Hey Guys -
I'm bored so I'm going to throw a question out there to hopefully hear some good stories and get some good reading material.
What was your first Allison experience??????????
For myself, I'll give you a little background. At the time of my first Allison encounter, I owned (should say my father owned, as I was in college) a Hydrostream Vasseret w/ ProV 150 "tuned" Yamaha combo. I pretty much thought I was the king of the lake. My "happy" Faria speedometer would spin up to low 80's.
Anyway, Hydrostream goes out of business and I start hearing about a "new brand" called Allison.
Later, a college buddy and myself were boating one day on Lake Alexander in MN when I noticed a red/white boat coming on strong with a Yamaha on the back. I planted my left foot and started to look back. The race was on. Sure enough, this boat was gaining. My buddy, who had never been in a fast boat before, couldn't believe what was happening and kept yelling at me "HE's Coming, He's Coming!!!!!!!!!!!". Unfortunately, the Hydrostream wasn't king of the lake anymore, as the Allison slowly crept by me.
After "the race" we stopped and chatted with the owner, who I had already known. For you Hydrostream fans, the Allison owner was Pete DeClur, who used to work at Hydrosteam with John Tiger Jr. under Howard Pipkorn. The boat was a XTB with a "tuned" Yamaha also.
I later drove that boat (my first Allison driving experience) to a speed of 84 MPH. I knew I'd own one someday.
This might be another story, but after some research, I found out about the Grandsport. I figured if I could get a red Grandsport/Yamaha combo, I would have the perfect boat. With no money to my name and attending college, that was a fantasy. Funny thing was I found the "fantasy Grandsport" in Hotboat Magazine (October 1996). It was owned by a guy in South Dakota and featured in "Letters". More on this later.
Later, I grew up (kind of), got a job, and bought my first boat (STV Euroski). My dad sold his Hydrostream. I got bored of the STV and bought my first Allison Grandsport, rigged with a 2.5 EFI. Loved that boat, but the lakes I ran on were a little rough for my Allison. Long story short, sold the Allison for an American Offshore and then a Spectre.
Last summer, I had the itch for an Allison again. I initially looked for an XR2002. About two weeks later, I found the listing for a Grandsport, located a couple of hours from my house. Believe it or not and as luck would have it, it was my fantasy Allison, the same boat that was in Hotboat Magazine. It is now parked in my garage.
Happy Memories!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike Sufka
St. Cloud, MN
Spectre 30 w/Twin 300 Mercs
Allison Grandsport/200 ProV Yamaha
I'm bored so I'm going to throw a question out there to hopefully hear some good stories and get some good reading material.
What was your first Allison experience??????????
For myself, I'll give you a little background. At the time of my first Allison encounter, I owned (should say my father owned, as I was in college) a Hydrostream Vasseret w/ ProV 150 "tuned" Yamaha combo. I pretty much thought I was the king of the lake. My "happy" Faria speedometer would spin up to low 80's.
Anyway, Hydrostream goes out of business and I start hearing about a "new brand" called Allison.
Later, a college buddy and myself were boating one day on Lake Alexander in MN when I noticed a red/white boat coming on strong with a Yamaha on the back. I planted my left foot and started to look back. The race was on. Sure enough, this boat was gaining. My buddy, who had never been in a fast boat before, couldn't believe what was happening and kept yelling at me "HE's Coming, He's Coming!!!!!!!!!!!". Unfortunately, the Hydrostream wasn't king of the lake anymore, as the Allison slowly crept by me.
After "the race" we stopped and chatted with the owner, who I had already known. For you Hydrostream fans, the Allison owner was Pete DeClur, who used to work at Hydrosteam with John Tiger Jr. under Howard Pipkorn. The boat was a XTB with a "tuned" Yamaha also.
I later drove that boat (my first Allison driving experience) to a speed of 84 MPH. I knew I'd own one someday.
This might be another story, but after some research, I found out about the Grandsport. I figured if I could get a red Grandsport/Yamaha combo, I would have the perfect boat. With no money to my name and attending college, that was a fantasy. Funny thing was I found the "fantasy Grandsport" in Hotboat Magazine (October 1996). It was owned by a guy in South Dakota and featured in "Letters". More on this later.
Later, I grew up (kind of), got a job, and bought my first boat (STV Euroski). My dad sold his Hydrostream. I got bored of the STV and bought my first Allison Grandsport, rigged with a 2.5 EFI. Loved that boat, but the lakes I ran on were a little rough for my Allison. Long story short, sold the Allison for an American Offshore and then a Spectre.
Last summer, I had the itch for an Allison again. I initially looked for an XR2002. About two weeks later, I found the listing for a Grandsport, located a couple of hours from my house. Believe it or not and as luck would have it, it was my fantasy Allison, the same boat that was in Hotboat Magazine. It is now parked in my garage.
Happy Memories!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike Sufka
St. Cloud, MN
Spectre 30 w/Twin 300 Mercs
Allison Grandsport/200 ProV Yamaha
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