CDMA
09-10-2001, 06:28 PM
This may be a little long winded so I apologize in advance.
The Lake George picnic was a great time but more so than fun it was a great learning experience. As you all know I am debating the future of my 18. I had the great opportunity to drive three great 18's this weekend.
Scott Pearson's- First of all the restoration job is truly a work of art. Scott is not only a great guy but a master craftsman. Truly a great job. I am in awe. Scott's boat is the same basic engine and drive ( alpha) as me and he claimed to have none of the spooky handling characteristics that I experienced. :confused: :confused: Well he was nice enough to let me drive his boat extensively and despite my initial skepticism his boat handles vice free. NONE of the problems I experience. After a little experimentation it appears that the answer lies in that tabs. With just me in the boat and the tabs completely up you could immediately see that the handling was nearly identical to mine. Same tendency to lift the starboard side. However with just one tap of the port tab the ride quickly changed. The ride became level with NO tendency to lift the starboard side. I have to say that in terms of control it was as good as Barry Phillips 18 classic bravo. I was amazed how the tabs fixed everything that bothered me. It was as good as I could have wanted. There was only one slight negative. The tab slightly down caused the boat to ride at a little more of a neutral angle. I think this caused the boat to lose a few mph in the top speed department. A very acceptable trade for the advantages.
2.) Barry Phillips ( SO SLO). A 1996 18 with a 2 barrel 350 / bravo ( never underestimate a 2 barrel). Let me tell you this boat goes. Ever so slightly faster than Scott's mostlikey due to the fact that w/o the tabs the boat could be trimmed up and "aired out" a little more. The handling of this boat was also excellent. Very similar to how Scott's boat handled. I was also impressed with Barry. It is amazing the background of some of the board members. Really a knowledgeable guy and a GREAT driver.
3.) The last boat would be George’s Arneson 18. George was nice enough to invite me for the weekend and I had the greatest time. George’s boat is truly an engineering wonder. Being a soon to be Naval Architect I am very interested in new ideas and George’s is one of the most original ideas I have ever seen. I was able to spend about 2 hours riding time in Mighty Mouse and George was even nice enough to let me drive for about an hour at some wild speeds. Every minute I am more impressed. Forget about the speed but the control is just unreal. I can’t put into words the how impressive it is. No matter how fast or how rough whenever it becomes airborne it re-enters straight and level. Again I just can’t say enough about it. Someday I will build myself an Arneson 18.
All of this 18 experience has got me thinking what would be set-ups for an 18 I would like to try….they may not be for everyone.
Here are a few ideas
1.) Blackhawk, external steering, and some sort of setback….like a stern jack or a extension box.
2.) Same as above with an imco shorty drive
3.) 300 pro max on a bracket ( I know I know)
4.) Arneson with an extension box and an external transmission
I may be wrong here but it seems to me the more I learn that the farther you can get the propeller back the better you are. I think this is why GEOO’s boat handles so well. The boat thinks it is longer than it really is. I also think a lot of speed comes from x dimensions. If you look at all the above options you can see that each of the ideas involve some sort of raised propeller.
I don’t know if any of this interests anyone but me I just thought someone might get something out of it. I know I learned a lot. I am going to see how cheap I can find a bravo for and if not I will just add the tabs.
I also had the opportunity to ride in a couple 22’s which was really great considering I own one and have never ridden in one. They really are great boats. They feel much bigger than my 18. I think my 22 with the Arneson drive really will be an interesting project.
Well that is all for now I have some interesting pictures hopefully coming later.
In pursuit of perfection
Chris
The Lake George picnic was a great time but more so than fun it was a great learning experience. As you all know I am debating the future of my 18. I had the great opportunity to drive three great 18's this weekend.
Scott Pearson's- First of all the restoration job is truly a work of art. Scott is not only a great guy but a master craftsman. Truly a great job. I am in awe. Scott's boat is the same basic engine and drive ( alpha) as me and he claimed to have none of the spooky handling characteristics that I experienced. :confused: :confused: Well he was nice enough to let me drive his boat extensively and despite my initial skepticism his boat handles vice free. NONE of the problems I experience. After a little experimentation it appears that the answer lies in that tabs. With just me in the boat and the tabs completely up you could immediately see that the handling was nearly identical to mine. Same tendency to lift the starboard side. However with just one tap of the port tab the ride quickly changed. The ride became level with NO tendency to lift the starboard side. I have to say that in terms of control it was as good as Barry Phillips 18 classic bravo. I was amazed how the tabs fixed everything that bothered me. It was as good as I could have wanted. There was only one slight negative. The tab slightly down caused the boat to ride at a little more of a neutral angle. I think this caused the boat to lose a few mph in the top speed department. A very acceptable trade for the advantages.
2.) Barry Phillips ( SO SLO). A 1996 18 with a 2 barrel 350 / bravo ( never underestimate a 2 barrel). Let me tell you this boat goes. Ever so slightly faster than Scott's mostlikey due to the fact that w/o the tabs the boat could be trimmed up and "aired out" a little more. The handling of this boat was also excellent. Very similar to how Scott's boat handled. I was also impressed with Barry. It is amazing the background of some of the board members. Really a knowledgeable guy and a GREAT driver.
3.) The last boat would be George’s Arneson 18. George was nice enough to invite me for the weekend and I had the greatest time. George’s boat is truly an engineering wonder. Being a soon to be Naval Architect I am very interested in new ideas and George’s is one of the most original ideas I have ever seen. I was able to spend about 2 hours riding time in Mighty Mouse and George was even nice enough to let me drive for about an hour at some wild speeds. Every minute I am more impressed. Forget about the speed but the control is just unreal. I can’t put into words the how impressive it is. No matter how fast or how rough whenever it becomes airborne it re-enters straight and level. Again I just can’t say enough about it. Someday I will build myself an Arneson 18.
All of this 18 experience has got me thinking what would be set-ups for an 18 I would like to try….they may not be for everyone.
Here are a few ideas
1.) Blackhawk, external steering, and some sort of setback….like a stern jack or a extension box.
2.) Same as above with an imco shorty drive
3.) 300 pro max on a bracket ( I know I know)
4.) Arneson with an extension box and an external transmission
I may be wrong here but it seems to me the more I learn that the farther you can get the propeller back the better you are. I think this is why GEOO’s boat handles so well. The boat thinks it is longer than it really is. I also think a lot of speed comes from x dimensions. If you look at all the above options you can see that each of the ideas involve some sort of raised propeller.
I don’t know if any of this interests anyone but me I just thought someone might get something out of it. I know I learned a lot. I am going to see how cheap I can find a bravo for and if not I will just add the tabs.
I also had the opportunity to ride in a couple 22’s which was really great considering I own one and have never ridden in one. They really are great boats. They feel much bigger than my 18. I think my 22 with the Arneson drive really will be an interesting project.
Well that is all for now I have some interesting pictures hopefully coming later.
In pursuit of perfection
Chris