Flat/Hydro pros and cons?... [Archive]

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BBC4Me

07-19-2006, 03:36 PM

ssmike

07-19-2006, 04:05 PM

Go ride in one. You will then buy a flat.

77charger

07-19-2006, 04:23 PM

flats are just plain out more fun to drive.

charitycase

07-19-2006, 04:31 PM

Hydros are faster by design.They just don't turn for beans.

JEA557

07-19-2006, 05:25 PM

Turning is an issue at the lake as well as taking in water...

SANGER-RICH

07-19-2006, 05:41 PM

I've had a flat lake boat for some time and have been thinking about trying out a hydro for a lake boat. Any pros and cons I should know about before making a change? I've never ridden in a hydro and don't know much about them.
Flats are nice when set up correctly but a pain if not, if you want to go fast in a straight line get a hydro

SUI-CY-COLE

07-19-2006, 05:57 PM

hydros are like jets and harleys...point and shoot......but a flat is like funny car and a street bike.............
hydro=you go for a drive
flat=you drive IT!!!

058

07-20-2006, 04:18 AM

hydros are like jets and harleys...point and shoot......but a flat is like funny car and a street bike.............
hydro=you go for a drive
flat=you drive IT!!!Or it drives you :crossx: If you don't know what you are doing.

Kurtis500

07-20-2006, 05:40 AM

I have both, go with the flatbottom for the lake. If you want to go fast only get a hydro.

g935

07-20-2006, 05:57 AM

I owned a Cheyenne hydro for 16 years. I currently own a flat. Here are the pros and cons based from my experience. First of all, not all hydros are the same. For example: The Cheyenne had square sides. A Sanger has rounded sides. The result is that waves will bounce off and away from the boat while anchored and cruising. The rounded side hydros will allow the waves to roll up and into the back of the boat if not under power. They will always take in water. OK, now for the under power part. The hydros skim over chop even at cruising speeds and will Always ride smoother and at less RPM's. They do not need perfect water to go fast safely. They are very forgiving compared to a flat. The last thing is that everybody knows that properly set up hydros are going to be faster comparatively speaking. Those are the pros of hydros. Now, the cons. If you have a hydro set up with outboard steering, they don't turn very well. If you get a hydro with inboard steering, they will turn great but they won't be any faster than a flat due to the position of the strut and prop placement. Prop will be too far under the boat to lift the back end to make them work efficiently. Also, there's not a whole lot to do in a hydro other than push the gas pedal down. The flat on the other hand is a whole different animal. A fast flat will take a steep learning curve to understand its handling characteristics. There is a whole lot that can go wrong real fast. You have to learn how to drive a flat. I feel that they are much more rewarding and fun to drive. Your arms and legs are involved in driving a flat. If you race another flat, the driver has a lot to do with the outcome of the race. Motor for motor, a flat will be faster out of the gate compared to a hydro. The flat will launch forward. The back end of the hydro will launch upward before it goes forward. It could be a significant difference in a "lake" race. Lake racing is much different than quarter mile racing. You only go for a few seconds and it's over. The hydros top end advantage is minimized significantly. Hope this helps.
Geoff

BBC4Me

07-20-2006, 06:55 AM

Thanks g935! I learned a lot reading your post.
Thanks to everyone who has responded. I'm learning from each post. This is a great site, I'm glad I found it. I've had the same flat for a long time, but there's really a lot about it I'm sort of still in the dark about. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future.
I've heard a hydro is more stable (a bit safer) at high speed? I've had a hard time getting my girlfriend to ride in the flat because she's seen a few vids of nasty crashes. I'm sure a hydro would still scare her, but if I could tell her they're safer at speed it might help a little. http://hometown.aol.com/kroozin1/images/anyone.gif Are the hydros a little safer at higher speeds?

wsuwrhr

07-20-2006, 07:13 AM

? I've had a hard time getting my girlfriend to ride in the flat because she's seen a few vids of nasty crashes. I'm sure a hydro would still scare her, but if I could tell her they're safer at speed it might help a little. Are the hydros a little safer at higher speeds?
Noone gets out of this life alive.

coolchange

07-20-2006, 05:11 PM

120 in a hydro is a ride, 120 in a flat is an adventure...
Let her drive it.

JEA557

07-20-2006, 06:12 PM

On another note I have a friend with hydros who had inboard steering in one and lost his steering at 120 mph plus. Thus having to go to outboard steering or get rid of the boat... (Wildman Weaver)...

Morg

07-20-2006, 06:43 PM

They do not need perfect water to go fast safely. They are very forgiving compared to a flat.
Geoff,
I agreed with all you wrote accept the quote above. I will say they will go fast in chop. But I will line up with any hydro & prove my flat will handle chop better & run safer.
I will also say that out of everyone, I had the most fun at CFW on fathers day. Also ran the most laps. Running wide open from the other end of the dam all the way into the cove kicks ass. Then do five laps until your leg gives out. Circle boats rock.

V-DRIVE VIDEO

07-20-2006, 06:48 PM

Geoff,
I agreed with all you wrote accept the quote above. I will say they will go fast in chop. But I will line up with any hydro & prove my flat will handle chop better & run safer.
I will also say that out of everyone, I had the most fun at CFW on fathers day. Also ran the most laps. Running wide open from the other end of the dam all the way into the cove kicks ass. Then do five laps until your leg gives out. Circle boats rock.
Morg, maybe he has a grand prix hydro. Even the 5 litre circle hydros can run over some serious junk at a pretty good clip. :messedup: :)

Morg

07-20-2006, 06:51 PM

Good point.
I did not think of that :) :)

infotraker

07-20-2006, 07:52 PM

I have had a Schiada Flat since 1968 and had great fun with the family in it. I bought and fixed up a 77 sanger pickle and love it. We ski, pull a hydro slide and go very fast and it seems safe if you are careful. It has inboard steering, goes fast enough and can still turn to pick p a skier.

g935

07-21-2006, 09:55 PM

Geoff,
I agreed with all you wrote accept the quote above. I will say they will go fast in chop. But I will line up with any hydro & prove my flat will handle chop better & run safer.
Morg:
Yeah, I wasn't including circle flats in the comparison. I forgot about them. I have never driven or been in one but from the videos that I have seen on this site, they do go fast over chop. Their setup is very interesting. I would love to drive one.
Geoff

Unchained

07-22-2006, 05:53 PM

Here's a blown alky hydro that's capable of low 7's in smooth water running against a jet in a 1000' course.
http://www.michigan***boats.com/images/ottawadrags03videos/ottawa03video5.MPG
Now that's a rough ride.

mouzer

07-22-2006, 07:25 PM

BBC theres a nice, bitchen shape hydro in the Spam section,needs paint,great project and its a SANGER!!!!!!!! :idea: :idea: :idea:

g935

07-23-2006, 08:22 AM

Here's a blown alky hydro that's capable of low 7's in smooth water running against a jet in a 1000' course.
That hydro looked pathetic. Play the movie back in slow mo. or frame by frame and you can see that it can't blow the tail. The back end is bouncing. Either he has the wrong prop or the motor is too far back or inboard steering or underpowered. I could go on and on. The bottom line is, pathetic. The jet on the other hand looked great. That hydro may be capable of low 7's but not from what I saw.
Geoff

T-56

07-23-2006, 09:33 AM

Pathetic and it never took a set. Looked almost like too much boat w/ too little motor.

Unchained

07-24-2006, 04:36 PM

That hydro looked pathetic. Play the movie back in slow mo. or frame by frame and you can see that it can't blow the tail. The back end is bouncing. Either he has the wrong prop or the motor is too far back or inboard steering or underpowered. I could go on and on. The bottom line is, pathetic. The jet on the other hand looked great. That hydro may be capable of low 7's but not from what I saw. Geoff
This is really good :rollside: :D
Guess who's driving the hydro ??????
It's John Haas, THE TFH WORLD RECORD HOLDER !!!!
That's his boat, what he calls a lake boat. Run at a short course race about 4 years ago in Ottawa, Ill.
That hydro is actually set up real well, the course was rough and that was my point. A hydro has the front down in the water and it will jar your teeth out going over some small chop. I believe he told me that the boat had run in the 6's before, illegal now.
I drove it for a couple short blasts with a different motor in it and it scared the shit out of me.
Outrageous accelleration.
The back end pulling hard to the side on accelleration and the opposite on decel. No steering when the tails out of the water.
No practical purpose other than drags in my opinion.

g935

07-24-2006, 08:08 PM

"drove it for a couple short blasts with a different motor in it and it scared the shit out of me.
Outrageous accelleration.
The back end pulling hard to the side on accelleration and the opposite on decel. No steering when the tails out of the water.
No practical purpose other than drags in my opinion."
I don't want to sound too critical here but, that video shows what it shows. My "Lake" hydro ran 7.0's at 157 mph and it never looked like that. It also never pulled one way or the other. Straight every pass. Of course, I'm no TFH driver, but my right foot is 12 inches long if that makes a difference. Mike Garrison built the motor and set the boat up. He was the crew chief for Liberty TFH. :rollside:

Unchained

07-25-2006, 07:45 AM

I don't want to sound too critical here but, that video shows what it shows. My "Lake" hydro ran 7.0's at 157 mph and it never looked like that. It also never pulled one way or the other. Straight every pass. Of course, I'm no TFH driver, but my right foot is 12 inches long if that makes a difference. Mike Garrison built the motor and set the boat up. He was the crew chief for Liberty TFH. :rollside:
I guess you would have had to see the course there that day.
Thanks for the input though, I'm only on my first v-drive and I don't know much about them. I ask a lot of questions and try to weed through the answers. Marti-Gras (George) has given me a lot of good setup info that I'm going to apply during the off season.
John put me in the seat of that BAH Deaver to convert me over from Jetboats. Well I wasn't totally converted, I have one of each now, but I'm probably happier with the 21 Daytona V-drive even though the performance of the jetboat with the turbo engine is way more.
Mark

Daytona 25

07-28-2006, 11:23 AM

Morg, maybe he has a grand prix hydro. Even the 5 litre circle hydros can run over some serious junk at a pretty good clip. :messedup: :)
like this?

O.B eddie

07-31-2006, 06:34 PM