28 topaz...diesel or gas???

[rugman]

a pair of 330 hp crusader small blocks would be a great match for thatboat and great fuel economy.repowered a 29 phoenix and 28 albermarle with them and the next best thing to diesel

[controlled chaos]

i just reread this...
are you sure this rig has 454's ??? i've never seen a 28 topaz with 454's ??? everyone i've ever seen has had either 350 gm's or 351 fords ???

jawz, yeah i know it is a bit out of the norm for this rig. it had 350s in it in 1988 but it burnt up real bad. my dad was in the towing and salvage business back then before it was taken over by yuppies and he decided to keep this boat because the owner didnt want anything to do with it. about 6 months later she was sittin pretty with a custom made pilot house and 2 big 454s in her. this thing is and was a tank and had some serious balls for towing. he got over 4000 hard hours on those motors before retiring the boat in 1998. The motors were running when he pulled the boat but it has been sitting for 10 years and almost everything is in need of replacement. Im gonna rebuild it and keep it for myself because i basically learned everything i know now on this boat. resale isnt really something Im concerned with b/c I know I wont get what I put into it. Im not trying to break the bank either though. Its more about bringing it back to life with my 2 brothers that has me all excited about this project. hopefully it will be ready to fish in a year or so. its a part time project.


DK

[seapower]

If I was going to re-fit this boat for the LONG TERM and money wasn't my most important factor, the answer to me is obvious. Many opinion's have been right on so far. Look it's a serious,expensive undertaking no matter how you look at it. I've owned 4 big commercial boats and re-fit 3 of them, I'll not do another one. What ever you think it will cost, times that by 2, that will be your no suprise realistic cost. Now with that being said, if we are looking at long term, diesel's are your only answer in my opinion. Now how many hour's a year are you really going to use this boat, total? The life of your finished product whether through hours or years of use by you, is the only way to justify this endevour. If this is going to be a serious offshore boat, again diesel's is the answer, you need torque to power up or through sea's of any size.
I've stated my opinion about types of engines. Now let's go to brands. I will not slam any brand of engine, they all have their place, and I work on all of them. As far as brand choice is conserned, My number one question when someone is looking to lay down some serious cash is, which of the engines you are interested in have a commercial rating? By this I mean can you buy this engine ,put it in a commercial application and still have a warrantee? I think you will be suprised by the answer's you'll get from the different brands. An engine in a commercial environment is built to a higher standard, for the obvious reason's. If am involved in a re-power my very first question is "Mr. Boat Owner,is this your 10 year boat", if so it's a no brainer. You're going to spend serious money, do the best you can to insure your power will be there down the road. Why would you pay the same money, (more or less), for an engine that doesn't even have a commercial rating (can't be sold to the commercial market with a warrantee), is only meant for light recreational use. Do your homework!!!, Get straight answer's.
I see no problem with your project as long as you know up front what you are getting into. I have and use an older boat myself. I put money into it as needed. I like this heavy, strong, sea-worthy old boat. I look at the boats turned out now and so far haven't found anything that I would trade "even" for. My boat is not for sale, I have rigged it to fish for myself. Again for the long term, it'll probably be here when I'm not.Frank,SeaPower

[cravertosu]

Davey,

Are you bringing the boat up to NC to work on? Hope so, like to help work on that bad boy! EVEN if you're not going to take MY advice!! 1 gas and 1 diesel is the way to go!!

Have you taken your boat out chasing bluefin yet?! Those rods and reels need some use!!

Tim