Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

[windsurfer77]

I have been restoring a 1965 14' Bell Boy ski boat, I also got a 1959 fatty 50 that I have shortened up for this boat. I had one guy tell me that its to heavy for the boat and will risk filling the boat with water from the back.

Is this a true consern?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

It may be a valid concern. I had a fatty on my 14' Crestliner Runabout, and had to build a larger splashwell, to keep the water out.

What is the beam on the boat?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

Does your Bell Boy have a tag that says what its max HP is? If it's rated for 40 hp, then you're putting too much outboard on it. The Big Twin 40 hp outboards from that era, weighed just over 150 lb. The big twin weighed considerably more.

 

[windsurfer77]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

My boat does not have a tag anywhere that says what its rated for. The guy I got it from had ran that boat for serveral years, except then the motor was a long shaft and the transom was modified to pick the motor up to the proper hight. I had gotten rid of the mod. and made the motor a short shaft. I hope the guy had not done this to keep water out of the back.

 

[windsurfer77]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

It may be a valid concern. I had a fatty on my 14' Crestliner Runabout, and had to build a larger splashwell, to keep the water out.

What is the beam on the boat?

I'm not to up on the boat lingo, is the splashwell the same as the mount where the motor goes, and what is the beam?

 

[windsurfer77]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

What is the spashwell, and what is the beam? I'm not up with boat terms to well.

 

[MushCreek]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

A splashwell is a compartment in front of the regular transom which keeps water out of the main part of the boat. It's open on top, and usually has one or more drain plugs to allow the water to drain out.

The beam of a boat is it's width. In this case, it would help to know how wide it is in the back.

 

[windsurfer77]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

Thanks for the info, okay I just went out and messured the back of the boat, it is 5'-3" beam and 16 1/2" from the top of the transom to the bottom of the boat. Please tell me this will be okay, as long as I'm not trying to slow the boat down to fast.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

Well, I went over to www.fiberglassics.com. They don't list Bell Boys later than 1960, but the 14' model was pictured with a 1960 Evinrude 40 hp on the back. I doubt they changed the design all that much in the intervening years, and were probably using the same molds in 1965, but with slight changes for appearance purposes.

You need a short shaft for that boat, as you already know. I thing, though, that it was probably designed for the 40 hp outboard, not the 50. The weight difference between the two is dramatic, while the horsepower difference is not that much.

If the weight of the 50 hp makes the stern sit too low in the water, it will not perform as well with the 50 as it would with the lighter 40 hp.

I'd be willing to bet that the maximum hp rating for your little 14' boat was 40 hp, not 50, and mainly because of the weight.

It's your call, of course.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

Yeah, That 5' 3" beam is pretty close to my Crestliner. I think that motor will be a bit heavy for that boat. You might try it. If it is a normal design, it won't sink unless you and a friend walk back by the motor.

A more modern (80s, 90s) 50HP motor will be 2/3 cylinders, and a whole lot lighter and more fuel efficient.

BTW - A vintage Big Twin will likely push the boat to 24-25MPH, and the fatty will likely push it to 28MPH.

 

[windsurfer77]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

Thanks again guys for your input.

I guess know I just need to get it into the water, like you say, and try it out.
The privious owner had run that motor and boat combo for years, but he had the transom built up 5" because the motor was a long shaft; this was probably also done to help keep the back wash out.

I have since converted the motor to a short shaft and done away with the hokie looking fab job for a transom riser. Hope with a bit of common sense on the water I will be fine.

 

[OldJohnson6hp]

Re: Will my 59 Fatty 50 be to heavy for my 65 14' Bellboy ski boat?

This will probably work but if there is any emergency/quick throttle down its gonna get swamped..

I had a combo running overpowered once and if you pulled it back fast you had to kick it in again for a sec to run away from the wake/avoid swamping

Be safe..As for me I'm not running that way ever again..