SailFish
 

Anyone have any info good or bad on SailFish Boats? I am looking at a 1998
18' center console with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and trailer. I'm live in
Michigan and have not heard of this brand. I hear it is popular down south.
Looks like a nice boat.

Thanks, Tony

SailFish
 

"Tony" wrote in message
. ..
Anyone have any info good or bad on SailFish Boats? I am looking at a
1998
18' center console with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and trailer. I'm live
in
Michigan and have not heard of this brand. I hear it is popular down
south.
Looks like a nice boat.

Thanks, Tony


Yup. I had one. I thought it was a 17 footer, but it could have been 18.
It also had a 90 horse Yamaha. If I recall correctly, the boat we had was a
1998 model but the engine was a 1996.

It is a well built boat. Good hardware is used and the overall quality is
better than average.
It is a very stable hull ... a copycat of the original Boston Whaler design.
I was always amazed at how little lean it had when walking around the
console while fishing and it handled very nicely at speed ... better than a
Whaler, IMO.

It's a bit underpowered with the 90 horsepower engine though. It takes a
while to get up on plane. The only other negative is the location and
design of the "scupper" drains. They are too low in the water and if only
one person is in the boat, standing behind the seat, the scupper drains will
allow water back into the boat and you'll have wet feet. I tried changing
the flapper type check valves to the floating ball type, but they still
leaked back as soon has they got some crud jn them. It was a minor, but
annoying problem.

Overall, a good boat, IMO. Obviously you need to check the condition of the
one you are considering.

Eisboch

SailFish
 

On Tue, 5 Jun 2007 22:03:09 -0400, "Tony"
wrote:

Anyone have any info good or bad on SailFish Boats? I am looking at a 1998
18' center console with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and trailer. I'm live in
Michigan and have not heard of this brand. I hear it is popular down south.
Looks like a nice boat.

I second Eisboch.

Well built, well thought out. They are heavier than most boats of
their class and that 90 is marginal in terms of speed and getting the
boat up on plane. Very stable boats while trolling which is a plus.

I'd pay the hours shop time and have the engine gone through. Might
want to check the bottom of the boat if it's been trailered espiecally
along the centerline and the bow. That's one area on these type boats
that can be problematic. Look for gouges, pits and such as that.

Open and close all the lockers, doors and make sure the water pumps
work for the live well and bilges.

Nice boat - you should enjoy it.

SailFish
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 5 Jun 2007 22:03:09 -0400, "Tony"
wrote:

Anyone have any info good or bad on SailFish Boats? I am looking at a
1998
18' center console with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and trailer. I'm live
in
Michigan and have not heard of this brand. I hear it is popular down
south.
Looks like a nice boat.

I second Eisboch.

Well built, well thought out. They are heavier than most boats of
their class and that 90 is marginal in terms of speed and getting the
boat up on plane. Very stable boats while trolling which is a plus.



Further on Sailfish boats ...

They are built by Seminole Marine in the southern part of Georgia. Seminole
Marine is a private, family held business that has enjoyed good growth over
the years, mainly due to the quality of their boats. I noticed on their
2007 offerings that they have adopted a more traditional "V" hull on the 17
and 18 foot CC. The older ones like what Tony is considering and the one
we owned had the more older Whaler-like "tri-hull". I heard a story once
.... I don't know if it is true or not ... that Seminole ran into some legal
problems because of that design.
If true, obviously the problems were resolved.

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.

Eisboch

SailFish
 

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.

Interesting you should mention that.

I've been noticing that a lot of manufacturers are specing their boats
with marginal engines - mostly at the lower end of mid-range engines.

It's a curiosity.

SailFish
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He
still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.

Interesting you should mention that.

I've been noticing that a lot of manufacturers are specing their boats
with marginal engines - mostly at the lower end of mid-range engines.

It's a curiosity.



Marketing. Bigger engines are extra cost options. I believe the "standard"
engine for the Dauntless was a 90 hp Merc. The 115 hp (max hp for that
hull) was an option.

Eisboch

SailFish
 

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:27:27 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He
still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.

Interesting you should mention that.

I've been noticing that a lot of manufacturers are specing their boats
with marginal engines - mostly at the lower end of mid-range engines.

It's a curiosity.

Marketing. Bigger engines are extra cost options. I believe the "standard"
engine for the Dauntless was a 90 hp Merc. The 115 hp (max hp for that
hull) was an option.

I thought of that, but it would seem to me if you were building a boat
to perform at a certain level, then installing an engine in the middle
of the acceptable range would be preferable to an engine at the lower
end of the range.

Plus, if you are building a boat to sell, wouldn't it make more sense
to install an engine that would actually make the boat perform better
from the git go?

SailFish
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.

Interesting you should mention that.

I've been noticing that a lot of manufacturers are specing their boats
with marginal engines - mostly at the lower end of mid-range engines.

It's a curiosity.


It's a function of $$$.

SailFish
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:27:27 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 06:45:00 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I sold the one we had to my son's father in-law several years ago. He
still
uses it for fishing regularly. I replaced the Sailfish with a 16' Boston
Whaler Dauntless. Frankly, the Sailfish rode better and had a more stable
hull but was a little anemic with the 90 hp Yamaha.
Interesting you should mention that.

I've been noticing that a lot of manufacturers are specing their boats
with marginal engines - mostly at the lower end of mid-range engines.

It's a curiosity.
Marketing. Bigger engines are extra cost options. I believe the "standard"
engine for the Dauntless was a 90 hp Merc. The 115 hp (max hp for that
hull) was an option.

I thought of that, but it would seem to me if you were building a boat
to perform at a certain level, then installing an engine in the middle
of the acceptable range would be preferable to an engine at the lower
end of the range.

Plus, if you are building a boat to sell, wouldn't it make more sense
to install an engine that would actually make the boat perform better
from the git go?


When I bought my first 18' SeaPro, it came "rigged" with a 90 hp Merc.
The top end was ok, about 38 mph, but it struggled with a boatload of
fishing guys, and wasn't powerful enough for my taste running the
inlets. After the first season, I made a "deal" with the dealer to swap
out the 90 for a straight four 115 Merc and after that, I was much more
pleased with the boat. With the 115, the boat had enough punch to run
inlets.

SailFish
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:27:27 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Marketing. Bigger engines are extra cost options. I believe the
"standard"
engine for the Dauntless was a 90 hp Merc. The 115 hp (max hp for that
hull) was an option.

I thought of that, but it would seem to me if you were building a boat
to perform at a certain level, then installing an engine in the middle
of the acceptable range would be preferable to an engine at the lower
end of the range.

Plus, if you are building a boat to sell, wouldn't it make more sense
to install an engine that would actually make the boat perform better
from the git go?


You would think so, but just like plain jane cars, the initial advertised
price draws in the customer.

Also, as you have recently discovered, most boat manufacturers have deals
with engine manufacturers. The engine guys want to sell as many engines of
all sizes that they can.
Having a particular hull that will perform at different levels with a range
of engines increases the sales of the entire product line. Some engine
manufacturers ... I think it was Yamaha if I am not mistaken ... will even
buy the rights to a boat name and setup a boat manufacturing facility ... in
this case Century .... just as a platform for the sale of their engines.

Eisboch

SailFish
 

"Tony" wrote in message
. ..
Anyone have any info good or bad on SailFish Boats? I am looking at a
1998
18' center console with a 90 h.p. Yamaha outboard and trailer. I'm live
in
Michigan and have not heard of this brand. I hear it is popular down
south.
Looks like a nice boat.

Thanks, Tony


I own a 21' CC going on 20 years old without any major problems, it's been
the best bay-type boat I've owned.

SailFish
 

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 08:48:35 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Some engine manufacturers ... I think it was Yamaha if I am not
mistaken ... will even buy the rights to a boat name and setup
a boat manufacturing facility ... in this case Century .... just as
a platform for the sale of their engines.

Yamaha also owns GIII boats - aluminum bass/fishing boats - same deal.
Entry level boats.

Bombardier tried it with their Fish Hawk line which was basically a
platform for the redesigned FICHT. They were built by Hydra-Sports
and side-by-side, you couldn't tell a Fish Hawk from the same model
Hydra-Sports except for the paint/logos - they were identical.

For some reason when they introduced the ETEC line, they abandoned
Fish Hawk (after two model years) which left them as a OEM engine
provider only - no platform for the ETECS.

Yamaha has exclusive deals with a bunch of manufacturers - it gets a
little weird when you try and price a boat/trailer only and get a rash
of nonsense about all the reasons why they can't sell you a boat. It's
really odd.

I've spent some time on the phone with some manufacturers just trying
to get my point across - I'd like to price out one of your boats
without an engine/controls/gauges - cash. Your dealers won't work
with me, can I work with you and they don't want anything to do with
it.

The interesting thing is that I've gotten better results from those
dealers aligned with Mercury engine/boat combinations than those with
Yamaha. However, the prices they quote don't discount for the lack of
an engine, so that isn't any advantage.

I'm seriously thinking of getting into the used market.

SailFish
 

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:04:52 -0400, HK wrote:

It's a function of $$$.

No!! Say it ain't so!! :)