Originally Posted by el indio

Now, the fix. The motors were taken out and rebuilt. After inspecting them, we saw almost zero wear. The only problems seen were that the leaking headers messed up some of the exhaust valves. The motors had been built with the very best of internals.


CHEAP INSURANCE: PUT PETCOCKS ON YOUR HEADER WATER SUPPLY FEEDS. WHEN YOU PUT IT AWAY DRAIN YOUR HEADERS. NO DRIP BACK. BUT WHAT DO I KNOW? MM. U 2 ED.

Originally Posted by WARPATH

Hey guys. Haven’t been in OSO for a while and after reading some threads regarding Warpath and its condition, decided to come out and set the record straight for whomever is interested.
When I went to Boston to buy the boat I was very impressed at how original the boat still was. By no means did I believe it wouldn’t take a lot of work to get it where I would have liked it to be. As in all projects of this type you have to assume there will be the usual and the unforeseen problems. Just bringing the boat down one of them.
The first thing I did was to find the people that originally worked on the boat and have them restore the paint and the rigging. Again, this was not as smooth as I would have hoped but in the end I was very pleased and grateful for the hard work and most importantly the passion and commitment Gale Paik and Tom Evans showed. Their love for this boat was apparent, as it should have been, since this boat is much more about their story than it is mine. I am proud of their friendship and uncompromising attention to detail. Thanks, the boat looks beautiful.
While sea trialing the boat, one motor wouldn’t idle quite right, but we still went out. Coming out of Hallover Cut it was very very rough. Let me tell anyone who cares to know, no matter how high it would fly or how hard it would land it was supremely solid. No shakes. No rattles. No vibrations. One solid piece of rock was what it felt like. A very gratifying experience. The illusion of how the boat should feel was in reality how it felt.
Even though the boat felt great, it was evident that it was down on power, so I sent it to Jimmy at the Marine Shop where he found some problems, which though unfortunate were not catastrophic.

#1 The Keith Eckert 1,000 hp motors had high leak down percentages, mostly because of a couple of headers that leaked water into the cylinders.

#2 There were a few stress cracks in the engine compartment.

#3 The drives were set about 1 inch lower than thought optimal.

Now, the fix. The motors were taken out and rebuilt. After inspecting them, we saw almost zero wear. The only problems seen were that the leaking headers messed up some of the exhaust valves. The motors had been built with the very best of internals.
The stress cracks in the engine compartment have been properly repaired at the Marine Shop. Not a major job, since the motors were already out.
When the boat was re-rigged with its current set up by Bobby Saccentti and converted #6 drives it was determined that due to past problems with the transom and the added weight of the #6 drives, a ¼ inch sheet of aluminum should be installed as reinforcement.
According to Tom Evans, it’s perfectly ok and the sheet of aluminum only adds a very negligible 60 pounds to the rear of a 10,000 pound boat. I had almost decided to replace the transom, but after speaking to Tom and Jimmy, decided not to.
As for the drives height, I recently learned, that Sean Stinson spoke to Bobby Saccentti and confirmed what I had been told. The boat with its current set-up ran in the low hundreds. That’s fast enough for me and the kind of speed that suggests the drives height couldn’t be too far off. If there are a couple of mile per hour left by raising the drives, I don’t care. If it ever needs a new transom or I need the extra four miles per hour, if I can afford it, the boat will have it done. All boats, new or old, have issues. The fact that this old race boat had issues wasn’t a surprise to me and shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone else.
Finally, and most important to me, I remember watching this boat race, owning it would have been a dream. It became arguably the most significant boat in Offshore Racing History and brings with it some of the most extreme stories of human emotions and behavior. Passion, ambition, joy, greed, ego, and even Murder. The fact that this boat is still around is almost a miracle in itself.
Some boats are faster, some may be prettier, some will surely be more reliable, but at the risk of sounding arrogant, I wouldn’t trade Warpath for any of them. If you feel the same way about your boat as I feel about mine, or are just happy with what you have, God bless you. I am happy for you too.

Originally Posted by casanova

great reply you have shown lots of class! enjoy your boat and the beauty next to you.