Nice Alternative??

[seascarab]

Hi, after 3 Donzi (18 Classic, 22 ZX and 22 Classic) I have an good offer purchasing the dreamboat when i was young.:yes:
These boats are still vvery popular in the mediteranian Sea.
I have never had a boat without a mercruiser drive, and this would be a v-Drive, so not knowing if it is more difficult to handle....:confused:.
Here are some pictures not of the actual boat.

What are you thinking, opinions...???

[jonzis donzi]

I've heard the v drives are a bit of a handful around the docks, but I'm no expert. Probably like anything else, it takes a little learning curve. Sweet looking boat!

[zelatore]

A single inboard like that will be significantly more of a handful around the dock, but no more difficult at speed. It might actually be easier to run fast in that you have one less variable to mess with (and potentially mess up).

Depending on which way the prop turns, you'll quickly learn that she pulls one way or the other when backing. By utilizing that tendency, you'll learn to spin her pretty quickly without moving very far forward/backward and without cranking the wheel from side to side.

For example, a right hand prop will want to pull the stern of the boat to port when in reverse. I don't know that particular boat, but most likely you won't really be able to go fast enough in reverse to have any rudder control - you'll always pull to port. By keeping this in mind, you can spin the boat by putting the wheel hard over to starboard, then giving a brief but firm shot of power in reverse. This will kick the stern to port but not really build any momentum. Then put her in forward and again give her a shot of power. This will force a slug of water over the rudder and kick the stern to port again while killing what little sternway you had picked up with the first maneuver. Repeat as necessary and with a little practice you'll be able to spin the boat without moving very much forward/backward and without all the cranking of the steering wheel you would have in a stern drive.

Of course, if you need to spin the boat the other way you're sorta out of luck...:tongue:

If you really want to 'see how it's done' watch some of the old timers in single screw fishing boats. They can really make those things dance. And if they start making you feel insecure because they have decades of experience, just think of all the snot-nosed kids in their v-drive wake board boats who barely seem capable of dressing themselves yet they manage to get the things on the dock somehow...

[zelatore]

Hmmm....I should look closer at the pics before answering questions.

I now see that your new boat is a twin screw.

Ignore everything I said above - twin inboards can out-maneuver any sterndrive around the dock. Short of the new pod drive systems, they're by far the easiest thing to handle.

Picture a tank. When they want to turn, they just put one engine forward and the other back and pivot in place. You can do the same.

At idle speeds, don't touch the steering wheel - just center the rudders and leave your hands off the wheel! That's the hardest thing for most people to learn.

Say you wanted to make a gradual turn to port. Put just the starboard engine in gear and you'll turn slowly to port. When I'm training new owners, I often tell them to put one hand on each transmission lever and picture that they were pushing a shopping trolley. If they push with just their right hand (ie put just the stb engine in gear) they'll go to the left.

Now suppose you wanted to spin the trolley (boat) in place. You'd push with one hand and pull with the other (forward with one transmission, reverse with the other). Want to spin to starboard? Put port fwd and stb in reverse.

With a little practice you'll learn the point around which the boat rotates. It won't be exactly in the center; you'll actually rotate around a point maybe 1/4 to 1/3 from the stern. You can adjust that by giving a bit of power to the engine in reverse.

And of course, remember to always bring the throttles back to idle before changing gears. That and keeping hands off the wheel for low-speed maneuvers are the two things people coming from stern drives have the hardest time with.

And that is my 3-minute guide to twin screw boat handling. Tune in next time for more advanced techniques, like spring lines!:boat:

[Ghost]

Don said all you need, but I will offer one thought. I have a twin screw v-drive as well. About my second trip out, I spent 45 minutes in the creek at no-wake speeds without ever touching the wheel.

One bit of advanced practice is to shut one down and then try to figure out what you can and can't do. Mostly can't. It's like Don's first post, only the prop isn't even on the centerline. I needed to wait 30 minutes for gas last year stuck with an engine that wouldn't run, in 25+ mph winds, with about 8 other boats all trying to hold their places in line. Learned a few things, and some new words...

VERY cool boat. I think I stumbled across the ad for that some time back. If you have some more pics, I'd love to see them, and hear how she runs for you. My gut tells me (I have some experience with this) that the v-drive angle is inefficient enough that I doubt you'll have speeds as high as many of the folks around here do, and thus, the boat should not be too hard to handle. I don't know what kind of power or speed she'll make, but I think a v-drive boat that tops 55-60 is extremely rare. I'd think over 50 is actually quite rare.

Regards, Congrats on the boat,

Mike

[seascarab]

It is a Montecarlo 32 Sport with 2 engines 454 from Crusader upgraded to Mercruiser 420 HP. Below a picture of the hull technical sheet of the precedessor Monte Carlo 30. It is said to reach about >55 knots. And very good in the wave:).
A little conerned about having no engine trim, but it should run.

[lars]

Sierra Boat Co. on Lake Tahoe has two Monte Carlo at the moment. None in great condition, but the 30' is presentable. The original design and more rare 27' Offshorer is otherwise the one considered the best running version of these boats.

[seascarab]

Yes, but i prefer the 30, because of the more practical Cockpit.