I’ve owned several Carolina Skiff J-series boats over the years.  They are inexpensive, utilitarian boats that are designed to serve a simple purpose - a basic boat that’s supposed to be tough and low-maintenance.

Overall, Carolina Skiff makes a decent boat for the price.  When you look at the insane prices that Boston Whaler is charging for even their smallest models, a Carolina Skiff may start to make more sense.  The basic construction of a Carolina Skiff s low-cost, using chopper gun layups with a foam and fiberglass floor as the boat’s structure.  The company claims this construction method results in a boat that is stuff and unsinkable.  That much is true, however the foam inside the boat has an uncanny habit of absorbing water, should any unsealed holes int he floor be present.  This isn’t a Carolina Skiff-specific issue though, I’ve seen many boats using closed-cell foams absorb water like a proverbial sponge.

Putting this aside, my J12 and J14 boats have been good to own and lot of fun. They are very easy to trailer, and although they slide very easily in turns, they also draw very little water.  I never had any problems with them, so I thought I would give the new JV model a try, since it looks much better than the typical squarish, flat bottomed Carolina Skiff.

:: The Carolina Skiff JV13 has a familiar style - click on image to enlarge ::

I went down to the local dealer and ordered a JV13, and requested that the boat not have any of the standard electronics and accessories installed.  The factory had no problem meeting this request, and they provided all of the accessories with the boat separately.  Why did I do this?  Because I do not want any holes drilled into the floor of the boat for accessories I’ll never use.  No holes means no chance of the boat getting water intrusion into the foam.

The boat’s construction appears more robust, although it’s basically the same as a J model.  The obvious resemblance to a Boston Whaler is not coincidental, and it’s one of the reasons I chose this model in addition to a better ride in saltwater.  The gelcoat is pretty well finished, and overall mold quality is pretty good.  The installation of the seats and front deck is very neat, and unlike the previous J skiffs I owned, there are no stress cracks anywhere on this boat.  No, the mold and finish quality of this boat is not up to Boston Whaler standards, but neither is the price either: the JV13 sells for about $2300.

I’ll be rigging this boat with a new Yamaha 15-horsepower two-stroke engine.  That should be enough power for it, though this boat is heavier than an equivalent J model.  We’ll see, but I would rather not have a 20 or 25-horsepower engine that would be heavier and require bolting through the transom.  I’ll post more photos and a report on how well this little boat runs.  Thanks for reading.

Related Links:

• Carolina Skiff Boats
  

Here it is, the concept for what will be the new home page for Scream And Fly.  Since its beginning, Scream And Fly has been divided into two primary components - the home page, and the forums.  Our message forums contain a Content Management System (CMS) on their own, which really helps us deliver news and added flexibility with such a large forum.  This CMS is VBPortal, which has been a key element to our forums since about 2002, and it has evolved with VBulletin to provide us a rock-solid community base for our readers to exchange information.  We’ll continue to use this fantastic synergy of software for our forums, however our home page is still a static HTML site that needs upgrading.

:: Concept of what the new Scream And Fly home page will look like ::

While HTML sites are fantastic for search engines, they are more cumbersome to update, so we’re moving to a database-driven CMS for our new home page.  Our CMS will be completely customized for our use, and it will permit faster and more streamlined workflow for adding articles, which means on-site updates during events.  With this new home page, we’ll be gearing up on many new feature articles and videos, all in an effort to kick the new site into high gear.

The new home page should go live sometime in the next few months.  Once installed, we’ll begin the task of testing it, and migrating old articles into it.  I’m very excited about this, since it will finally complete the Scream And Fly site as I envisioned it years ago, with both the forums and home page running on their own databases, easily updated and managed.

Related Links:

• Scream And Fly Magazine
  

The Mercury Racing calendar is much like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue - it’s eagerly awaited every year by performance powerboaters. Mercury Racing powers the fastest boats in the world, and the calendar is a showcase of their technology and the boats that are powered by it. Only the best, fastest, and sexiest boats are worthy, and the calendar is printed on extra-glossy, oversized stock that looks almost as amazing as seeing the boats in person.

:: Sample images from the 2008 Mercury Racing calendar - click on image to enlarge ::

For 2008, Andy Driver is featured with his Quartershot T1 and Mercury 2.5-liter Drag outboard. Driver is a world champion, and I had the opportunity to photograph him for the calendar. The boat is not only fast, but beautiful, and my thanks to Andy for accommodating me and Mercury Racing for this shoot.

Equipment used for this shoot was my workhorse Nikon D200 and Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR 2.8 zoom lens. The camera performed flawlessly for the shoot, with highlight retention and image quality absolutely stunning. That morning we had a thick haze in the air due to all the fires that were sweeping the state at the time, so I was a bit concerned that image resolution would suffer. Once I loaded up the raw files, those concerns were instantly put to rest - which was no real surprise anyway since the D200 always got the job done without fail.

:: Image featured in calendar for Drag engine - click on image to enlarge ::

These days my D200 is relegated as a backup camera body, with a D300 replacing it. I recently had a chance to give the D300 a small workout shooting BMX riders, and it lived up to my expectations as a fast and accurate performer, so stay tuned for a follow up with more details on my results with the D300.

The Mercury Racing calendar is only $12.00, and can be ordered by following this link.

I just arrived home from the Fort Lauderdale boat show, where we were invited to Bomardier Recreational Products’ introduction of the new Evinrude 250 H.O. outboard.  I never cover the Fort Lauderdale show, choosing to attend the Miami boat show instead since that is the show where manufacturers introduce their new products for the world’s press.

So, I had some fun with east-coast Florida traffic and the madhouse that these boat shows usually are.  It’s fun sometimes, and being a part of any major product introduction is always a worthwhile experience.  Some may ask, where’s the Evinrude 300?  Not yet, people.  It’s coming though…

:: Evinrude booth at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show - click to enlarge ::

The summer of 2004 - that’s how long it’s been since my V-King has seen any water. I used the boat to shoot photos of Andy Frost’s STV for a feature article, and it could barely idle since the injectors were so fouled from long term storage and lack of use. That was the third and last time it was used, and after that it was carefully detailed and returned to its spot in my garage, where it has been ever since. I doubt it would even start now, so the injectors will be removed next week and sent to Brucato Machine and Tool for cleaning and flow testing. I’ll run the boat for the injector test, then the powerhead will come off and likely be put to use on the STV for further testing, which will then be Helmut’s department.

:: X-Stream V-King at Alva - click on image to enlarge ::

Below is the powerhead that’s currently on the boat - a virgin Mercury Racing 2.4 liter EFI Bridgeport. It’s one of my all-time favorite racing engines, and also one of the best sounding. It’s currently equipped with a Jay Smith Racing Engines drag flywheel, Simon Motorsports alternator, and assembled using stainless-steel hardware. Slated for testing is a Brucato Pro Control Unit, which is a fully-adjustable fuel management system, and JSRE and SST intake spacer plates. After the engine is dialed in with these components, a Brucato Stackable Velocity System will be added for further performance analysis.

:: Mercury Racing Bridgeport EFI V6 - click on image to enlarge ::

Admittedly, I’m a little nervous about running the V-King. It’s been years since I’ve driven one of these over 100 MPH, and my current boat should be capable of running over speed that fairly easily. It’s extremely light, lacking a core and any foam flotation, and not fully set up for top speed runs yet. Finally, not an ideal test platform either, so these are the reasons we’ll likely perform top speed runs on the STV.

Still, I think I need to get away from the day-to-day Scream And Fly tasks and get myself in the cockpit again.

Now that Helmut has the engine on the STV Euroski back together, it looks like we’ll be gearing up for more testing. We have some really good projects in the pipeline too, and at the top of the list is Livorsi Marine’s high-tech Data Tach prop-slip multi-gauge. Functions of this instrument are as follows:

• Single or dual tachometer
• Propeller slip, calculated by tachometer and GPS
• GPS speed with recall
• Optional record and document

Our evaluation will include full installation steps as well as comprehensive testing of all aspects of the instrument. If I know Helmut, I won’t have to twist his arm to test this unit. Our Data Tach is on its way here for photographing, then off to New York for installation and testing aboard the STV.

Livorsi Marine is constantly expanding their incredible catalog of instruments and accessories for high performance boating, and the Data Tach should prove to be the next must-have piece of equipment for the go-fast boaters.

I didn’t think I would use this boat anymore, since it best serves Scream And Fly Magazine for instrument and component instillation articles rather than actual use. This X-Stream V-King has been used a total of three times, and has remained covered in my garage for its entire existence. Well, it appears that the boat will once again be put into service once more, maybe twice.

The Mercury EFI Bridgeport that powers it currently will be perfect for two upcoming tests. First, is to test the Brucato Pro Control Unit (PCU), which is a programmable fuel injection computer. For the second test, a Brucato Stackable Velocity System (SVS), which is basically an air intake system for fuel injected Mercury outboards.

I’ll pull her out of the garage and start preparations for the test in the coming weeks. First, the fuel injectors will be sent off to Brucato Machine and Tool for servicing and flow testing in preparation for firing up the dormant engine for the first time in several years.

:: Click on image to enlarge ::