[Hooper]

Hi ChrisG-

Just a thought here...

I am an unabashed fan of the Evinrude Ficht 225hp that I put on at the end of the 2002 season. I put 230+/- hours on it this season without so much as a hint of problems. I dream of this boat with a HermCo bracket to give it positive floatation in the aft. It was priced right, $12,100 from Ship Shops in South Yarmouth, Mass. It sips fuel for a big outboard (I fish a full day south of Nantucket from Bass River on Cape Cod and burn about 35 gallons plus oil), it is fast (I get a cruise of 23kts at 4,000 rpms and 27kts at 4500 rpm's) and it is relatively quite at cruise and very quiet at a troll.

Just food for thought... The price was right for me, and throw in a bracket with transom closure kit from HermCo and I bet you're well under 20K.

And an interesting note about Surf Hunter Boats. In the book titled, Lobster Boats by Virginia L. Thorndike (Downeast Books, Camden Maine) there is a few words about this design... According to an this book, Jarvis Newman, a well know downeast lobster boat designer in his own right, designed the 25' Surf Hunter for Ray Hunt.

Newman's father-in-law approached him about getting into the fiberglass powerboat design business. Jarvis thought it sounded like a good idea. "...he made two molds, one for a twenty-five foot Ray Hunt deep V called the Surf Hunter. Jarvis only built a few of these boats, but the design was a good one and is still being produced in southern New England."

Isn't that interesting? This is a great read by the way, one that the members of this board would certainly enjoy.

The other mold was a 36' downeast lobster design that is now known simply as the Newman 36, one of the best riding and most seaworthy designs available. There are some people in this world who have a talent or skill and in Maine, they build great boats!

At 32, I'm still trying to figure out what mine is.... [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

-Merry Christmas, Hooper