Bought my first v-drive daycruiser!

[Kurtis500]

Hopefully wont buy another one, but this one seems pretty nice. I found it in the boat trader mag for $5500. Motor is fresh and ran very well when I checked it over. Its a Howard hull with a fairly mild BBC, a velvet drive and an Ace Champion v-drive. I'm curious how this will handle the rough water compared to my flatbottom? Anybody care to give me some advice who has gone from a flat to a daycruiser? I am selling the stern drive right now and liked the option of backing up. I hear the v-drives dont back-up very well?? Is there really any need for a t-400 transmission instead of the velvet drive? It has 2 good seats but thats it. Good part is, I get my upholstery at half of retail and my best friend is an upholsterer! :D So the inside will be done in about 2 weeks.
heres the only pic I got right now, kinda shady, but its out of the boat trader..
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/700307719301.jpg

[SERIOUS ISSUES]

I have only been in 2 v-drive cruisers. one rode like a flaty and the other rode like a standard issue I/O. the rough ride was a old heavy ass Hallet. dont ge me wrong, it took the big water were I would have been a little nervous in a flat but it was a rough ride. The other boat was a light layup newer boat and I dont recall the make. It is Ducky's dad's boat. NICE RIDE. Your boat looks like it has a deeper V than the hallet and will ride good I think. does it have adjustable cav plates? If it does it will make all the differance in the world.
as for the tranny, It's a 1 speed w/ reverse, correct? If you are happy w/ the way it comes out of the hole and the RPM's you are turning I wouldn't worry about a TH400.
By the way. Dont worry about stearing when in reverse. both boats sucked at that. wink

[SERIOUS ISSUES]

just noticed, you are in Phx. If you decide to go w/ a differant tranny, let me know. The father-in-law has a tranny shop and we will be able to help get a good one. :)
let me know if I can help.

[DansBlown73Nordic]

I have a 22ft Schiada. It rides like a dream.

[spectras only]

Kurtis , your howard is a spectra copy :p ,so you'll be happy with the rough water handling.Only 12 degree of deadrise ,but built like a tank and you'll part 2' chop with ease trimtabs installed on it.Here's a pic of my late friend's 21 howard with 454 TH400 .I would keep the B/W tranny which is bullett proof anyway.Is the tranny a C-72 ? I have the ACE champion v-drive in my boat [super quite and robust].If you don't care changing gears every weekend for racing I would keep it.Sterndrives are more expensive to repair than changing v-drive parts. http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/leonards66vette.jpg
[ May 30, 2003, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: spectras only ]

[old rigger]

kurtis500,
man, what a great deal.
The bottom of your hull, well even the deck too, is an exact splash of the Spectra 20. He changed nothing in the process of building his own molds. I'm pretty sure ol Howard Brown was the first to splash that boat and it was only a matter of months after Spectra came out with the deal. At least that's what he told me when I worked for the new owners and Howard would come around picking up his money. Later, he changed the deck and did away with the sloping gunnales, a change I always liked. He also offered the whaler deck too. Howard Boats (no more Howard Brown) still has the molds for that by the way.
congrats....you got a hell of a deal........wanna trade for a 66 Howard flattie?
[ May 30, 2003, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: old rigger ]

[Kurtis500]

Serious issues. I plan on trying it as is, my flat is good at low or high speed. If I feel the need to push it up higher I will switch to the Casale which I have gears for and then run a tranny. But since I'm tired of messing with my boats I may leave it for a while. I saved your name for reference.
I'm actually right in the middle of Phoenix. Central and Montebello. (Bethany Home Rd) Where are you located at?
The guy I'm buying this from says he just speeds up in the chop and it rides right across the top of the waves. Something I cant think of doing with a flat or hydro. Does this really work?
[ May 30, 2003, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Kurtis500 ]

[Kurtis500]

Good, I liked the Spectras I have seen before :D :p The boat is advertised as a 21 footer, is there a difference between the 20 Spectra and this or is it just numbers?
The Champion v-drive does look very robust. I've laid eyes on many Casale units, and this one is big. I would love to leave it were its at and use my hydro to make things go faster. I have 3 little kids and needed something more stable and secure for passengers. As for the c-72 is there a place I can look to find out?
It does have an adjustable cav plate but no swim deck. Is there a good way to get people in after skiing or is the cav plate still the best route?

[dimarcobros]

Congrats!!! The boat I have now is a 21' DiMarco and I absolutely love it becasue of the V drive. I don't think I will go back to anything else for awhile. Happy boating.

[old rigger]

Kurtis500:
Good, I liked the Spectras I have seen before :D :p The boat is advertised as a 21 footer, is there a difference between the 20 Spectra and this or is it just numbers?
K500,
Same boat. Like I said above, the Howard is an exact splash of the Spectra. One was called a 20, the other a 21.
Spectras were legendary for their lay-up too, and you'd be hard pressed to find one built as well from that era. Howards lay-ups were as good, maybe better. Plus he had a decade or two of v-drive experence behind him when the Spectra brand hit the scene.

[spectras only]

K , the spectra measures exactly 20'10" stem to stern ,7'11" beam. Spectra called their boat a 20 rather than 21 ;)so Howard Brown didn't have to worry about splashing ,hence the 21 Howard was born :D .My 24 spectra is actually 24'6" and the bigger Howard was called Citation 25 hehe. Your tranny should have a ID tag on top left,otherwise there's a noticable size difference between the 71 and 72 units which an expert eye can tell the diff right away.You have the beefy ACE unit so I assume you have the C-72 tranny.Live the boat alone and enjoy it wink .

[Highlimit9000]

You will love that Boat. I have a big grin everytime I fire mine up! They ride very well... It was great seeing a bunch of new High dollar jets behind me over Memorial...I had 6 people in the boat too...Good luck E-mail if u have any question? PS.. I run a Powerglide works real well..John...

[Highlimit9000]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/199Considelines1-med.JPG

[Highlimit9000]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199509side2-med.JPGhttp://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199Driveshaft-med.JPG

[Highlimit9000]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199Driveshaft-med.JPG

[Highlimit9000]

http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/524/199509side2-med.JPG

[VD CRUISER]

Congradulations Kurtis, I have had 2 21 Howards and loved them both. I put a Champion V-drive and a velvet drive in the first one and it worked great. My current one has a Casale split case and a turbo 400. The main advantage I see is if you have an engine that doesn't idle down to well the lower gears in the 400 let the motor idle higher without pushing the boat so fast. I can't use the lower gears for hard acceleration because it just cavitates the prop. I think you'll enjoy it.

[DUCKY]

Kurtis, I have ridden in a Howard, I think you will like it. My Dad's old 21' Hallett had only a 6deg bottom, so it rode like a big heavy flattie. His new one is a 19' Rex-Craft and it rides pretty well. Much better than a flat. It has a 12deg bottom, and if you posess the "testicular fortitude" to let it fly across the waves, it does very well. AS far as the tranny goes, the above is correct. 2nd is good for idling slower with a big cam, and coming out of the hole if you have TALLLLL gears (40% +)Other than those reasons, leave the velvet drive in. And how well it backs up, put it this way, it will go backwards, but the wind is your steering! Looks like a nice ride, can't wait to see some better pics!
[ May 30, 2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: DUCKY ]

[SERIOUS ISSUES]

Kurtis500:
Serious issues. I plan on trying it as is, my flat is good at low or high speed. If I feel the need to push it up higher I will switch to the Casale which I have gears for and then run a tranny. But since I'm tired of messing with my boats I may leave it for a while. I saved your name for reference.
I'm actually right in the middle of Phoenix. Central and Montebello. (Bethany Home Rd) Where are you located at?
I am at 32nd st and bell. let me know if I can help
The guy I'm buying this from says he just speeds up in the chop and it rides right across the top of the waves. Something I cant think of doing with a flat or hydro. Does this really work?

[Backfire]

I had my eye on your new boat in that Trader ad. It ran for at least 8 weeks, so nobody (myself included) can say they didn't have a chance to move on the deal. Congrats! My brother and I both have 21' cruisers and we love em! Very few people would give a 21 footer up to go back to a flatbottom. I had both for a while and never used the flat...

[GofastRacer]

Backfire:
I had my eye on your new boat in that Trader ad. It ran for at least 8 weeks, so nobody (myself included) can say they didn't have a chance to move on the deal. Congrats! My brother and I both have 21' cruisers and we love em! Very few people would give a 21 footer up to go back to a flatbottom. I had both for a while and never used the flat... Hell you NEVER give up a flat! eek! You use both, the flat goes in at 7:00 in the morning, at 10:00 you use the GN boat the rest of the day, just before dark, the flat goes back in!.. :cool: :D

[Kurtis500]

GofastRacer:
Backfire:
I had my eye on your new boat in that Trader ad. It ran for at least 8 weeks, so nobody (myself included) can say they didn't have a chance to move on the deal. Congrats! My brother and I both have 21' cruisers and we love em! Very few people would give a 21 footer up to go back to a flatbottom. I had both for a while and never used the flat... Hell you NEVER give up a flat! eek! You use both, the flat goes in at 7:00 in the morning, at 10:00 you use the GN boat the rest of the day, just before dark, the flat goes back in!.. :cool: :D Exactly! I will take the flat on the big weekends for early ski rides, then use the cruiser through out the day. For day trips I dont use the flat anyways, but I've been using the stern drive for the family. Now I'll use this one, and the OMC is being sold.
Backfire, I'm really surprised nobody picked this thing up before. I looked it over twice really well and it is in great order. There are many little things like an electric fuel pump to back a mechanical just in case. A new ignition, maybe 15 hrs on a complete rebuild, new demon carb and fuel lines, 2-35 gallon tanks just prof. cleaned and even full, and 2 Recaro seats. The seats seamed a little strange to have in a boat, but they have been re-upholstered with marine vinyle and are VERY comfortable to sit in. Two of the most comfortable chairs I've ever used it a boat. The trailer had been converted to electric brakes, new brake shoes all around, bimini top, ship-to-shore radio, new tires, and was built up very nicely for added stregth behind the tongue. Not sure if he did it, but looks like factory work. The two things it lacked was seating and a nice paint job. I'm building the seats tommorow and Wed. and they will be upholstered Monday. It sure seems like a good deal, but I have yet to actually drive it. It did sound and operate prefectly on the trailer.

[Backfire]

I bought my Lebel cruiser in 1998 the same way...cheap! I wasn't really looking to buy, but was curious, because I maintain v-driveboat.com, and wanted to be current on what's available. After hemming and hawing over it through WEEKS (maybe months) of it being in the recycler in L.A.,the guy was absolutely convinced that he'd have to give it away (though I told him otherwise) When no other interested buyers emerged, he begged me to buy it and I paid accordingly! The 460 ran, but needed rebuilding and I had to put new flooring, interior in and recondition the trailer. I now have a really nice boat that could use a paintjob for about 7 grand.