Well, we put about 20 hrs on our new boat and it's GREAT! We're so proud of it. We went fishing on Fri. and Sat. to break it in and get some on the water experience. We love the layout and convenience. Got some nice deck chairs and the fishing is so much less like work than it was on our CC that we just grinned all weekend. We caught a few grouper and amberjack, so Merlin has been bloodied. We forgot the camera, so you'll just have to trust me. Fishing was slow, but we were otherwise occupied at learning the boat and the new Garmin stuff (Excellent!).
I have a few questions, if I may trouble you guys...1. The fwd bilge pump on ours is mounted in such a way that if the pump turns on it can't pump out enough water to allow the switch to turn it off. I'm going to have my rigger raise the switch up an inch or two to solve the issue. I would suggest others test theirs as it could result in running down batteries at an inopportune moment. Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this issue....2. Does the anchor locker have a drain into the bilge? I'm sure it probably does, but I haven't looked for it yet. I like to wash my anchor rode with salt-away every now and then and did it in the anchor locker of my other boat...3. I only have 20 hrs on my motors, but have only been able to trim out and get about 2 mpg at best. Is this about right? Just want to make sure that it's somewhere near normal. I'm not anal about it, just curious.
The larger (12 X 16) tabs seem to be adequate. By trimming the motors down and 1/2 tabs I was able to comfortably negotiate 3-4 ft chop wind against tide. Following seas were stable as well. I could trim the motors up about 3-4 bars, retract tabs and keep the bow well up while maintaining a good 25 knot cruise without wander or danger of stuffing the back of a swell.
I'm totally psyched at how much the Admiral and I love this boat. It's sort of like the culmination of a lifetime of cumulative experiences leading us to this destination. That sounds shmaltzy, but it's the truth. Every boat we've ever bought, we had to compromise something or other (and we have owned many boats). This time we refused to and it just feels good.
Good fishing!
I have a few questions, if I may trouble you guys...1. The fwd bilge pump on ours is mounted in such a way that if the pump turns on it can't pump out enough water to allow the switch to turn it off. I'm going to have my rigger raise the switch up an inch or two to solve the issue. I would suggest others test theirs as it could result in running down batteries at an inopportune moment. Just wondering if anyone else has encountered this issue....2. Does the anchor locker have a drain into the bilge? I'm sure it probably does, but I haven't looked for it yet. I like to wash my anchor rode with salt-away every now and then and did it in the anchor locker of my other boat...3. I only have 20 hrs on my motors, but have only been able to trim out and get about 2 mpg at best. Is this about right? Just want to make sure that it's somewhere near normal. I'm not anal about it, just curious.
The larger (12 X 16) tabs seem to be adequate. By trimming the motors down and 1/2 tabs I was able to comfortably negotiate 3-4 ft chop wind against tide. Following seas were stable as well. I could trim the motors up about 3-4 bars, retract tabs and keep the bow well up while maintaining a good 25 knot cruise without wander or danger of stuffing the back of a swell.
I'm totally psyched at how much the Admiral and I love this boat. It's sort of like the culmination of a lifetime of cumulative experiences leading us to this destination. That sounds shmaltzy, but it's the truth. Every boat we've ever bought, we had to compromise something or other (and we have owned many boats). This time we refused to and it just feels good.
Good fishing!
