Tim's Magnum 12 (Australia)

 

Great to see another Magnum 12 being Launched. This time from Tim in Western Australia.

He writes:

A ‘proud dad’ day recently, as we launched the little magnum. My son and his mates took off from the ramp with the 1978 6hp Johnson screaming it’s head off as he tried to get it on the plane. Too many kids, too many crab pots, tackle boxes and stuff to get it up on the plane but they had a great time.

We finished the paint job after some brilliant advice from Mark. The boat is for crabbing and mucking around in the mangroves and creeks so we thought we better put on a ‘stealth coat’, see what you think!

Thanks again Mark.

Tim built the boat for his very young teenage son and his mates, so the HP had to be low. Concerned about kids being kids, he didn't want a paint job that would no doubt get knocked around/ scratched etc so I suggested he go with a simple "cam" job using palm leaves etc . This way if the boat does get knocked about, its easy to re-paint (in minutes LOL). So the whole family jumped in a painted the boat.."cam" using spray cans. Too easy

All in all.. as long as the kids are having a blast catching fish.. that's all that matters. Good one. 

Gary's Cruise Control 5.2 (Australia)

 

Great to see yet another Cruise Control 5.2 hit the water. This time from Gary in South Australia

He writes:

Went out to the shed a few days ago and there were no more jobs to do on the boat build. So we went fishing in it.

Thanks for a great design and all the help you provided over the build.

The motor fitting only took a day even though Adrian hadn’t done an Evinrude for a few years. Was really interesting to me that it is plug and play with the set up of the controller and the electrics. It all just clips together and off you go.

As you mentioned on the phone the second hole was the one in regards to the outboard height. We tried it first and left it there after the first test runs.

The 140 Evinrude G2 does the job easily. Not sure what prop pitch etc but Adrian guessed right first time with that and we got 6000rpm WOT. The hydraulic power assisted steering and electronic throttle and gear select are really something on this motor! The boat planes quickly and seems well mannered in the choppy conditions we had on the second day of testing.

It’s fair to say I’m a happy camper. Thanks again Mark.

Only complaint is answering questions about “what make of boat is that mate (?)”, when we launch and retrieve

Overall I’m very happy with the boat after a few trips now. Lovely dry ride and feels capable for its size.

The 140 Etec seems like plenty of push and has an eye watering jump when running from just on the plane to full throttle. Talk about torque!! Also very impressed by the quietness of the motor and zero smoke at startup. Electronic throttle and gears are really nice and the power assisted hydraulic steering is sweet as.

Will try and get some figures for speed v revs etc in the weeks ahead. The place I live is Currently living up to its reputation of “ Windy Whyalla “ so will not be out for about a week going on the forecasts.

Regards Gary

Michael’s Pro Tournament 21 (South Africa)

 

A few months ago I launched my boat. It went well and I was pleased to finally have it on the water.

There are a couple of small things to sort out, such as prop selection and alignment of the motors but unfortunately the weather has been terrible the past few months and I have not always been able to get out over the weekends to test and resolve the issues.

The trims on the motors failed and I have been waiting 2 months for the parts to arrive so it can be fixed. Once this is done and weather conditions have improved, I will be able to get out more and do some proper fishing.

Thank you Mark and everyone on the forum for all the assistance throughout the years. It has been greatly appreciated and without it I would not have been able to complete this project.

Cheers
Michael

Congratulations Michael on your launching mate. Wow.. she looks like a weapon mate. You did an awesome job of building her, Thanks for your kind words and appreciation of support and guidance throughout the process. Your welcome.

Looking forward to seeing more of your boat on the water and your fishing adventures  in the future

Regards Mark

David's RipTide CX-457 (Australia)

Hi Guys,,

Couldn't help myself, took a break from much needed house maintenance yesterday and had an unofficial splashing, sorry, no pics yet, still waiting on logos and decals. I must say that even though I am just running the motor in, the ride of the Riptide was soft and super smooth, extremely happy so far. Hopefully the next time it hits the water it will be fully dressed and I'll be able to hit full throttle, even if its just briefly. might perch my brother on a marker buoy so i can get some obligatory external pics (LOL) In reality, I'm probably doing a solo trip again.

Anyway, thanks for your patience and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone watching my build this last 15 months, to thank those that have offered support and guidance and last but not least, to Mark for the huge amount of information that' made this experience so enjoyable.

Cheers Dave GP

Congratulations Dave on your launching . She looks great mate. As for your build, thanks for your kind words and appreciation of support and guidance throughout the process. Your welcome.

Looking forward to seeing more of your boat on the water and your fishing adventures  in he future

Regards Mark

Josh’s Sea Strike 16 (New Zealand)

 

Hi all,

Motors fitted and water tested, ended up with the 90 hp. It may look a bit low in the back , but I had  forgotten to connect one of the deck drain hoses (whoops) so had a bit of extra ballast. However a positive is that the boat performed better than I expected (with all that extra "water" weight) and will only be better next time I take it out and... reconnect the drain hoses (LOL).

 The Yamaha dealer seemed very happy with the prop efficiency and I can imagine even more when i don't have a boat with the deck hatches full of water. Still have a bit of work to go with grab rails, rod holders, bimini, bow rail and the floor to go ... oh... and also the name and some graphics. Will be getting some more pictures soon.

Congrats on the splash Josh. Your Sea Strike 16 looks great mate !!

Yes, with all that water sloshing around , it will make for a stern heavy boat. (Whooops). Positive point though.. at least you've flooded the boat and know she doesn't sink, floats level and passes compliance (LOL). Get that water out and then see what happens.... ZOOM

Looking forward to seeing and hearing more in the future

Kostas Cruise Control 5.8 (Greece)

 Hi everyone

She is not 100% complete but she is ready enough to have the first ride test....The weather conditions were bad, there were big waves.

For it was the best condition for test......It went unexpectedly good.

She comes in plane very fast and easy. We were going 37 miles and we felt so secure and smooth ride....The max speed we gone was 46 mph ,3 adults, 100 litres fuel, with 16 km/h wind and we couldn't trim all the engine. (need to fix that) I think in good conditions she ll go 50+m/h. The speed is not our request but we "must"say that. In a few days we will have more test.

I'm so satisfied and proud.....

Thanks, thanks, thanks. I'm already dreaming the Pro tournament 21.

Regards
Kostas

Its great to see another Cruise Control launching . Kostas who lives in Greece, is building our designs under license for the Greek market. So were looking forward to hearing from him in the near future and seeing his Pro Tournament build

Phil's Edgetracker 365 (Australia)

 

Its great to see another Edgetracker 365 launching recently. This time from Phil who lives down in Tasmania.

He writes:

Hi Guys,
Finally it's all come together. After months of delays for motor, trailer , other bits and pieces, as well as a new motor failure and another delay for the warranty claim and replacement, the boat was finally splashed today.

Must admit that there were a few nerves at the splash today but once we passed the spot where the first motor failed and we were still going, it soon became apparent that we had a boat that was going to be a good one.

I couldn't run the new motor too hard today because it is still in the break-in period, so for most of the hour's trip we were taking it easy. Even so it was up on to the plane very easily and the 30 Merc revved very freely and we touched 24 knots a couple of times (for a very short time).

So at this stage, the motor is still running in, with two adults on board, 35 litres of fuel, all safety gear, anchor, chain & rope, tool kit battery etc., we still made 25 kts with the 4 blade prop supplied with the motor. All in all, a pretty impressive start.

Just goes to show how good Mark's designs are, also considering that I've added a small console with forward steering, and an under floor fuel tank (after discussions with Mark at the start of the build).

So thanks Mark and the advice and support from you fellow builders on the forum over the last year.

Looking forward the upcoming hours of fun and fish. Here's a few photos of the splash.

Cheers Phil

Hi Mark and fellow builders,

Just an update to let you know that the ET400 has passed it’s official ‘sea trials’ with flying colours. The attached photo shows us out off Binalong Bay (east cost of Tas. ) heading north up towards Slope Rock.

We had 2 adults, 1 young lad and all kit and fishing gear with 48 litres of fuel on board and still cruised very comfortably at around 40 km/hr.

That weekend we covered, in mostly good weather, around 40 km at sea in and out of Binalong Bay. Even caught a few flathead !!. The boat is now well and truly splashed , and I’m very pleased with it.

Thanks Mark for your excellent design and fellow builders for all your help and - it’s a great little boat . I’m now going fishing !!

Building the boat has been a very satisfying experience.

Good luck with all your builds and we'll catch up again when the next build starts !!!

All the best

Phil

Alain's Sea Strike 18 (France)

Its great to see another Sea Strike 18 launching recently. This time from Alain (a former member of the French Foreign Legion)  who lives in France.

He writes:

Hello Mark

Yes, beautiful design. Your drawings or plans (translation?) your study for the construction of the ss18, you just have to respect your plans and all become simple. The boat lands on the water like a rose petal gently.  I am very satisfied and proud of this build. You are a great designer (I hope the translation will be good)

Thank you again for helping me with this wonderful JOJO project

GOOD TO YOU

ALAIN

Bonjour MARK

oui magnifique conception , tes dessins ou plans ( traduction ? ) ton étude pour la construction du ss18 , il faut juste respecter tes plans et tous deviens simple , le bateau se pose sur l eau comme une pétale de rose en douceur je suis satisfait et trés fier de cette contruction

tu es un génial concepteur ( j espére que la traduction sera bien )

encore merci de m avoir aider a ce magnifique projet JOJO

BIEN A TOI

ALAIN

Here's a couple of photo's of his wife making up all the covers (console/ seat covers/ deck and more) on her sewing machine for the boat

Alain, who also loves painting, decided to "paint" his rear transom washboard.

Now that is different and unique.

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