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It seems my new cats are a little tall for the engine room of my B35 so I've got some construction to do. I'll be building new hatches and a sub-floor on top of the floor in the area in front of the motors.

What materials have others used or recommend for the ply, exterior grade b/c or more expensive Okume? (Keep in mind the engine hatches will be about 4 feet long)

Thanks in advance,
JohnD

no they are not they fit like a glove did you relocate the electronic box at rear of engine?what down angle on the trans are you using you could go with 12degree two speed and have that cat oil pan coincide with the bottom of boat.

John,

Probably, most of the underside surface will covered by sound proofing, the top surface covered with carpet or other finish material. The edges will probably be encased with solid lumber of your choosing, leaving what part of the plywood exposed to either view or elements? I suspect you'll be using 3/4" ply, so no need to go to expensive marine ply. B/C exterior has the same glue and almost the same strength as the marine ply...

Even with marine ply, you'd need to seal & probably paint the bare wood. Go with the B/C exterior.

Br,

Patrick

Bob,

What make trans are you talking about? I looked at twin-disk and ZF but they didn't have a 10degree down angle that would work with a CAT 3126 420hp, keeping the same output dimensions as the 280A?

I thought about the ZF301A's but that would drop the whole motor and I didn't want to put in belly pans. I also though of de-rating the motors and going with the ZF220A's. So in the end rather than dumping 10-15k in new trans I decided to raise the floor a little.

When the motors were first fit they were about 5 inches above the floor and I was able to cut that in half by moving them back and down. I cut the shaft log and packing gland back and moved the whole motor back several inches and down so I don't have to raise the floor too much.

I'm going to re-drill the mounts for the electronic boxes and move them forward a couple of inches, there's room and that will allow the latch to work.

br,
JohnD

Capt Patrick,

Thanks for the advise, exactly what my mechanic had said. It fits better with the budget and availablity too.

I do plan to prime and paint to protect the floor and the carpet will be removable not glued

john try looking at zf90ivts comes with 12degree down angle 380 hp at 5000 rpm rated sae 3 cat this is a two speed.i don`t know if your buget allows this setup. these engine 3126 385hp were install in a 35 bert without doing the sawsall thing.the electronic box was located however.

Bob, good advise but I wouldn't think that they run any cheaper than the 301A's and my quote was $5800 each for those. I'm near the end of the project and budget as well.

Besides sawsalls are fun, just ask Timmy. I only had to remove a little of the aft bulkhead where the old engine hatches set. the new ones will be slightly higher anyway.

Would you happen to have any numbers on the spead of that B35 with the 2-speed tranny's?

john those cats put that 35 on plane in seconds.about 28cruise.they were 21" 4blade can`t recall pitch.the wastegated 385hp had incredible balls at low end. it shot out of the hole put a smile on that owners face at test time.if you watch the fishing shows capt norm issac has a 35bert with cats and did not cut the floor.that boat is located in HI. is world known marlin getter.

Thans Bob,

That sound like a little faster cruise than the 2 other owners I spoke with, but the 2sp gears may account for that. I know the boat and Norm from the show he had. I thought it one of the better fish shows.

No matter what cruise I wind up with, getting on plane will be night and day diff than with the gas motors I had.

br,
JohnD

John D-
Glad to hear you are getting near the end of the project! I am exited for you and hope to get a ride on her this season. You are going to have a completely different boat when finished. Hard to believe that Bert put 454's in a boat that large. Best of luck. Only 2 weeks away from splashing "MAKO."

john are the other owners using cat 3126 385hp or are they 350hp.a tremedous differance the 385 hp is the 420hp with turn down fi pump but has wastegate.the low end punch with kick you in the ass,feel like 100hp more than 350hp.john i somehow doubt they are 385hp ----not to many people no they exist!!

Mack - You're close than I am to splashing.

Bob - They were the 420's as a matter of fact one guy is selling and moving down in size. Both admitted to being a lttle under prop'd, it will be nice to have a boat that's not under powered...

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/ ... tPrice%7C1

Whew. The electronics on that boat are old enough to vote!