Boat project, any idea what it is (was)?

[Revorik]

Does anyone know the manufacturer of the boat in the attached pictures?

I've taken it on as a project, it has no engine, apparently had a V6 at some time which was very economical and managed to break the coupling. I'm just after a starting point really, such as what engine it would have had originally, power / revs required to push it at a reasonable speed, where to get off the shelf spares, etc.

Cheers for any help.

 

[Wiggo]

Not my real area of expertise, but it looks reminiscent of a Simms from the late 70's/early 80's. If it had a V6, then it may well have been a Ford car lump that was marinised.

 

[Nautorius]

I agree with Wiggo,

Looks like an early Sims Super V. The engines were marinised Ford 1600 engines which were never very reliable. Is this an outdrive (propellor) or jet drive version.

Just a word of warning, Simms Super V are very bouncy boat and more suitable to inland and rivers than sea passages! The weight of the inboard made them very bouncy indeed. The outboards were best.

However a marinised ford engine from somewhere like Coastal Rides might work or they always have old Volvos and Mercs around.

The cheapest way would be to reconfigure the transom and stick a 60hp outboard on it!

Paul

 

[Kipper]

I will agree with that. I used to live next door to Dougy Simms and he used Ford cortina engines in the main if I remember correctly. Mind you it was over 30 years ago. Great ski boats though.

Gary

 

[Revorik]

Thanks for the info. I live on the South coast so was intending on using it at sea, by bouncy do you mean its liable to flip / roll over easily at speed or when its choppy? First boat, think there is alot I need to find out, any good books I should invest in?

It is a jet drive currently as per the attachments. Is it an option to convert it to an outboard then?

 

[ValleyForge]

Could have been the Ford Corsair V4 lump too. (as in some GRP Delta's of the late 60's & 70's.)
(ps - if it is the Simms SuperV / Inboard these sit VERY low in the water at rest / low speed, so flat calm sea / inland use only suggested to keep the pulse down ......)
Nice colour scheme though, looks in good nick.

 

[Tranona]

Probably not a good starter boat. Specialised design for water skiing on lakes and sheltered water. Also lot of work to find an engine to make it go - and jets not the easiest to use.

Probably better you go to a well populated boating centre like Poole and see what other people use. Magazines also help get a feel for what goes on. If you have not used a boat before, suggest you sign up for an RYA powerboat course. Not only will you learn the basics properly but you will also find out whether you like it before you take the plunge of buying.

 

[Wiggo]

I live on the South coast so was intending on using it at sea, by bouncy do you mean its liable to flip / roll over easily at speed or when its choppy?

Won't flip or roll (unless you drive it like a nutter) but bouncy as in "crash, bang, wallop, my backside just went through the seat base and I need a new spine." Great in calm weather, though. A mate had one with a Yamaha 70 on it, many moons ago.

 

[Revorik]

Thing is I have been offered this boat and trailer for £100, thought that was a bargain but now not so sure, supposed to be delivered this afternoon. Thought worse case I could sell the trailer for that.

I was led to believe it was simply a case of getting an engine (Rover K was suggested), get some mounts and the bracket to the UJ remade (bolt to flywheel) and away I go at sea...? I was wondering whether I could get away with a motorbike engine but have no idea how much torque is required.

Think I will book myself on the powerboat course.

 

[Wiggo]

Depending on the state of the trailer, you might be able to sell it for that, just leaving you with the challenge of disposing of a manky 15' rotting GRP boat hull. Otherwise you have a large pile of scrap steel to get rid of too...

Seriously, with a jet drive, that will be a real labour of love to restore. If it had been an outboard powered one it would be a different story. You would need to find an engine that was meant to go with that jet drive, otherwise you will almost certainly end up with a mismatch. Don't forget, there's no gearbox in there, so the torque/power and revs of the new engine must match what the drive was designed for, otherwise you'll be going everywhere with the handbrake on...

If it really was a V6, then I'm pretty sure that would have been an old Ford unit, if that's the route you want to go.

 

[Tranona]

Whatever engine you put in it will have to be marinised - that is adding a cooling system that uses water picked up rather than a radiator. Also usually used to cool and silence the ewxhausts. Very few modern engines are suitable for this except the small number that are used in outdrive packages. Therefore you are limited to old pre-electronic engines and even then will have difficulty in obtaining bits for them. You also need an adaptor plate and housing to connect to the jet. All these sort of things were available 30 years ago, but difficult now.

The alternative is to reconstruct the transom to take an outboard, but this is not a beginners job. You will still end up with a boat that is not really suitable for general use in the sea. Probably all this explains why it is only £100! ie practically worthless, lovely looking though it is.

 

[Revorik]

I did get rid of an entire mk2 Golf I crashed by chopping it up with a angle grinder and taking it up the tip years ago so this should be pretty easy to loose, but not sure I need the hassle again. Think you're right and I might leave this one, although I do like a challenge... Did want to do some fishing on it aswell and if this boat isn't good at sea that's out of the picture.