Where did you find a steering dampner?  Make one?  I need one for my next motor.

BBgun - The 40 HP is just the cover.  The engine is a rebuilt and modded '88 50HP Yamaha.

It features the following:

Fresh-bore, new Wisco pistons, blended ports, new bearings & seals, Boyesen power reeds, clipped head (150psi), tuned exhaust, welded crank, (rev's well into the 6000's) reinforced bracket, a steering dampener, and new 70 hp carbs.

Estimated pushing out 65 hp when all is said and done.

You are getting those speeds with a 40 hp?

This isn't mine but thought I'd throw it up here if anyone is looking.  Check the posting to make sure it is still active.

As you can see in the pictures, I have up for sale my favorite boat. It's made by mako, a thunderduck. a South African company. It's a inflatable race boat made for the ocean, made out of thick rubber pontoons. I'm the original owner just need to get rid of it. It has a Nissan 50 hp. plus outboard, 13 ft. 3 in, weitht cap is 880 lbs. open hull design, made for racing in South Africa ocean. Comes with Custom Trailer. Always kept in garage. This thing will go 54 mph easy with a operator and passenger, very nice pleasure boat/racing. This is truly a unique boat, you won't see these Anywhere else, one of a kind. SERIOUS offers only, if interested call me. asking 4250. Racing equipment available but not included. Helmets pants and suit. Thanks,

http://detroit.craigslist.org/boa/1257561454.html

So far I've hit 54.8 mph according to the GPS.  Looking forward to tweaking the set up and trying to erk out a few more clicks.

That is some really good information on gluing up the PVC.  I think it will help alot of people out.  Hope your friend joins up soon!! 

My friend just hit me with this wealth of information.  Hope to see him on here soon!  And for my glue to arrive 

If it's just in that one area of the floorboards rubber strips and the others are still glued tight on either ends, I'd just take the engine off the boat, the boat off the trailer and lay it in a clean dry level place to work on.

Depending on the gap size, you may or may not have to take the floor boards out. If you do, you'll need to deflate the boat totally.

You can press the stem valves in and turn right at the same time and they should stay open, you can also put a shop vac on and suck all the air out. Grab or pry the boards where they meet in the middle. If you have to use tools, plastic bike tire leavers (the one's for change flats with) work good for helping to pry up, (also for putting the floor back in).

Now is a good time to repaint the floor boards.

To glue the boards rubber strips back on you'll need to remove all the old glue with some 150 sandpaper and by wiping it clean a few times with cloth dampened with Acetone. You can use MEK but be careful it's strong stuff and will soften up other glued areas, it's better to use MEK on things just before you glue them back together.

With everything all cleaned, you need to put the floorboards back in if you had to take them out.

Roll the rubber strips open and slide the back board under the transom and the front board up in the bow with the aluminum bar on in the middle so it looks like a teepee. Keep working the rubber strips up over each boards sides, use the plastic bike levers to aid and begin pushing down in the middle of the floor to get it down to lay flat.

Inflate the boat to the point were it's getting firm but you can still move the rubber strips open off the tubes from where they need to be glued back on. You can tape off the area with painters masking tape to help keep things neat.

Mixed PVC glue has a long pot life if you keep it covered, so mix up the PVC glue in a plastic container that has a lid, (I use empty yogurt containers). Use popsicle sticks for stirring, grab a bunch of plumbers flux brushes for spreading, and a couple of West System syringes for injecting glue into tight spots. Have some clean rags, Acetone or MEK for wiping and cleaning up mess. A hairdryer and some type of pusher tool with a rounded edge to roll out any air bubbles and help push the rubber strip back into place.

Just before spreading any glue, lightly wipe both sides with MEK. This is going to soften the PVC fabric and rubber strip making it easier to work with and almost melting the surface so your getting a welded fusion effect when you spread the first layer of glue on.

Brush a thin layer of glue on both surfaces and let it set up for 30min (it should be fairly dry but not cured). Do the same thing again, and coat a 3^rd time and wait until it gets tacky then start pushing things back together starting from one side to the other end.

Think of it as your making two sticky objects that your taping it together, not gluing it.

If the 3^rd coat dried out before you could put it all together, you could spread a very thin 4^th coat or reactivate it by wiping it with a cloth dampened with MEK or use a hairdryer to heat both surfaces and press them back together.

You may have to raise the air pressure in the tubes to get everything to press the floor up against the rubber strips back all into place and to get any wrinkles out of the material.

Things should go like you had double sided tape on each object and you just press them together. Everything should stay where you put it permanently. Try and be neat, if you get excess out on unintended places, wipe it off with a damp cloth of Acetone or MEK.

It sets up strong in about 12hrs. It will keep curing for about a week but can be used in about 48hrs.

So I've been hitting some waves recently and apparently my co-pilot ate a few too many slices of pizza before we went out.  The passenger side floor has dropped by a couple inches along where the two floorboards join together.  

I've got some 2 part PVC glue and will be trying to get it back to level.  If anyone has any tips on this let me know.  Right now I think I have to deflate the top tube a decent amount to get it to move upwards.  Currently from the bottom trying to push up gets me nowhere.

Glue should be in later this week and I'll post up how it works out.  Hopefully not a big issue.

Some insane action that covered the big race.

1 )    Trailing Edge
2 )    Face
3 )    Fillet Area
4 )    Hub or Boss
5 )    Hub or Boss Cap
6 )    Leading Edge
7 )    Back
8 )    Propeller Shaft
9 )    Stern Tube Bearing
10 )  Stern Tube


Materials

Aluminum - The most common prop material.  Reasonable durability which will suit most applications.

Stainless Steel - Stronger than most other prop materials.  These props offer a higher efficiency due to the added stiffness of the blades.


Pitch

The pitch of a propeller relates to the theoretical distance that propeller would travel forward in one revolution.  For instance, a 14 pitch prop theoretically would travel 14 inches in one revolution while a 20 pitch prop would travel 20 inches.  This is theoretical because it doesn't factor in slip, which in the real world reduces the actual distance traveled.


Cup
Many of today's propellers incorporate a cup at the trailing edge of the propeller blade. This curved lip on the propeller allows it to get a better bite on the water. This results in reduced ventilation, slipping, and allows for a better hole shot in many cases. A cupped propeller also works very well where the motor can be trimmed so that the propeller is near the surface of the water. The cup will typically result in higher top end speed on one of these applications.
Switching from an un-cupped to a cupped propeller will reduce your RPM. The actual amount of RPM decrease is dependent on where, how much, and the quality of the cupping. Typically, a cupped propeller of the same pitch and diameter will reduce your RPM by approximately 200.


Rake
Rake is the angle of the blade away from a line perpendicular to the drive shaft.