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#1
posted to rec.boats
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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 |
#2
posted to rec.boats
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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 |
#3
posted to rec.boats
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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. |
#4
posted to rec.boats
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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 |
#5
posted to rec.boats
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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. |
#6
posted to rec.boats
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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 |
#7
posted to rec.boats
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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? |
#8
posted to rec.boats
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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 $$$. |
#9
posted to rec.boats
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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. |
#10
posted to rec.boats
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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 |
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