New Salish 33' Liquid Metal Custom Build

Everyone has a preference.
I would not want an outward swinging door. If someone leans on the door believing it's latched and it's not they may fall out and into the chuck. I much prefer the inward swing for this reason. Guys are always bracing themselves on the transom.
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Too much power? How do you back-troll? I always keep stern into wind, both engines on and in neutral 90% of the time, then kick one of them in reverse to get the lines straightish. Which motor i shift depends on whith way the boat needs to turn(which side is going under the boat), but they are only in reverse 10% of the time. Problem I see with virtual anchors is that often backtrolling is not to keep yourself geostationary, trying to do that messes with line angles, its to keep your drift in tune with subsurface currents.



Backtrolling on a kicker SUCKS. have you tried trimming yours up a fair ways so your'e bot bouncing propwash off the transom? being centred should make it not as terrible.
I used to backtroll with a kicker on my 23 hourston, worked slick.....set the revs and Just turn the wheel now and again from the aft station. I find with the big twins I'm always in and out of gear AND steering with the scope of the lines ever changing....just too darn busy. Conversely with just a little steady astern power to straighten the lines from the kicker, they would stay up and down the boat will seek the wind by the stern.....usually. Sometimes on the bank it was so ****** we were back trolling on the hook to keep things sorted. Of course we'd never be able to trim up cause it would be out of the water half the time in the swell, ya it was extra longshaft.
 
Is there the risk of having the motors too far apart and one main engine coming out of the water on a hard turn when you mount the kicker in the middle?

for that to happen, you would have to be HARD over port or starboard and your transom to be more than 45 degrees on 90 % of the boats on the coast. a cat hull maybe …but wow i’d like to see that
 
Everyone has a preference.
I would not want an outward swinging door. If someone leans on the door believing it's latched and it's not they may fall out and into the chuck. I much prefer the inward swing for this reason. Guys are always bracing themselves on the transom.
I'm a fan of the inward swing on a Boston Whaler conquest. Venturing out on the transom to top up 2-stroke oil out at Swiftsure in massive swells and wind was a highlight of my spring last year, wouldn’t have wanted to do that unexpectedly with an unlatched outward swing as my buddy would never have found me.
1st question I have is power. Was planning to run 2 x 350hp Suzuki's. I have twin 200 Zukes on my present boat and love how quiet they are and easy to troll with.
I spoke to a boat owner who had a 34' Northwest with the same power (and weight) and he assured me that it was sufficient. Boat will be around 15,000 pounds when full of fuel. I want to be able to cruise at 25 -30 knots without taxing the engines and was hoping for a range of 275 - 300 nm. Hull #1 that LM built was powered with triple 300's and Hull #2 with twin 600's. Both owners wanted a go fast boat. I really don't want to jump up in power and add weight while losing range just for the ability to hit 50 knots.
If I jump up in size it would probably be to twin Yamaha 425's or Merc 450's? I'm also adding the Optimus 360 Joystick.

Thoughts, comments?
What’s your current boat and expected completion date? I dream of twin Zuki 200’s or even one!
 
I'm a fan of the inward swing on a Boston Whaler conquest. Venturing out on the transom to top up 2-stroke oil out at Swiftsure in massive swells and wind was a highlight of my spring last year, wouldn’t have wanted to do that unexpectedly with an unlatched outward swing as my buddy would never have found me.

What’s your current boat and expected completion date? I dream of twin Zuki 200’s or even one!
Boat should be ready for next Spring. I have a 27 foot Raider presently. Sheet metal fabrication is scheduled to start in August. Can't say enough good things about the Suzuki's. I like the inward swing as well.
A lot of my reason in wanting the Optimus system is to be able to stay relatively stationary on a spot when fishing halibut or ling. Nothing beats anchoring but also a PITA to be setting and resetting. As far as docking goes, I am confident in docking with just the engines but obviously the Optimus would give me some additional maneuverability. Pretty hard to back troll in strong currents/weather no matter what system you employ.
 
Boat should be ready for next Spring. I have a 27 foot Raider presently. Sheet metal fabrication is scheduled to start in August. Can't say enough good things about the Suzuki's. I like the inward swing as well.
A lot of my reason in wanting the Optimus system is to be able to stay relatively stationary on a spot when fishing halibut or ling. Nothing beats anchoring but also a PITA to be setting and resetting. As far as docking goes, I am confident in docking with just the engines but obviously the Optimus would give me some additional maneuverability. Pretty hard to back troll in strong currents/weather no matter what system you employ.
Yeah, backtrolling in nice for august, not so nice for April may June in swells and winch chop. I would love to skip anchoring for a virtual anchor it would be nice to try a couple spots in Vic In a day but with 500’ feet of anchor line and a massive anchor/chain, fishing all day and winching the boat back on the trailer is a big day. I’ve never caught a ling anchored but even slowing down the drift would be nice. Did you look at the Lowrance Ghost and other options on the electrical side for the 27?

Nice that your wife is on board for marinas. I was chatting with a client yesterday who said their boat is a marriage saver. Much different than the guy with a sea Ray with the boat name Eat Drink and Remarry.
 
Yeah, backtrolling in nice for august, not so nice for April may June in swells and winch chop. I would love to skip anchoring for a virtual anchor it would be nice to try a couple spots in Vic In a day but with 500’ feet of anchor line and a massive anchor/chain, fishing all day and winching the boat back on the trailer is a big day. I’ve never caught a ling anchored but even slowing down the drift would be nice. Did you look at the Lowrance Ghost and other options on the electrical side for the 27?

Nice that your wife is on board for marinas. I was chatting with a client yesterday who said their boat is a marriage saver. Much different than the guy with a sea Ray with the boat name Eat Drink and Remarry.
Did he have a bowthruster that looked like this?
 

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Thanks for everyone's input. It has informed a lot of my design decisions. I got rid of the deck box and will have cooler tide downs welded in. Adding a plate on the roof for a future davit install. The aluminum is due to arrive next week and the build will start in earnest in early September. About to order some of the accessories and electronics and wanted to get everyone's input before placing the order.
 
Here we go for electronics:

-Simrad NSS Evo3s multi-function displays - 2 x 12" screens at forward helm (flush mounted) and 1 x 12' screen at rear helm.
- Simrad Halo24 Radome
- Simrad Xsonic 175H-W thru hull transducer.
- iCom M510 VHF w/ additional command mic and external speaker at 2nd station
- FLIR M232 or MD625 thermal camera (controlled by Simrad displays).
- Seakeeper 2 gyro stabilizer. Using two Discover Lithium Blue batteries to power them.
- rear facing Simrad IP Cam-1 with wide angle lens to be able to monitor rods when driving from the front helm station - will be able to display live view on one of the displays.
- Shakespeare Super halo wireless cell phone booster.

Let me know your thoughts on the transducer. Plan to have a second transducer (probably just a transom mount) and thoughts on that too? Also, I would appreciate if anyone has experience or insights into FLIR and which model might be best?
 
Also, I am looking to have a 3rd downrigger mount as I figure that a 10'6" beam should give me the ability to fish 3 riggers. Thoughts on placement of the 3rd rigger? I was planning on putting the two rigger mounts near the back corners but not right on the corners as shown in the picture below - should this change at all with a 3rd rigger in the mix?

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Are you putting a dedicated mount for a trap puller? It's on my 14 page to-do list on mine.
 
Wider picture of back deck so we can see better the space you are working with?
I don't have a great picture but this may help. The centre portion is a fish box so I can't really mount it there. There is some room on the left of the fish box but that wouldn't provide easy access from the swim grid as it is on the opposite side of the door. I might see if they can build a bracket as a bump out on the outside of the rear, near the door - similar to the fuel tank fills that you can see on the picture.IMG_4160.jpeg
 
Also, I am looking to have a 3rd downrigger mount as I figure that a 10'6" beam should give me the ability to fish 3 riggers. Thoughts on placement of the 3rd rigger? I was planning on putting the two rigger mounts near the back corners but not right on the corners as shown in the picture below - should this change at all with a 3rd rigger in the mix?

View attachment 83496

I would have 2 riggers on the side, about 24" forward from the corners and the third right on the same corner side that the rear helm is on for easier reach, fished straight back off the transom. Good call on ditching the deck box.

I've been really happy with the simrad electronics on my boat, except with the halo20 radome I have. Just exchanged for a new dome today, hopefully that solves my problems. Don't forget to add an autopilot! Game changer for fishing.

Not sure if you have decided on power, but Mercury engines interface really well with simrad electronics. I can control my engines on my simrad displays, trim and rpm for trolling, it's the cats meow.
 
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- iCom M510 VHF w/ additional command mic and external speaker at 2nd station

I would add an external speaker for both radios.

I am heading to the border this morning to pick up an external speaker for inside the cabin. You can always turn the volume down if the external speaker is too loud.

If I were to do one thing differently , and if I was building a boat of your size. I would build a cardboard mock up of both panels and lay everything out well in advance. The new Furuno is far deeper (thicker) than the ones Robert had installed on earlier boats and as a result it had to be mounted from the upper bulkhead. I find on occasion looking up at the screen while running into the sun makes things hard to see, the same goes with the radio.

The increased cost of a tilt wheel was silly, and they have a limited adjustment reangle but it was worth every penny.

The same for the Shock Wave adjustable foot rests- they are fantastic.
 
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