Hull design

[EWRice]

Right now I am in the process of rebuilding a swim platform for my '72 32 foot express. In the process of this, I took measurements from the other 32 Ms at my marina (we have 6 on the hard right now) to get an idea of where to mount it. This had me scratching my head as all the measurements I took from the keel (at the transom) placed the platform almost a foot above the exhaust outlets. The factory installed platforms all seemed to be a few inches above the exhaust. Well after some more measuring and inspecting of all the 32s, I noticed that the bottom of my boat has much less V in it than the others (almost 6 inches difference). Did they change hull designs at a certain time? Does the express hull have a different bottom than the sedans? All the 32s close to my boat are sedans, and the one I had been taking most measurements from is within a few years of mine. Makes sense why my boat is tough to handle in rough seas, but very fast!

[balthaus]

I believe the hull design was changed in the early to mid 80's.
I am sure that FastJeff or others could pinpoint the year more closely than I can.

[javalin390]

That is correct, not sure what year the change was, but the change was made sometime in the 80's, and it was for better handling on open waters.

[Rockit]

Really? They increased the transom deadrise on the 32s? My 28 can be a handful if she takes a towboat wake the wrong way. (The commercial kind that make 3-4' wakes, not the ones used to pull skiers.) Maybe it's time to move up to a newer 32. . . .

Joe

[Fastjeff]

Ah, but the older hulls are fast!

Jeff (speed merchant)

[EWRice]

Ah, but the older hulls are fast!

Jeff (speed merchant)

I can definitely attest to that. Last season, with one fresh 318 and one with one foot in the grave, I could still maintain 33mph (gps) at just shy of wide open. Its nice to be able to keep up with all your friends in runabouts!

[Fastjeff]

Man, that's quick! My old, 1985 vintage 32 foot Sedan with two fresh 360s never topped 32 mph.

Jeff

[EWRice]

It's all in how she's trimmed. I can change speed about 6mph just with the trim tabs. It is VERY sensitive to trim.

[martindesign]

My 1969 32 express runs mid 40s if trimmed with the right water.

[Fastjeff]

There you go. The later ones were redesigned for less speed/ better rough water ability.

Jeff

P: Mid-40s...Yeow baby!