Wanaflatsfish Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 We finished enough on the boat to take her for a sea trial. No pics yet....next trip..... Capt DonH and I took her to Choko for a sea-trail and fishing trip. Overall B+ on the first trip. We ran 41 miles. Check our gas/fuel usage and found we are getting about 4-4.5 miles per gallon....others who have one, please comment....this will give me a range of about 30 miles out and back with fuel to spare - e.g. 18 gallons = 72 miles Still lots of detail to fix....I've been travelling a good bit and have not had a chance to fix some things... 1.) The Ulterra is unbelievable ! Pure and simple, it makes the boat.... The ability to drop and go as soon as you arrive to the spot is work it's weight in gold. We normally stop 75-100 yards from a spot and like to trolling motor over...it allows me to stop, hit the down, put it on "N" and then get the boat ready to fish at each stop. A couple of items - Conocean - you are correct - it's a bit noisy when it deploys and stows...but, given how far I stop away, i don't think it's an issue for our style of feeshing..... The ability to adjust the up and down depth is worth it's weight in gold....no more stopping, pulling on cords and levers, etc. The only thing to remember, it deploys to the last depth seen....so, if you are int he shallows, you need to remember this...plus, when it hits the bottom in the mud, it will not start..it's sensitive... over all adjustment with the Ulterra - A+. The boat review: I can tell you, we are in love with the open cock-pit...no more banging rods on the console, the front deck is like a dance platform..it has more room than I remembered for feeshing... we found the boat very stable for two fisherman and the side console is really nice for the p***enger who can stretch out the legs for ride. With the 80 lb thrust of the Ulterra you can almost water ski it has so much power...really nice...we used the TM all day, (I have the 27's DEKA's) and they performed flawlessly....we were on the troller for about 2 hours straight... The other nice option of the trolling motor is how it works wight the power pole -it has very precise thrust..and you can hold the boat sideways in a current to fish a bank...as well, the anchor lock worked well when required....but, it does tend to make a bit of noise at anchor lock as it starts and stops..but, it works. Pathy 17T - ride... As always known, any chop and you get wet and beat up....so, leave it at that...bring your frog togs and enjoy....but, for our style of fishing these days, I'm no longer fishing in heavy weather conditions....it it's blowing, we can hide in the mangroves of Chokoloskee. The boat is super sensitive to tabs and trim...but, once we got it down, she ran well... I'm running the stabilizer plate on the lower unit and don't know if it's the right decision? would be interested in others who have them or comment. Overall WOT was at 27mph, fully loaded...I'm not getting high enough RPM, and I thinking it might be over propped? Don't know, need to look at this aspect.. More to come...but, here's the first report. dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limitless Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Dino and Don: That sounds like a great shake down and that she's rigged out right and everything you guys wanted. Glad to see you back on the water in that Mav. Only thing you left out is: "how was the Feeeeeshing??". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Dino and Don: That sounds like a great shake down and that she's rigged out right and everything you guys wanted. Glad to see you back on the water in that Mav. Only thing you left out is: "how was the Feeeeeshing??". First Trip: lost one 8-10 lbr red at the boat....caught on trolling motor - I forgot the net 3 small rat reds up in Storter... one black drum who came home.... and more trout than you can count....kept two nice ones for dinner..lots of shorts.... Getting our "Mojo" back...we'll be one the water every week going forward....weather permitting Nothing Picture worthy..but, next trip, she'll be ready to do some photos and updates.... dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtaco Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I had a Bob's stabilizer (anti cavitation) plate on my 17t, with a 60hpmYammie. I don't recall it making all the difference in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qman Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I had a 17t with trim tabs didn't really need a cavitation plate. Between the trim tabs and pt four blade prop it jumped up good. Now my seaark tunnel has no trim tabs so I use a cougar marine cav plate on it. It's a longer plate with fins down the sides that push the water back onto the prop. It does a good job on this boat with holeshot etc. Don't see your plate helping much unless you don't use trim tabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justfish Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Different boat but my experience on the Bobs plate on my Bayfisher was negligible. Literally couldn't tell the difference one way or another except maybe, maybe being able to maintain slightly slower speed on plane. Great guys and quality product for the $, but I ended up taking mine off. BTW, It should really only help/hurt on hole shot cause the anti-cav plate that it's mounted on top of should be out of water on high speed plane if your motor hole setting is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishtaco Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 maybe being able to maintain slightly slower speed on plane. I did see a difference here as well. Forgot all about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatsdoctor Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 I used to run the boat with the trim tabs down on one side and up on the other. Using the edge of the boat as a "V" to cut through the chop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVan Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 I had the "Shaw Wing" (made by Stiffy products) on my 17T. As others have mentioned, it definitely helped on the hole shot, particularly with the low HP motor (50 HP). I also agree that it would allow me run slower on a plane and I also believe it would allow me to run the jackplate higher and still keep water pressure. Did not notice any effect on top end. Top end for me was around 30 to 34 depending on wind, waves and load. As Doc mentioned, run the boat on the leeward chine to help block spray and wind and cut through the chop better. My p***enger would either sit on a mid-mounted cooler or on the leeward front deck facing aft (which actually put them in front of most of the spray). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenC Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Trim tabs: What Carlos said about canting the boat in chop. Also, I "carve" tight turns (sort of the way a skier does) by trimming down on the side I'm turning to and up on the other side....helps a whole lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted February 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Trim tabs: What Carlos said about canting the boat in chop. Also, I "carve" tight turns (sort of the way a skier does) by trimming down on the side I'm turning to and up on the other side....helps a whole lot. Good advice....I normally just trim down full in tight curve... dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted February 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 I had the "Shaw Wing" (made by Stiffy products) on my 17T. As others have mentioned, it definitely helped on the hole shot, particularly with the low HP motor (50 HP). I also agree that it would allow me run slower on a plane and I also believe it would allow me to run the jackplate higher and still keep water pressure.Did not notice any effect on top end. Top end for me was around 30 to 34 depending on wind, waves and load. As Doc mentioned, run the boat on the leeward chine to help block spray and wind and cut through the chop better. My p***enger would either sit on a mid-mounted cooler or on the leeward front deck facing aft (which actually put them in front of most of the spray). Rob, Do you remember what prop you were running and RPMs @ WOT? I'm seeing (27-28 WOT) @ 46 RPMs. It's a 4 blade PT, dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVan Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 The prop was not a PT. I will have to see if I can find any old photos as I am not sure of the size. With the jackplate around 3, tabs all the way retracted, and the motor trimmed up to where the boat would just stop porpoising (I was getting spray just in front of the console)I would see about 5700 - 5800 rpm. I wanted to tweak the prop to see if I could get another couple hundred RPM but figured I would be lucky if I picked up another mile an hour (and rarely ran at full throttle anyway). The motor spun up well on the hole shot so was happy with the setup. Sounds like you are over propped. Time for a call to the Monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted February 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Sounds like you are over propped. Time for a call to the Monkey. Overpropped...it's a tiny little thing compared to my OFX 17 Yes, I"ll get the specs and call the monkey. dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LenC Posted February 17, 2016 Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 FWIW, Dino, the prop on my 60 2-stroke Yamaha is a 15 pitch four blade PT. (YM90SCD4R15P) When I'm solo, the hole shot is amazing. With two others in the boat, not so much, but I'd bet that would change if I had a few more horses with the same prop. I rarely go much over 25 here in Estero Bay. Fastest I've ever seen (per Garmin) was 41 - - way too fast for that boat! That was in perfect conditions, BTW. But low to mid-thirties with two in the boat is easy to do when there's no chop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.