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Thanks Bully. I do like the 2 compartment concept except it would make the box too small for what I do(remember, long fish...wahoo). I didn't mean the transom took water, I meant is it too low to lean against and fight a fish? Where does it hit you on the leg when you lean up against it?
I don't doubt it is a great boat. Just more than I want. I am very satisfied with 31' of CC and twin 250's. Your boat is ALOT to trailer if you trailer and I just don't want 350's. You know, trade offs to everything. Keep it going and good luck to you.
Did you ever build the express you had pics of?
The gunnels are over 24" at the very back, but get much taller as you move toward the bow. At the helm they are 30" and at the bow where the step up is it is 35". At 24", it hits you above the knee.
The boat is big, but we had the owner of Float on at the shop yesterday and he is designing us a trailer that will make towing a good bit easier in areas where height is a concern. I tow the boat with my 2wd F250 with no problems. Never spun the tires at the ramp.
Why dont you want the F350's? As long as the rpms are 4000rpm or lower, the fuel economy seems to be the same or better than the F250's. And at 40 mph at 4000rpm burning 30gph in 2-3's aint bad with a fishing load. Those are real world numbers, not running down the waterway.
I know yall have a 60 mile run out of Jacksonville.
Havent built the express just yet, but it is coming. We are taking it slow until the economy turns, which it will one day.
Billy, I have heard all the pros and cons on the 350's and although they are putting some of them on my boat model, I think it is too much weight for my boat. But beyond the particulars for my boat, everything about them costs more. Upfront is more, power steering is required, my guess is that service and possibly parts are more, insurance would be more due to the speed and although I know they can be pretty fuel efficient, there is no way you can convince me that I can add alot more weight and 200 more hp and get better fuel economy...so I would be burning more fuel.
For the application of your boat, my F250's would probably not be the right combination. It looks to me like the F350's are really an ideal power plant for your boat.
I am not sure if you saw my final question about the express boat you drew. Any plans for it? It sure was "perty".
The 350's do cost more and yes you need power assist. The 250's work fine on my boats, but the 350's are more fun and effortless. For the money, the Zuke 300's are a nice package and perform about 4mph better at cruise than the Yamaha 250's.
Have you ever wondered how the Merc 350's would perform on your 33?
I am thinking the cruise will be about the same, but with better fuel economy. Top end will be about 3-4mph more. The Merc 350's spin up to 6800rpm. She might touch 70mph super light. At 65 she is stable as a rock, so I don't think 5mph would make that much difference.
Amazing how time flies. We have totally sealed the plug with Axel polymer sealer and mold release. We will start building the mold on Tuesday. We were supposed to start Monday, but we had a snag with the delivery of the tooling gelcoat.
I took some pics, but with the plug being black, I cant get the pics to turn out.
Ya'll pray for us.... pray for a good release from the plug. It looks like we will start building molded hull #1 in May if all goes well.
I am thinking the cruise will be about the same, but with better fuel economy. Top end will be about 3-4mph more. The Merc 350's spin up to 6800rpm. She might touch 70mph super light. At 65 she is stable as a rock, so I don't think 5mph would make that much difference.
At what point do you anticipate lift and thrust to come into play and become airborne... LOL
Got the mold off of the plug today. Some of the duratec primer pulled off around the flange, but appears to have not adversely affected the final finish. Not too worried, it looks like all of it is going to peel off of the plug, I can finish the plug with 100% epoxy primer and awlgrip.
Jagsare1, from my limited experience of the 45+ min ride in Miami, the F350 performed phenomenally and impressed me. They are very well matched to the Freeman 33 and pushes her with out burden (even though we were loaded with fuel, 8 people and some gear!). Capt.Mike Ellis was aboard (he has hull#1 with twin Zuke 300's) and he himself was impressed with the F350's and would consider a future re-power with F350's over Z300's. Only thing better may be Verado SC350's but longevity and/or durability would likely be less than F350's and if Yami upped the power of the F350 to push out 400.
LOL
