CC factory tour

Don't forget to tell them that they put Orlando on the map, long before WDW. Have a good trip.

Thanks Bruce.It should be fun.


Heath, thanks for the tip. That must be a blast to see them wring out those boats.(Although I don't think it could be much more severe than the show Jeff Kostis put on at the reunion.)
I'll try to take some pictures where allowed and post them when we get back.
                                Farmer

Well,the tour was great. We got to see the operation from molds to final finish.The new place is huge! There are about 400 people working there turning out 12 to 15 boats a day.
Before the tour guy met my wife and I at the front desk,a gentleman came up to us and started a conversation. It was Mr. Meloon.(sorry,don't remember the first name)He told us all about starting out in New England and his father then bringing the whole family to Florida.He said he's worked there for 75 years and retired 4 years ago but still keeps an office there.Really on the ball.
Anyhow, two things I learned from the tour:
First is that they've gone to chevy power as of four years ago.Don't like that.Wouldn't buy one if I could.(unless I could special order Ford power)
Second is that most of there production is geared towards V-Drives. I think it was two production lines with conventional drivetrain and four or five lines of V-Drive boats.I've never had a v-drive but I guess they allow you much more room.
All in all I would highly reccomend the tour.I'd go again if I got the chance.

you wrote 2 things that i liked hearing, vee-drive, chevy power...it was bound to happen, in the long run it is a turn for the better jmo

upgrading horsepower on a chevy is half the cost, parts are plentiful, there are so many combinations with the chevy stuff, you can stroke one for 700 bucks, fords were nice but.... good riddens. you can buy brand new vortech 5.7's with all the sheet metal for $2400. its not because they are cheaply manufactured its because of the over abundance keeping the prices reasonable. I think in the long run it is a change for the good

Riley wrote: Let's hope GM doesn't discontinue the 5.7. It's not really apples to apples, but the 5.8 240 hp I drive compared to the Vortec 5.7 does not have anywhere near the low end or top end of the Vortec.

What do you have for a prop on the Ford? With an Acme on my '90 (and the stock 240hp motor), it would run dead even with my dad's 196 up to about 35mph.

With a set of heads, cam and intake added (last year, before the exhaust upgrade), I speculated that our boats were putting out about the same power (320-330). We had near identical top ends, but I would put about 2 boatlengths on him out of the hole.

The 330 Excal is a great motor, but the Ford runs all over it out of the hole. We'll line up 2 comparable boats next year ('02 196 GT40 and '02 or '03 Excal) and see what the results are. Ill bet that the GT40 is better out of the hole, though it might give up a MPH or 2 on the top end.

If I were buying today (and money was no object) Id go with the ZR6. The 6.0L has a lot of common parts with the GM LS motors- huge aftermarket potential.

Riley wrote: It is an older 240 hp, not a GT40, and the 5.7 is a Vortec, so there is a difference

Still, my 240hp motor was just as strong as the Excal out of the hole before I upgraded. Strange.

From what I understand, the ZR6 is at least as strong out of the hole as the Excal, but it shines in the midrange and top end. Im not familiar with the 6.2L HH, but the ZR6 is rated at 390hp for '08 and will push a 196 over 50- so its no slouch.

The 6.2 is a 5.7/383 stroker. Supposedly a GM crate engine used by Indmar for Malibu's Hammerhead. Malibu claims 400 hp. Mercruiser has a 6.2 that is a 5.7/377 stroker that IIRC they claim puts out 377 hp. They are both GM engines, I don't know why one claims 383 and the other 377.

the spec sheets show the 6.2 as being a 377. the 383???
they do offer with warranty a hp1075sc,
the 8.1 is a 496 i think they call that the bulldog motor. there is a wide variety of engines offered personally i would like the hp 1075 lol, i would imagine that has a 20k price tag on it

Eric, the guy really didn't get into too much detail as to motor/trans combos. You could probably learn more at the dealers. I'm really not familiar with any of the new stuff myself so I can't help in the sales department.The engineering dept. was off limits to us so it was mainly the assembly lines at each stage.
I would like to go through with someone a little more knowledgeable than me so they could ask the right questions.

                                Farmer

backfoot100 wrote: I have a ski buddy down here that has a '05 Malibu LXI with the Hammerhead. It does 53MPH at WOT. All I know is that sucker is awesome. It pulls four man deepwaters effortlessly and then easily ran those four guys at 42MPH with throttle left!!!! Keep in mind, the LXI tips the scales at 2850 lbs. too. That's a heavy boat to be able to turn out that kind of performance. I can't imagine what kind of performance you'd get with that engine in a Sportster which is about 500 lbs. lighter I believe.

Malibus are awesome when it comes to speed and holeshot. Their hulls rely heavily on lifting strakes which get them nice and high out of the water. The Sporty is an absolute rocketship of an inboard. One of my buddies had a Sporty that would do 50mph in a heartbeat with the 310hp carby motor.