lurker with a question-

[79 Bonita]

I have a 79 Bonita 18.5 or so boat. Has a Berkeley, 454 BBC and over the transom headers. I am trying to decide whether to work on this boat or sell it and buy a different one. This one needs upholstery and the floor is spongy. This boat runs really good and the motor is fresh. The pump looks a little ugly but works fine. I put my GPS on it last summer and me and the dog went 74 on the missouri river. My question is 1. is that about right for speed? I think it should go faster. 2. Is it worth the money to mess around with this one when it looks like I could buy one with good interior and stuff for not much more than I could sell this one for. 3. The jet looks like someone sealed it to the back of transom with silicone. How hard is it to remove the jet and put it back in properly? 4. I have a diverter thing on the floor. If I put it all the way forward the boat seems to run the fastest...Is that correct? I have what I would call a beveled shim or clocking ring in the middle of the squirter for lack of a better term, is that to increase speed or what? thanks!

[Squirtcha?]

Some pictures would be real helpful. Got any? 74 mph aint half bad considering it sounds like a stock pump and motor by your description.
Oh yeah, we all think we should be going faster. Welcome to the club.

[79 Bonita]

I have some pictures but have no idea how to post them. You say 74 is ok? Seems like for as big as the engine is and as small as the boat is it should set the water on fire. The engine is a fairly mild rework with a marine grind cam, Victor Sr. intake, and 850 Dp holley. The pump I have no idea. If I keep it is it hard to remove the pump from the hull? It looks like crap all siliconed on there. If it is a pain in the butt looks like I can buy a whole boat ready to go for less than 5 grand and just go rather than dick around with this one. thanks for all the help. I have no idea what I am doing. This is the first boat I have ever had.

[Squirtcha?]

***boat has space where you can post your pictures for free. You have to sign up, but it's pretty painless. It would be helpful if you have some sort of editor that you can resize your pics with.***boat picture post (http://www.***boat.net/image_center/index.php)
Yeah, a mild build and stock pump running 74 mph is better than most do.
Half the fun with these things is working on em (if you ask me anyway). I'm always out in the shop messing with something. However, you can get a lot of boat for $6000-$7000. You could probably find something already setup to run 80+ for that money. If you've got ideas of a hundred mph jetboat, you'll need to keep you wallet real handy. I don't even want to talk about how much $$$$ it cost me to go from a 62 mph stocker to 80+ mph. The cool part is, it always always ran and I had a blast with it while I was running/working on it.

[victorfb]

sounds like you got a pretty nice boat allready. interior and such is no big deal , especially when youve allready got that kind of speed. it normally takes alot of money to go that fast. is the other boat the same kind of hull? you may have a better hull now. as for the silicone on the pump, dont worry about it. most people use it when installing a pump. its a pain to get the old stuff off, but with a little time and sore finger tips you should have no problem, then just seal it back up with some more (new) silicone and have fun.:D

[Cas]

found this on ebay with a description almost exactly what you've said here.
http://i23.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/7b/76/e2_1_b.JPG
Bonita Jet (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31270&item=2466350500)

[79 Bonita]

I could get for it and maybe buy a little bigger boat with a covered engine compartment. What do you guys think? It's parked next to my Unimog if you guys know what that is. I have a Pinzgauer as well. Any military truck freaks on this board?