Why is the 496HO not enough????

[Wozencraft]

Remember the days when the 454 Magnum was the ultimate engine package for your new custom boat? Through the last half of the 90's and ending around 2002 these motors sported 385 HP. WOW! That was a lot...or was it?
Back in the late 90's a good friend of mine Jason Glasser sold boats for Commander, then for Eliminator up through 2003. I remember him selling, and me insuring 21' - 25' boats with the standard 454 motors w/ 310HP. It was a big upgrade to sell the Magnum w/ the extra HP, forged pistons, crank, etc. And if someone wanted REAL power, they would step up to the 502 w/ 415HP!!!
Today, the 496HO is the engine of choice sporting 425 HP. WOW! ...still not enough!? Are we getting close to finding this engine package too slow, obsolete and in need of an upgrade?
COST
Without spending too much money and moving over to a Mercury Racings HP525 and up, Ilmor, Teague, Pfaff, GT Performance, (just to name a few), most people 'usually' make there decision between the two 496 models. The high perf./racing motors are very nice but can add a lot of extra cost. Of course there's always the basic cost per every MPH gain. What is the average going rate, $1200 /ea MPH gain???
LENGTH
Is the 496HO enough...most likely "YES" if we are purchasing a boat under 24'. If we are purchasing a 19'-23' boat, wouldn't the 496HO package be plenty? It should have good power, reliability and a fair price. What do you think?
INSURANCE
Getting insurance for just about any hull design is much easier to obtain and afford with the 496 motors. However, it may cost more if the boat is under 24' since the speeds will be higher than on larger boats.
It's quite humorous how we keep outdoing ourselves on power, size, extras, etc. I think we mirror a lot of what happens in the auto market. Except I haven't seen the Hybrid boat yet :) However, we have seen turbo diesels in boats (and I think there is a lot more to come with this). Is it inevitable that gas docks will eventually be selling kerosene???
What's your take?

[Daytona100]

Pull your skirt up Bro!!!!! Just kidding. I guess in my opinion it all depends on how you got to this point. High performance anything is about going forward. We used to race cars as a kid and I was hooked. Led to my current career. Ask any racer what his goal is and it,s probably going to be I want to go faster. But this is probably a small percentage of boaters compared to the total number of boaters out there. Your right alot of boats are sold with standerd power but HP boat builders and buyers want to haul ass thats why they are buying performance hulls. And this is ***boat.com so more performance boats are highlited on this site. Mike:D

[Glamasu]

Remember the days when the 454 Magnum was the ultimate engine package for your new custom boat? Through the last half of the 90's and ending around 2002 these motors sported 385 HP. WOW! That was a lot...or was it?
It was
Back in the late 90's a good friend of mine Jason Glasser sold boats for Commander, then for Eliminator up through 2003. I remember him selling, and me insuring 21' - 25' boats with the standard 454 motors w/ 310HP. It was a big upgrade to sell the Magnum w/ the extra HP, forged pistons, crank, etc. And if someone wanted REAL power, they would step up to the 502 w/ 415HP!!!
More torque than speed...I know I fell into that when I bought my party cat....Didn't really go all that much faster but helped get on plane with a full load[COLOR="Red"]
Today, the 496HO is the engine of choice sporting 425 HP. WOW! ...still not enough!? Are we getting close to finding this eng[COLOR="Black"]ine package too slow, obsolete and in need of an upgrade?
Not too slow....Just everybody is buying bigger boats...Could you imagine a 496 in a 21ft whatever...
COST
Without spending too much money and moving over to a Mercury Racings HP525 and up, Ilmor, Teague, Pfaff, GT Performance, (just to name a few), most people 'usually' make there decision between the two 496 models. The high perf./racing motors are very nice but can add a lot of extra cost. Of course there's always the basic cost per every MPH gain. What is the average going rate, $1200 /ea MPH gain???
Pretty close on that guesstimate
LENGTH
Is the 496HO enough...most likely "YES" if we are purchasing a boat under 24'. If we are purchasing a 19'-23' boat, wouldn't the 496HO package be plenty? It should have good power, reliability and a fair price. What do you think?
For your first boat sure.....Like you said in mirroring the automotive world...wasn't your 2nd car nicer than your first...and so on....if all you wanted to do was drive then all you need is a prius or " whatever"...If all you wanted to do was float then a bayliner would have plenty for that...
INSURANCE
Getting insurance for just about any hull design is much easier to obtain and afford with the 496 motors. However, it may cost more if the boat is under 24' since the speeds will be higher than on larger boats.
It's quite humorous how we keep outdoing ourselves on power, size, extras, etc. I think we mirror a lot of what happens in the auto market. Except I haven't seen the Hybrid boat yet :) However, we have seen turbo diesels in boats (and I think there is a lot more to come with this). Is it inevitable that gas docks will eventually be selling kerosene???
What's your take?
My take .....If they build it (Boat manufac.) someone will buy it...A$$ for every seat.

[mbrown2]

Actually, I think it is the Insurance underwriters that need to catch up with the mainstream...
Marine Engine technology has brought many different options in horsepower to the mainstream which allows the buyer to buy 500HP warrantied power that is pretty much plug/play fire and forget....even the illmor options fall into the same catagory with more horsepower on tap.
However, Insurance underwriters seem to see some huge difference between 425HP and 500HP...when in reality, all things being equal we are talking about approximately 5mph....so maybe between 75 and 80mph...but Insurance between the two on a 26ft cat could be possibly a 30-50% increase depending on drivers resume and record, and underwriter....now that just don't make sense that they see the 496 and HP500 as some huge difference, cause in reality they are not.