Groverbuilt

Tiderunner70

Tiderunner70

New Angler
I own a 1980 Groverbuilt 26’. I bought it from a friend a year ago. It’s in really great condition and was repowered about 3 years ago. If anyone has any information pertaining to the Perkins 4.236 diesel I’d greatly appreciate anything you have to say. I would love to be able to get a few more knots out of her...A few things I need to take care of before the spring is replacing a soft spot on the deck and repairing the windlass.
 

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jpd said:
I went out on MakoMatt's Nikki Ann years ago, they are truly unique boats - very cool ride.
Good luck with her tr70 ?
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They cut right through the heavy stuff like it isn’t there. But they sure do rock your you know what off when not underway.

If I hit the ferry wake with my Whaler at WOT I’d probably catch air to about 15’.When I cut through it with the Grover it’s like it’s not even there. Won’t spill a drop of coffee.

Thank you. ?
 
The other site had a huge thread on Groverbuilts. There are lots of numbers for engine sizes, RPMs, tranny ratios, prop sizes and speeds. If you can find and search through the old site, you might find some useful info. I do not recall many owners speaking of Perkins engines. Most of us have Leman, Volvo or updated to Yanmar.

My 28 tops out at about 15 knots. I cruise 13 - 14. My turbo Lehman does the same speed and fuel consumption as the naturally aspirated Leman 120.
 
Aquarius said:
The other site had a huge thread on Groverbuilts. There are lots of numbers for engine sizes, RPMs, tranny ratios, prop sizes and speeds. If you can find and search through the old site, you might find some useful info. I do not recall many owners speaking of Perkins engines. Most of us have Leman, Volvo or updated to Yanmar.

My 28 tops out at about 15 knots. I cruise 13 - 14. My turbo Lehman does the same speed and fuel consumption as the naturally aspirated Leman 120.
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I saw that thread. It’s extremely valuable however as you stated I didn’t see much info if any on the Perkins. Mine has a turbo that was bolted on which made a significant difference however it’s still a bit slow. Hence the name “Slow Poke”. The great thing about the Perkins is going to be it’s reliability and longevity.
I am going to eventually swap out the prop to see if that helps. I’m also going to look in to a larger turbo.
One curiosity I have is how much power can you have before it’s wasted with this type of inboard configuration. I’ve seen numbers all over the map.
If I could ever get the boat to run 20knots WOT I’d be in heaven.
 
I doubt that a 26 Grover will ever do 20 knots. It is too short and does not have a sharp enough chine, or wide enough stern to fully plane.

Some of the boats have different skeg arrangement and rudder placements. My boat has the prop shaft at a greater angel allowing for a larger prop. My skeg is also not the standard bronze flatbar. My rudder is also further back. With all that, my "turbo" Lehman pushes my boat at about the same speed at the naturally aspirated 120 Lehman.

The only Groverbuilt to do more than 20 knots was a modified 28 footer with a 280 HP Yanmar. It had the hull slightly modified, a customized skeg and rudder and a larger prop. I have pictures that I will post at another time. I am at work now and just too busy to even be posting this.

Too bad we can't import the old Groverbuilt thread from the other site.
 
Aquarius said:
I doubt that a 26 Grover will ever do 20 knots. It is too short and does not have a sharp enough chine, or wide enough stern to fully plane.

Some of the boats have different skeg arrangement and rudder placements. My boat has the prop shaft at a greater angel allowing for a larger prop. My skeg is also not the standard bronze flatbar. My rudder is also further back. With all that, my "turbo" Lehman pushes my boat at about the same speed at the naturally aspirated 120 Lehman.

The only Groverbuilt to do more than 20 knots was a modified 28 footer with a 280 HP Yanmar. It had the hull slightly modified, a customized skeg and rudder and a larger prop. I have pictures that I will post at another time. I am at work now and just too busy to even be posting this.

Too bad we can't import the old Groverbuilt thread from the other site.
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An old friend of mine had a Grover 26 with the 130 Lehman. His went 16 knots WOT empty. He would cruise at 12.5...
Even if I was able to get mine to max out at 17 that would be quite a bit of a difference...
My major concern with the lack of speed is coming back in on an outgoing tide through the Moriches Inlet. Taking one of those monsters over the stern isn’t a welcome option. I never had to worry of think about it in my other boats equipped with high speed outboards...
I’ve seen a few Grovers in the past that were for sale down south with very high output diesels and wondered how fast they were.
 
It’s time to repair the deck. I have some bad soft spots near the access panels behind the engine box. I have to make the decision between patching it and replacing the entire thing all at once. Hopefully the weather holds out on Friday so I can get this done.
 
Hi I had a 26 with a volvo Tamd 40b 165HP with the bottom clean, light load and no tide I could 16 knots at most.
I found 13/14 kts max to be the hull speed for this boat as it got faster it got harder to control. That said in a heading sea or following sea at 13/14 kts it a great boat.
 
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