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Thinking out loud (through my keyboard) on a rainy day. While hunting for parts to go racing, I’ve been looking at our other boats patiently waiting for varying levels of restoration and trying to think of interesting ways to go fast at the cottage between races without breaking the bank. We have a 16ft Sidewinder lopro that needs a new floor and transom, and I have read about people adding a pad to these hulls and making them much more stable and approaching 80mph with a 2.5 200 or 225. If I were to put that kind of time into fixing a hull I would want to do something unique. This boat is a blank canvas and I have never seen one with center steer or a 12" champ mid. Changing the steering is easy, and it’s simple enough to rig up a jack plate for the winder and swap my mid between the 2 boats when I need to. It likely wouldn’t break any speed records, but it would certainly be (as far as I know) one of a kind. It may turn out to be way more work than it’s worth, but I’m just brainstorming and interested to hear what you all think of the idea.

Sounds good to me....back in the day Sidewinders and J's were king on our lake. Love to see them as it brings back memories. A hot rod Winder would be way cool .

Would be pretty awesome to burn past the banks and small fountains in a little winder. Although a 12 inch mid could give away your sleeper status aha

Well you asked for thoughts but I’m just brainstorming and interested to hear what you all think of the idea.

OMG. approaching 80mph, you are considering spending time and money to approach 80mph! When the project is done and you meet your goals what is it worth? Can you sell it (without motor) for any more than its worth now?
These projects are fun but run the numbers and think about it. If you have the time and money, than flip me the bird and go for it, but you asked for thoughts... dont do it.

BTW just to get some perspective, a TUFF 16 goes 90 mph with a XR150

its been done here. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1668

the sidewinders are a hand full even with a 150 on them.. i think a 15" mid would be the shortest you would get away with without sinking the bottom cylinders on alot of those older v bottom (or round in this case) ski boats..

Yes, I am considering spending time and money to approach 80mph. The boats I read about were running 70-80mph, but it might be capable of more if done well, only one way to find out. As far as final value, yes, I do believe I could sell the finished hull for more than what it's worth now considering the floor and transom are completely rotten and the boat isn't really worth anything as is. But if I were to take on a project like this, resale value would not be the main objective. If I had the money for a TUFF 16 I would place an order without hesitation! Those are cool little boats, but I'm thinking of ways to work with what I have.

You seem shocked that I would settle for 80mph. I race F1 and was running 110mph with a carb BP last summer. I have seen what happens when things go wrong at those speeds and I personally do not have the desire to run that fast in an open boat on the lake with no safety crew. For a cottage toy to run around in on the weekends 80 is fine for me, and if I could do it in something a little bit different than everyone else that would be cool.

Boomer... that is not a sidewinder. I realize that the Allison 15 is a lighter boat, but it is smaller and sits fine with a 12" mid (look at the picture he posted on pg 13). Pads have been added to sidewinders and seem to help quite a bit, like this one: http://fastboatscanada.com/vBulletin/sh ... hp?t=11812 And I expect a flat pad would handle even better.