ID and advice on this 25?

Megabyte · Apr 1, 2010

flipfloplife":1fk3s7d8 said:
ehhh ... bear with me and my crazy notions -- i'd rather not have the back wall to the pilot house. could i make it go away?

Yes, you could.
The open back pilothouse was a no-cost option from Parker (and still is so far as I know).

If you need detail photos, I have some that I took for another member who wanted to do the same thing.

pelagic2530 · Apr 1, 2010

its not bolted, you'll have to bust out the saw, but its been done before. most people who cut it elect to go for a half and half style arrangement, but you could get rid of it totally. i personally love the open back, totally opens up the boat when you want it and closes right up when you want the extra protection. i highly doubt it has any weight bearing properties, but when in doubt check with the factory. they'll tell you everything you need to know.

flipfloplife · Apr 2, 2010

Mega -- heck yeah i'd like pictures -- did you open the back up on yours or is that factory? it REALLY looks good! that canvas and isenglas work looks top notch (the rest of your boat ain't bad either...)

pelagic -- what is this half/half arrangement of which you speak? my thoughts on it are thus -- my "second station" will be up in the tower - not out back. so if i'm trolling along and hear that sweet "zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz" of drag pulling then what i usually do (when singlehanded) is take a slight check turn into the direction of the rod that went off - hit the autopilot - chop the throttles down to just above idle - and then hustle my ass off to go grab the rod. in my cc that works -- but with either steering station in the parker i'm looking at that process is going to be a challenge (and if you don't do it fast enough then the damn sharks get most of your tuna!). SO -- what i'm thinking is that w/o a back to the PH it would be faster. plus it might cool things down a bit w/ good airflow in the summer. i see that a lot of you have the second station in the back, which is admittedly pretty badass (especially for slow troll, pulling traps, etc) - but i REALLY need the tower ... soooo...

thanks for the thoughts on this, much appreciated.

flipfloplife · Apr 2, 2010

FFactory - nice dolphin!

FF & Nauti -- good call on the engine thing -- i did a bunch of homework yesterday. sounds like worst case i could do a pair of new powerheads for about $5000 (total). the other plus is that while i do a lot of head scratching and book reading when doing maintenance on my Yam300HPDI (because it's it's got more fuel pumps and oil injectors than any engine should EVER need!) i think that these twin sws 150's would be easier to work on (they are 150's, my mistake in earlier post). when i called my local yamaha dude mike he was actually pretty enthusiastic about them -- said same thing you guys are. worst worst case -- total repower w/ refurbished 150's is about $13k (w/o some kind of killer craigslist deal).

Someone chimed in on "no bahamas run with that boat" -- just wondering on your deciding factors to make that call -- maybe i'm stupider than you (quite likely really) but i've made the cay sal run several times in my CC w/ a single engine -- i mean i do risk analysis, i am generally prepared (extra beer...) -- just seems to me that this IS a "as long as you pick your day" bahamas run boat. totally not trying to turn this thread into a "small boats offshore is stupid" thread -- just wondering what about this boat/setup would lead you that way.

pelagic2530 · Apr 2, 2010

flipfloplife":1nhrtww5 said:
Mega -- heck yeah i'd like pictures -- did you open the back up on yours or is that factory? it REALLY looks good! that canvas and isenglas work looks top notch (the rest of your boat ain't bad either...)

pelagic -- what is this half/half arrangement of which you speak? my thoughts on it are thus -- my "second station" will be up in the tower - not out back. so if i'm trolling along and hear that sweet "zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz" of drag pulling then what i usually do (when singlehanded) is take a slight check turn into the direction of the rod that went off - hit the autopilot - chop the throttles down to just above idle - and then hustle my ass off to go grab the rod. in my cc that works -- but with either steering station in the parker i'm looking at that process is going to be a challenge (and if you don't do it fast enough then the damn sharks get most of your tuna!). SO -- what i'm thinking is that w/o a back to the PH it would be faster. plus it might cool things down a bit w/ good airflow in the summer. i see that a lot of you have the second station in the back, which is admittedly pretty badass (especially for slow troll, pulling traps, etc) - but i REALLY need the tower ... soooo...

thanks for the thoughts on this, much appreciated.

the half and half thing means cutting out just one side of the wall so you end up with one of the original aft bulkheads and 2/3s of the back open. it provides a little more shelter on that side of the boat, plus a hard mounting point for anything that you would want to have at hand in the pit. the open back does make it alot easier to get aft in a hurry, and as far as air circulation goes its much less stuffy during those still, hot days. i personally see no use in me personally having a second station, because a) i dont need it and b) my covering boards are crowded enough already, but just because you have a tower doesnt mean you cant have a cockpit station. DaleH is installing a 3rd station on his boat right now, if you comb through the projects forum a bit you can see his plans for doing so.