Anyone here own a boat, or know a lot about boats?

[CGMKCM]

My two cents FWIW.

I owned a high end wakeboard boat with tower and it also had a tow post for tubes, kneeboards etc. The tower and post were reinforced with large aluminum backing plates to distribute the stress of towing through large sections of the Deck and Hull. I would also recommend the towing set up that used the stern D rings.

To adjust the tab, I would look at how well the boat maintains course (tracks) left and right vs. steering effort.

I like the choice of a deep V hull for safety and ability to handle rougher weather conditions on a large body of water. Very nice looking boat!

 

[Outnumbered]

Thanks for the information. The Yamaha factory service manual specifically states that grease should be applied to the impeller, inside the impeller housing and the various o-rings. I don't know enough to be clever so I opted to buy all factory parts including Yamaha grease, oil and filters.

One thing I noticed when operating the boat is that it's harder to steer to port compared to starboard. After reading the service manual and engine owner's manual, I noticed a section on steering and adjusting the trim tab anode. When I removed it in order to remove the lower unit I marked its position which was rotated 5 to 10 degrees to starboard and returned it to that position. I'm going to center it up since the manual states that if it's hard to steer to port you should rotate the trim tab to port. We'll see this weekend if that makes a difference. I was surprised by how heavy the steering is when under way. There's a lot of resistance to turning, which given the chunk of metal in the water is not that surprising I suppose.

It's not apples to apples but on my 140hp Suzuki it greatly reduced the steering torque by adjusting the torque tab on the motor. It reduced it at slow speeds but eliminated it at higher RPMs. Here is a simple explanation I found online

Just note where you are now and make slight adjustment s and try it again. I can take a pic of the position on mine if you want to compare. Just let me know. Good luck and enjoy the non Orange toy!

 

[mcmxi]

It's not apples to apples but on my 140hp Suzuki it greatly reduced the steering torque by adjusting the torque tab on the motor. It reduced it at slow speeds but eliminated it at higher RPMs.

I think I mentioned a while back that the trim tab anode was hard to remove when I was replacing the water pump impeller and related parts. The thread in the anode was messed up either due to galling or cross threading. Since the anode is some kind of zinc alloy the material is on the soft side.

This boat has never seen salt water and the anode is in such good shape, threads aside, that it seemed wasteful to buy a new one, so I decided to repair the threads using a brass 1/4" NPT to hose barb bushing. I drilled out the damaged threads, cut new threads for the 1/4" NPT adapter, cut the hose barb off the brass fitting, drilled out the center of the brass fitting and cut new threads for the 10mm bolt that secures the anode to the lower unit. I was thinking I might need to cut the brass flush with the top of the anode but it turns out that there's ample room to leave the bushing proud, and the upside is that the bolt engages a lot more threads.

I was able to reinstall the trim tab and rotated it a few degrees clockwise and now the steering feels a lot more balanced.

 

[RCW]

I mentioned my son in law’s boat out on Monterey Bay.

We were there last week. Did some fishing. Very foggy. Only got some Jack Smelt. Only went out a mile for a couple hours.

Nice boat.

 

[mcmxi]

I've put about 10 hours on the engine now and more than 100 miles cruising around Flathead Lake. I would have taken it out more over the past few weeks but I was out of the country for close to three weeks in June/July.

So what are my thoughts about buying this boat? To be honest, I didn't know if this was a bad decision last year but now I feel that the boat was worth every penny. I love being out on the water and I really like this boat. Yesterday a friend and I were out on the lake for more than 4 hours and cruised over to another friend's dock on the lake. We swam for a bit in 100+ ft of water with no one around. The lake is big enough that it doesn't feel crowded or even busy, and that's during the peak months.

I still have a lot to learn and feel that this boat is a keeper. It cruises effortlessly and quietly at 28 to 30 mph (4,200 rpm) and could go a fair bit faster. It's a good size, it's comfortable on the water, it rides really well, it's easy to get in and out of the water, and it tows really well behind the F250.

Here are some photos from yesterday afternoon/evening. My friend has a boat ramp and dock so I backed the trailer into the water and had him get the boat off and pick me up at the dock. The previous weekend I was out for most of the day with another friend and she had a great time.

 

[mcmxi]

I mentioned my son in law’s boat out on Monterey Bay.

We were there last week. Did some fishing. Very foggy. Only got some Jack Smelt. Only went out a mile for a couple hours.

Nice boat.

View attachment 107931
View attachment 107932

Very nice! Is that a Boston Whaler?

 

[RCW]

Very nice! Is that a Boston Whaler?

It’s a Parker 2125…I think. 21 foot, and his friend has a 25 foot version of the same boat.

He has aspirations for other vessels that he pointed out on our short expedition.

Osprey and Farallon (sp?) were two manufacturers that come to mind.

He’s from the area, and just got a slip in Santa Cruz Harbor last year or so. He likes to fish and has our daughter enjoying it as well.

 

[lugbolt]

took mine to the river yesterday. Mine's just a baby compared to y'alls stuff but I don't care. 1548 War Eagle, 25hp yamaha.

Had a 20' bass boat a while. Great on larger waters, fished real comfortable. Problem is can't use it on skinnier waters. Local river? 75 yards wide, a foot deep (or less) in a lot of places. The bass boat wasn't going there. Tried though! Failed too. Sold it and bought the war eagle. It goes there just fine and there are STILL times when it drags bottom. Shawnee with a jet is a better option but can't use them on the headwaters of the river....just no good for that. So what I have is more versatile.

--anyway, was on the water at 0545. Dark. FOGGY. Bad foggy. Air temp at the top of the ramp was about 80 when I got there, at the bottom in the fog, the air temp was about 65. Man that felt good. Relaxing. The fog was thick, couldn't see the boat at the bottom of the ramp. Took off to where I like to fish, about a 45 minute boat ride in the dark/fog, mostly idle or just above idle the whole way. Of course by time I'm halfway there the sun's starting to rise and I can somewhat see better. Right in a bend, there is a tree sticking out of the water, it's been there forever. It fell and parts of it are out of water at "normal" river level. I came around a bend and seen something sticking up, and knowing that I have to be careful about the rocks that are not 10 foot the other side of the tree, I was staying close to what I thought was the tree. Bumped into it and it took off. It was a deer! I ran into a deer swimming across the water. Of course it wasn't real deep right there, maybe 5 foot at the most. Still, first time I've ever hit a deer with the boat. Didn't phase the boat any, just kept going.

Hung a 25" brown trout on first cast. One cast, got my limit. Can only keep one over 24". But I could keep 4 more under 16", so I kept fishing. About 10 min later hung another big brown trout which was pretty spicy. About a half dozen high jumps out of the water later, I netted it-but wouldn't fit in the net, flopped out, spit the lure out, swam off. I'm guessing it was closer to 10 or 11 lb. Good one. From there it was a bunch of stocker rainbows, all about 12-15" length. I took 4 of them home and grilled em. They aren't great, but not bad either. Home by 1000, was getting pretty warm as the sun got directly overhead and I had a limit, no sense in staying any longer.

back at the ramp I was first in line...which is unusual at that time, it starts getting busy. Soon as I walk up to the truck, several loads of kayakers showed up and blocked the ramp. One lane. Well two if they know how to use it. I explained my situation to them and they gladly gave me some space. I've got some kind of illness that nobody can seem to figure out, the sun shining on my skin feels like my skin's on fire. Just started last week along with some other stuff but so far doctors can't find anything. So fishin' is gonna be in the darkness or at the least down in the valley until the sun starts getting up higher, at least for the near term.

 

[Downeaster]

Anodes are usually placed on most boats regardless of whether they are one the outboard motor. I had a 29 foot lobster boat where I had an zinc anode on the propeller shaft, and other one outside water cooling pipes. I have also had them on the outboard of all the smaller boats that had outboards. Anodes will deteriote on all of them and that is there sole purpose. They deteriote so that other metals like a drive shaft doesn't. They deteriote much faster in salt water than fresh, and if you trailer your boat and remove it from the water after a days use, you may never have to replace it. The anode needs water to initiate the electrolysis.

 

[Hkb82]

I’m a little late this season for me but never the less I finally got my boat out of storage and ready to fish. My business keeps me pretty busy during prime time fishing seasons unfortunately. I fished 5 days a week for years and now I’m lucky to get out 5 times a year excluding the hard water season. I’m also Just a little guy compared to you center console boys and girls but she definitely gets the job done with the pro xs 115 and 18 feet. As lug bolt said I also can’t fit into some of the places I use to fish with my smaller but I mostly stick to trolling with riggers on the Great Lakes now so this is the perfect setup to just relax and fish. If we really want to hit the small lakes or rivers we just pull the kicker from the StarCraft and use a little 12 foot aluminum we have.

 

[mcmxi]

It’s a Parker 2125…I think. 21 foot, and his friend has a 25 foot version of the same boat.

He has aspirations for other vessels that he pointed out on our short expedition.

Osprey and Farallon (sp?) were two manufacturers that come to mind.

He’s from the area, and just got a slip in Santa Cruz Harbor last year or so. He likes to fish and has our daughter enjoying it as well.

I tried to get a slip in Flathead Harbor a few weeks ago for the rest of the season but they're all sold out. Maybe next year, but if not then no biggie.

 

[mcmxi]

I’m a little late this season for me but never the less I finally got my boat out of storage and ready to fish. My business keeps me pretty busy during prime time fishing seasons unfortunately. I fished 5 days a week for years and now I’m lucky to get out 5 times a year excluding the hard water season. I’m also Just a little guy compared to you center console boys and girls but she definitely gets the job done with the pro xs 115 and 18 feet. As lug bolt said I also can’t fit into some of the places I use to fish with my smaller but I mostly stick to trolling with riggers on the Great Lakes now so this is the perfect setup to just relax and fish. If we really want to hit the small lakes or rivers we just pull the kicker from the StarCraft and use a little 12 foot aluminum we have.

Nice boat! When I first started looking for a boat I considered one quite similar to yours.

 

[mcmxi]

Anodes are usually placed on most boats regardless of whether they are one the outboard motor. I had a 29 foot lobster boat where I had an zinc anode on the propeller shaft, and other one outside water cooling pipes. I have also had them on the outboard of all the smaller boats that had outboards. Anodes will deteriote on all of them and that is there sole purpose. They deteriote so that other metals like a drive shaft doesn't. They deteriote much faster in salt water than fresh, and if you trailer your boat and remove it from the water after a days use, you may never have to replace it. The anode needs water to initiate the electrolysis.

I'm not sure who you're directing that post to but I don't think anyone is confused as to the purpose of anodes on boats. Some anodes have a dual function such as the trim tab anode on the Yamaha outboard on my boat. It's there to sacrificially corrode but it also affects steering.

 

[mcmxi]

Another update re my boating journey.

I've taken the boat out quite a few times now and learning never ends. The first time out there wasn't any water exiting from the witness hole just below the engine cover. Turns out this happened again last weekend and the cause was some sticky, nasty stuff in the steel tubing just before the rubber hose that connects to the outlet. So now I'm running water through the engine when I get home, and again before I head out.

Another issue that's happened twice is the pitot tube gets blocked. The river and lake are abnormally low at the moment so there's more vegetation and crap to deal with getting too and from the lake. The Garmin GPS has a speed display as well as one of the engine gauges so there's redundancy, but it's mildly annoying when the gauge doesn't show the speed.

It's been a challenge at times getting the boat back on the trailer and aligned due to the trailer not being level, river current, and waves generated by boats going by. I ordered and received some Extreme Max roll on guides so will get those fitted to the rear of the trailer before the next outing. They will keep the rear of the boat centered on the trailer, well that's the idea anyway.

The other think I've learned about are transom savers. I tow the boat to and from the river and this can put a load on the transom due to the weight of the outboard. I ordered a transom saver from VE-VE INC. which triangulates the lower unit of the engine to the trailer to support all of that mass, and takes a lot of stress off the transom.

There have been some big fires up here recently and this was the view from the North end of the lake this past Sunday. The wind really picked up resulting in lots of white caps and a significant swell but my friend and her daughter had a good time.

 

[mcmxi]

A winter boat update.

I received a call this morning from the original owner of the Robalo R200 asking me if I'd be interested in selling it back to him. He called the storage place where the boat currently lives and got my number from them. Last year he traded the R200 in on a new pontoon but told me that he and his wife really missed the Robalo this past summer and regret buying a pontoon. He told me back in January that his friends had a hard time getting in/out of the Robalo and that was why they bought a pontoon.

He used the "boat builder" app on Robalo's website a few days ago and was shocked at the cost to buy something equivalent to what he traded, and was hoping that I'd part with the boat. I told him that I'm keeping it but will give him first right of refusal if I decide to sell it.

I'm looking at repowering it with a 200hp V6 SHO motor over the winter, and considering the cost of a new boat that offers little over what I have for more than twice the cost, it makes sense to keep it and enjoy it for years to come.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

That is a rare, but not unheard of condition, that I believe that is called seller’s remorse. IMO I’d rather have that than buyers remorse, which is far more common. Now you have data that you bought it right