Harley 42'

Steve that is pretty good MPG! on our trip 500+ miles we average only 1mpg cuising 30knot. & those are stock Cat 420 hp with a light load. Show pics of engines!!

 

Good Morning Harley Guys,

Finally got a few pictures. The engines are still running. Other than a pesky oil leak, it's all good. The appearance of the engines is very close to stock, which I prefer. I painted all of the fancy heads, intake, valve covers etc. black. Luckily I didn't throw away the original Marine Power spark arrestor covers.
I wanted to show you what the throttle body and injectors look like up close. It is a very simple install and tune. I have insulated all of the fuel lines that are near the engine. I haven't had any vapor lock issues so far. I have only had problems with it on really hot days burning e10 fuel.
Finally have the dinghy mounted. It is a must in the San Juan Islands. Their idea of a beach is a bank of gravel located behind a reef, so no way to get the Harley in to many places. It's on the swim step using the Hurley Davits. They were simple to install and passed the first test drive yesterday. I did find that if the boat is slowed quickly from plane the wake will catch up with you and float the dinghy slightly. Not a big deal yet. The open ocean could cause a more extreme back wash, especially in a following sea. We are loading the boat on Saturday and hitting the road for the six hour ride on Sunday. I'll get a pic or two from our trip and post them up.
That's all I got

Steve

 

I am very interested in the 35 magnum project---any update?

What are your plans for power?

 

Magnum Project

It came with 454,s + Walter v dives going to keep them for now . I have been real busy at work with QVC picking up our product, so far working on painting the bilge white with 2 part paint will post pictures soon . These boats are built like a brick check out link this guy made a impossible magnum marine job possible http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/453905-1971-magnum-flybridge-express-makeover.html

 

Steve, looks great! That EFI Carb is the way to go for those of us who idle on ICWW 80% of the time. Your consumption is epic for a gasser. At this point what HP and cubes are your motors?

Swapping props again today to do some rpm/speed testing and finally get my props tuned for the lower HP I am running. Going to keep your props as my spares and for when I bump the HP back up. Still only getting 3800 rpm at wot and barely getting up on plane - not good for even older truckish 454s w 330 HP - too much load....they should still spin to 4200 (versus the 5200 for 502s). Otherwise the beast runs okay - still on fence as to if I should go diesel or find some 540 gassers.

Keep posting guys!

 

Hi Swamp!
Glad to here that you are still working away on your Harley. I think the fresh motors have approx. 520 ci now, and roughly 500hp. Speaking of props;I had another inch of pitch taken out of a set of 3B choppers, raising the rpm by about 200. I don't know what WOT RPM is. But it hits over 5000 at not quite full throttle, that was getting just over 52 mph.
35 mph cruise RPM went from 3300 to 3500. It burns less gas, lower oil temp, and the motors seem much happier.
We ran into three separate pods of Killer Whales yesterday. They were breaching all around us, and some were just a few feet from the boat! I had several friends and relatives onboard, and they all had a great time. Gonna run to Anacortes today to pick up a friend of my daughters and gas up, then head back out to open waters "whale hunting". Boats running great. I'll post up some pics ASAP.

Steve

 

I've always been told to spin those 502 roller engines at 5200 rpm at WOT in order to not load them so that makes sense....nice 500HP!

Killer whales? Guess you wont be water skiing today

Great to hear you using it so much like Lee is! Hope to be doing the same soon as it is starting to cool down a bit here in SOFO

Pictures!!!

 

"Light load" my azz - 20 cases of beer, 3 cases of wine, 300 gallons of fuel, 100 gallons water, 20 lbs of steaks, 5000 lbs of diesel engines, and 5 strippers is not a "light load" Lee

 

Well at least I left my GF home...........told her there was not enuf room..lol.
We gonna move the boat back to Chesapeake next week. They have a 4 day event in Crisfield "National Hard Crab Derby" Check it out on WWW. Been goin on for bout 50 years. lots of cool stuff & PLENTY seafood. One event is work boat docking contest. They really pay big $$ prize so guys come from all over and it gets pretty exciting. Another is SkipJack races. They race 100 yr old sail driven oyster boats. Race is boring but the boats & crews are very cool. One is captained by 92 yr old guy same boat like 50 years. Many are museum owned and maintained, some are still doing it the old way.
I switched props back to inswing (rooster tail is back!) I dunno, I think outswing better for me. Speeds are close, but handling, especially keeping bow in order, better outswing.
Will be in shop bout late Sept to split the rear floor "gull wing" style, glass in rear floor boxes, install bow rail, 1 more Furuno screen, and other stff b4 heading to FLA (I hope)

 

Man she sure looks good Lee - that windshield came out great!
On my end I am a bit distracted by a new business venture - thinking about getting the Harley "wrapped" to promote the shop in November...to do that would require the removal of the original stickers.....how hard was it to get those puppies off?

 

Hmmm.. since I removed the logo 1st year I had the boat..like 1989..u think I can remember that?? Last year is hard enuf (seriously). I know my signpainter friend removes truck lettering w/oven cleaner. If it is a sticker u prbly using bunch of adhesive remover & elbow grease. Steve, sounds like u are putting on some miles, nice. All holding up well? Ron, are u getting some use this summer?
Wow, it seems like only a few of us left. Was hoping to hear from Tom w/good news about Merlins & Shaun in West Fl looks like he really has something going (how bout update Shaun?) I wonder what became of center console from KW that was bck at the HH shop for refurb? Maybe I call HH & find out. That boat had same engines as me, but the arnesons had been removed and HH was lookin for a set, I think.
Hope all can keep em running!

 

Here is a quick pic of a few of the Orcas we were surrounded by. We saw hundreds overall.
Boat ran great. Put close to a thousand miles on it in two weeks.

 

Orcas....and I thought the sharks cruising around here were a bit scary.....

1.000 gallons x$5:50/gallon - LOL - priceless!!!!

Steve, who tweaked your props Bro?

 

Hi Swamp!

Gas (non ethenol) was 4.22 if you if you purchased over 100 gallons. I usually took on about 300 at a time. Still not cheap by any means, but a lot less than $5.50.

I used Independent Marine Propeller in Portland, OR.

www.imppdx.com

They were friendly, did a great job, local, and the price was much lower than expected. They only had them for a week or so, and were finished. I would highly recommend them. I will take my 4B Rollas to them next.

 

Here is a link to a video I took on a solo ride back to the boat launch. I arranged for a friend to meet me there with the truck and trailer. The family, vehicles, bicycles, and anything you can think of was already on the ferry south, so I was able enjoy the tunes turned up a little, without getting the look!

Yes the speedo is correct. I was loaded light and cruising at 38mph @ over 1mpg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TosLG__QLaQ&feature=youtu.be

The weather was perfect, the water flat. If it was a little warmer the canvas would have been down. I was wishing at the time that the truck and trailer were in Seattle, so the ride would last longer. All things have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This was the end of the trip to the San Juans.

I still had a 6 hour drive on I-5 ahead of me.

Steve