conquest marine mfg.

[greenwell001]

Hey guys I am new to the forum. Just bought a really well made mint condition 1996 21 foot Conquest Marine Mfg. Intruder. This company went out of business in 2000. This is a sweet boat, does anyone know about this boat manufacturer. The hull shape is a lot like my Crownline and Conquest was located a mile away from Crownline in West Frankfort, Ill.:

 

[Expidia]

Re: Nice boat!

Re: Nice boat!

There are some threads here:

http://forums.iboats.com/Boats/Conquest

That might offer some more info on Conquest!

 

[greenwell001]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

hey guys, got some info on these boats. I actually got in contact with the owner of the company (through a lot of research) and his name is Duane Farley. The comany was out of West Frankfort, Ill and was in business for 22 years. Duane worked for Mark Twain and Celebrity as a designer before starting conquest marine. He said that he sold very few boats in the U.S. because all the dealers wanted to finance instead of buy the boats outright. He said he only employed 6 people and was not in the position to just give out his boats. He did sell most of his boats in Germany and Australia. I guess i am one of the lucky few out of the 200 or so custom boats he sold in the U.S. Anyone looking at one of these boats should buy it, they are lightning fast, great handling, solid boats. I have owned two baja's and honestly say that this one has them beat. Duane said he just got old and wanted to get out of the business hence the closing in 2000. Hope this helps anyone looking at a Conquest!

 

[Thad]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

I have a 2001, 2100VBR. I bought it off the show room floor. When I saw this boat, I knew it had to be mine.

The dealer I bought it from here locally I have known for several years. His son and I were buds. I asked him why he sold these boats and not a more "well known" and his reply was that they are simply a great boat. Each one made by request.
There is more to the story of the owner of the company. He also started Crownline as a partner with another guy. They had a falling out and hence, Conquest. That is why they resemble each other. Another thing, he never rode on his boats. He sat on the dock and watched/looked to get an idea of where changes needed to be made. Upon his wanting to retire, his daughter did not want to continue making glass boats, she did continue the company for a while making duck boats.

I love my boat. She has style, comfort, speed, and a ride that is perfect for most any water. I had been looking for prop info for more top end and some of the guys could not believe the speeds I was already getting.

I will say, that I have started having the interior replaced. But, shegets more use than most boats, I think. And my daughters, their friends, and our dog are pretty hard on things.

Her sister boat is also here in town. Ordered for the dealers nephew. She is on her second owner now. No interior problems at all.
Here is a picture of mine.

The dealer was Celletti's in Rock Falls, Illinois. His name is John. The number is 1-815-625-1506. If you would like to know more about the boat, I do not think he would have a problem answering some questions.

 

[greenwell001]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

thad, nice to know a fellow conquest owner, i was beginning to think i was the only one out there! does your have the 5.7L carb / alpha one? I am getting 52 mph with a 23 pitch aluminum. I am thinking of going to 21p ss. what is your settup, i would love to talk to you more about your boat and we can bounce some ideas off each other. how do i get a pic on here of my boat would like to show it to you thad.

 

[Thad]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

Greenwell, we are far and few between. There are about five Conquest boats around here. An older early '90s and a '99. There is a 2001 over on the Mississippi and then mine and her sister boat. There is one other, a late '80s I think, but have not seen it out for a few years. I did see one up in Wisconsin at the lake house last summer and have seen one in Arkansas on Norfork Lake.

I have the 5.0 L w/ Volvo Penta SX. I get around 51mph w/ 19p 4-blade alum. and have hit top speed of 56mph w/ 23p 3-blade.
I am working w/ a guy in the prop section to fine tune it. Unfortunatly, 24 hours after getting the 4-blade on, I trashed it. It took us three weeks to come up with that one, and he needed numbers to calculate to get a faster prop. Going to get another one and run some numbers by him to figure out what my next prop will be.

I don't run a SS prop. I boat mainly on the river here. I will be ordering one for the lakes I run.
To get a pic on, at the top of the repy area, in the tool bar, there is a paper clip. This will allow you to attach a pic. It has to have a file size small enough to upload. I had to e-mail myself the pic in a smaller file size to do it.

This winter, I am having a custom molded fiberglass swim platform built for her. I have found a company that makes them and they will work with me to make a mold pattern to fit my aft swim platform already built in to the boat.
I am also ordering Smart Tabs this fall to install.

A lot of people think it is a Crownline until they get closer. They all have compimented on how good she looks. She is starting to show her age though.
I am considering having a body shop give hew a good wet sand and buff over the winter.

So you must boat on the Ohio. How is the water and what do you think of the ride that boat gives you? Ever been down to Kentucky Lake? The wife and I are looking for somewhere else to go in the future and she does not like dirty water. Norfork is great but a little far for a long weekend. Kentucky lake is a bit close, but am unsure of the water clarity.

I had mine out on Lake Michigan Saturday. 4-6ft chop. Man what a ride! It was great. My buddy was with me in his 18' Crownline and turned around at 3 miles off shore. I went out about 9 and wow! The boat handled great. Was not able to get up much speed, mostly powered her out and back. Later, the waves dropped to about 2-4ft. Got her on top and never thought twice about it.

My buddies all gave me a hard time about buying a boat from a mfr that had gone out of business. I told everybody that I would rather buy a boat from a co. that closed by choice than one shut down by bankrupcy. And now, as of last week, Rinker owns Crownline, so go figure.

Maybe we should consider ourselves...members of an elite group

 

[greenwell001]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

hey thad,

i am on the ohio 90% of the time, it kinda dirty, and choppy, and full of logs when it rains but hell, it a mile from my house! Its not too bad, but there are several places within 2 hrs of me that are awesome, Land between the lakes (Kentucky and Barkley lakes), Lake Nolan, Dale Hollow Lake, Rough River (which is so crowded you have to idle around). Kentucky is really beautiful place, all the lakes for mentioned are very clean and clear, Dale Hollow has beautiful 20 to 50 ft. cliffs all around and you can see to the bottom probably up to 20 ft. You would love it and that is where i will be this weekend. By the way, i ordered the smart tabs sx last night and got to looking at the transom and they will have to be mounted as close to the corners of the swells on the outside as possible per greg at nauticus. He says they will perform just as good as if they were on the corners of the boat. I agree we are an elite group as well, everyone loves my boat and the way it sounds, man its mean, this one is the one i will keep and probably sink every performance dollar i can in it. Let me know about the prop and why you dont run ss in the river? never heard of such

 

[timt52]

Re: conquest marine mfg.

I, too, am relatively new to boating. We just bought an 18' 1989 Conquest 5.0 OMC Cobra from a friend of my wife's. Had never heard of it before and was looking for some info. I'm glad I found this forum and some people with boating experience, and particularly Conquest. For as old as this boat is, I am thrilled with it. Rumbles like a tiger, purrs like a kitten. I learned a lot about Conquest from reading the forum, and look forward to getting as much info as I possibly can. I do most of my boating on the Coralville, IA Lake (reservoir), and have found this boat to be perfect for it. 14.8/17 aluminum props pushes me along nicely at about 30 mph at 3300 rpm with a lot of throttle left. I look forward to reading about any tips you may have inre performance upgrades.