HuskerPerformance

When Tank talks the wise take notice. I want to continue the discussion on the hull and then talk about the power setups. Please take a look at the first of Tanks excellent videos. The talon rolls on throttle at about maybe 40 mph. You Cat owners do you notice something? Yup stability and acceleration with NO tunnel hop! What big cat today can do that (without a tunnel tab if you know how to use/not use them). None! This boat design by Gary Armington was/is revolutionary. Taking a guess he based the design on his masterpiece 25 Talon and massaged it from there. No wonder the 25 was the most splashed hull in history legend says.

I think there were less than 25 of these 37s build between Armington and Hustler (Race and pleasure boats included) If I was in the market for a #6 37 it would be gone by now

HuskerPerformance

I agree with you concerning Henry Abbadie at Performance Marine Specialties. Top notch ethical gentleman who is driven to 100% client satisfaction IMO. An x racer who knows what works and what doesn’t.

I would like to address a few things. During the early 1990s there was a Talon 37 race team with a boat called Suegenaires (spelling is bad-I believe the gentleman who owned it was from Scadinavia area I think). They ran with modified or D class in either Apba or USO on the east coast. Many Many race victories against all the best cats at the time including Skaters. I don’t know where that boat went. Kinda disappeared maybe became the holiday inn boat. Not too sure. Then came Ricks Jelly Belly, Out of Bounds, Cleveland Construction and a few others I can’t remember. My point is these boats were very very competitive. To the point APBA changed the rules and outlawed the boat by mandating 40 foot minimum is Supercat. At the time they were the hot lick!

In mid nineties Chip Fendt ran with the slick 50 Pro-Stock Talon a 37 with triple 2.5s and was very very successful! Just bringing to light these 37s were great race boats. Rick Bolling’s Gone Again is near and dear to him and from what I have read he has a lot of heart and soul into that gorgeous boat.

thisistank

I spoke to him today as well. Hopefully it works out for you guys. I’ll miss it though!!! 😁😁

HuskerPerformance

Damm, should of askeD for a commis on that.LoL. I’d split it with Tank. Best of luck!

I’m keeping this post alive for a reason. Follow me

What power is good or not good for the 37 hinges on two things Your desire for top speed and your pocketbook. To build a boat like this today with Mercury 1350s/m6 or 8swould cost close to a million plus in my estimate. What you would have is a cat that should run in the 170s plus I believe. Previous post mentioned the weakness of the 525 575 bravo rigged cats. Yea indeed they are not as strong nor do they profess to be and a different animal all together. Your looking at a 100 to 120 mph ride. Most failures would probably contributed to driver error (jackhammer the throttle or backing off like you were in a jet drive boat. Boom). Repairs of bravos cheaper than #6 and transmission setups but again apples to oranges

Recently a 37 was sold to a guy in Maryland who is installing drive torque guardians for the bravos to help minimize torque stresses on the drivetrain. Drive technology has also been improved since 2001 and several hi pro boats have opted bravo XR drives. Again how much and how fast.

HuskerPerformance

Here is where I am going with this. Would be great to see a rework of the deck of the 377 open up the cockpit by eliminating the cabin and engine compartment and running triple 450Rs. Or better yet, quint 450Rs. You know you have a hull that can handle the power, have huge huge cockpit, no tunnel hop and what a head turner that would be.

FYI I was told a guy had the old slick 50 outboard pro stock triple 300x converted to a pleasure cockpit at last weeks LOTO shootout and i am told people were walking by the Doug Wrights and MTI to check it out.

Yes, Quint on a Hustler 377 would be history making.

tamburello

I just saw a 2003 Hustler Talon 277 pop up for sale on the "Friends Who Like Poweboat Nation" Facebook group.

2003 HUSTLER TALON 377
This boat is equipped with Twin Keith Eickert 675 fuel injected, intercooled 850hp motors running at 5lbs boost and 5300 Rpm’s w/ 240 hours & Mercruiser #6 dry sump racing drives. Also comes with Livorsi controls & gauges, VHF radio, stereo w/ spkrs, subs & helm remote, dual battery switches, battery charger, battery jump terminal, pop-up cleats, and cockpit cover.
Very spacious rear cabin w/ fold-down bed.
SBT triaxle trailer with new tires.
This boat runs excellent. Current top speed is 135 mph but has hit 160 with different blower pulleys & props.
Paint above rubrail needs some TLC, clear coat is starting to peel. We don’t have time to fix the paint. Amazing boat for the money!
$109,900
Financing & delivery available.
Call/text Scott 315-657-0865
Oswego, NY

Skater30

Agreed, Henry is awesome! He is happy maintaining our local law-enforcement water patrol fleet nowadays - not much performance stuff any more. Rick Bowling is also a good friend of mine, I've known him since the late '80s (he and Howard Arneson were both my mentors). Rick actually was the person responsible for me purchasing my first 28 Skater back in 2001! His beautiful "Gone Again" (ex Jelly Belly) 37 and Doug Thumser's 37 (the ex "Out of Bounds" campaigned by Steven Neely) both have no center pod and did fairly well against the Skaters back in the late '90s/early 2000s. Rick won several West Coast POPBRA championships with his, but when he'd go back East for the Worlds, he was not very competitive. I have many trips/hours in Rick's 37, as well as countless hours in almost every size Skater made, and I can tell you firsthand they are not equal to a similar size Skater with the same power (36/368/388) - and that's why Skater has won more titles than any other manufacturer in OS racing since the '80s to today. The Talon 37s are very good boats, and every guy I've ever known that owned one really liked it - with or without the centerpod. However, when it comes to all out performance, they will not stay with a Skater - and the record books prove that.

HuskerPerformance

Yes the Worlds championships in Key West is a race like no other. It will bite you and spit you out. Peter has set the standard long ago. His quality is unsurpassed bar none. Thank you for your interesting replies!

soinc

I have a 377 talon #6 boat with the no center pod lay up.
the truest "trailer queen" you will ever find.
1471's on top of brodix headed 572 cubic inch BBC's stelling headders, Bam Drysump 1550's
Runs upper 130's to low 140's turnd down on pump fuel ( 91) and will surpase 150GPS on turn and burn setting.
I have been in them all its the best mannered Cat hull made. period. No surprises No oh **** moments nothing but Railed straight and true ride.

thisistank

Great looking!!!