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Worst boat of all time?

Turnup

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Nursing back to health today, cleaning up some of the messes from the weekend and I thought I don't think I've seen this before. So, what's the worst boat that came out or company that came up and went away and has no history? I know there's some real good old timers that seen a lot over the decades..lets hear some stories. I can still read with one eye opened.
 

monkeyswrench

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JetMate? Seemed like an attempt at a jet bote/pwc hybrid. Didn't last long I don't think.
I'm just hoping neither of my boats end up on the list 🤫
 

dribble

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There was a manufacturer in Roseville CA called Thunderbolt. Every boat I ever saw from them delaminated somewhere.
 

stephenkatsea

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I once operated a new 53' Bayliner offshore for a photo shoot. That boat was an accident waiting to happen. It's stability was perhaps the most questionable I've ever operated. It would roll a bunch and was scarry slow to return. That's the indication of the vessel's righting moment. Also known as the Rolling Period of the hull shape. Maybe surprising to some, that does not change in various heights and state of the seas. I was not one to just throw stones at Bayliner. I had always felt, due to the size of the company, they were likely to have some of the best designers, naval architects, production managers, engineers and marketers in the business. That 53' POS changed many of my views. And that 53' boat wasn't cheap. Perhaps they just had good marketers. Lol
 

grumpy88

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I once operated a new 53' Bayliner offshore for a photo shoot. That boat was an accident waiting to happen. It's stability was perhaps the most questionable I've ever operated. It would roll a bunch and was scarry slow to return. That's the indication of the vessel's righting moment. Also known as the Rolling Period of the hull shape. Maybe surprising to some, that does not change in various heights and state of the seas. I was not one to just throw stones at Bayliner. I had always felt, due to the size of the company, they were likely to have some of the best designers, naval architects, production managers, engineers and marketers in the business. That 53' POS changed many of my views. And that 53' boat wasn't cheap. Perhaps they just had good marketers. Lol
If one model of a hundred determines the fate of a boat builder this list will go A to Z
 

stephenkatsea

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If one model of a hundred determines the fate of a boat builder this list will go A to Z
Grumpy - READ the topic, "Worst Boat of All Time". My comment was about that 53' Offshore Bayliner.
 

DrunkenSailor

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Panther jet had an amazing marketing campaign...

I think you could look at multiple boat makers over any given period of time and say that didn't work. Even the most respected boat makers

Schiada tunnel?

Hallett 245?

Eliminator had a delam rep for a couple of years there

The Cheetah using wood screws period...

I think the initial tri hull designs from the 60s and 70s were a horrible idea...

200k pontoons.... I get it kinda....
 

HBCraig

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I heard a decade back or so about the Aftershock tunnel. I want to say it was a 27'er or so. They said the tunnels were not straight, plum and parallel
 

Sharp Shooter

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Has to be this one....

cuppy.jpg
 

grumpy88

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Grumpy - READ the topic, "Worst Boat of All Time". My comment was about that 53' Offshore Bayliner.
I read it . And I interpret what you wrote by the end are trashing a brand not a model . How I read it so relax ! And no . I do not own a bayliner so I really don't care
 

El Rojo

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Jet boats with a 455 Olds….we'd always seem to blow them up, always a bottom end issue...seems like they could never oil themselves up properly in stock form for the RPM's...never had those problems with big block Chevy's and Fords
 

LazyLavey

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SunRay. built somewhere in So Cal

early 80s, bought this bitch'n looking mini day style ob.... loved the lines and frankly it rode well and fairly quick. that is until....

early on the floor filled with water but I didn't know till I turned hard and the floor became flooded... wtf ,,,,, not a bit of stainless and poor Gel. had a fun season and dumped it
fullsizeoutput_d66.jpeg
 

LuauLounge

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Jet boats with a 455 Olds….we'd always seem to blow them up, always a bottom end issue...seems like they could never oil themselves up properly in stock form for the RPM's...never had those problems with big block Chevy's and Fords
But, 455’s weren’t a scarce commodity. Blow one up on Friday, back on the water on Saturday.
 

PlumLoco

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We had a 73 Horizon and put an unimaginable amount of hours on her. Wore out the original 350, then wore out a 350 Vette motor, then it got a 400 SBC before all us kids moved on to other hobbies. There were times we had 8-10 teens camping and taking turns out on the boat. All the adults were teachers so we were at the river often for weeks during the summer. Once or twice we burned 150 gal of gas in a mostly stock SBC over a weekend.
It never missed a beat. It is still in the "family" but I don't think it will ever see the water again. Gonna die in a barn in Norco.
 

Willie B

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... I don’t know as to whether it’s the worst boat ever made but my sister gave me an Omega Daycruiser ...which I drove all the way to Georgia to pick up ...you know family boat, deal ...well when I got it back to California and stepped on the floor it was a bit squishy so I ripped it apart ...I don’t know how that boat didn’t twist itself apart...it was a three stringer boat ...center stringer was attached to absolutely nothing ...there was no way for any water that got under the floor to drain out...therefore all three stringers the floor and part of the transom were very very rotted🙄
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boatdoc55

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Jet boats with a 455 Olds….we'd always seem to blow them up, always a bottom end issue...seems like they could never oil themselves up properly in stock form for the RPM's...never had those problems with big block Chevy's and Fords
If I recall correctly Hardin Marines, Steve Strange did a test on the 455 and found that at 4500 RPM's each valve cover had 2 quarts of oil under it which left 1 in the pan. I used to cover half the hole in the cam journals with the cam bearings to limit that problem.
 

Jed-O

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If I recall correctly Hardin Marines, Steve Strange did a test on the 455 and found that at 4500 RPM's each valve cover had 2 quarts of oil under it which left 1 in the pan. I used to cover half the hole in the cam journals with the cam bearings to limit that problem.
Pretty sure you could use a 55 gallon barrel of oil for a pan on the 455 and it still run that fucker dry before the top end would return it.
 

Willie B

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At least the swim platform is level! 🤣
...Put it all back together... new floors three Proper stringers and the transom with west systems epoxy...not one screw in it ...it would now take a blower motor which could make a bit of a sleeper out It...trouble is it’s a Jacuzzi jet and not a Berkeley so kind of pointless to make a hot rod out of it...
 

02HoWaRd26

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Just came across this abomination..

There’s one that is stored in Needles, I’ve seen it two or three times already this year. I really wanted to hate it just because it was a wake board boat, and then i saw the (my wife coined) “Pig Snout” and i really hated it. However of all the wake board bots I’ve ever seen when they weren’t trying to ruin the river and were just cruising about 35-40 it literally put off no more wake than the average Crownline/Bayliner so that was a +1
 

02HoWaRd26

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I read it . And I interpret what you wrote by the end are trashing a brand not a model . How I read it so relax ! And no . I do not own a bayliner so I really don't care
Well....... isn’t a Magic Deckboat kinda the Bayliner of the 21 century? Lol.
 

ElAzul

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...Put it all back together... new floors three Proper stringers and the transom with west systems epoxy...not one screw in it ...it would now take a blower motor which could make a bit of a sleeper out It...trouble is it’s a Jacuzzi jet and not a Berkeley so kind of pointless to make a hot rod out of it...
I had a jacuzzi jet that would eat Berk's all day
 

cyclone

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Years ago when there were about 10 performance boat magazines , every boat they ever tested was the best in the world . I don’t remember ever reading about even a minor problem .
It used to be my job to take the test driver's notes and turn them into a boat review in HB mag. I once used the word "porpoised" in a boat review because multiple times in the notes given, both test drivers said the boat porpoised. The review the goes to print, the MFR goes ballistic on the publisher, and the next thing ya know I"m being drug into the proverbial principals office. From then on I refrained from writing reviews of boats I hadn't actually driven. It was a strange job and I started looking for a new one asap. lol
 

cyclone

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Jet boats with a 455 Olds….we'd always seem to blow them up, always a bottom end issue...seems like they could never oil themselves up properly in stock form for the RPM's...never had those problems with big block Chevy's and Fords
Take the valve cover off of a 455 Olds and you'll see the worst oil drawback ever conceived by man. The valve cover fill almost completely with oil before it can begin draining back into the crankcase through the pushrod holes! Its a recipe for disaster at high rpm.
 
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