SEABUDDY
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Archive for the ‘new boats’ Category

She fools our eyes about how much headroom there is here

It is a boat that one can go fishing, go cruising, or go offshore in that defines what you want in your next boat? A 900 horsepower deep v that can troll for fish or blast across the waves and chop to reach offshore fishing grounds quickly? A new boat design that uses hi-tech boat construction to go fast, stay together, and do it in style?

Statement Marine has a new center console boat. It is powered with three 300 horsepower outboard engines to give you what you want in fish boat. SUV is a fairly new term in the boat business. It suggests a boat that does it all for a boat owner. This one is offered as a cuddy that sleeps two and still fishes from a massive cockpit. It is an offshore style hull married to a center console cockpit and a small cuddy cabin boat design.

This fiberglass boat is a 37’ 1” long center console with a “sleeper cabin” boat with a 10’ beam. That means that she is trailer able with an easy-to-get permit. She weighs about 5 tons with three engines. Get the 300 gallon tankage with the three engines. The boat has a twin step 24 degree hull that is balanced with this power at cruising and top speeds.

Special features to check out when you inspect this center console. The switches at the helm station, the SUV seating, the spacious head inside the center console that is accessed from the front side of it, and the unique “walking transom” around the engine mounting platform. One of the best features is the side mounted boarding and fish landing door in the hull side.

Seabuddy thanks Statement Marine for these photos.

look at the switches and the layout

Cruising at high speed in a Mercury Marine powered 35' Baja Marine

Baja breaks past the 100 MPH top speed mark with twin 700 Horsepower Mercury Marine Racing engines in the boat test. This is a 24 degree deep vee offshore racer style performance boat that ran just past 100 MPH at 5,500 RPM using 34” pitch propellers.  She is a go-fast that weighs 8,100 lbs.

The boat tested had 50 plus MPH performance at 3,000 RPMS and 75 MPH speeds at 4,000 RPMS. All of these are very solid boat performance numbers. Her 95 MPH speed at 5,000 RPMS is also very good.

She is a Baja Marine Outlaw 35 model. A 35’ 0” long (longer if you count the swim platform) with an 8’ 6” beam go-fast fiberglass boat. Fuel capacity was 185 gallons.

An 8,100 weight for a 35 footer boat is not light. Baja does not want trouble with their Outlaw boats. They like a nicely finished pleasure boat cockpit and cabin. The boat has plenty of seat padding in the cockpit area and a good sized and well padded bed in the cabin.

Merc Racing puts a supercharger on its 502 cubic inch engine to develop 700 Horsepower in the 4,800 to 5,200 RPM range. Using special, Hi-Po parts, Mercury Marine set the compression ratio at 7.5 to 1. Also, she is a sequential fuel injected power plant. Try the NXT I/O outdrive (or stern drive). Theses motors and outdrives come with a one year limited warranty for recreational boating. The best top speed props are over-the-hub exhaust design 4 blade cleavers. Seabuddy thanks Baja Marine and Mercury Marine Racing for the photos.

This is the 700 horsepower 502 Mercury Marine Racing engine

Running towards the fish in a 390 Sea Vee center console boat

Here is a boat that gives you a reason to buy a new outboard center console boat. She can use 4 outboards, carry up to 40 rods, and boat (land) a fish easily.

This is a big fishing boat. The Sea Vee 390 Center Console fish boat is right sized for proper wave spanning (bridging the waves). She has a deep vee hull shape with a 22.5 degree deadrise at her transom and a sharp hull entry up front. This is not a stepped hull. She runs a traditional deep vee bottom shape for her good performance, even at low planning speeds. While a hull step may increase top speed numbers, this hull gives good speed with equally good cruising ability.

She is fast. Think 70 MPH type speeds with four outboards. 1,200 Horsepower in a seven ton performance boat with the right hull shape makes for a Go-Fast boat. Use a lesser number of outboard engines if you do not need such a Go-Fast. Boats have been powered with both twin and triple engines.

Rod storage in the console, leaning post seat back, the rocket launcher, and below deck inside the rod lockers allows for a fisherman to carry up to forty fishing rods. That is almost over-kill on rod storage for some. Others want their choice of equipment onboard every day they go fishing. This see Vee center console allows for that desire.

The really knock-your-socks-off fishing feature in this boat is its hull side door that rethinks how easy it can be to land a fish. No gaff is needed! This is a fishing feature that needs to be fully explored to see how it makes your fishing experience better. Use your helm and outboard power to get your catch onboard. The door opens alongside the boat’s hull to forward rather than down in the water to enable a fisherman to do this new trick.

The See Vee 390 center console is a 39’0” by 11’ boat that weighs approximately 7 tons with four outboards on her transom. She has standard tankage for 570 gallons of fuel. By the way, 22.5 degrees of dead rise at the transom of a 39’ boat is a good set-up for offshore high speed runs to the fishing grounds. Photos provided by Sea Vee.

1,200 horsepower powering a 390 Sea Vee center console fish boat

Monterey boate bow rider running well fast, high on plane, and dry

Here is one of the most popular bow riders being offered today, the 224 FSX model by Monterey boats. She is a 22’9” LOA boat with her dock side float and water access swim platform included in the measurement. The beam is a full width 8’6” wide. Couple this great riding hull with a 300 horsepower stern drive and have fun on the water.

Many folks do not really take the time to understand that the most important part of a bow rider boat is the hull and the amount of time and testing that went into making it the best it can be for your use. One boat builder may advertise that they will float if you have an accident. That does not say anything about how their boat planes, is a spray-free, dry riding boat, or that it turns well. Oh! How about quick to plane times? You need to decide what is important to your family and then seabuddy suggests that you try out or test drive the top two boats for your needs.

How about room up in the bow cockpit? Then, do you have good grab handles, storage space(s), drink cup holders, good seat back comfort, speakers for your music for Mom and the kids to use? The bow seats are the kid’s seats in most boating families and they often will spend their time up there, in their own cockpit compartment, away from the their parents. Kids close the center opening part of the windshield and forget that anyone else is on board. Boating is freedom. Kids want it just like parents do. Monterey’s 224 FSX (FSX=Facet Series Extreme) offers it.

The boat builder gave you a big enough fuel tank for all day fun, as it’s a big 55 gallon tank. Check what the other boat offers. It a deep, safe bow rider boat that is designed to be able to carry 1,900 lbs. of people and gear according to C.G. regulations.

If you think that you want fun on the water, arrange to go on a test ride on this boat. Seabuddy thanks Monterey boats for the use of their photo in this article.

The Allison Grand Sport boat with an older Mercury Marine engine

Allison boats may have the fastest sport boat (speeds to 80 MPH) made for this game changer Mercury marine four stroke outboard. This engine is right on or over the edge of what the boat can run according to Allison Boats. It is a hand crafted composite boat that uses metal, fiberglass, PVC coring, Kevlar, and AME resin to get a 5 seat deluxe sport boat that weights under 980 LBS. without an outboard motor or accessories like a battery, fuel, or boat gear.

It is a race boat derived hull design from race winning Allison boats coupled with a pleasure boat deck and cockpit that gives ultra high performance to this sport boat. She is 20’ 3” in length over all, with a centerline length of 19’. The beam is 87”. It is a true high performance sport boat.

The most recent 150 Horsepower four stroke outboard from Mercury Marine is said to be a tough, small, light (for a four stroke) engine that beats its competition. It is a high displacement outboard. It has the displacement that is similar to other outboards that develop over 250 Hp. That gives high torque and that gives a fast out of the hole shot times or fast 0 to 30 mph acceleration numbers (it also has a torque curve that is in the same class as a two stroke). That is saying something for this new four stroke. Many of the engine and drive parts are oversize. That gives it more durability than other outboards. It comes with a full warranty, including a no rust aspect to the warranty.

Seabuddy thanks Allison boats and Mercury marine for the boat and outboard motor photo images.

2012 Mercury Marine four stroke outboard

Photo Mercury Racing 9 liter 1,350 Hp gas super Turbo charged engine

It is a four cam, port fuel injection, turbocharged, 9 liter, 6,500 rpm redlined marine engine that comes with a warranty. Special exhaust tuning and electronics keep turbo lag out of the picture. She gives reduced time-to-plane acceleration and continuing push you back into your seat back punch all the way to a boat’s  top speed.

The engine has a bore of 4.57 inches with a stroke of 4.21 inches for a displacement of 552 cubic inches or 9 liters. The full throttle operating rpm is 6000 to 6500 rpm. It has a sequential fuel injection system.  With the multiple turbo set-up the compression ratio is 7.8 to 1. She meets with EPA and CARB emissions requirements for 50 state boating enjoyments.

This engine is so strong that Merc Racing had to invent new propellers to handle the power. The entire driveline and its dry sump M8 surface style stern drive have also been strengthened.

A M8 surface-piercing stern drive with a Mercury Racing hydraulic transmission handles high torque and power levels with ease for improved handling and exceptional performance

MTI came out with a 48 foot long with a 10’ 6” beam catamaran that matched up perfectly with two of these engines. It was displayed at the most recent Miami Boat Show and wowed the Very High Hi Performance crowd attending that show. Twin gas fueled engines was the popular way to power many of the Go Fast boats this year.

Seabuddy says many thanks to Mercury Marine Racing for these photos.

48' Cat from MTI with with twin 1,350 Hp gas Mercury Marine engines

Bow on view of the new 2012 center console fishing 50' boat

She is a center console fishing boat that is 50 feet long and goes 60 MPH with twin engines. That is different. Now, part of the speed comes from the racing heritage of her boat builder. Some speed comes from their Nor Step ventilated hull bottom. The final component of this performance center console fish boat is the high tech hand laid fiberglass construction using tri directional and bi directional fiberglass materials.

Nor Tech Hi Performance Boats uses only 960 total horsepower (twin 480 Hp. diesels) to get the sixty mph top speed. That kind of performance in a full fifty foot boat that weights in at seven and a half tons and in a fully found luxury boat is amazing! Yes, the beam is narrow (9’) for good offshore rough water performance at speed, but the speed numbers verses the size and weight numbers speak for themselves.

Is more speed possible? Yes. Add more horsepower. Heck, even add another engine. Nor-Tech Hi Performance Boats has done this hull with triples. They can do it with outboards. They are a custom boat builder. Name it and they can do it, and will do it with a routine that will startle you on how easy it is during the boat build with them. Just ask that they use their Nor Tech vented boat bottom. The proper coring and reinforcement is an important part of the culture of their Hi-Performance boat building.

Is this one too big of a center console fish boat for you? Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats builds center consoles in many other boat lengths. Call them.

Looking back at the Center Console of the 60 MPH Nor Tech 50' boat

at cruising speed in the 2013 Zeelander 44 luxury sport yacht

A designed and made in Europe boat is now being made in Holland, MI after a multi-month long move of the boat tooling and parts from its prior European boat builder. This 2013 mini yacht is going to be shown by Bob Fritsky at some Marine Max locations. It would be best to contact him for more detailed information.

Set to sell for roughly 1.2 million with twin Volvo-Penta IPS 600 diesels for power, she is a stunner. The IPS 600 model name for the Volvo diesels relates to the speed they provide with the Volvo-Penta IPS system pod drive rather than a typical horsepower rating. Since the drive system is so efficient, a yachtsman uses less HP to save fuel while still getting the performance that she or he want in their boat. Volvo Penta does not hide the horsepower rating for these engines. They publish in their literature that these engines are 435 Horsepower each, or 870 combined in this boat model.

To get excellent performance, Franck Mulder, the naval architect for the Z 44 hull shape for Zeelander, chose a slightly narrow beam and Hi-Tec, light weight construction specification sheet to keep the boat light on the water. The balance of the design was done by Cor D. Rover.

S2 yachts (S2 = stands for Slikkers second company) is now the very capable boat builder for this yacht. S2 is better known as Tiara boats to most boaters and is still a privately held business within the founding Slikkers family. MarineMax is the retail sales dealer and Bob Fritsky is the contact person.

This boat is a four person sleeper in two berths mini-yacht originally conceived in 2005 and in production since the 2009 model year.

Check out boarding/accessibility from the float it is tied to and the garage storage for a dingy when you inspect this 2013 model year boat.

Cockpit of Zeelander 44 mini yacht 44 luxury boat sold at Marine Max

Fun in the sun on a 2012 Chaparral 226 bow rider

Here is a family boat that is the answer to the tale of pleasing two performance boating goals. One or more of the family goes after a thrill pleasing boat. The other one or group want comfortable seating, a place to catch some sun, easy cockpit entrance from a float or pier, and a roomy, feature-filled cockpit. This second want is just as much a performance boat goal as top speed or turning ability.

The 2012 Chaparral 226 easily does speeds in the 53-55 MPH range when you put the throttle down on a Mercury Marine Mercruiser 300 horsepower marine engine.  This is a marine chevy engine based Mercury engine coupled to either a Mercury Marine Alpha stern drive or a Mercury Marine Bravo I out drive. Go with an Alpha drive if real smooth shifting is not that important to you and you know you will not be jumping a lot of wakes, trying to fly the boat. It is a faster top speed I/O and a cheaper power package to purchase. A Bravo I will bring more money back upon resale, but this boat really satisfies so that may be a long time away.

Well designed and correctly powered for a runabout boat, she gives an excellent all-day cruising fuel economy in the 2,500 rpm (20-22 MPH) to 3,000 rpm (26-28 MPH) range. Move up to 4,000 rpms (right at say, 40 MPH) and gas mileage suffers. I like the feel of the boat responding to the drive trim by lighting up and adding more speed to the boat without adding more gas.

Chaparral fashions a different bow shape at the deck line to give a roomier than most bow and main cockpit interior. The walk thru makes boarding this boat easy. And seabuddy gives Chaparral supplied photos showing the adjustable sun lounge positions of the padded aft area.

Recessed cleats shown are optional, but worth it. 2012 Chaparral 226

Top Fish a 2012 center console 39 Cigarette Racing outboard boat

The open edition of this sport fishing center console offers more fish fighting space while still offering a head compartment that has over 6 feet of headroom. Seating for a bunch of family and fishing friends are standard with both cockpit layouts. The Console is also the same for both.

She comes with 900 horsepower as standard equipment with 1,050 horsepower as an optional choice. Both of these three engines on-the-transom packages are with Mercury Marine Verado or Mercury Racing Verado outboard engines.

This Top Fish fishing boat is a 39 foot by 10 foot high performance son of a offshore racing boat that weights 12,600 lbs. She carries 418 gallons in her gas fuel tanks.

This is the company that built boats for Billy Martin, Betty Cook, Bob Norskog, Tom
Gentry, and Rocky Aoki on Thunderboat Row.

Cigarette Racing has moved from their combined 30,000 square foot buildings on NE 188^th Street in North Miami, Fl to a purpose built 150,000 square foot building in Opa Locka, FL several years ago. That new building allowed Skip Braver, owner of Cigarette Racing, to really do up his plans for research and development in addition to offshore racing as well as do terrific paint jobs, cockpit treatments, and interior work on his boats. The company has moved ahead in its product line-up since then and this is one of the boats that is the result. It has proved to be a smash hit. Enough of a hit that it birthed a big sister in 2012 now. That boat requires an inspection, too if a fast and fun fishing is what you had in mind.

note the cockpit seating in the 2012 Cigarette Racing Top Fish