X18

[Magnum Ralph]

My son is looking at an x18 powered by a stock SBC with a volvo290 power trim and an E drive. Is this a make sense combo? Thanks for your input.

[Pat McPherson]

My son is looking at an x18 powered by a stock SBC with a volvo290 power trim and an E drive. Is this a make sense combo? Thanks for your input.

The 290 is a new drive than the boat. The E lower is also a different vintage than the 290.

I had a 75 18C with 325HP/350 and VP 280 that was a great boat.

If I was to buy this 18X, I'd probably run it for a year and then restore and repower with a stroker SBC and Merc Drive.

[Magnum Ralph]

Will be repowering but hoping outdrive is a good system

[Ed Donnelly]

290 has tilt and trim and the e lower gives you another 5 to 10 m.p.h. Ed

[olredalert]

----Ralph,,,If you wound the E-drive it will cost you. It will be expensive, or the parts will be impossible to find. You will end up turning the 290 back to a stock lower......Bill S

[Magnum Ralph]

Back to stock would be fine. This will be a long term project will build a new motor.

[donzidon]

I have an X-18 with a Holman Moody Windsor 350 and a Volvo 280. It runs a tick over 60 with one person on board. If the E lower is really worth 10 MPH, then you would be looking at 70. That would be plenty exciting.

Know that the boat sits low in the water when off a plane, at least mine does. A heavy wake can wind up in your lap if you don't choose to jump it. The bow is pretty narrow and won't climb the wave when going slow. You don't have a lot of margin to add weight, and taking any out in a re-power would definitely be a positive.

On the other hand, the handling and sensation of speed are just great. My 22 feels much bigger and you lose that sports car feel. I am guessing that it has another foot of freeboard. I wind up putting the 22 in the water every year, but the X-18 is the boat I really like to drive.

[Just Say N20]

Back to stock would be fine. This will be a long term project will build a new motor.

Ralph, you might remember I had a 290 on my 16. It had the VERY strong 409 Keith Eickert built.

I did a lot of prop texting with that set up, and came to the undeniable conclusion that 65 is about as fast as that drive will go. 4 different props all ran within +/- a half mile an hour of each other, with 65.3 GPS mph being the fastest.

18s with the same set up might be a couple of miles an hour faster, but the 290 is as hydrodynamic as a watermelon.

Buy it, run it with the e-drive until it breaks, then put in a Mercruiser drive. It will be way faster than the Volvo, but not as strong.

[Magnum Ralph]

Thanks guy I think it will work. I don't intend to do much . My 94 motor is almost done est 500 hp it's a beauty excited to post photos.