Hi All,
We're so jazzed about our re-powered 322 we thought we'd share a few comments.
Our '99 322 sat in the water in South San Francisco as a floating apartment for our college kid. Definitely neglected for about three years for a multitude of reasons.
Anyhow, we brought the boat home to Southern California with the intention of restoring the thing (my wife loves the layout and having the wife "on-board" goes a long way to justifying boating expenses in this family).
Ripped out the old VP 5.7s and drives and replaced with new FWC 5.7 gxi and Ocean X drives. Two pairs of F5s.
Imagine a 19' ski boat stepping up on plane in just a few seconds. That's what this 12.5 thousand pound beast does as well. I'm only a couple hours into break-in but here's some numbers:
3000 rpm= 29 knots
4000 rpm= 39.6 knots
5000 rpm= We'll see!
The best part: seems to have a minimum plane at approx. 2600 rpm with tabs up and drives trimmed. Pretty nice when you have to battle some afternoon chop.
Speaking of tabs, we're trying out the Volvo QL trim tab system which is basically a blade that extends straight down rather than your conventional tab. I like them. Fast response with no noticeable drop in speed. Still playing with the minimal plane speeds and haven't had a chance to document the effects of these tabs in that regard.
We did go on a bit of a mission to lighten the boat somewhat that included removing the inverter and batteries (300#)?? and the extended swim step, (175#)?? The swim step is so far aft of center of gravity that it probably made a substantial difference in how the boat floats.
Had two other compelling reasons: had to fit the boat in a 30' slip and wanted to help alleviate any potential water reversion issues ( the stern definitely sits a bit higher).
That's about it. Had a few boats in the last 30 years and this one is top of the list.
Joe
