Aluminum hull?

[mud duck]

I am curious about the advantages/disadvantages of running an aluminum hulled jet boat, for only cruising, racing, or skiing (no fishing allowed) on lakes. The 19' or 21' Eagle LTD Sport comes to mind as an awsome sleek looking boat. The Delta pad, step-tech hull design has many advantages. The aluminum is far more durable than fiberglass. And they can be painted to look fantastic. However, does the aluminum slap the water and sound metallic? These type of boats are primarily used for white water river racing in OR, UT, WA, ID, & Canada. Why can't they be used for regular cruising?
I currently have a 19' Taylor with a 454 BBC, Holley 750, Berkley 12JE setup. It has been loads of fun over the years, but I'm always worried about the fiberglass with sand, rocks or careless passengers. I thought that if these boats can take white water racing, they can take anything.
Please advise.

[smash]

Mud Duck
Outlaw or Eagle make some great hulls. We have raced both and love them. They are lighter and faster than glass(owned and raced Cougar boats too) they make good lake boats for skiing as well

[mud duck]

There is a '96 Eagle LTD Sport for sale in Wilsonville, Oregon. I don't know much about these style of boats, but I believe it has a 350 sbc & an American Turbine jet.
What type of speed can someone expect from a boat like this, with this setup. From Eagle's web site, it sounds like their engines & accessories are quite stout.
Why can't you drop a big block in one of these?

[smash]

You can put any motor you want in them the small blocks we use come from circle track applications. Not many oval track cars run BBC power therefore more developement on sbc and lighter weight.

[mud duck]

Are there any disadvantages?
If you got the paint right, interior & vinyl right, put a hatch over the engine, paid attention to fit and finish. What are the draw backs?
You could have a very tough, fast boat for river running, or lake cruising that looks good and carries five. Why aren't these more popular?
Maybe I should just get an Ultra '19 Shadow tunnel hull and be done with it.
[This message has been edited by mud duck (edited July 31, 2001).]

[smash]

They are quite popular up here in western Alberta and the north west. Glass was cheep and popular for years but not many if any performance manufactures are making good glass hulls up here any more. Alum hulls are stronger straighter lighter and faster than any glass hull. They can be repaired quite easily or recycled in the event of a major crash(the name says it all). The tech involved in bulding these hulls is far above what most people know cnc plate cutting for example. as for downside ...after 20 years still searching

[mud duck]

Okay, that's what I wanted to hear. I will probably pursure this more.
Do you know of any other manufactures of good looking, sleek aluminum boats other than Outlaw & Eagle?
I am not interested in those big, comercial, tourist carting river boats. Or the flat fishing boats either. Sprint out of Alaska will custom make what ever you specify, but I'd rather find a model already to go.
Thanks for all your advise/knowledge.

[smash]

Boice makes their own racers I'm not sure if they make them for sale or not. I heard something about a guy from New Zealand making stuff up here.BTW my new sbc clocked in at 117mph on the river on the weekend with the new pump.

[mud duck]

What setup do you oun/run?

[SB]

If I were in fresh water, I'd use aluminum. It's 1/3 less weight. Unfortunately I'm running in salt water and alum. won't hold up in salt.

[mud duck]

I only run in fresh water. At least a few times a year on Lake Superior, but it is still always fresh water.

[smash]

I have 3 differeht hulls an Eagle 19 tunnel an Outlaw 15' sprint(just bought) and a custom 18'tunnel race boat all sbc powered.
[This message has been edited by smash (edited July 31, 2001).]

[mud duck]

Is the tunnel aluminum?
Does anyone make aluminum tunnel hulls?

[smash]

yes Eagle. check out marinemotorsports.com.
these boats don't look or handle like your normal tunnel but the technology is up to anything offshore or circle racing has

[Jungle Boy]

Now we are talking. Eagle and Outlaw both make fine boats. Outlaw is more of a heavy duty type boat that is great for rough river travel and hunting. I don't see many Outlaw sports or tunnels any more, though they do still build them I believe. Eagle has been putting out some real nice sport boats of late. I own a 21 sport with a pearl paint job and deluxe interior. When this boat is on the lake in Kelowna BC it gathers stares and most people will not believe it it aluminum untill you lift the engine cover. I have a 406 small block (455 hp dynoed)and it runs about 84 MPH in Kelowna at 5200 rpm on pump gas. Enough to freak out most of the lake boats out there. From a standing start it blows away 99% of the boats i've raced. I also run a 19 sport with 383 ci (not a lake cruiser) that is set for river racing and just having fun. Both are very strong and well built. If you going to run a tunnel, you may not want to run too much on the lake unless it is calm or you are brave. I was part or a testing adventure at 113 MPH and hit that messy wave action (that lakes have) and things got a bit loose. On the river witha current coming at you and with they are great. They need power to make them fly, 85 MPH+, but are very stable at speed. Turn on rails too. The cost is good considering they don't lose much value over the years. Buy one and enjoy.

[Jungle Boy]

Smash Man, do you any racing?. 117 MPH is some fast. There is a group of us that are going NZ in Oct for the worlds. It should be fun. We are going to try to take all the prise money home with us (well, some of it).

[mud duck]

From what I've looked at thus far, the 21' Eagle Sport looks to be one of, or the best looking aluminum manufatured boat around. At 455 HP, is that super charged? If so, did you need to cut a hole in the engine hatch? Perhaps Eagle thought of this and offers several engine hatches to accomidate.
The more I find out about these boats, the more I like what I see and hear.

[Jungle Boy]

Mine is not supercharged, though we have a couple friends we run with that run Pro-Chargers with up to 850 HP. These things rip hard. The procharger will fit under most hood set ups. Talk to Doug or Rob at Eagle Marine or Eagle Power boat (sylvan lake AB) and Rob will advice you on that. I can´t say enough good about these boats. I also owned the red, black sport boat on the web page untill I hit a rock at 80 mph. It is now recycled into beer cans. A natural aspirated small block with the correct heads and cam setup will move these boats it to the 80's with no problem. Eagle Marine finishes these boats real nice (all in house). They build there own trailers too.

[RiverToysJas]

I went to that website: marinemotorsports.com. That 21' sport looks pretty cool, and I understand they are light, fast and easy to work on and fix. BUT, at less than 7' wide they should be fast. It's a smallish boat. Does anyone make one that is comparable to a modern 21' ski boat? Seating for 5-7 and a full 8' wide. Just wondering. I like to idea of a paradime shift.
Jason www.rivertoys.com (http://www.rivertoys.com)

[Jungle Boy]

It's true they are not as big as a lake boat. I can fit 5 adults in mine with no problem. They are designed to run rivers that aren't very deep and weight is the main issue.

[smash]

Jungle Boy
See you in NZ

[jroos]

I primarily deal in "NEW BUILDS" for varios shipyards contracting for different government agencies. In Louisiana there are a couple of shops constructing aluminum bass boats. They are noisy! But will last forever and with micro balloon can be made to look like glass. They are expensive to build if done right. TIG not MIG is the way to go on most areas to be welded especially on surfaces that can be seen. Vibration is a VERY big issue with alluminum. And to get something bullet proof, well lets just say its gonna weigh more than you`d think;. I had the opportunity to help build the Nave MK-V or commonly knoewn as the Mark 5. Aligned alot of motors and they are jet driven. They hall ass. And weighalot. More later if interested, gotta get back to beer. Hope you understand, hard to type, fingers hurt.

[Jungle Boy]

Rob at Eagle Power boat has been part of biulding these boats for over 20 years. His dad was one of the 'old boys'that started building these thing 30+ years ago. Eagle boats have been mistaken as glass boats at shows to the point where they needed a sign at their display saying that they are 100% aluminum. About 80% of the race boats on that race are Eagle's. Check out eagle-marine.com or jetboatracing.com and see how straight they are. As far as strength goes, if we did to a glass boat what we do to a aluminum boat we would be walking out of the trees alot.
PS. No, I don't work for them, I just love their boats.

[mud duck]

Is there an old aluminum hull grave yard somewhere?
Get a hull for a few thousand and put in it any power plant you desired.