I Need A Shrink !

[strick]

Some pictures and a couple videos of this morning.
























http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/633.AVI

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/25%232internet/634.AVI


strick

[Blue_Heron]

Looking good, Chuck. Looks like you had a beautiful morning for the maiden voyage. Like Brandon, I'm interested to hear your comments on the ride compared with the 23.
Dave

[strick]

OK so here are some of my general impressions of the 25 seafari. Keep in mind that I have put less then 2 hours on the boat. Although the weather looks good in the video and pictures, it got a bit windy as the morning progressed. In the video we were running the boat in a protected part of the river and later we did get a chance to take her out in the open channel were there were some 2-3 footers with an incoming tide and windy. Boat got air-born twice.

Most of what I have been told or read about the 25 seafari is true. It is a very sensitive boat when on plane. One you are going to have to drive for a while to get used to. I suspect that the more I drive it the more I'm gonna like it. I just have to take it out and spend some time in it to learn what it is capable of. For starters going into a tight turn is a bit un-nerving. The boat banks like an F16 fighter. I think Clay said that the rub rail was almost touching the water. This makes you want to take your turns more slowly then say with a 23 seacraft. Running head on into a chop it is the same as any Seacraft nice and smooth. It requires use of the tabs when guys are moving about...I would say more so then a 23 seacraft. The boat runs light in the bow. Yesterday I did not have any fuel in the forward tank nor did I put any water in the 14 gallon fresh water tank which sits in the bow. I had about 60 gallons of fuel in the main tank. The boat needs more weight in the front so on the next voyage I will fill up the fresh water tank and probably put 15 gallons fuel in the forward tank.

As far as comparing the 23 to the 25 goes I can tell you that the 23 is a more user friendly boat. It requires less use of the tabs when up on plane and is less sensitive in turns. Running head on into the waves there really is not much difference...I'd say the 25 is a little smoother. That may change when I get more weight up front. One thing that I noticed which is surprising is that the 25 is just as stable as the 23 when at rest. Not sure why that is.

Overall I really like the boat. It is going to be perfect for what I intend to use it for. The enclosure I had built came out really nice so I will post some pictures of that soon. Bolsters are installed as well. Only thing left to do is the headliner and bow cushions. Also non skid the deck now that most of the traffic in and out of the boat has subsided. I am thinking about extending the tabs like Brandon did. I will post more pictures and videos of the boat soon.

strick

[floorboy]

But, but, but..... Now what are WE supposed to do in our spare time?????? We will anxiously await your next project.

Great job on the boat.

[BigLew]

Has anyone else had a problem viewing the videos? My browser (IE) doesn't seem to want to connect or it doesn't recognize something in the URL.

[McGillicuddy]

Congratulations, Strick!

Looks awesome and looks like shes a smooooth rider. Duoprop propulsion looks effortless. Your note about the lean on a hard turn is reminiscent of the upper right hand pic in the Seafari 25 article posted in the Literature section.

Airborne, huh? like a freakin' F4 Phantom - what a good looking tank...

Thanks for posting the viddies...

Enjoy!

[Blackfin26]

Strick...Thanks for sharing and congrats! I can view the video and I'm as far from tech savvy as you can get. Hats off, Steve

[strick]

Thanks fellas. Got the bolsters on today. Cleaning the shop as it looks like a tornado went through it. I will try to post more water shots and give more performance numbers when I get the tach and gps working properly. We hit 3600 rpm with Clays gadget that he had hooked directly to the engine yesterday so we have more tweaking to do. We were guessing the speed at somewhere in the 30's. Here is one more pic taken with Scotty's cell phone. Never posted a video before so I hope you guys can open them. I took them with the camera...low quality.




strick

[McGillicuddy]

Big Lew. you might try right clicking the video link and save link as to your desktop. It is a 23 MB file so it may take a while, especially if you're not using cable internet. Then try to open it using your windows media player from there. It is a .avi file so you may need to add the .avi codecs from windows downloads page... Real Player should have no problem playing it... Good luck.

[BigLew]

McGillicuddy, you da man! Your suggestion regarding the videos worked great!

Most of us need to keep in mind that there is a BIG difference between a 23 & a 25' boat. If you've not run a larger boat it is tough to compare how they actually perform vs. how you think they will perform. While not necessarily slower, they do run more deliberately. That is they simply run with more presence or solid feeling than the smaller ones.