River Cruiser Wanted

[MILKMAN351]

Schiada - 20, 21, and 22. The 20 is a tight fit for 4 big guys, the 21 has about the same interior space as a Spectra 20(I'll get to that in a minute), and the 22 has a little more freeboard than a Schiada 21 with its more old school tooling.
Spectra - 18, 19 and 20. The 18 is a downsized daycruiser, similar in cockpit space to the Schiada 20, but a smaller boat overal. The 19 is a low profile GN looking hull with about the same amount of interior space as the 18, but with less freeboard. The spectra 20 measures in 20' 10", so its similar in size and freeboard to the Schiada 21 RC, The hull has a slightly slacker deadrise angle which will make for a potentially rougher ride in big chop, but has been debated to be faster on the top end with big power in a V-drive (probably due to less wetted area as a result of the shallower V at the transom).
The Schiada 21 RC is the quintessential badass river rod that everyone wants and no one has. For that reason, finding one with colors like Franky's even at 4 times the amount of your current budget and far less desireable power and rigging options, is going to be near impossible. Spectras are far more plentiful because there were more of them made. Through the 70s and early 80s they cranked out a lot of these boats, and to their testament many have endured the test of time and neglect by owners fairly well in terms of structural integrity. Bottom line, they are both good hulls, one has a higher resale value than the other, but in terms of strength and utility they are near equals with the edge going to Schiada only because you can find them newer than Spectras, and in my opinion, the deck on the 21 RC looks better than the Specra.
One more note. If you opt to go with jet propulsion for one of these, you will be VERY hard pressed to find a Schiada. Whereas Spectras will be mostly setup with jets. Either way, make no mistake these hulls (Schiada or Spectra) take tons of power to haul ass with a jet.
Where does all of this get you? Buy Corleone's boat, and if the color is just that big of an issue to you, cal Salvador at Orange County boat repair to get a quote and changing the blue to red, and swapping out the other colors on the deck for something else.
Chris
Really appreciate the info. So was it the Spectra or the Schiada that made the 22' and how rare are those compared to the 21'? I like the idea of having a little extra freeboard. Do you know what kind of boat Hustler is running?

[flat broke]

The 22 is a Schiada. Harder to find because they weren't made as long, buuuut the upside is that they don't appeal to as many people so they are sometimes more afordable than the 21s. Corleone actually has one in his driveway, so when you go out to look at the Continental, maybe you could have a peek at that as well. I thought that I saw that it was for sale as well, but that didn't make much sense, so I'd call him on that. If you do a quick search for posts by him, you should be able to find pictures of his 22 project.
Hustler's boat is a Hustler. Its 22' ?" slacker deadrise at the transom than a Spectra as far as I remember. The entry on the hull might be a little slacker as well. His boat is nice and gets used A LOT. I the years that I've known of his boat, I've never seen another one like it, so finding one would be tough. As far as performance, last I heard 800-900hp was getting him right around 75, but I know he's changed some hardware that might have improved that speed dramatically. PM him and you might be able to get more info.
One more thing.... The PMs on the boards don't always work, so if you need to get a hold of someone that you have a phn number for, its quicker and easier to call em.
Chris

[MILKMAN351]

am I looking at that horsepower to speed ratio on all those hulls or is Hustler's just a heavy boat?

[flat broke]

am I looking at that horsepower to speed ratio on all those hulls or is Hustler's just a heavy boat?
Most all of the "old school" cruisers have lifting strakes that stop well ahead of the transom. On a v'drive where the prop can be used to generate lift, this isn't an issue, but on jets which rely more on the inheirent lift in the hull's design, it IS an issue. On my Spectra 20, I'm utilizing 720-750 of the 821 hp my mill makes at its peak RPM. That is good for 72mph. 4* back cut shoe, rideplate up 4*, short droop, and trimed out to run. Big Proppa's Spectra 20 with closer to Hustlers HP, runs 72-75 with no rideplate or shoe. Not a lot of bigger HP jet cruisers running around, but it would seem that for the jets those speed to hp ratios are pretty common. That kind of HP in a V'drive would see considerably different results. But it's hard to find clean 20-21' V'drive cruisers at your pricepoint. One more reason everyone is telling ya to check out Corleone's deal.
Simply put, in your price bracket, you don't have the luxury of being picky about colors when it comes to a clean piece. If you're looking to run 75+, you're going to be looking for a well setup Jet with BIG power, or a well setup V'drive with moderate to big power. The jet version will be hard to find in that configuration, and the V'drive even harder. Bear in mind we're talking clean pieces here. That and the fact that you are looking at the worst possible time in terms of pricing for a buyer. Believe me, I'm not getting down on you, just passing on what I've noticed over the years that I've wasted money on my tug
Chris

[flat broke]

I just noticed that a local South Bay Schiada 20 had its price dropped. Check out this thread.
http://www2.***boat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81254
The boat is a pretty clean piece. All orriginal, but the catch is that it's a merc 260hp package I/O.... The good news, is that it wouldn't be hard to put a 600hp Merlin deal in there and upgrade to an XR drive It would move out pretty good then.
Chris

[MILKMAN351]

Thanks a lot for all your input. Sorry for all the questions but I'm new and still learning. I'm not pressed to buy a boat right now and probably should wait until fall/winter, but I don't want to pass up a good deal either. What's your take on waiting until later in the year? I've spoken with Corleone and am going to try to hook up with him this weekend. He's got someone else flying out on Thursday so we'll see what happens. He has no prop or rudder yet so we won't be able to run it. His 22' isn't for sale. I've driven the jet boats we had when I was younger (19' kona bubble deck, 21' kona day cruiser, 21' ultra), how different is it to drive a v-drive. Seems like a lot more things involved in the drivetrain to maintain.

[Jordy]

Seems like a lot more things involved in the drivetrain to maintain.
Exactly. I just sold my 21' Schiada v-drive and the difference between my 19' jet that I still have (engine to jet pump) and my 21' v-drive (engine to transmission to driveshaft to v-drive box to prop shaft (though the v-drive log/propshaft seal) to the prop, plus the rudder and all assorted goodies), yeah, there is a little bit more to the operation. Not to be a real pessimist, but $13K, you'd be better off to scrape and grab Corleone's boat and not worry about the colors. I sold my '76 Schiada for over twice that.

[charger77]

Check Out Cruiser For Sale. Username Bobby B

[vee-driven]

here you go 78 hallett all new with a 540 twin turbo bbc.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...newpics003.jpg

[jetboatperformance]

Milkman check your Pms Tom