I figured moving things around to get as much weight aft would not do much for our boats. Bob has allot of experience racing boats and our boats are cruisers and slow fishing boats. This last statement is where i was wrong, our hulls were initially racing hulls that were converted to become cruisers and fishing boats.
A couple of years ago, whilst searching Florida for replacement engines, I found a sister ship Bahia Mar which was partially restored, and the owner had brand new Cummins stored away. He wanted to sell them together. I only wanted engines so i offered the boat to a friend.
My friend has never raced professionally, however has always been into speed, having owned several go fast boats including Fountains and Donzi.
This hull sat in his boatyard for several years until he decided it was time to finish her off. This is where he went "crazy". The boat had allot of very nice work done to her already and all the stringers and bulkheads were redone and strong. He then covered the engine holes with deck, strengthened the stern incredibly, and put on a pair of 350 Mercs! The work done on the boat is beautiful. The amount of cockpit space is unreal.
I was still skeptical as to how this boat would run. When she was launched her bow was pointing at the sky, i thought that he had for sure made a mistake.
Then we went for a run, she climbed effortlessly to over 50 knots, she did not wet, she did not pound.
I have been on just about every version of 31' with just about every engine package, and this boat is the best riding by far!!
Even with 20 people on board, she will get up and fly.
She is a little tender at rest, and i am sure at troll, (he will never fish her).
Closer to home, i decided to redo inside my Bahia Mar cabin. I took out every inch of wood and replaced with Nidacore. It is amazing how much wood, ie weight is in this tiny bow. The boat lifted out about 2". She now rides better, is dryer, and slightly faster, a different boat than before, not as good running as the outboards, but still much better.
My next project would be to use the reduced angle struts, maybe Bob can advise on angles, and is there somewhere to purchase them or are they custom?
So in conclusion, Bob knows what he is talking about, with all that he has done to his boat, i can only imagine how well she rides, if anyone is tackling a rebuild, pay special attention to Bob's advice, and you should have a better ridding 31' than stock.
