Hello, I am Joe Ratcliff from the IE. I have been a long-time lurker and I know my introduction is long overdue, but here it is.
I have owned or been involved with several boats over the years, none of which were particularly notable. Now, I have what I consider to by my first “real” boat, a ’91 Hallett 21’ jet day cruiser powered by a blown and injected big block Chevy. The engine specs are:
Big Block Chevy
4.250 Bore
4.000 Stroke
188 Heads
2.19 / 1.88 Valves Intake / Exhaust
Crane Track Roller Cam / Lifters
308 / 312 Advertised Duration
268 / 272 Duration @ .050
.708 Lift Intake / Exhaust
108* Lobe Centerline
103* Installed Centerline
Littlefield worked 6-71 blower, overdriven 10.9%
Enderle Mechanical Birdcatcher
Vertex OAC Magneto
I currently have the engine and pump pulled. I am making some minor engine changes over the winter while installing a rail kit, pump setback and replumbing. While everything is apart, I am polishing up all of the aluminum and sending it off to Embee for clear coat.
My background -- over the past 27 years I have had the opportunity to work in several top tier machine shops, primarily in machining, welding, and fabrication in the fields of aerospace, instrumentation, molds, tool and die, jigs and fixtures, automotive, and marine.
Currently I teach manufacturing technology at San Bernardino Valley College in the subjects of conventional & CNC machining, SolidWorks, MasterCAM, hydraulics & pneumatics, mechanical drives, and metrology.
It has been a great pleasure meeting some of you at the regattas and NJBA at Lake Ming. I look forward to meeting more of you and positively contributing here.
Cheers,
Joe
