Magnum Missile Gross Weight?

[sevenspeed]

Does anyone know the weight of the Magnum Missile? I am picking one up, but not sure if my intended tow vehicle is up to the job. I have found the motor weight, and can estimate the trailer weight, but I was hoping someone had some figures floating around. Thanks!

[Bigbroadjumper]

According to the borchure. "Gross weight complete, less engine...App 700 lbs."

[sevenspeed]

Wow! That is less than I thought it would be. Well, I bought the missile and brought her home today. I'll post a serarate thread with all of the details. I towed it 600 miles behind a Subaru WRX -- probably not the brightest thing I have ever done. I think the trailer weighs more than the boat and engine combined, and probably very close to my 2000lb towing limit complete.

Do you have a scan of this brochure? I am anxious to collect as much information as possible!

[Lenny]

http://www.thunderboatalley.com/gallery/album06

Allan Brown and others I am sure have a lot but it shows up in tiny bursts... :D Stay tuned

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=33405

[Bigbroadjumper]

I don't have a scanner but I will try to find one. Tell us about the one you picked up. What kind of power? What is the condition?

[sevenspeed]

Ok, here's a few pictures to get started! I am not sure how the board modifies the size of attached images, but I have fullsize images available if anyone wants them.

I started taking pictures yesterday, but switched to the video camera once I made it to the water. I'll try to get some video posted somewhere within the next couple of weeks.

The boat is a 1969 Magnum Missile with a 1983 Evinrude 235. The powerhead was sent to Land and Sea by the previous owner for over 7k in internal modifications (custom pistons & rods, crank work, race heads, race port, big bore carbs, lw flywheel, etc, etc -- still deciphering the invoice!) So the expected output is closer to 300hp. The engine was running VERY rich and I had a couple cylinders that were not contributing fully on my test runs, and only felt sporadic burts of power that were in line with that figure.
There are 38 jets installed currently, and the plugs and pistons were quite wet -- so I'll try dropping to 36's next and keep an eye on things.

I drove the boat at moderate speeds to get a feel for it before trying any high speed adventures. My highest speed of the day was 85mph (speedo), but the previous owner documents 100mph (gps) on a 14 1/2" x 30" chopper that he included. I'm not quite ready for that, and I would like some input from the experienced operators if it is even SAFE to attempt! The current 4-blade is a 14 x 28 I believe, and pulled out of the hole nicely -- even with all four seats occupied. The lower unit has a nose cone with a low pickup, so it tolerated a few inches of lift nicely. Top speed with passengers was 75, with the motor trimmed down to keep the bow low. I have heard others on here refer to these as 'blowover specials'. How hard is this to accomplish?

My fun was ended early in the day due to a lower unit problem. Under even mild loads, something is slipping badly. I checked the prob hub, and even switched props to verify. It is impossible to get back up on plane. Uggh... off to drop the lower unit now. I suspect the dogs are rounded. Anyone experienced with this? I suspect it might be cheaper to pick up a used lower unit, but the nose cone is installed very cleanly on my current piece. More updates to come...

[Bigbroadjumper]

Looks great! I saw that boat on Ebay eariler this year. You should go to Screamandfly.com and do a search of Magnum, you will find some interesting stuff. After reading some of the posts there, I will say be carefull. I have a Magnum Merauder that was the other 16' that they built for a couple of years and it is a blast to about 58 and then hold on. I hope you get all your issues straightend out and enjoy.

Magnum Marine has a web site that has some info if you go to the history section.

[Forrest]

Man, that looks really nice!

[sevenspeed]

Thanks for the screamandfly advice -- I just read some of the posts there. Very scary stuff. What I can't tell is if the original was as dangerous as the rabco hustler (replica) that was apparently very dangerous. Just having the mold for the original does not guarantee the final product will perform the same without knowledge of how the hull was laid up.


Does anyone here have specific experience with the Missile with regards to instability or blowover? Maximum safe speed on smooth water with no wind? My gut is churning slightly at the thought of my adventures two days ago.

On to the other topic: my lower unit is trashed. I blocked the prop and tried to turn the flywheel. I was easily applying 300ft/lb of torque with a big pipe extension. No slipping. I even applied thrust pressure to the prop to simulate load. NADA. I put on the original prop that was on when the slipping ocurred. Hmmm.. with 250ft/lb or so I could slightly turn the hub. Thinking that might be the problem, I headed back to the water. Nope. Still slipping. Drained the lower unit and pulled the sucker right at the marina. Lots of thrust play on the driveshaft, and metal in the oil. Pulling it apart right now... Any advice from the other o/b experts here?

[BUIZILLA]

Does anyone here have specific experience with the Missile with regards to instability or blowover?
I was in a single engine hull that blew over backwards, but this was 35 lightyears ago... didn't hurt us, but scared us more than anything. We weren't going that fast, around mid 60's I think, and we were playing around in light wind, trying to get a trim angle we could hang it with, where it would sorta barely dance back and forth on the rear of the sponson's, caught a slight cat's paw gust, and up we went. Didn't go all the way over, but kinda straight up on it's transom, we fell out the back, and it laid down forward again, with a BUNCH of water in it. I seem to remember we were playing with various 2 and 3 blade props at the time.

JH

[Bigbroadjumper]

Post your questions on Scream and fly all the experts are there. I have had a few questions with my OB and they have been very quick and correct with their answers. Good luck with your project, and I'm sorry to hear of your problems.

[RedDog]

Great looking boat. I just saw one for sale while on vacation. Wish I had stopped and taken some pictures. It was sitting beside US-1 on hte west side of the road somewhere between Key Largo and Marathon. Sorry I can't be more specific - there was a heavy fog around at the time - in my head...