23' & 26' Hourston Project Commenced...

What to do?

  • Try and keep the boat and complete the project.

    Votes: 71 71.0%
  • Sell the boat in current hot market.

    Votes: 8 8.0%
  • Notch the transom for outboard.

    Votes: 5 5.0%
  • Add extension bracket for outboard.

    Votes: 57 57.0%
  • Install twin outboards.

    Votes: 42 42.0%
  • Install single outboard.

    Votes: 27 27.0%
  • Add command bridge.

    Votes: 15 15.0%
  • Remove command bridge.

    Votes: 42 42.0%
  • Accept "crowd funding"

    Votes: 29 29.0%
  • Do not accept "crowd funding"

    Votes: 16 16.0%

  • Total voters
    100
Believe the 23' dry wt is 5100 lbs-5300lbs depending on which brochures you look at. The 26' Dry wt 5500lbs and 5900lbs w/flybridge.

You are correct, according to the brochure it is just shy of 6000# w/command bridge, I have no plan on putting on the deck skirting, toilet room, sink w/water tank etc etc... also the Inboard has been removed + leg. My goal is to get around 30-35mph WOT, I am not a speed deamon just want a good hole shot and be able to have comfortable cruise speeds...

Its getting time to consider the pod build so the single or twin decision needs to be made, unless there is a way to build pod for twins but also have the option to place a single if wanted to.

I see the HindsightCharters has twin 150 Suzuki's on his 26"er, he usually has 4+ guys and loaded down, it works well for him.
http://hindsightfishing.com/the-hindsight/
 
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I think "Hindsight" had twin 140 Suzuki's originally,now repowered w/150's. John would be a good person to talk to about your repower,tons of experience with the 26 Hourston.
 
I'm really no expert but I think I would not go less than the twin 150 or single 300.
Even if you don’t want to go fast you don’t want the engines working too hard to hit cruise either. sorry to go back to the Commander but I have the largest engines available and get faster cruise burning less fuel than others with less horesepower.
twin engines are about 950 pounds plus the weight of the pod all farther back.

hey your getting a bow roller from Campion maybe an outboard bracket too? Theirs are full width and can have twins with kicker or single with kicker. Gives you a nice area to stand back there too. They may have some opinions on power. I always found them to be helpful.

I’m glad your doing this and not me. I’d be losing sleep. Ha ha.
 
Ok ll help you the package in it right now in my boat which btw is the sportfisher model or what ive heard called (the presidents model) its built totally different from the sedans my stringers are what called duo core and its double hulled its almost 2 inches think, Fiberglass then a compressed foam then more fiberglass. its way heavier then the sedans
the 5.3 motor (327) the new latest and greatest with direct fuel inject and var time cam its 300 hp and top speed is 44 mph with full fuel and water and 3 guys BUT its the dual prop so it has way more bottom torque.
What most guys with twins are either way over kill at twin 300 or like 2 of the other guys i know with the sedan model like your are running twin 150s I wouldn't go any lesser then that as you put the command bridge on it and with any wind etc its a beast, You want just a tiny bit extra for power. personally id go a 300 yammy with a kicker but thats me as when you get into twins you have 2 times the everything, and really isnt necessary unless your making it a working boat taking clients out. BTW lots of boats out there with just single screws.
A kicker uses way less gas and you dont put hours on your main.. most weekend warriors only put about maybe 40 hours a year on a main its the kickers that will put on the hours , When I was doing my break in on my motor seems to take FOREVER to get hours on it , i only did about 100 days lof fishing last year and i had only 80 hours of running but the kicker had almost 900.

You have some major decisions to make.
Good luck Wolf
 
Suzuki has a 300 with duo prop gonna guess it’s not cheap but I’m sure it’s cheaper than twins..
 
Yeah that data was from my stroker engine and it was and is a pretty cool engine i will add that was with a 1:98 to 1 ratio leg and it haauled butt I used a 1:78 to 1 ratio drive as well and way more speed I actually liked it better then the 198

the new drive is the DPS duo in the 2:32 to 1 ratio but with these fancy props i think they are F series ??? and in my opinion are way better then the 290 B series..FYI this new engne even with the heavy boat is about 11 GPH as ive had it check on computer and thats at 4100 rpm doing 26 t0 30 depending on water and peoples on board as trust me I watch my fuel consumption ALOT

point is 2 different inboard engines 3 different drives and still way more snot then ill ever need when you have twins its 2 times as much
2 fuel filters
2 oil filters
2 oil changes
2 sets of spark plugs
and so on
 
Suzuki has a 300 with duo prop gonna guess it’s not cheap but I’m sure it’s cheaper than twins..
ive heard it is quite the package and works great... hey its only money right!!!!!!!
 
I think "Hindsight" had twin 140 Suzuki's originally,now repowered w/150's. John would be a good person to talk to about your repower,tons of experience with the 26 Hourston.
Was on his boat in September. He has twin 200 zukes now.
 
I had a 26’ sedan with a new 383 stroker Merc and bravo 3 leg. It had 350hp and 450ftlbs of torque. It had plenty of power. Top speed of around 45mph if I remember right.
 
More power. Lower rpms. You used to own a Grady 208 yes? I’m powering mine with a 225 etec. Max horsepower....I won’t always use it, but it’s great when you need it!
 
I'm still not clear if Rob sold the 23 or the 26. I have a 26 hourston hull with a 320hp vp dps 1.78. When I first got the boat it had f5s and then I switched those out for f3 duos. This hull with the f3s can plane without tab assistance at 2400 rpms, perhaps less. I find it never does the high plane thing at all. With this set up she tops out at 38 knots which is definitely fast enough for those rare runs to blast the carbon out. I cruise at 2800 rpms or 20 knots.

If / when this thing blows its brains out I'm going to pod it most likely with a single 300 hp or 350hp. The awesomeness of the vp duoprop has me very interested in the Suzuki dp however there isn't dealer support in my area, for sure on the sunshine coast that I have seen. Point of this is in my experience these hourston hulls are pretty efficient and when I moved down to the f3s it was like a different boat with max rpm of 4800 perfectly. I wouldn't go beyond 350hp for sure, even 300hp would be plenty.
 
Any ideas has to how to fasten the floor? I plan on oversizing screw holes and filling with epoxy then re-screwing into the epoxy plug to avoid water penetration into the wooden stringer...

1. thickened epoxy on top of stringers and screw down floor
2. dbl sided adhesive gasket on top of stringers and screw down floor
3. 3M 5200 on top of stringers and screw down floor
4. Sikaflex on top of stringers and screw down floor

View attachment 50173
Hi Robert,
First off, great pictures and authoring. I did my hourston 23 last winter and generally did everything the same way you have. For the floor, I did not use any fasteners, just thickened epoxy and a lot of concrete blocks during curing. Was skeptical trying this method, but worked out great.
 
For some more reading and background from Yamaha outboards, here is a 26' Pursuit DC at 6800 pounds dry, tested with twin 150s and twin 200s. You could surf around this Yamaha website and try to find a boat similar in length, beam, dead rise and displacement to your expected finished product.

Pursuit DC266 with twin 150s;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/h...0-(i4)/pb_pur_dc266_tw_f150xca_03-25-2019_occ

Pursuit DC266 with twin 200s;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/h...200-i4/pb_pur_dc266_tw_f200xca_12-13-2018_occ

Full list of Yamaha Performance Reports searchable by engine type, etc;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/owner-resources/all/performance-bulletins
 
I'm still not clear if Rob sold the 23 or the 26. I have a 26 hourston hull with a 320hp vp dps 1.78. When I first got the boat it had f5s and then I switched those out for f3 duos. This hull with the f3s can plane without tab assistance at 2400 rpms, perhaps less. I find it never does the high plane thing at all. With this set up she tops out at 38 knots which is definitely fast enough for those rare runs to blast the carbon out. I cruise at 2800 rpms or 20 knots.

If / when this thing blows its brains out I'm going to pod it most likely with a single 300 hp or 350hp. The awesomeness of the vp duoprop has me very interested in the Suzuki dp however there isn't dealer support in my area, for sure on the sunshine coast that I have seen. Point of this is in my experience these hourston hulls are pretty efficient and when I moved down to the f3s it was like a different boat with max rpm of 4800 perfectly. I wouldn't go beyond 350hp for sure, even 300hp would be plenty.


Don’t you think that the torque from the automobile engine in your boat now has a big effect on how it gets on plane? Not to mention the correct prop combo and duo-prop system? You don’t get that type of twist from an outboard. (Yet)
 
For some more reading and background from Yamaha outboards, here is a 26' Pursuit DC at 6800 pounds dry, tested with twin 150s and twin 200s. You could surf around this Yamaha website and try to find a boat similar in length, beam, dead rise and displacement to your expected finished product.

Pursuit DC266 with twin 150s;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/h...0-(i4)/pb_pur_dc266_tw_f150xca_03-25-2019_occ

Pursuit DC266 with twin 200s;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/h...200-i4/pb_pur_dc266_tw_f200xca_12-13-2018_occ

Full list of Yamaha Performance Reports searchable by engine type, etc;

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/home/owner-resources/all/performance-bulletins

Thank you...
 
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