TOPIC: 1960 Texas Maid Fiesta; pushing the limits with 80

Hello to all;
I've been working on my '60 Texas Maid Fiesta Aluminum boat. It's manufacturer rated for 80 hp, but has no Coast Guard rating. I put a strong '67 Evinrude V-4 80hp Speedifour on it, and I'm about ready to put it in the water.
Has anyone actually run one of these with all 80 horses?
What happened??
Anyone have any history on, "Texas Maid"? I'm out west, and this is the only one I've seen.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks!
Alan

i almost bought one a year ago but i already had an texas maid osprey i was working on.

Shes a neat lummie with those subtle fins.

What are your concerns with the 80 hp? Being that its the max the boat was rated for when it was new, or the fact that 50 year old rivits might not be up to the task? Or related to the balance of the heavy v-4 on a [relatively] light weight aluminum hull?

I'm ceertainly no expert, but that boat looks like it has enough freeboard, and a deep vee, that would have been stable on the water with the 80.

Of course just start out slow and safe, and you'll be having such a blast, you'll have that throttle nailed in about two minutes. Enjoy her safely, and let us know how she runs.

I have a 1957 texas made check out my pix and let me know what you think.Yours turned out great.

Many thanks to all for the support!
Nice boat Shel!
I'm only worried about the transom. It's a 15" transom, and the wood is bow-tie shaped. The wood covers little of the actual transom.
The motor is really strong, and newly reconditioned; very low hours. Sounds like a 60's Chevelle when I crank it.
I agree, the rest of the hull looks fine.
I'll take pictures, and will report back on my experiment!
Thanks again;
Alan

Super sweet boat bud. Check out my pics, I have a 20' Texas Maid Electra. Shes a project but maybe soon haha.

Texas Maid boats were built in Lewisville TX ( Dallas Ft Worth area).It was started buy some people who left Lonestar.

I had the chance of a life time to run into a older gentelman that worked for Lone Star for 20 yrs. He was the third employee and left after the Crysler take over.

Now his brother was a desiner for Texas Maid and drew the plans for the Electra and others.

As far as the hp question I would say rember that it is a 50 year old boat. Just take it slow and see how she does. You may want to beef up the transom.

What ever you do its a sweet boat!!!!!!

We had a 18' Tahiti in our family for over 20 years. It's basically the same boat, only 2 ft longer and one more porthole per side. Over the years, it has had a 80hp West Bend, an 85 Johnson and a 85 Evinrude. You should have no problems running that motor. [img][IMG]http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr293/paulfranken/655887-R1-10-10_011-1-1-1.jpg[/img]