Outboard power ratings and the 18 Dyne

Discussion in 'Hydrodyne® Boats' started by jim, Apr 11, 2007.

  1. Ab Crosby

    Ab Crosby Hydrodyne 20 Specialist Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2007
    Messages:
    10
    Boat Model and Year:
    None
    Ah the Coast Guard Standard written by guys who only saw outboards on tenders. Dad used to have model of a boat sitting in his office and when people started talking about cutting materials to save money or stiffness versa flexibility he would show them this model and let them do the touch and feel and he them told them he could use this new material and cut 50% out of the material cost of the boat, would they buy it. They all jumped at the chance; the only problem was that the model was made out of toilet paper and resin. One of the people, who were impressed, was a Coast Guard Inspector and Dad proceeded to rail on him about his knowledge and expertise. Needless to say, I tried to keep the Inspectors away from Dad when they came to town, which was rarely.
    The Coast Guard says it is a recommendation but they did not relay this to the field, we had a number of reports from people who were told to get the boat off the water by the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
    Many States have adopted the 1970 Safe Boat Act in to State Law, the States can make the law stiffer, but they cannot reduce any part of the law.
    When they inspected a boat they did it with a tape measure, and they would check the safety equipment, lights, blower, capacity plate, etc. They never conducted the safe loading or level flotation part of the test, it was up to the manufacture and they would review the documents. We did all of our own testing in the river. It was an all day event for one boat.
    When the Safe boating act first came out we were able to get a special exemption for the Tournament Skier while the Coast Guard studied the problem. We then received the notice to stop, the Coast Guard would not issue any exemption when the boat could fall into the public stream of commerce., thus the 20 was born.; higher freeboard, longer and a lot of deck space for upright flotation. There are some 18’ floating around out there with capacity plates the read 300hp they were made during the grace period.
    In all the 7 or so inspections that I had, I was gigged about the height of my stern light, and we had a heated discussion over the size of my fresh air inlet into the bilge. The inspector failed to carry a decimal point.
    The inspections we did for the Marine Manufactures Association were a lot more rigorous, they went over the boats with a fine tooth comb but again did not take in to account the construction; back to the toilet paper.
    I will say that most of the Coast Guard Inspector were great guys and really tried to help, except the first one Dad got a hold of, took about 4 months to undo that damage. They were covering new ground for them and they knew they had some learning curve.
    I read a post earlier about the rub rail, it must be permanently affixed, and the type faster could be called into question, which is why we used screws and washers in some areas.
    Take Care
    Ab
     
  2. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2006
    Messages:
    2,321
    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    The situation is insane in FL. We have new 13 foot airboats with 600 hp LS-2 engines and no flotation. Check it out at http://www.southernairboat.com

    We have new 18 foot liberators being delivered over at Daytona with any motor you want including 300x and 300xs. We have new 18 ft Mirages being built in Winterhaven with any motor you want. These boats are tunnel boats. Check it out at http://www.screamandfly.com These boats are even lower profile than the 18 Dyne.

    jim
     
  3. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

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    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    Here is a boat that has been in production since the 80's. It has a centerline length of only 18' 10" and an overall length of 20' 2". It has no Coast Guard HP placard on it since it is more than 20 ft. It does have a manufacturers sticker that recommends no more than 150 hp I believe.

    This boat holds many speed records and they are running all over the south east with Merc 300hp+ drag motors on them.

    http://www.allisonboats.com/bass_boats/xb2002_index.php

    jim
     
  4. stranny

    stranny Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2006
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    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Boat Model and Year:
    None
    Can these capacity plates be considered a collector's item? Wink
     

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  5. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

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    Location:
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    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    Guard it with your life!!!

    jim
     
  6. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
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    Messages:
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    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    I never met Ab Sr. but I like his "in your face" attitude towards the bureaucrats.

    jim
     
  7. markbano

    markbano Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2005
    Messages:
    854
    Boat Model and Year:
    1973 Hydrodyne Tournament Skiier
    My boat had a blank capacity plate (the boxes for the numbers did not have formal, etched numbers in them). In the HP box, someone, whether the factory or someone later - I don't know - etched with an electric tool the following ("2-150HP) which apparently meant 2 engines at 150 HP each.

    I'll probably never know the real story on that.
     
  8. mnskibb

    mnskibb Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2007
    Messages:
    10
    Boat Model and Year:
    Hydrodyne 1978 Tournament Skiier
    When I picked up my boat in Spencerville in August 1978 the rating plate contorversy was already in full swing. After a friendly discussion, my new Hydrodyne had the 300 hp CC plate installed.
     
  9. inharmonydean

    inharmonydean Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2006
    Messages:
    34
    Location:
    Lewisville, TX
    Boat Model and Year:
    1976 18' Tournament Skier
    Ski Team:
    Twin Lakes Aquanuts
    My boat has the 300 HP (max HP) capacity plate on it. The HIN is: CMASO2200876. According to Tom Miller about 3000 18 footers were made in between 1966 and 1978. Anyone care to decipher what letters and numbers mean what?
     
  10. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2006
    Messages:
    2,321
    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    CMA is Crosby Marine Engineering which is Ab Crosby' Sr's company. He designed the 18.

    The last two numbers are the year of manufacture -- 1976.

    The numbers and letters in between contain the serial number and possibly the month of manufacture.

    Your serial number and month do not seem to comply with the regs for that year. This is not so unusual for Ab Sr.

    That plate is not the coastguard capacity plate. That plate is a manufacturers plate that was used during the grace period until the Feds decided whether to give Ab an exception. He did not get the horsepower exception and that spelled the end of the 18. Some 18's were built after 1978, but none had a capacity plate as far as I know.

    Here is the unfairness of it all. My boat was originally an I/O and had no horsepower limitation. It had a 190 HP I/O chevy V8. It had no capacity plate in it so it did not comply. When I converted it to an outboard, it lost 600 pounds and had less HP and did not comply with the Coastguard formula for max outboard power. The capacity plate is the responsibility of the manufacturer and Crosby Marine is long gone.

    Clear as mud huh? jim
     

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