21 Howard V-Drive Questions

[DMH21Howard]

Last year I found a 1990 21 Howard on RD's. I bought it, did a few things to it, but I have a few questions how what to expect with it. The boat has a new BBC, Blown, dynoed at about 850 hp. The Casale was rebuilt by Drew Casale (29), Art Carr TH400 3 Speed, new 3 blade Ron Hill Prop 12x16. I ran it this weekend in Parker, my goal would be a comfortable 80-85 mph boat. Above 65 mph, it is a bit of a handfull to drive. Wants to pull hard left, counter with right hand steering and don't let up too quick.... There is still plenty of throttle left, but I don't have the balls to keep my foot in it. My initial thought is that I have the wrong prop. Should I go smaller, maybe a two-blade instead? Also, it seems like i really have my foot on the cav plates to keep the nose from porpoising. would it be wise to start over with the plate settings and have them flat level with the hull and go from there? Appreciate any and all advice. Couple of pictures are attached.

Thanks,

Darren

 

[poncho]

Last year I found a 1990 21 Howard on RD's. I bought it, did a few things to it, but I have a few questions how what to expect with it. The boat has a new BBC, Blown, dynoed at about 850 hp. The Casale was rebuilt by Drew Casale (29), Art Carr TH400 3 Speed, new 3 blade Ron Hill Prop 12x16. I ran it this weekend in Parker, my goal would be a comfortable 80-85 mph boat. Above 65 mph, it is a bit of a handfull to drive. Wants to pull hard left, counter with right hand steering and don't let up too quick.... There is still plenty of throttle left, but I don't have the balls to keep my foot in it. My initial thought is that I have the wrong prop. Should I go smaller, maybe a two-blade instead? Also, it seems like i really have my foot on the cav plates to keep the nose from porpoising. would it be wise to start over with the plate settings and have them flat level with the hull and go from there? Appreciate any and all advice. Couple of pictures are attached.

Thanks,

Darren

I have a friend with the same boat, not sure if he is a member?
I'll reach out to him.

 

[DMH21Howard]

I have a friend with the same boat, not sure if he is a member?
I'll reach out to him.

Thanks Poncho!

 

[poncho]

Thanks Poncho!

This is Barry and some info on what he has done to his boat.

vdcruiser

www.riverdavesplace.com

 

[Riverbottom]

Beautiful boat, sounds great. Saw you going in and out of the Keys all weekend.

 

[DMH21Howard]

Beautiful boat, sounds great. Saw you going in and out of the Keys all weekend.

Thank you!

 

[vstdispatch]

Last year I found a 1990 21 Howard on RD's. I bought it, did a few things to it, but I have a few questions how what to expect with it. The boat has a new BBC, Blown, dynoed at about 850 hp. The Casale was rebuilt by Drew Casale (29), Art Carr TH400 3 Speed, new 3 blade Ron Hill Prop 12x16. I ran it this weekend in Parker, my goal would be a comfortable 80-85 mph boat. Above 65 mph, it is a bit of a handfull to drive. Wants to pull hard left, counter with right hand steering and don't let up too quick.... There is still plenty of throttle left, but I don't have the balls to keep my foot in it. My initial thought is that I have the wrong prop. Should I go smaller, maybe a two-blade instead? Also, it seems like i really have my foot on the cav plates to keep the nose from porpoising. would it be wise to start over with the plate settings and have them flat level with the hull and go from there? Appreciate any and all advice. Couple of pictures are attached.

Thanks,

Darren

What rpm at 65mph? Do u have a Pic of your prop and your cav plates? What steering do u have?

 

[DMH21Howard]

What rpm at 65mph? Do u have a Pic of your prop and your cav plates? What steering do u have?

Kind of guessing on the RPM, but I would say just under 5000. The steering is a single cable rack... from what I am reading, that may be a big contributing issue. Sounds like double cable Bergeron may be the way to go.

 

[BamBam]

In my opinion the single cable steering is the factor contributing to the pull. Prop torque is a big issue and pulling all the slop out of that cable then unloading that slop when you let off the throttle. The prop looks pretty big for an 850HP 21' boat that you want to go fast with. I bet it comes out of the hole pretty strong. I would say play with props as it will contribute to the hop as much or more than just can plate settings alone.

 

[vstdispatch]

Kind of guessing on the RPM, but I would say just under 5000. The steering is a single cable rack... from what I am reading, that may be a big contributing issue. Sounds like double cable Bergeron may be the way to go.

That's a big ear 3 blade that is a big part of the problem and also the steering I would change asap

 

[sintax]

In my opinion the single cable steering is the factor contributing to the pull. Prop torque is a big issue and pulling all the slop out of that cable then unloading that slop when you let off the throttle. The prop looks pretty big for an 850HP 21' boat that you want to go fast with. I bet it comes out of the hole pretty strong. I would say play with props as it will contribute to the hop as much or more than just can plate settings alone.

Came here to say the same.

first inspect the steering, cables, hardware. Any excess slop, you should get that sorted. Single cable just means you need to be extra sure things are perfect.
next check the plates, get those dialed. The faster you're going the more you'll notice things being out of spec.

I have a single cable setup in my boat, and yes its not ideal.

 

[500bbc]

Those cables do have slop in them.

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

Agreed with the big ears on that prop and I went to an old school dual cable morse set up because having just one bolt on my steering scared me... You are running a lot more power than me but when I started building my Spectra (same boat) I talked with several guys who complained about bow steer with these boats, the stock location of the strut was pretty far back and its a pretty steep angle and a deep strut. I would listen to the gents on here who run some go fast boats and play with that prop and upgrade your steering. A few gents in here have pushed this hull up near if not over triple digits and each one had moved the strut forward and brought that prop closer the bottom of the boat as well. I barely use my Spectra but the changes we made to the bottom worked well, she turns great, and moves pretty good for a 500hp engine pushing that big girl around and the steering is solid, a little too tight actually. If you wanna go fast you may need to upgrade some underwater gear, if you are pushing 900hp it looks like you have the original brass strut on there... keep an eye on that. and I would love to hear some other opinions on how much HP will a
brass strut handle. look thru the Spectra pages for some old conversations.

 

[DMH21Howard]

Thanks 74 Spectra. I’m working on getting the steering upgraded first, hopefully have that completed over the next few weeks. Then test out a few props. I have heard a little bit about moving the strut, that may be a winter project if necessary. Thanks for the photos!

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

I would leave anything major until the last straw, I did mine because it was a complete rebuild, yours is done... just tweak and have fun, if that 100 mph bug bites you in the ass then in my opinion you need to flip that bitch over and work the bottom I think I looked at your boat years ago in the Irvine / costa mesa area when I was first looking to get a day cruiser, its a beautiful boat and I had tape lines on my Spectra to cut down the top deck to match what Howard did in the early 90's, my buddy reminded me that I am a big fat guy and that I could use every inch to get under that deck... he was right but I still like that top deck change