Stretched 23' seacraft hull thoughts...

[DonV]

I remember when I did my B-164, that 3 1/2" hole saw will give you serious pucker power as it starts gnawing away at the hull!!

[Ed]

Looks great, Ken. Glad to hear that the ride improved too. I am still amazed that the entire project was completed in such a short time.


Talk about the pucker factor...I was so nervous when I cut a hole for an AIRMAR B175HW transducer in my 27 Tournament. Like a dope, I then tried to install myself after work one night. The sealant I was using set up real quick and got on the threads and I was screwed. Had to come back in the next day and have a mechanic at the shop help me remove it, clean everything off and then start over with two people...lesson learned, dont rush it and ask for help if needed.

[kmoose]

Never had a gel coated bilge before so I dumped a quart in and sloped it around. I have no intention to put a bunch of effort into making it pretty and keeping scrubbed but it doesn't look too bad and all the fresh glasswork is covered. Tomorrow comes the most important hardware....transducers!!!!

[Gulfstreammarine]

Ken,

Couple questions:

I see you have autopilot, did you go with the small pump and kit for around 2k or did you put in the full ghp reactor with smart pump instead? If you went with the small kit, how is performance and sensitivity with that 300? any issues so far?

Also I see the bocatech custom panel from international marine, what did that cost you and what is your opinion on those switches so far?

Why did you go with a hermco instead of an armstrong bracket as well?

Thanks

[kmoose]

Actually I think it is the ghp 10 1.2 pump. I did upgrade to a ghp 20 head display. The system has worked great for the last 3 years with no issues. It responds well and turns plenty fast enough.

The switch panels vary in cost to what u want in options. Call and tell them what u want and they'll give u a quote. It's not cheap but they are very nice.

Hermco brackets are made for our boats. They fit perfectly, don't leak and displace their own weight and most any outboard you mount on them. You don't have corrosion issues with the stainless mounting bolts as well.

[kmoose]

Finished installing thru hull transducers today! Measure 10 times... drill once.
The Garmin GT 51 was a challenge but fit perfectly on the keel. No more transom mounted ducers! I'll get some photos tomorrow after we get the bilge tidied up.

[DonV]

"I'll get some photos tomorrow after we get the bilge tidied up"

Really?? Bilge tidied up? Never heard of such a thing!!

[kmoose]

Pic of the ducer install from the bilge.

[DonV]

Too pretty!!

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by DonV

Too pretty!!

Thanks Don but I can guaranty it will only be pretty for a while. I don't see Mel scrubbing the bilge after every trip and we all know what happens in the bilge stays in the bilge.

I will say that having a large bilge access has been a bonus for getting everything installed. We are considering a washdown pump and it looks like installing the through hull, strainer and valve will be a breeze. I also ran a fuse box in the center stern compartment for future use as well as pulling a couple of extra wires from the switch up front. Looking as some deep drop reels in the near future and putting in the power resources during construction should make it a lot easier on the back end.