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IMCO Marine’s Nordic 21 Blaze project boat combines diesel power with a new drive to produce serious acceleration and outstanding fuel economy.
By Jason Johnson
No wonder the Inman family has had such success with IMCO Marine. The father-and-son team of Fred Inman Sr., and Fred Jr., love what they do. You could hear it in their voices at the launch ramp of the BlueWater Resort marina in Parker, Ariz.
As the elder Inman excitedly discussed the San Dimas, Calif., company’s latest project—the SCX drive—Fred Jr. was quick to chime in with additional information. It’s obvious they know their stuff, which is another reason why their performance parts manufacturing business has accomplished so much over 30-plus years.
IMCO’s latest project boat is an indication of what they go through to perfect their products. We normally don’t see many validation models, but IMCO gave us an exclusive peek at the new SCX drive on the company’s drive-validation project boat.
Earning the assignment was a 21 Blaze from Nordic Boats that was equipped with a 6.6-liter Duramax diesel motor.
The engine, which was provided by Joe Komaromi of Pacific Performance Engineering in Placentia, Calif., was equipped with a Garrett turbocharger and a large fabricated intercooler.
With about 500 horsepower being squeezed from the motor, Inman Sr. said the intercooler pumps out about 30 to 35 pounds of boost.
“The setup makes a tremendous amount of torque,” he said. “That’s why we’re using it to test our new drive. It’s a whole new adventure here. We’ve been working on it for almost two years. We had it in mind to run a diesel against it so we could tear it up quicker. Also, there is a market for this because there are the Yanmar diesels that need this kind of drive.”
IMCO loaded the propulsion package with the most gear and prop they could get their hands on—a 1.25:1 gear ratio and a 34"-pitch Mercury Maximus propeller with a 15 5/8-inch diameter. And then they ran the boat, over and over again.
“I’ve made probably 25 to 30 trips to Lake Elsinore working with the boat, getting just the right combinations to the engine,” Inman Jr. said, pointing out that they’ve also put the new drive through hundreds of hours of testing using their in-house drive dynamometer.
Added the elder Inman, “Right now we’re breaking motors, which is good. We’re not breaking the drives.”
The new SCX drive is the third in IMCO’s Bravo-style Xtreme lineup, which includes the SC and SCT. The top-of-the-line SCX unit is expected to be IMCO’s most reliable and strongest drive to date. Inman Sr. said it will cost about an extra $1,800.
The SCX features the manufacturer’s cone-clutch shifting and all-new, larger net-forged gears and oversized bearings. IMCO’s new gear case design fits the SCX and SCT models. The SCX package also comes with two prop shafts—the standard 1 1/4 inch or an oversized 1 7/16-inch shaft with an adapter to accommodate square-bore prop hubs.
“I’m thinking we’ve got something here that can handle 700s and 800s (engines) and we can give a year warranty with it and it shouldn’t come home,” Inman Sr. said.
The drive showed it could handle the torque produced from the diesel package during a morning photography session on the Colorado River. On the governor with the engine turning 3,500 rpm, the 21-footer topped 77 mph on GPS. The more thrilling aspect of the boat was its acceleration once the turbocharger spooled up.
“It takes a little while to rollover, but once it gets on plane and the turbo winds up, it’s got some serious acceleration and pulls all the way up to top speed,” said Powerboat’s chief test driver Bob Teague. “It’s obviously making a lot of torque.”
Inman Sr. believes there’s a market for diesel packages like this one, but he knows his drive expands far beyond diesel motors.
“There’s a big market for this kind of drive because nobody has developed a cone-clutch drive with net-forged gears at this caliber,” Inman Sr. said. “We think we’ve got something here. This project boat is only the beginning. This engine here can run hundreds of hours. The whole idea is if a person can make it all function and do it without a lot of headache and a lot of extra expense, than it should be very usable especially with fuel economy. We’ve been getting 7 to 8 miles per gallon in this boat.”
So what’s next for IMCO? The Inmans will have the 21-foot Nordic on display at the Los Angeles Boat Show, along with their next SCX drive project boat—a 28-foot deck boat provided by custom builder Domn8er Power Boats.
“As you well know the deck boat is the market, not little 21-footers,” Inman Sr. said. “What we’re doing now is putting a deck boat together with Domn8er. We’re putting the transmission on the inside of the boat, kicking the engine forward a foot and then putting the drive right on the back of the transom. We’ve got some special gears for the project.”
Sounds like another intriguing project for the Inman team. Sure it’s work, but it’s a whole lot more fun when you love what you’re doing.
Contact Information
IMCO Marine
510 E. Arrow Hwy.
San Dimas, CA 91733
800-899-8058
www.imcomarine.com
Nordic Boats
770 N. Lake Havasu Ave.
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
928-855-7420
www.nordicpowerboats.com
Pacific Performance Engineering
303 N. Placentia Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92831
714-985-4825
www.pacificp.com
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