Re: Should I buy a Force?
Husker: It is somewhere around late '50sto very early '60s. Had NO ID of any sort but I did see a very similar hull on the fiberclassics site. I forgot what it was but began with an "M"
I bought it and a trailer for 75 bucks, and it was completely filled to overflowing with old ice cream lids--thousands of 'em. Boat stunk like sour cream.
The hull itself is a flat bottom with a wide pad in the center. It was originally a 15 inch transom and I built it up to 20. the floor and stringers were replaced with fiberglass and the two hull halves were glassed together. The original owner used it for bumper boats and the bow and sides were shattered--that's why there is so much bondo showing. --Someday-- A three color scheme is planned for when I get a "round tuit"
It originally had aircraft cable and drum steering, That was replaced with Teleflex rack and pinion out of an old Glastron. I bought a plastic seat and mounted it on a frame of 2x4s attached to the two main ribs. This was necessary because the acceleration is breath-taking. When I hit the throttle with full trim down, it gives one or two bounces and immediately is doing 45. Then as I feed in up trim, the tach and speedo both rise together to 5900 and 60 MPH. As I said before, prop is classic '80s Chrysler stainless cleaver, 12 X 21
The battery sits behind the pilot, the fire extinguisher is between the seat and battery, and the tank is a 15 gallon tempo- Anything less and I can't run for more than an hour. A paddle is clipped to the splashwell and a boat hook is clipped to the port gunwale.
I suspect the original hull was rated for about 35-40HP. However, the hull as it now stands is well capable of handling the 125. It is reinforced at all stress points and the aluminum plating transfers thrust loads from ther transom, through the splashwell, into the back of the hull--nice little bit of engineering if I do say so.
