Picked up my new Sea Pro yesterday and took it for a test run. Only
ran it for an hour and was trying to adhere to the break in
instructions so spent most of the time poking around the bay. Pretty
windy with a good chop and only got a couple of drops of spray in
crosswind. Gets on plane quickly and adjusting the jack plate and trim
tabs definitely makes a difference - only tried it a few times at
different settings so I'll learn more later. Boat didn't seem to like
lower RPM levels (2600) - seemed to wallow a little but was improved
by dropping the trim tabs a little. Really felt good at 3200 or so
clipping along at 35 mph or so - real solid and responsive. I really
like the hydraulic steering although it takes a little getting used to
- not as responsive as cable but much more stable and effortless. Plan
to leave for the bay later this afternoon and run it this weekend if
it doesn't rain - supposed to be in upper 60's tomorrow and mid 70's
Sunday so maybe I'll learn more. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Take care.

Tom...........

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 14:24:20 GMT, (Tom)
wrote:

Picked up my new Sea Pro yesterday and took it for a test run. Only
ran it for an hour and was trying to adhere to the break in
instructions so spent most of the time poking around the bay. Pretty
windy with a good chop and only got a couple of drops of spray in
crosswind. Gets on plane quickly and adjusting the jack plate and trim
tabs definitely makes a difference - only tried it a few times at
different settings so I'll learn more later. Boat didn't seem to like
lower RPM levels (2600) - seemed to wallow a little but was improved
by dropping the trim tabs a little. Really felt good at 3200 or so
clipping along at 35 mph or so - real solid and responsive. I really
like the hydraulic steering although it takes a little getting used to
- not as responsive as cable but much more stable and effortless. Plan
to leave for the bay later this afternoon and run it this weekend if
it doesn't rain - supposed to be in upper 60's tomorrow and mid 70's
Sunday so maybe I'll learn more. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Take care.

Put that jack plate through it's paces and report back.

I'd be really interested in how that does in snarky wave action.

Later,

Tom

Put that jack plate through it's paces and report back.

I'd be really interested in how that does in snarky wave action.
Tom,
Didn't want to do a lot with it since I'm still in break-in
period but it definitely made a difference in getting on plane and
speed. By adjusting the depth of the motor I could get on plane
quicker at certain settings. While underway you could increase your
speed by adjusting the depth. Haven't had any skinny water experiences
but hope to in the next few weeks and hope to have better info on its
performance. Haven't noticed any different handling characteristics
with it - what do you mean by "snarky wave action" and what would you
expect? Maybe I can try it next weekend.

Tom...............

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 17:20:07 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:


Put that jack plate through it's paces and report back.

I'd be really interested in how that does in snarky wave action.

Later,

Tom

Tom,
I've added some hours to the boat and have really enjoyed it.
Last weekend I ran it for a few days with some customers at Port
O'Conner Texas in some pretty nasty conditions (25 gusting to 40) and
it handled real well. Tried adjusting the jack plate but could see no
difference in handling - I think its use is limited to prop adjustment
for getting on plane in shallow water. I've adjusted it while underway
and it seems to vary the RPM's but has little effect on speed. It does
make me feel more comfortable loading the boat on the trailer as I can
raise the engine and not worry about chewing up the prop on the ramp
(don't ask how I know this can happen). The trim tabs help a lot in
rough water as you can hold the bow down for a smoother ride. Ride in
rough water was comfortable but we did take on some spray in crosswind
(not sure there is a boat made that won't get you wet with 25-40
crosswinds though) but rode dry when headed into or away from the
wind. Weight really makes a difference. With my wife and I and 1/2 -
3/4 tank of fuel I can bust 60 mph. With 5 fat boys and full fuel we
barely could make 50 (this was in the inter coastal - not open bay
with that wind). Finally got the rear seat installed last week (SeaPro
had them on backorder for several months) and it came in handy this
past weekend with my wifes aunt, uncle, son and daughter-in-law -
almost turns it into a runabout. Haven't been offshore yet - hope to
get some reasonably calm seas soon but it should do fine based on the
performance in the bay under pretty rough conditions. As you can tell
- I'm real pleased with the boat so far. It appears to be a pretty
good compromise for the kind of use my wife and I wanted it for.
Looking forward to a lot more use this summer.

On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:25:06 GMT, (Tom)
wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Looking forward to a lot more use this summer.

And that's all you can ask.

Thanks for the update - that's about what I figured it would do based
on my experience with jack plates.

Have fun and enjoy it.

Later,

Tom

Tom wrote:

I really
like the hydraulic steering although it takes a little getting used to
- not as responsive as cable but much more stable and effortless.

Thats helpful regarding my hydraulic steering question. Do you mean
that it requires a bit more rotation but has less slop or slack when
changing directions?

-rick-

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 21:00:12 -0800, -rick- wrote:

Tom wrote:

I really
like the hydraulic steering although it takes a little getting used to
- not as responsive as cable but much more stable and effortless.

Thats helpful regarding my hydraulic steering question. Do you mean
that it requires a bit more rotation but has less slop or slack when
changing directions?

Different Tom here, but I can give you my experience.

There is considerably less slack when turning and the changes aren't
as abrupt as they are with mechanical steering - the changes are
smooth and easy.

Oddly, you do get some feedback from hydraulic steering - it's not a
lot, almost ephemeral, but it's there.

Rotation is about the same lock to lock.

Later,

Tom

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:

Different Tom here, but I can give you my experience.

There is considerably less slack when turning and the changes aren't
as abrupt as they are with mechanical steering - the changes are
smooth and easy.

Oddly, you do get some feedback from hydraulic steering - it's not a
lot, almost ephemeral, but it's there.

Rotation is about the same lock to lock.

Thanks Tom, I'm tired of the free play in my helm and cable setup and
thinking of trying a hydraulic helm. Lack of slack is the goal.

-rick-

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 21:00:12 -0800, -rick- wrote:


Thats helpful regarding my hydraulic steering question. Do you mean
that it requires a bit more rotation but has less slop or slack when
changing directions?
Rick - sorry for the delay in answering - just got home from the bay.
With cable steering I always got an immediate response when the wheel
was moved (even just a little). With the hydraulic it doesn't seem to
respond quite as sensitively but there is no slop - just seems to be a
more gentle turn- if that makes sense. This may have more turns hard
over to hard over than my previous systems which may account for that.
There is no resistance to turning the wheel like there is on cable
steering but you still have a feel - just like power steering on an
auto. So far I really like it. Hope that answers your question - if
not hit me again and I'll try to explain it better. Take care.

Tom..........

Tom wrote:

Rick - sorry for the delay in answering - just got home from the bay.
With cable steering I always got an immediate response when the wheel
was moved (even just a little). With the hydraulic it doesn't seem to
respond quite as sensitively but there is no slop - just seems to be a
more gentle turn- if that makes sense. This may have more turns hard
over to hard over than my previous systems which may account for that.
There is no resistance to turning the wheel like there is on cable
steering but you still have a feel - just like power steering on an
auto. So far I really like it. Hope that answers your question - if
not hit me again and I'll try to explain it better. Take care.

Tom..........

That's a fine explanation. It sounds like you had a good low slop cable
unit, perhaps a rack & pinion helm and a low flex cable. I'm not so
fortunate as I'm getting ~ 45 degrees slop at the wheel and don't have
the lateral space for a rack & pinion helm. Thanks for the info, it's
appreciated.

-rick-