have a 1976 18' Tahiti bubbledeck with a harman marine 460 ford and a berkely 12 jc.
the hull is a semi V, 15 degree i think.
getting to the point here, does anyone know anything about this boat or Tahiti boats in general? i know Tahiti wasn't top of the line, but some info on history, reputation, good points and bad points would be great. the more i know about my boat the happier i am :-)
also i'd like to say that i'm new to this site and from what i've seen there are some really nice and very knowledgeable people here.
thanx to the ones that replied to my previous questions.

spectras only
05-21-2001, 09:56 PM
Tahiti built a lot of boats in the seventies,the 18 footer was probably the most popular with big blocks,they built 21 daycruisers as well,and I remember a 27 foot adventure by them .A friend of mine had an 18 footer with a 454 Chev and berkeley jet, he was happy with his boat,it handled rough water well,except for the relatively low freeboard.After a long time he decided to change it to V-drive,that gave him more speed and better economy,but he was on the edge with the prop,since we have a lot of logs up here on the Fraser river where he boated most.He is an aluminum boat builder ,so eventually sold his Tahiti and built a 21 foot tin-can boat with a BBC and ugly Hamilton pump.He can barge a big moose ,but no performance like the Tahiti.Tahiti's were on the ligther side so they perform very well with a BB engine.I think the deadrise is 17 degree ,but I may be wrong.

Slick
05-22-2001, 06:31 AM
Don't know much about the builder in general but I did have a friend back in the day who had an 18' Tahiti w/455 Olds & Berk. It was a sharp looking little boat. It had been completely redone with a bench & engine hatch installed instead of the jumper seats. I do remember the deck being a little weak. However, that wasn't a bad thing, we could only let girls with a nice figure lay out on it (no fat chicks). Good luck
Slick

Cas42
05-22-2001, 08:39 AM
My current Tahiti is the 3rd one I've have, 3rd boat I've had too.
1st one was an 1975 18' Tiger, 455 olds, Berk 12jc
2nd one was an 1976 18' Super Tiger also with a 455 olds but it had a 12je Berk.
My current boat is a 1978 21' Super Cruiser with a 454 Chevy with a Panther Jet.
I'm by no means a Tahiti expert, just someone with a few opinions based on experience.
The reason I chose a Tahiti to begin with was because of the small wake it made for waterskiing. After owning it for a while, I learned it was lighter than some other boats of similar size. Being it was lighter, it needed less HP to make it go as fast as others. I also found that to be true on the other 2 I've owned. One of the areas that cut the weight on a Tahiti is they don't have full length stringers. Without full length stringers, the strength of the hull isn't quite as good as others with them. Comparing my boat to a friend of mine that bought a Sanger at the same time, I had a lot more stress cracks after a couple of years than he. My boat also rode a bit rougher than his but mine was faster.
Overall, I've been pretty happy with Tahiti's. I think like most anything, if you take care of it and don't abuse it, it'll last.