Gorilla Hull

[bassinvol]

I busted the hull on my Z20 at Ross Barnett and decided to get a Gorilla Hull from Toledo Fiberglass installed for the repair. It is guaranteed for the life of the boat against impact damage. The repair looks great and I can't wait to get it out on the water for an extended period of time. Ran it a little on Toledo Bend but had to get back on the road to head home. Now I have the injectors out of the motor getting cleaned and flow tested. Here are some before and after photos. I posted this on the Mississippi board but wanted to share it here also.

[sclark]

How much weight does that to the hull?
p

[mikesxpress]

34-48 lbs

Gorilla Hull

[bassinvol]

They said that it added about 35lbs to my boat. As you can see it has a rough texture on the hull. When I ran it on Toledo Bend after picking up the boat, I had not lost any speed. It does feel a little looser running on pad. Not sure yet if that is due to riding a little more on a layer of air caused by the rough hull or not as much weight as normal. When I get the injectors back and installed, I will update how it runs.

[TOXIC]

Directly from the website:

Perhaps the worst handling characteristic is cornering. Deep V hulls tend to have very little slide, while shallow V hulls tend to have some noticeable slide in sharp turns. Additional "hook" can be added or removed to improve mid range performance at the outside chine edges. The performance pad can be flattened or straight-edged to improve high speed lift, speed and handling.

That was my biggest question....how does it affect the "balance" of the hull and the chines? Sounds like you might need to document your handling and make a return trip.

TOXIC

[mikesxpress]

The texture is going to alter some of the hull performance attributes. Not necessarily a bad thing some times.

[jp71291]

I have one on my Champion 181 and have been very satisfied. I've had mine for over a year now.

[quack811]

I was curious...as I'm sure others are to... How did you damage the hull? What did you hit, how fast were you going? Did you fly out of the boat lol ? Give us the juicy details!

[mikesxpress]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Same guy that watches NASCAR just for the wrecks.......

[quack811]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Same guy that watches NASCAR just for the wrecks.......

You got that right. Definitely have better things to do than sit in front of the TV for 3-4 hours and watch cars drive around in circles! But hey, whatever floats your boat.

[Tom Rollins]

I was curious...as I'm sure others are to... How did you damage the hull? What did you hit, how fast were you going? Did you fly out of the boat lol ? Give us the juicy details!

Saw a 520 damaged like that on the Potomac. Hit a log at speed in Belmont Bay. Crushed the rear of the pad and popped the drain out.

[bassinvol]

It really didn't seem to hit that hard. I was only going about 20mph and in 15 ft of water. The tree top was a few inches below the water because the pad is where it hit. I guess the tree was at the perfect angle to the pad when it hit. I came to a stop with the motor at idle, gave it a little gas to make sure it was running and then the auto bilge kicked on. It was time to head to the trailer at that point.

[booyaah]

A gorilla hull is the best thing I've done to my boat. I no longer worry about damage from stumps, rocks, and underwater items we have here in the Red River. My boat actually picked up a mph but I did adjust my setup after and spent a little time fine tuning. I don't attribute the speed increase to the gorilla hull but just showing that it didn't really hurt. I was thoroughly impressed with the crew there, each step of the process was documented and they were a breeze to deal with and handled all of my insurance paperwork as well. The only bad thing is the wait. When I picked mine up, they were up to a 3-4 week wait but this was also the middle of the spring fishing at Toledo as well.

[e-tec]

Does it come in lighter colors?

[jp71291]

Does it come in lighter colors?

They will do any color you want.

[Sirius Rich]

I ran Al's Gorilla hull for 15+ years on Toledo Bend on my previous boat (91 Nitro) with no issues other than the boat disintegrated around the hull. I gave that boat to a couple Army guys returning from Iraq. I told them that they wouldn't need a trailer to haul the boat as it had a Gorilla Hull. Al runs a great business and worth a drive if you want a Gorilla Hull.

[Mullins057]

I really want to do this to my ranger z21!! But dang 1000 miles one way to his shop..

[dukhntr]

old thread lol

[bassinvol]

old thread lol

Your right, but the hull is still going strong.

[T-Bend]

Yes it might run a little looser , due to air under hull , same reason a golf ball has dimples.