Project 23 sharkcat

[mustang5]

So was fiddling around on facebook and noticed some bloke wanting to swap a 23 sharkcat in which he had lying around. He purchased a house off a deceased estate and this was in the yard.

Contacted him and went for a look. Offered him $2k and the deal was done.

23 sharkcat on a tri axle trailer.

Only early stages yet, but not sure what the scope of this ones going to be. I feel it will be major.

Hulls full of water
Turbo diesel looks ok but unsure
Canopy/cabin is way overbuilt so will redefine that
Trailer looks good however will need the usual additions.

Time will tell but I've always wanted a sharkcat and once the haines is complete I'll focus on this big girl.

106624

106625

[fisho64]

bargain mate, single TD in a pod?

[mustang5]

Single td with leg down the middle of the tunnel. Not quite sure on the specifics will take more pics when I get her home etc.

[burleygu]

stole it!!! good find!

[airlock]

2k? your going to hell for a robbery on that scale. hope she fixes up easy enough, looks like a great starting point.

[mustang5]

106626

Got her home.

She's a big girl, lot heavier than a striper

[mustang5]

106627

Lots of room to work with. The Volvo has an aircon compressor hooked up to it which runs to the esky, but if a surprise there.

Initial plan is to cut the bulky extended cabin back to original, strip deck to the bare bone, and inspect the condition of stringers etc.

Then it's on to the Volvo penta. I don't even know what hp or model yet so that's something for tomorrow. Checked the oil and looks clean for something that's sitting. No milky residue. Turbo shaft has no play and all lines look to be in place.. Will have to put my mechanic shirt on.

Will draw up a layout at work and see what sort of costs and time I'll be up for.

Promised the missus I'll finish the haines extension this week so busy times ahead.

Anyone know what sort of performance these get with the diesel? Not after speed as such I just want to make sure they plane alright so to speak. Im guessing they sip the fuel at cruise?? (Haha here's to hoping).

[mustang5]

106628106629

Anyone want to take a stab at models of motor and leg?

[gofishin]

Hmmm, been a long long time since I was working with the green monsters.

Leg is definitely an AQ280, donk is either a 40 series (165hp) or a 41 series (200hp). If the latter the model designation would be AQAD41/280.

Need a few more pics to refresh the noggin. Is the air filter rectangular plastic or round steel casing with perf sheet grate?

There should be a MDP somewhere, on one side, maybe STB??
Cheers


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[mustang5]

Air filter is rectangular plastic mate, thanks heaps for the info :)

[mustang5]

Oh and what is an mdp? Lol

[mustang5]

106630

Found another pic I took today if that's any clearer

[gofishin]

Manufacturers Data Plate :) From memory there were also numbers stamped in the block somewhere too.

That means it is a 165hp, AQAD40/280, if memory serves me correctly.


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[mustang5]

Ok no problem mate, thanks heaps really appreciate it

[mustang5]

Anyone have any guesses as to what year Shark Cat the big girl is?

I have been reading up about the 165hp Volvo and read that shes a bit of a dog. Just wondering what performance figures a 23 Sharkcat with the 165hp volvo would get?? Im just tossing up whether to go straight to the twin outboard solution, or give the old girl a go?

Missus thinks the big girl is hideous. She just doesnt have the same imagination as us blokes do when we see a project. I will have to gernie off the mould as a start though, before we have a Hazmat team turn up.

[myusernam]

If you flip it to me I'll put in a new Mercruiser TDI. You can come out whenever you want in tsv as part of the deal

[Camhawk88]

165hp on a 23foot Shark cat? You will do a lot of trolling I reckon.:-?

[mustang5]

165hp on a 23foot Shark cat? You will do a lot of trolling I reckon.:-?

Yeah thats the issue. Boat is way too heavy for 165 horses.. I realised that towing it home with the 200 series, felt like a play toy and couldnt go over 70kmh

[on-one]

I looked at one for sale in Sydney with the same engine it did about 8 to 10 knots max with the nose in the air, never quite got up on the plane and felt unhappy doing it. A few years later it showed up at the same marina we kept our boat at, the owner said after fresh antifoul and a service he could get late teens out of it, but he was still shopping for a couple of outboards.

[mustang5]

I looked at one for sale in Sydney with the same engine it did about 8 to 10 knots max with the nose in the air, never quite got up on the plane and felt unhappy doing it. A few years later it showed up at the same marina we kept our boat at, the owner said after fresh antifoul and a service he could get late teens out of it, but he was still shopping for a couple of outboards.


Thanks mate, from what I have read I think the max is 20knts. Although I like the figures for economy that have been thrown around. 15-20lph at 15-20knts sounds insanely good for a boat this size.

Im not so worried about what speed she will get so to speak, Im more worried about having power to get ahead of a curler behind us on the bar, or get to shelter if a storm fronts on its way etc. From the sounds of it this motor wont provide this so Im thinking a couple of nice 4 strokes imported from the states might be a goer.

Reading up now, to pod or not to pod. Im thinking pod and dive-board between outboards.

Does anyone know the resale value of a Volvo Penta 165hp and leg?? Or is it junk to the tip? Will still try her out first, but I think this will be the inevitable end.

[Dr FuManchu]

Pods and dive board for sure man!

[mustang5]

Thanks mate, looking that way. Convincing the boss of the safety advantages of twin four strokes...

She goes and researches shark cats and finds this on Google.....

106635

It's tough being with a blonde, but has its moments

[gofishin]

Owen,
Compared to an original twin 2 smoke powered option, yes pretty much a dog and of course didn’t/couldn’t realise any of the potential see keeping traits of these old heavy cats. Would wallow around like a stuffed pig.

Noelm might have less ‘scratchy’ info for you and a more current comparison, my memory is now going back to mid-late 80’s.

There was one we looked after, think it may have even been a 24 (??), anyway was a fly bridge model. It came with a 165, or maybe even a 155 (older model)!! Can’t remember. Cruise very slow, and had to operate close to max revs to get it going at lateish teens. Even then, very arse heavy and slow. The pod (kayak!!) in the tunnel acted like a break, well I reckon anyway.

When the 200’s came out we upgraded the donk for the owner, and combined with the DuoProp, made it a lot lot better. But, still a dog, just a bit lesser of one.

Even though I like Volvo diesels, forget about the Volvo engine restoration, it could cost you a motzer and you would still have a dog. Go with twin O/B’s.

PS. As a comparison, we also converted a very original (~mid 70’s??) 23 from Chryslers to twin 4cyl 130HP diesel DuoProps, or maybe 150HP DP, can’t remember. edit: must have been 130's, too early for 150's. Anyway was like chalk and cheese to the single. Still no speed demon, but acceptable, and great economy.



Guys, also remember that with diesels don’t just look at the HP number. Their immense torque (in comparison), and hence capacity to push big props, is what gets the boat to, and pushes it at cruise.

As an example, for a common old 25 FB berty style hull. Change from twin 170HP in-line 6cyl petrol I/O’s (single props) to a 165HP diesel DuoProp… similar cruise, ~5kn loss in top end, ~50% or more maybe drop in fuel consumption. Again, exact figures not sure, mid-80’s experience , but wouldn’t be far off. And we are talking real old school thumpers in comparison to today’s marine oilers. If I didn’t have all these shallow waterways, sandbars etc to deal with, I would have one now!
Cheers
Brendon


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[mustang5]

Thanks gofishin, really detailed and informative info mate and it's much appreciated.

Further daylight inspection today showed that though I drilled the rear of the hulls before towing, I only drained the rear third of the hulls.. So who knows what weight the poor 200 was towing.... Eek...

So, looks like a few submersibles are on the cards.

Now given the hull has had water in it for God knows how long, she's going to be a full refurb no doubt.

Would anyone have a pic of the stringer setups on these??

From inspection it looks like there's a 100mm keel stringer, and guessing that there would be bulkheads every metre or so?? Just a guess.. Well I plan to rip the floor up and get the chainsaw out.

The hard top has a bit of rot, but looks as though the bulk of it is fibreglass, so I will separate that off when I go to strip her, so I can work on that separately. Not much work there..

The motor, well I had a detailed look and it looks as though there has been water sitting upwards towards the sump and above... So before I go playing the guessing game I think she's going to be ripped out.

Now, I'm guessing she weighs upwards of 400kg so getting it out should be interesting. Any suggestions on lifting 400kg 5m in the air??

Bit of work overall, but will make for a good project over a few months.

[Noelm]

Under the floor is quite simple, there will be bulkheads, and they are not fully glassed, so will be more than likely rotten, then there is crossover beams that the actual floor sits on and is nailed to, and I mean nailed, gal clouts.... Unlike a standard mono, the floor is not used to maintain hull strength, the boat will be perfectly OK with the floor cut out, more than likely it will be Masonite. Cut a small inspection hole to get floor thickness so you can set the saw and not cut the crossover beams, the crossovers will be hardwood.

[mustang5]

Ok mate that sounds like some good news.

Looked in the inspection hatches and there's a crapload of glass around the stringers. Not sure if it's been done before but There are a series of pumps and plumbing that by the age of it certainly weren't put in there when built. So the floors been removed before.

Time will tell :) thanks for the info mate

[gofishin]

Pretty close mate. From memory donk around 450kg.


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[myusernam]

put one of these in it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaqzAjDvdTc

[mustang5]

Looks pretty good, but I think I'll go the outboards. Benefits of trim and the extra cabin space.

This leads to the next question, Im guessing there's going to have to be some extra structure added to the rear transom area of the hulls in order to bolt pods to? Had a search couldn't really find anything relevant

[Noelm]

I think you will find the transom will be pretty thick/strong, the stern drive is bolted to it, so it has to be strong, I don't think they made them thinner on the outsides when a single engine was fitted?? does the boat have the bulge in the tunnel at the rear to accommodate the engine?

[mustang5]

Yes there is a bulge that's about 300-400mm deep from top of tunnel in the middle.

The sides when I drilled through to add some drain plugs both had about an inch thick ply layer on the inside of about 6mm of glass.

[Noelm]

I was just wondering how the outboard conversion will go with the bulge?? Don't really think it will be an issue, just got me thinking that's all, might even somehow add some buoyancy at the stern?? there was quite a few of those fitted with a pair of 115HP at one time, they went OK, not spectacular, but OK.

[mustang5]

Really not sure how it would go, or if it will have any effect. My thought process is that its well above the waterline, definitely above the waterline when planing anyways.

I further thought that the PODS will be buoyant so there should be a bit more stability to counteract moving 450kg of engine weight 3ft back..

The transom itself in the middle where the inboard is, its definitely pretty beefy. My concern is I would be mounting the pods to each side hull below the waterline... Just need to figure out if there is enough glass and ply strength at these locations to cantilever 200hp off a 2-3ft pod??

[JulianDeMarchi]

Now, I'm guessing she weighs upwards of 400kg so getting it out should be interesting. Any suggestions on lifting 400kg 5m in the air??



A block and tackle should be able to do the job if you have something to hang it on above the boat? Like reverse her into a shed and hang it of the roof? I have a 1tonne block and tackle if you would like to borrow it to try(saves buying one)? I've used it plenty for outboard work, but never an engine lift, however that is what she was designed for.

[mustang5]

A block and tackle should be able to do the job if you have something to hang it on above the boat? Like reverse her into a shed and hang it of the roof? I have a 1tonne block and tackle if you would like to borrow it to try(saves buying one)? I've used it plenty for outboard work, but never an engine lift, however that is what she was designed for.

Thanks mate, thats very generous of you. When it comes close to the day I will keep that in mind.

I have a 500kg Engine crane available my initial thoughts were putting it on the back of a Ute and backing the ute up, but as I said, "initial thoughts" lol.

Looking to sell the old donk as a parts or refurb job. So if anyones chasing an old Green monster, Im your man.

[JulianDeMarchi]

Thanks mate, thats very generous of you. When it comes close to the day I will keep that in mind.

I have a 500kg Engine crane available my initial thoughts were putting it on the back of a Ute and backing the ute up, but as I said, "initial thoughts" lol.

Looking to sell the old donk as a parts or refurb job. So if anyones chasing an old Green monster, Im your man.

No dramas mate! Your idea sounds good. If that fails, you can weld up a frame that's like a swing set which is high enough to go over the stern of the boat and lift it that way.

[Yobbo70]

I have the same engine and leg (although mines a duo prop) in my 33 Riviera, mine is in pretty good condition, the best I have ever done is 16 knots WOT 3600 rpm @ 30 L/PH but my boat weights about 8 tonne, I usually just cruise around at 8-10knots 2900 RPM @ about 17 L/ PH,

My advise would be to try and get it going, and if it does go, give it a volvo green (gangrene) paint job, replace the crank case breather, air cleaner, new oil and filter and fuel filter, and put $4k on it, parts for these old 40 series are bank breaking expensive, and if yours goes and the oil coolers and after coolers, fuel pump and turbo are ok, it is worth a lot more than you think, if it does not run, it is still worth something in parts ie coolers, turbo and pump

[mustang5]

I have the same engine and leg (although mines a duo prop) in my 33 Riviera, mine is in pretty good condition, the best I have ever done is 16 knots WOT 3600 rpm @ 30 L/PH but my boat weights about 8 tonne, I usually just cruise around at 8-10knots 2900 RPM @ about 17 L/ PH,

My advise would be to try and get it going, and if it does go, give it a volvo green (gangrene) paint job, replace the crank case breather, air cleaner, new oil and filter and fuel filter, and put $4k on it, parts for these old 40 series are bank breaking expensive, and if yours goes and the oil coolers and after coolers, fuel pump and turbo are ok, it is worth a lot more than you think, if it does not run, it is still worth something in parts ie coolers, turbo and pump

Thanks mate.

With the amount of projects I have on atm, ill take anything to be honest. Its more a time thing and the missus and kids are forgetting my name hahaha!!

Looking at half the parts on it, I could imagine how much Volvo would sting for a replacement.

[hungry6]

Where is Grand_marlin?
Pretty sure Pete did the exact same project as you about 3 years ago and I cant recall what he did with the motor configuration.
I remember at one stage he had the top half of so it be easier to work o the hull and streghthening stuff, and you're going to need around 300hp at the back end to get the best from it.

[mustang5]

Where is Grand_marlin?
Pretty sure Pete did the exact same project as you about 3 years ago and I cant recall what he did with the motor configuration.
I remember at one stage he had the top half of so it be easier to work o the hull and streghthening stuff.

Thanks Hungry.

Definite plan is to take the top half off. Going to be a complete Gut over xmas.

[Blackened]

Where is Grand_marlin?
Pretty sure Pete did the exact same project as you about 3 years ago and I cant recall what he did with the motor configuration.
I remember at one stage he had the top half of so it be easier to work o the hull and streghthening stuff, and you're going to need around 300hp at the back end to get the best from it.

G'day

Pete's workng his ring off atm down south. With his old 23' sharkcat, he ended up finding a good later model engine and putting that in i think..... can't remember to be honest, maybe it was the leg that he found late model.
A member here bought the boat, may be worth asking him or just searching for the rebuild thread.

Dave

[ozynorts]

or just searching for the rebuild thread.

Dave

Here you go Owen, found the rebuild thread.
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php/66102-Sharkat-700-Rebuild?highlight=shark

[Blackened]

G'day

I found the thread and post #176, Pete said he ended up finding and installing a late model engine and leg. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php/66102-Sharkat-700-Rebuild/page12?highlight=sharkcat+rebuild

Dave

[ozynorts]

And here is the thread on the finish
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php/179457-Remember-the-story-of-the-unappreciated-cat-Well-its-now-appreciated!!!?highlight=sharkat

[mustang5]

Nice fellas thanks heaps

[mustang5]

Does anyone know where to measure from in order to work out the length/model of the boat??

Sitting next to my 24ft Haines and its longer...

[sharkcat 23]

Mustang, is this what you were thinking of, this is my cat in the final stages, the yammies were to big for the wells, so I put pods on and a duck board in between, there are more photos on here under a post of the rebuild. Great project good luck
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=105810&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1413088532 (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=105810&d=1413096146)

[mustang5]

Looks perfect mate

[Casey Ison]

haha good one mate I was looking at this aswell was going to offer same money but I didn't have time to come look and u snapped it up haha

good luck with her should be a great boat

[No Fear]

Hey Mustang, looks like you are in for plenty of work with that old girl. Having been through all this with Pete before, don't underestimate the time, work (and $$) required to get it up to useable and safe condition.
If you stick with the diesel option, don't expect it to be a speed machine. Don't even consider the 165 as the 200hp I had only cruised at 20-22knots. Great on fuel but if you are doing 200km + trips it's slow going. (A set of 200hp four strokes and she will fly!!) They are great riding hulls but towing them is almost not an option due to weight, hence I kept mine on a yard trailer next to the water.
Will watch this thread with interest and any questions, let me know.

[mustang5]

Thanks mate. Yeah I hear YA about the work involved, but no rush with this old girl.

Definitely going the outboards. Too much work in the diesel and not sure on history.

No rush with this one. Just finishing up with the haines rebuild now and then moving house (when we find one we like.... With a big shed ;)
)

Towing will be an issue but will see how heavy she ends up. Towing it home I could tell she was up there in weight. I've towed a 29ft proline and a 26ft striper all around the country and this one was definately heavier. However the roof was made out of hardwood and that diesel no doubt is a heavy unit, so stripping and rebuilding will be done keeping weight in mind

[mustang5]

My first question is what are the dimensions (length from nose to transom) of the 23 sharkcat??? And also the beam?? Just looking to double check model etc

[mustang5]

For sale in the classifieds if anyone is interested in a nice CAT project.

Just not enough time with the new job and 4 kids, and the missus has put the foot down.