carpeweekend
Crew Member
Yeah, that may make the most sense for the riggers.
Yes, the boat will have autopilot.
I am going with twin 350 Suzuki's. They also interface with the electronics.
New Salish 33' Liquid Metal Custom Build
- Thread starter carpeweekend
- Start date
Yes, the boat will have autopilot.
I am going with twin 350 Suzuki's. They also interface with the electronics.
carpeweekend
Crew Member
Thanks for the insights Bill. I will look at an external speaker for the VHF. And like your idea of doing a dash mock up to ensure that everything fits. I have brought this up and they have assured me that the electronics will all be flush mounted into the dash.
And yes, there are foot rests for the seats. Here are some pics.
Ok those seats and that upholstery work is fantastic. Very, very nice.
Whatever you do don't have your Fusion Radio mounted where an errant knee could bump it.
Someone I know bumped his radio and it went from English to Hungarian, after some work (after all everything was in Hungarian), the radio switched to (with confirmation from a pal) Cantonese . A few hours later I once again reached England's fair shores.
Whatever you do don't have your Fusion Radio mounted where an errant knee could bump it.
Someone I know bumped his radio and it went from English to Hungarian, after some work (after all everything was in Hungarian), the radio switched to (with confirmation from a pal) Cantonese . A few hours later I once again reached England's fair shores.
carpeweekend
Crew Member
Seats are from Shox (a local Victora company). Spec seat says Shox 3002 but might be Shox 3200? These pics are all from hull #2. Mine is hull #3 and the aluminum is just arriving for the build which will start in September.
carpeweekend
Crew Member
Here is a pic of captain's seat which shows the suspension better.
carpeweekend
Crew Member
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carpeweekend
Crew Member
The start of my build has been delayed until later this month but thought that I would post this video of the previous hull built on this design. Can't wait.
Rain City
Crew Member
I'll take three.
Just saw this thread, congrats! I just went thru the build process on my 35' x 11' Coldwater (same boat as @TomicTime but a bit smaller and Yami F300 outboards instead of twin diesel).
Here are my quick observations after 1.5 years of ownership. No opinions are wrong -- this is YOUR boat so whatever you chose is the RIGHT decision for you. Didn't read every detail of each post, so perhaps some of this is already discussed/irrelevant, but here goes...
Motors -- IMO more power is better. I have twin F300's and the boat cruises @ 25-28kt 4500RPM 0.9-1.1 statute mpg. Max speed is 37kt @ .7 mpg. Power is decent, gets on step no prob, though will fall off if under 23kt. In hindsight I wish I had gone with twin 425's so I could lower cruise RPMs, planing speed, power when needed (climbing backside of 5'-6' waves in following seas is pucker moment with twin 300's) and most importantly do on the water low unit fluid changes. Oil changes are easy on the water and cheap -- $200 USD OTD -- so triples would've been OK too. Yeah, there's more maintenance (filters, impellers, plugs, etc) but if you do it yourself the costs aren't bad at all going from twins to trips.
Fuel costs - You burn more fuel, but at this boat's price point you probably care less than about that than others. I burn ~3000 gallons over the entire year, and I fish a TON during the summer and long ranges too - avg daily trip is 20-40 miles round trip with a few 200+ mile trips in the mix. The annual boat cost is less than taking family for a single cross-country resort vacation for a week so relatively speaking boat costs peanuts for how much happiness, flexibility, and stress relief it gives me. Zero regrets thus far, only going to continue using it more.
Burnewiin's - They are AWESOME. The downrigger mounts are expensive but well worth it. I can disconnect in 2 seconds and stow in cabin to avoid theft and keep them out of the elements. You will need stainless mounts for the downriggers, which means you will want to make sure the builder is minimizing contact with the aluminum (dissimilar metal corrosion will happen quickly). The burnewiin plastic spacers don't help much -- add more if you can.
Consider adding an inverter. It's amazing how many times I want to run a microwave on the troll or anchor or use a chest freezer on longer trips. I pack a Honda gen (2200) but it's a pain lugging around and dealing with. I'm currently in the process of adding a 3K watt pure-sine inverter now, wish I had opted this in during the build.
Maximize your tank size. Range becomes an issue not only for the ability to reach the fishing grounds but also allows you to skip fuel stops where it is more expensive. No more having to come in early to hit the fuel dock before closing. It's funny how much you forget about fuel burn the less you fuel up. bigger tank == newfound freedom.
Make sure you have flexibility in adjusting the ballast to keep the boat level under all dynamic circumstances (ice, fish, folks standing in cockpit vs cabin, etc). Add freeman/fraser METAL hatches (not plastic!!) to the pod or as far aft as possible so you can put all your heavy stuff back there if you want (lead, tools, especially). Consider moving the freshwater tank further aft if necessary so you can level boat by adding water. You're gonna need freshwater anyway so might as well use it to your advantage. Make the freshwater tank as large as possible for this purpose.
Rear helm on port or starboard? Think about this carefully. On a larger boat, if you have a preferred side where YOU like to fish, consider putting the helm on the same side. I made this mistake. I fish on the port side since the kicker is there and I don't want my newbie guests fouling the prop with their gear, however I put the help on the starboard size. This adds ~2 extra steps to walk to adjust speed, etc on the troll and the rear plotter is that much further away.
Corrosion. You have a lot of external paint, consider not painting and using a combination of bare aluminum (protected by Sharkhide) and a vinyl wrap. Wraps are cheap and you can replace them in a day or two and change colors. Mine looks amazing today and zero peeling. I shaved $13K off the price by dropping external paint and doing a wrap. All those stainless fasteners and bolt-ons (e.g. burnewiin) will bubble the paint in short order. Make sure all screws have silicone on the threads to lessen (but not prevent) corrosion. Make sure ALL contact between sinks, helms, faucets, etc have a plastic/vinyl/plexiglass/etc spacer (not rubber -- it will degrade) to minimize effects.
Add extra USB/12V connections throughout boat. Phones, laptops, CPAP's, etc -- it seems they never are used where the connections are. Overdo this one, trust me.
Joystick vs. bow thruster. I chose bow thruster. The joystick was very expensive (25K), looks like it is very hard on the motors, loud, etc and just another system that will fail with all the mechanical/hydraulic effort involved. You can easily maneuever around the docks with twins and bow thruster after a bit of practice. Leave motors straight, hands off the wheel, just work the throttles to pivot boat, tap thruster only for slight adjustments to counter wind/drift. Super easy, I'm glad I didn't get the joystick.
Add a kicker. I run a Yami T25 fuel-injected kicker with my twin F300's. Saves fuel, keeps hours off main, pushes boat just fine. As mentioned by others, reverse is useless on a boat this size. In hindsight I should've gotten a 50hp for the extra responsiveness turning into the wind or putting guest broadside to their fish but 25HP gets it done.
FLIR M232 or MD625. Go with the Md625 -- only a few hundred bucks more and twice the resolution. Well worth the upgrade for greater definition.
suggest adding kick plates where folks' boots/shoes will scuff the interior paint. My builder added 1/4" clear plexiglass everywhere needed and it works great -- easy to wipe off all those black marks.
Use sharkhide everywhere you have exposed aluminum, and before you dunk the boat. This stuff works very well. And consider sharkhiding the bilge or wherever fog and humidity will reach. All that condensation will just leave salt deposits, so you really only get one good chance to do this before the effects begin.
Again, just my personal opinions. Hope this helps.
Best of luck!
-Barry
Here are my quick observations after 1.5 years of ownership. No opinions are wrong -- this is YOUR boat so whatever you chose is the RIGHT decision for you. Didn't read every detail of each post, so perhaps some of this is already discussed/irrelevant, but here goes...
Motors -- IMO more power is better. I have twin F300's and the boat cruises @ 25-28kt 4500RPM 0.9-1.1 statute mpg. Max speed is 37kt @ .7 mpg. Power is decent, gets on step no prob, though will fall off if under 23kt. In hindsight I wish I had gone with twin 425's so I could lower cruise RPMs, planing speed, power when needed (climbing backside of 5'-6' waves in following seas is pucker moment with twin 300's) and most importantly do on the water low unit fluid changes. Oil changes are easy on the water and cheap -- $200 USD OTD -- so triples would've been OK too. Yeah, there's more maintenance (filters, impellers, plugs, etc) but if you do it yourself the costs aren't bad at all going from twins to trips.
Fuel costs - You burn more fuel, but at this boat's price point you probably care less than about that than others. I burn ~3000 gallons over the entire year, and I fish a TON during the summer and long ranges too - avg daily trip is 20-40 miles round trip with a few 200+ mile trips in the mix. The annual boat cost is less than taking family for a single cross-country resort vacation for a week so relatively speaking boat costs peanuts for how much happiness, flexibility, and stress relief it gives me. Zero regrets thus far, only going to continue using it more.
Burnewiin's - They are AWESOME. The downrigger mounts are expensive but well worth it. I can disconnect in 2 seconds and stow in cabin to avoid theft and keep them out of the elements. You will need stainless mounts for the downriggers, which means you will want to make sure the builder is minimizing contact with the aluminum (dissimilar metal corrosion will happen quickly). The burnewiin plastic spacers don't help much -- add more if you can.
Consider adding an inverter. It's amazing how many times I want to run a microwave on the troll or anchor or use a chest freezer on longer trips. I pack a Honda gen (2200) but it's a pain lugging around and dealing with. I'm currently in the process of adding a 3K watt pure-sine inverter now, wish I had opted this in during the build.
Maximize your tank size. Range becomes an issue not only for the ability to reach the fishing grounds but also allows you to skip fuel stops where it is more expensive. No more having to come in early to hit the fuel dock before closing. It's funny how much you forget about fuel burn the less you fuel up. bigger tank == newfound freedom.
Make sure you have flexibility in adjusting the ballast to keep the boat level under all dynamic circumstances (ice, fish, folks standing in cockpit vs cabin, etc). Add freeman/fraser METAL hatches (not plastic!!) to the pod or as far aft as possible so you can put all your heavy stuff back there if you want (lead, tools, especially). Consider moving the freshwater tank further aft if necessary so you can level boat by adding water. You're gonna need freshwater anyway so might as well use it to your advantage. Make the freshwater tank as large as possible for this purpose.
Rear helm on port or starboard? Think about this carefully. On a larger boat, if you have a preferred side where YOU like to fish, consider putting the helm on the same side. I made this mistake. I fish on the port side since the kicker is there and I don't want my newbie guests fouling the prop with their gear, however I put the help on the starboard size. This adds ~2 extra steps to walk to adjust speed, etc on the troll and the rear plotter is that much further away.
Corrosion. You have a lot of external paint, consider not painting and using a combination of bare aluminum (protected by Sharkhide) and a vinyl wrap. Wraps are cheap and you can replace them in a day or two and change colors. Mine looks amazing today and zero peeling. I shaved $13K off the price by dropping external paint and doing a wrap. All those stainless fasteners and bolt-ons (e.g. burnewiin) will bubble the paint in short order. Make sure all screws have silicone on the threads to lessen (but not prevent) corrosion. Make sure ALL contact between sinks, helms, faucets, etc have a plastic/vinyl/plexiglass/etc spacer (not rubber -- it will degrade) to minimize effects.
Add extra USB/12V connections throughout boat. Phones, laptops, CPAP's, etc -- it seems they never are used where the connections are. Overdo this one, trust me.
Joystick vs. bow thruster. I chose bow thruster. The joystick was very expensive (25K), looks like it is very hard on the motors, loud, etc and just another system that will fail with all the mechanical/hydraulic effort involved. You can easily maneuever around the docks with twins and bow thruster after a bit of practice. Leave motors straight, hands off the wheel, just work the throttles to pivot boat, tap thruster only for slight adjustments to counter wind/drift. Super easy, I'm glad I didn't get the joystick.
Add a kicker. I run a Yami T25 fuel-injected kicker with my twin F300's. Saves fuel, keeps hours off main, pushes boat just fine. As mentioned by others, reverse is useless on a boat this size. In hindsight I should've gotten a 50hp for the extra responsiveness turning into the wind or putting guest broadside to their fish but 25HP gets it done.
FLIR M232 or MD625. Go with the Md625 -- only a few hundred bucks more and twice the resolution. Well worth the upgrade for greater definition.
suggest adding kick plates where folks' boots/shoes will scuff the interior paint. My builder added 1/4" clear plexiglass everywhere needed and it works great -- easy to wipe off all those black marks.
Use sharkhide everywhere you have exposed aluminum, and before you dunk the boat. This stuff works very well. And consider sharkhiding the bilge or wherever fog and humidity will reach. All that condensation will just leave salt deposits, so you really only get one good chance to do this before the effects begin.
Again, just my personal opinions. Hope this helps.
Best of luck!
-Barry
Attachments
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carpeweekend
Crew Member
Yeah, that is the same boat that is in the video. Apparently, Alberni Power has sold it and it us being used out of Tofino.
Pippen
Well-Known Member
Yes I think it is owned by Stephen who is the brother of Lutz who owns West Pacific Seafoods over there.
carpeweekend
Crew Member
Thanks for taking the time Barry. Love your boat - it looks awesome. Lots to digest. Some big decisions in the process. I will probably have a bunch of questions for you.
Aquaholic
Crew Member
That is beauty, Barry. Well done.
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Some excellent advice from BarryA.....I second the vote on the Burnewiins...very intelligent design, no more fumbling with knobs trying to get the DR’s attached, easy to get the DR’s off the gunnels and out of the elements and away from thieving eyes
I’m going to spend a lot of money stripping stainless railing off a new-to-me boat I just bought (with the DR pads) just to replace with Burnewiins
And yes, you can never have too much horsepower—better to have more then you need so you have dry powder on stand-by in sketchy conditions, and of course having the ability to get to cruise speed at lower RPM’s with a bigger boat
Regarding Optimus360: The boat I’m selling has them. The boat I just purchased also has them. If you look at the entire Optimus360 suite (joystick, SeaStation GPS anchoring system, and the Optimus auto pilot system,) it really is a nice package to have on a boat. I was skeptical at first: all those sophisticated electronics—-more to go wrong.
Meanwhile, I‘ve had two years of absolute trouble-free operation With that system. All the research I did prior to stepping up for my last boat showed that they are indeed reliable (as long as they were installed by a certified Optimus technician).
I agree that the Optimus360 can be aggressive (mechanically—-lots of shifting etc) on the outboards —- but when they’re combined with the Seastar/Dometic electric servo-motors, there are no hydraulics involved and it’s a smooth process. I never abused them—-who needs to spin 360 doughnuts to impress their friends? But they really come into their own at the fuel dock—-pin-point parallel parking with one touch of the joystick. If the wind is blowing, you push another button for added power—-boom, you’re against the dock .
But I’ll admit I‘m new to operating a boat with twins —-someone with more experience running twins can do the crab-walk to the fuel dock without the training wheels of the fancy joystick I need—ha ha
I’ve seen them operate with the DF350’s — amazing package, though I hope Suzuki has ironed out all the lower unit stuff they had going on with those outboards In the early years
I’m going to spend a lot of money stripping stainless railing off a new-to-me boat I just bought (with the DR pads) just to replace with Burnewiins
And yes, you can never have too much horsepower—better to have more then you need so you have dry powder on stand-by in sketchy conditions, and of course having the ability to get to cruise speed at lower RPM’s with a bigger boat
Regarding Optimus360: The boat I’m selling has them. The boat I just purchased also has them. If you look at the entire Optimus360 suite (joystick, SeaStation GPS anchoring system, and the Optimus auto pilot system,) it really is a nice package to have on a boat. I was skeptical at first: all those sophisticated electronics—-more to go wrong.
Meanwhile, I‘ve had two years of absolute trouble-free operation With that system. All the research I did prior to stepping up for my last boat showed that they are indeed reliable (as long as they were installed by a certified Optimus technician).
I agree that the Optimus360 can be aggressive (mechanically—-lots of shifting etc) on the outboards —- but when they’re combined with the Seastar/Dometic electric servo-motors, there are no hydraulics involved and it’s a smooth process. I never abused them—-who needs to spin 360 doughnuts to impress their friends? But they really come into their own at the fuel dock—-pin-point parallel parking with one touch of the joystick. If the wind is blowing, you push another button for added power—-boom, you’re against the dock .
But I’ll admit I‘m new to operating a boat with twins —-someone with more experience running twins can do the crab-walk to the fuel dock without the training wheels of the fancy joystick I need—ha ha
I’ve seen them operate with the DF350’s — amazing package, though I hope Suzuki has ironed out all the lower unit stuff they had going on with those outboards In the early years
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Rain City
Crew Member
Even the best operator of standard twins can't compete with what counter steering engines can do. Especially in a bigger boat with lots of windage. I'm pretty good at the crab walk but all the pride and ego in the world won't make my boat sit still and glide straight out of a slip. I'm always a little in awe watching it when guys have that system. My dream boat would have that, 100%.
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Lots of great advice. I’ve walked around the previous build that you posted and talked with the owner. One thing they wanted was an adjustable top for the back deck. I’ve got one on my boat that is on rails and can slide back when raining, then slide forward when fishing. This is really handy to maximize deck space when salmon fishing.
kaelc
Crew Member
Great insight. Are there any other brands size of engines where you can do on the water oil changes easily?
On cost I used to say this to my brother about maintenance on his inboard including haul out. Are you including moorage, depreciation and a maintenance contingency? I love using boat math but my wife never seems to care that I don’t drink, do drugs, ride motor bikes or have a mistress when I say boatings cheap.
Does yours have the stainless blue seas 12v outlets on deck anywhere? Do you know what brand they use for the USB one and are they standing up to the elements inside at least?
On the FLIR how much was it approximately and how much do you use it? I was thinking it would be great for tuna runs on my boat so I could go out at hull speed 5-7mpg in the night and be on the grounds in the morning.
Thanks again for all the tips!
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