I admit it, the lure of alloy was too great...

[Rampager]

Well my next project has been finalized. After spending considerable time surfing NZjetboating.com, Eagleracing.ca and a few other forums and sites I have succumbed to the alloy influence. At the end of this season my homebuilt wood boat gets retired(none too soon either). I have purchased a used Eagle tunnel which needs some work but is very fixable. I will run my Berk/460 that I have now.
Thanks to all the people on this forum who gave me advice on aluminum hulls, especially Baldy, he answered more than his share of emails/Pms. I'll have alot more setup questions I am sure haha!
I never expected to enter into beer can boating with a hull quite as serious as this but obviously I am very happy with what I ended up with and Im sure it will take whatever power I can ($$)throw at it and will last a long time. I can't wait till next season!
The boat is currently still in AB for some factory repairs before I get it out here somehow, or go get it(anyone have shipping connections :D )
Here's a few pics for the curious. I'm certain a few of you will know the boat.
Cheers

[Rampager]

the not so good side :D

[Rampager]

one more..

[Rampager]

A boat club member out here actually had these in his shed! talk about perfect (he had 4 too).....

[Infomaniac]

I would like to have a boat like that myself.

[Unchained]

Originally posted by Infomaniac
I would like to have a boat like that myself.
Me too except without the dents.
I'd like to pick one up for a winter project.
I need to make a trip to the factory in Alberta sometime in the next few months.
That hull weighs 100 # less than my 19' Stealth.
I could probably go out in Lake Michigan and jump the big waves with it. ;)
With that aluminum hull I wouldn't need as much heat shielding near the turbo's

[Desert Rat]

Why is the ground all white?

[Aluminum Squirt]

Very nice Rampager, good to see we are turning a few people. I think with the right set up, it will be quite quick. They are miserable out of the hole, at least the way we have them set with the fabricated nozzles and all the angle. Set that up with a droop, diverter, loader, shoe/rideplate etc, it would probably make a very fast California style jet boat for the lake. At least nobody is going to show up with the same boat as you and you can always come racing with us-Aluminum Squirt

[Rampager]

I've heard the same thing from several people. I hope its not "too" bad out of the hole with my setup. Thats one of the best parts of a jetboat! I'll be running a diverter and hopefully can keep it fairly drivable. I wouldn't mind rigging the steering so I can swap quickly/easily to a more speed specialized nozzel for some fun tho.
Either way it will be a huge jump from my current boat. I will certainly be a rarity around here!
All this talk is not helping to calm me down about it either!
Cheers

[HammerDown]

Maybe not, but that back pic looks like there's a little twist or rack going on...no?

[Oldsquirt]

Rampager, looks like the damage is going to require more to repair than a big hammer and a little bondo..... Is this work being done by the factory or do you plan to handle it yourself? If so, take pics!

[berk]

nice. i hope you repaint it! you will be happy with it, they are real wild! when i first got mine it wouldnt plane with more than 2 people in it! it would just stand up and growl, looking like it was going over backwards! i took some of the wedge out and its better but still weird. with a diverter there shouldnt be a problem. wait untill you hear the sound from other boats sounding off the aluminum! you will freak, sounds like a servo or something in the hull whirring away. took me a few times to figure it out but the sound travels through the water and up into the air through the metal. big cruisers make the most sounds. if you paint watch out for dark colors as they will fry you in the sun, if you care. racers dont lounge around on the bow, and if they did on that boat they would have third degree asses on any day oer 70 degs! the diff between glass/wood and aluminum in the sun is unbelievable. thinkng of going to white on mine.
ps the white stuff on the ground is probably foam particles from the fiberglassic boat shop down the street. :wink:

[canuck1]

Cool
The hole shot won't be too bad with your set up. mine is white and its fine in the sun, marine carpet will cure alot of the sound from the hull and not add too much weight. those seats are perfect just don't put vinyl covers on them

[Rampager]

Thanks for the comments guys, Im pretty excited about it all myself. I can't wait to start 'posing' for some of the wild pics I've seen of these hulls in action.
I did a fair amount of research and asking around before I took this plunge. Im across the country so it was really the only way. I spoke to Rob and others directly at Eagle and they said this boat was both fixable and a good deal. Several other racers were very helpful as well. Can't forget Mark himself made this a pretty comfortable sale.
Its going to be worked over by Eagle simple to put the running surfaces and bottom straight so it is safe to drive. I will be doing whatever they don't do and that was the intention from the beginning anyway as this was supposed to be somewhat of a budget project. I don't think I can go wrong.
The boat ran a Berk at one point and mine will bolt right in. I have seats obviously so exhaust is really the only major concern and I have all winter to figure that out. I think I'd like to attempt to make my own tubular headers/mufflers.
Boat will definatly be repainted and named. Ironic you warn about the dark colours as I had already decided to go light ;)
My current boat is black/black so I hear ya there anyway!
I'm not aware of any serious "wrack" in the hull, certainly Dale at Eagle is confident they can make it straight without too much difficulty.
Its also definatly worth mentioning that every single person I have dealt with at Eagle has been just great about this. If I was in the market for a new boat I wouldn't hesitate for 2 seconds to talk to them, very friendly people and willing to answer lots of questions about their boats. Perhaps I will ask them to start a thread on their forum with some pics of the repair process as some may find it interesting and besides I can't go by the shop to see for myself!
Cheers

[Aluminum Squirt]

If you are not planning on traditional white water jet boat racing/running, I'd check out www.gatorboatsjet.com these guys seem to be running the Eagle tunnels like traditional California lake/river boats, and making them holeshot pretty good. Check out their video clips, especially 'tunnel 03-4'. Looks like that boat layed down pretty quick and got out of their without all of the tail stand drama of a white water nozzle-Aluminum Squirt

[jweeks123]

a-squirt, i checked out all the vids on that gatorboat site. very cool. the jet must be trash after a day of running those shallow rivers:(

[Aluminum Squirt]

I rarely run my boat in more than 3 feet of water, usually more like 4 inches to a foot and I've never had any problems with my pump. I've run it aground at least twice at 40+ MPH onto gravel/sand bars and had no issues. I had to crawl up under it and get rocks out of the grate, but once it was cleaned out, it ran fine and I didn't lose any speed. Every once in awhile you hit a rock just right and you actually gain a little speed from your newly shaped bottom. It's our form of flow porting ;) -Aluminum Squirt

[Aluminum Squirt]

PS-I forgot to mention I'm actually a pretty tame driver, those crazy canucks jump beaver dams with them with no ill effects. Course those aren't light weight tunnels, usually sport jets, but they think those damn things are part motocross bike-Aluminum Squirt

[Rampager]

I've been reading as much as I can about aluminum hulls for a while now and am familiar with Gator's site and vid clips. I think they were largely responsible for giving me the idea these hulls can be run for "fun". I'm also not exactly looking for a 'normal' boat anyway. I can put up with some "awkwardness" in the name of having a cool boat, I always have. They have some wild paint on those hulls, very nice.
Squirt what are you running a tunnel or step tec? I never invisioned running the tunnel aground but who knows?! It even happened to my wood hull once, doh!(hit a sizable tree too) I'm told this boat has the optional steel keel plates so thats a bonus obviously.
I don't lounge on the bow of my boat too often, how sturdy are they on these race hulls anyway?
Canuck1 you're not the first to tell me not to use vinyl! Jungle Boy said if I did the first hard turn and I would have a passenger in my lap!(might not be a bad thing with the right passenger :wink: )
Who else on the board actually has one of these tunnels? So far I know of Berk and Jungle boy. I assume Canuck you have the step tec/sport on your sig?
I may go out to AB to get the hull myself and if I do I'd love to arrange to get out for some river boating. Eagle video # 6 completely changed the way I view boating. Whoever made that clip, gotta thank them, great edit and very cool tune too.
Can't wait till I no longer have to crawl under the trailer to see how much wood/glass I lost during the day of boating! lol
:eek:
Cheers

[Unchained]

The hole shot didn't look too bad in the videos on the gatorboats site but it looks like most of those guys have the nozzle up way too far.
The pictures of the 21' hulls with full interior and a lot of freeboard is what I need.
I've taken many a wave over the front, and sides of the Stealth.
My wife calls the Stealth a saucer and she doesn't like the spray that always shoots out from the front edge of the tunnel as we're riding along.
The boat certainly gets a lot of looks wherever we go though.

[Jungle Boy]

Rampager, Good to hear that you are making the plunge. Next step is to move out west and come boating.
Squirt - You get your boat running again? We have a race coming up next weekend so I'll be looking forward to running my own boat for it.

[Aluminum Squirt]

I'm not running a tunnel or step-tech, mine's an old 15' sprint hull, turns pretty well. Baldy, I haven't even done the autopsy on the motor yet, my season is over. Don't worry, I'll be back next year with a brand new ZZ4 between the rails-Aluminum Squirt

[Rampager]

Sounds cool, I love jetsprints!
got any pics Squirt?
who else on this board runs an aluminum boat?

[canuck1]

Rampager
Mine is a sprint also, looking for a 17-19' tunnel
Hey Davey, I thought you were at work, gimme a call

[canuck1]

Originally posted by Unchained
The hole shot didn't look too bad in the videos on the gatorboats site but it looks like most of those guys have the nozzle up way too far.
The pictures of the 21' hulls with full interior and a lot of freeboard is what I need.
I've taken many a wave over the front, and sides of the Stealth.
My wife calls the Stealth a saucer and she doesn't like the spray that always shoots out from the front edge of the tunnel as we're riding along.
The boat certainly gets a lot of looks wherever we go though.
Your engine and pump set-up in a tunnel would be wild

[Rampager]

the deal on my hull was finalized a while back and the boat was dropped off at Eagle for some professional repairs to put the boat 'straight'. I will be finishing off the minor body work/paint etc
I was thrilled to see the most recent pics of Eagle's progress. It really is amazing what they can do with a damaged boat.
Check out the links and a few pics. Oh and Jungle Boy I have a few words for you for getting me into all this.........thanks!!!! :rollside: :D
http://www.eagleracing.ca/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=3142&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
http://www.nzjetboating.com/yabbse/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=1920
http://www.nzjetboating.com/yabbse/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=2237
Thanks to the all white water races who have been giving me tips and excouragment too. The pics of your setups and rigging have been a huge help. If anyone else has them by all means email them to me at
jetboatin at yahoo.com
Im not gonna be silly and say this boat will never see a race course again
;)
Cheers