ChristianGott

hi dave...
uh........................no.
storm...
i'll se if jeff has more
c

30ctsutphen

Hey guys thanks for all the great compliments on my 20.

I am on the fence about selling her since the boat I was going to buy is no longer up for sale.

I may keep her and blow thru twin turbo it.

I have a turbocharged 69 bird (878HP carbed) and I am the moderator on a turbo board where I teach guys about turbocharging.
Its a cheap easy boat to run and build.

Dave911 $5.5 K wont do it.LOL

The boat needs some work here and there but the small block is brand new and built by famed engine builder Larry liefert (crew chief and engine builder for Paul Newman and many other GT1, Trans -am cars).

Its not an extravagant 355 just a well planned well machined engine its got maybe 15 hours on it. drive was gone through by a friend who is pretty well versed in volvo stuff and he claims the 290 although power robbing is bullet proof. he says it was the strongest vovlo drive made and is the work horse of the brand.
He also says it is usually on much larger boats.
I have talked to richie and he says this is a one off boat and he remembers it well.
LH drive and volvo 290.
The boat rides and handles well but the prop is all wrong for it. Its a mirage 151/4 19 for skiing. Really needs a 23 IMHO.

Bronson hill makes a 15 21 stainless for $200.00
Thanks Dave 911 for the hook up on that one.

I was looking to get into a 26 for the sound instead of lakes and the CT river but with gas prices and the housing economy (I am a builder ) slowing I am thinking easy trailer single engine may be the way to go for a few more years.

I am still up in the air on it to be honest. If I found the right 26 or maybe a 30 and got the right money for the boat.

It would be a totally different story.

30ctsutphen

OH yeah it does have a trailer too.

Single axle no brakes, not in to bad of shape and gets the job done kind of trailer. It really isn't all that pretty either though.

Stormrider

30ct, so i guess you do ski off it?
tube too?
is it kinda loud behind the boat???
i couldn't imagine being 50ft behind my old 24. but i had no mufflers.

dave911

Fast forward 4-5 years, and I'd be first on line to pony-up bucks for that 20 footer to show my baby-boy the fun of hot boats and skiing. A 20 Supthen, with a nice deep cockpit, sun lounge, and warmed-up small block with VP 290 would be a perfect family lake hot-rod.
My low-ball $5.5 is only cuz most people still have not heard of a Sutphen, so it's unlikely you'll get any reasonable offers. No offense meant. Late!

ChristianGott

ct30....sorry, I feel your pain....freakin' markets&prices!
btw...sounds like my trailer...did we meet in a past life, too?

D911....uh...told ya'..
c

30ctsutphen

Actually I have had great response to the craigslist ad. I have had guys as far as texas calling on it.

I need some pics for the guys far away though. hard to sell a bot long distance with one pictureLOL.

No one has seemed to think the price was too high. many of them knew what it cost to do machine work etc and were pretty happy with the price.
suprisingly most are downsizing from bigger boats and want a lake boat thats cheaper to run.

Almost everyone who called either owned a sutphen or knew someone who owned a sutphen and were looking specifically for a 20 sut.

I was very suprised I thought people were in the dark about sutphens especially 20 footers.
I had 5 or 6 people from Jersey call on it. One guy from hartford who was moving to south america and wanted to ship it there.
A couple guys from Texas and one from south carolina.
Most were not from CT.
I just hate to pull the cover off and go through all that work to take pics then covering it all up again especially in the cold.

Dave no offense taken on the price thing. With the economy so bad I thought it would be a tougher sell too. just the opposite seems to be true I think its actually helping this little boat sell.


As far as skiing I am not a water skier the guy who owned it originally was a big skier. I have dragged some firends around with the old exhaust and motor bt not with the new stuff. I only have a few hr's on this set up so far.

It was really loud compared to the old log style manifolds it had thats why I put those big ole mufflers on it.(CT river cops)
Its still not quiet but its just about right for me.

The big issue with the boat right now is with the old 350 it would only spin 4800 RPM's WOT. Now with the new power it will twist the thing to the sky if you don't watch it.
It really needs alot more prop now.

Its such a fun little boat we had a blast on it this year.
Its like a jet ski you can bring your friends on with you.


I know C, me you and Dave 911 have way to much in common. Geography, Cars, Boats its crazy.
dave how old is your boy?

I have a 2 year old girl and she loved that boat this summer. I was a little worried she would freak out on it, but it was OK.

we even took her over to claudios LI one day on the fountain.
she hated it on the way there but on the way back had a great time.

ChristianGott

hey jeff..
i have a pair of 3 blade 21's if you want to try one in the spring....i could also let you try one of my revolution 4's in a 23 pitch...also, guilford boat yards has really supported me (and I, them) over the years...i bet we could dig up some trial props there...
i'm trying to track down a photo of my old car to post....i'll keep looking, it should be good for a few laughs.
c

30ctsutphen

I think the splines are going to be different. Nothing that takes a Tflow 2 hub is ging to fit and they don't make a hub for it.
Its got to be volvo or Tflow 1 with a conversion.
I have a 23 mirage with a Tflow 1 hub and I am going to get it changed over next time I get down to old saybrook.

Thanks for the offer maybe the boat yrad will havesomething in 21 P.
Heres my bird ona really bad day. Trans brake was on the fritZ And We had a nasty head wind. The car usually goes 9.70's at 145
it went 10.00 at 141 on this day.:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GgyMlT9PSp4

Check out my buddies camaro too it runs 7.99's at 171 we just put T88 turbos(up from 76's) on it and it should go in the low sevens soon.

dave911

The first Sutphen I ever wanted was a yellow 20' that was sitting in the racks at Offshore Speed and Ski. I beleive it had a 427 Ford with a Jet drive. That was around 1982?

Ended up buying a Ski-Tique...which was a baby Ski Nautique at 16 feet with a 350 Chevy. For a ski boat is was fast at 51mph.

In 1986 I started boating on the CT river, and have been a huge fan ever since. Used to run from Wethersfield cover in the originally blue, then black 18 Sutphen. Spent a lot of time tied up at that big bar near wethersfield, can't remember the name? Used to watch a band "Sean and Jamie" play, and get loaded!

FYI - My boy is turning two in May, and we're shooting for another one soon...

Laters! D911