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SS64 Pros Cons and Mods


_Sloth_

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Hi All,

Thought I would start a new thread for SS64 pros, cons, mods, refinements etc.

There is lots of great info on modifications and refinements for these boats on several different threads and I thought it would be good to start to collate them in one place. 

Not exclusive though - will be great to hear from others about mods they have done too.

S

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Really nice mods Rusty. I really like rod holder set up. Was thinking about something similar but yours is heaps better than what I had envisaged. 

Mine is getting fitted with a minn kota at the moment. Trying to work out whether to get a custom stainless bracket or fibreglass to mount it on. Was thinking stainless but looks like glass will allow better mounting position  

Will post some photos when it’s done - which could be a few weeks because all the fabricators and glassers are flat out...

im also going to get a quote to alter the floor around the drivers and passengers footwell to improve comfort while standing. And an esky in the rear walkway hatch now that I have moved the battery. Will let you know feasability and cost once I get a quote if you’re interested. 

The other mod I’m planning is some low profile rails around the gunwales to mount rod holders etc but looks like you’ve got that covered. 

Who did the door in the console?

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16 hours ago, The Sloth said:

Really nice mods Rusty. I really like rod holder set up. Was thinking about something similar but yours is heaps better than what I had envisaged. 

I bought this one. Clamps straight on to the ski pole. I don’t use it though so if anyone is interested I’m open to offers.

 

FCC19244-4259-4C4D-978D-C98247444C9B.jpeg

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16 hours ago, The Sloth said:

Really nice mods Rusty. I really like rod holder set up. Was thinking about something similar but yours is heaps better than what I had envisaged. 

Mine is getting fitted with a minn kota at the moment. Trying to work out whether to get a custom stainless bracket or fibreglass to mount it on. Was thinking stainless but looks like glass will allow better mounting position.

How much is the Minn Kota costing roughly, including fitting. And does it have spot lock? What about auto deploy?

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54 minutes ago, GregOug said:

How much is the Minn Kota costing roughly, including fitting. And does it have spot lock? What about auto deploy?

I chose the ulterra 80lb 24V with 72 inch shaft. This one has gps, spot lock, cruise control and auto deploy. The cost of the motor is around 4.5K. Similar motor without the auto deploy (terrova) will set you back around 3.5K. There are cheaper options through motorguide and  watersnake. The cost for fitting is not yet known. For a boat with a ready made motor mount it would probably be a couple of hundred dollars for wiring and labor plus the cost of batteries (say 400) plus another sum for battery chargers. In my case I need a custom bracket made. Either glass or stainless. I am expecting it to be expensive. That said every cent is worth it to equip your boat with one of these babies. I had the terrova on my last boat. Similar capabilities but not auto deploy. I can never go without now. There are so many advantages for fishing. Still pricing glass vs stainless and trying to work out which option will look better although neither will look good aesthetically. Will let you know when I know more...

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a question. I ended up mooring my ss64 to the jetty for three nights instead of having to put it on and off the trailer each day. At the end of each day I turned the power off at the isolator switch to conserve the batteries. But when I turned it on the next morning the automatic bilge pump immediately came on and pumped a fair amount of water out. On one occasion it ran for at least thirty seconds to a minute. 
 

I’m just wondering where the water would have come from. I know a couple of times we pulled up to quickly and some water came over the back and one day the seas were that rough coming back across the passage from Fraser that we took a lot of heavy spray onboard, but I don’t remember if we had any water come aboard yesterday and it still pumped out this morning. Any ideas?

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Interesting.

Did it rain overnight? If so that is one source of additional water.

The bilge pump should be wired independently of the isolation switch. It is usually the only item on the boat that does not go through the isolator so it should come on whenever required. I think I'd get that wiring changed if you are going  to leave her in the water overnight. We sent a 30ft flybridge cruiser to the bottom of Sydney Harbour while she was on her mooring because of this...lesson learned the hard way. On the upside she was salvaged with two big mud crabs on board!

I often have a fair bit of water in the hull after a day on the water. Some comes over the back and some over the front as spray and some comes in with swimmers. It can add up fairly quickly - but I am also suspicious that a bit gets in around the bungs too. Perhaps check the rubber rings on those.

If you did take enough water to cause the bilge pump to come on then it would only pump it out just to the point that the float switch goes off. Any additional water would then trigger the float switch so you wouldn't have needed much water to come on board the second day to cause the bilge pump to run again.

S

 

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50 minutes ago, The Sloth said:

Interesting.

Did it rain overnight? If so that is one source of additional water.

The bilge pump should be wired independently of the isolation switch. It is usually the only item on the boat that does not go through the isolator so it should come on whenever required. I think I'd get that wiring changed if you are going  to leave her in the water overnight. We sent a 30ft flybridge cruiser to the bottom of Sydney Harbour while she was on her mooring because of this...lesson learned the hard way. On the upside she was salvaged with two big mud crabs on board!

I often have a fair bit of water in the hull after a day on the water. Some comes over the back and some over the front as spray and some comes in with swimmers. It can add up fairly quickly - but I am also suspicious that a bit gets in around the bungs too. Perhaps check the rubber rings on those.

If you did take enough water to cause the bilge pump to come on then it would only pump it out just to the point that the float switch goes off. Any additional water would then trigger the float switch so you wouldn't have needed much water to come on board the second day to cause the bilge pump to run again.

S

 

Okay. Good to hear. I know we took a lot of water on the day it decided to turn nasty. I’m talking a 20-25 knot bluster on top of a very decent swell coming in from the bar. Not sure about wind against tide or any of that but it certainly was blowing any spray thrown straight into our faces so there was enough wind force to do that. We were all actually laughing our heads off at one stage as people tried to hide under sodden towels and the helmsman tried to see through salt encrusted eyes. I had to give it away and pass the helm over to Tom when I just couldn’t see any more! I think his extra few inches of height enabled him to miss some of the spray being thrown. 

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5 minutes ago, GregOug said:

Okay. Good to hear. I know we took a lot of water on the day it decided to turn nasty. I’m talking a 20-25 knot bluster on top of a very decent swell coming in from the bar. Not sure about wind against tide or any of that but it certainly was blowing any spray thrown straight into our faces so there was enough wind force to do that. We were all actually laughing our heads off at one stage as people tried to hide under sodden towels and the helmsman tried to see through salt encrusted eyes. I had to give it away and pass the helm over to Tom when I just couldn’t see any more! I think his extra few inches of height enabled him to miss some of the spray being thrown. 

Conservatively I'd reckon each one of those sprays would be a cup of water.

A hundred of those is 25L which would be in the ball park. A bit extra over the back and perhaps some sneaking past the bungs would explain it then I reckon.

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5 minutes ago, GregOug said:

And before anyone starts on about my finger being in one of the photos, I did that deliberately in case we ever have a competition about who’s got the biggest anchor and the comp marker is a finger!

LOL!

Nice additions. I notice you don't have the big chrome things around the mercury gauges that I have on mine. Wondering if they removed those to fit the sounder or if they were never there? 

I think it looks much neater the way you have it.

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5 minutes ago, The Sloth said:

LOL!

Nice additions. I notice you don't have the big chrome things around the mercury gauges that I have on mine. Wondering if they removed those to fit the sounder or if they were never there? 

I think it looks much neater the way you have it.

No. I did have them and I intend to look through my old photos when I get time so that I can compare and see which I like best. I didn’t even pick up on it until I got home. I’m fairly sure they would still fit so not sure why they aren’t on. Perhaps they just forgot when reinstalling the gauges?

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Those are two nice additions to your boat Greg that should make your fishing easier and more rewarding. They did a nice job fitting the Garmin. I wasn’t sure how they would fit the bigger unit but it looks great. That anchor will be a game changer for you after the small unit you had on before. Looking forward to some good reports now.

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Just now, GregOug said:

No. I did have them and I intend to look through my old photos when I get time so that I can compare and see which I like best. I didn’t even pick up on it until I got home. I’m fairly sure they would still fit so not sure why they aren’t on. Perhaps they just forgot when reinstalling the gauges?

I don't think they would fit.

I have the 7 inch HDS Live in my dash and I can barely get the cover on and off (I leave it off) because of those chrome things. The only advantage they could have is providing visibility by shading the gauges. But I think they look bulky and a bit gaudy. I think your dash looks mint with the 9 inch and without those chrome things.

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Just now, The Sloth said:

I don't think they would fit.

I have the 7 inch HDS Live in my dash and I can barely get the cover on and off (I leave it off) because of those chrome things. The only advantage they could have is providing visibility by shading the gauges. But I think they look bulky and a bit gaudy. I think your dash looks mint with the 9 inch and without those chrome things.

It also looks like they put new panel pieces on either side because I can't see screw holes for those chrome pieces. They probably would have got Tim to cut those with the CNC router...

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1 minute ago, The Sloth said:

It also looks like they put new panel pieces on either side because I can't see screw holes for those chrome pieces. They probably would have got Tim to cut those with the CNC router...

They probably did. I know my boat was down there for quite a while.

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On a different note, in terms of prop performance, can't recall whether I've noted previously, but had a run a few weekends ago with the following results.

Prop - Rev4 17P; WOT ~5800 RPM; Speed ~51MPH; Load - 200L + 3 Adults. Boat was stable with that prop at that speed.

Different story when running the originally supplied Eco Enertia 19P at 5600 RPM where I had a lot of chine walk.

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9 minutes ago, Rusty_Nail said:

On a different note, in terms of prop performance, can't recall whether I've noted previously, but had a run a few weekends ago with the following results.

Prop - Rev4 17P; WOT ~5800 RPM; Speed ~51MPH; Load - 200L + 3 Adults. Boat was stable with that prop at that speed.

Different story when running the originally supplied Eco Enertia 19P at 5600 RPM where I had a lot of chine walk.

That’s interesting. And the acceleration was similar? And top speed? And what motor do you have again?

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11 hours ago, GregOug said:

That’s interesting. And the acceleration was similar? And top speed? And what motor do you have again?

Hi Greg, can't recall specific top speed with the Eco Enteria, but it would have been around high 40mph - the chine walk was the limiting factor as got a little too scary.
I've got the same motor as you - 200HP Pro XS.
I am looking for a 17P Eco Enertia second hand as from reading the Hull Truth forum that prop with a V8 Pro XS goes well across a range of boats.

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1 hour ago, Rusty_Nail said:

Hi Greg, can't recall specific top speed with the Eco Enteria, but it would have been around high 40mph - the chine walk was the limiting factor as got a little too scary.
I've got the same motor as you - 200HP Pro XS.
I am looking for a 17P Eco Enertia second hand as from reading the Hull Truth forum that prop with a V8 Pro XS goes well across a range of boats.

If you find two of them can you let me know please?

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1 hour ago, Rusty_Nail said:

Hi Greg, can't recall specific top speed with the Eco Enteria, but it would have been around high 40mph - the chine walk was the limiting factor as got a little too scary.
I've got the same motor as you - 200HP Pro XS.
I am looking for a 17P Eco Enertia second hand as from reading the Hull Truth forum that prop with a V8 Pro XS goes well across a range of boats.

Hey Rusty,

What improvements are you looking for compared to the Rev 4 17P?

J

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8 hours ago, _Sloth_ said:

Hey Rusty,

What improvements are you looking for compared to the Rev 4 17P?

J

Hey J,

Mostly just experimentation/tinkering and also to see how the 17P goes in terms of stern lift/chine walk at speed vs what occurred with the 19P 🙂

Have put the 19P Rev4 back on for a trip on Sunday so will be interesting to see how that feels against the last run of the 17P Rev4.

 


 

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4 minutes ago, Rusty_Nail said:

Hey J,

Mostly just experimentation/tinkering and also to see how the 17P goes in terms of stern lift/chine walk at speed vs what occurred with the 19P 🙂

Have put the 19P Rev4 back on for a trip on Sunday so will be interesting to see how that feels against the last run of the 17P Rev4.

 


 

How do you ‘borrow’ a prop to try out?

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11 hours ago, Rusty_Nail said:

Hey J,

Mostly just experimentation/tinkering and also to see how the 17P goes in terms of stern lift/chine walk at speed vs what occurred with the 19P 🙂

Have put the 19P Rev4 back on for a trip on Sunday so will be interesting to see how that feels against the last run of the 17P Rev4.

 


 

Fair enough. I tried heaps of props with my last boat and was never 100% happy. I like the 19P Rev4 on my current boat except that I can’t get it to wide open throttle - fastest so far 92 kph. Started chine walking when I hit some ripples. I think speeds above 85 with a 21 degree dead rise at the transom will always be susceptible to chine walk but it is interesting that the prop is making a big difference in this case. I reckon we should get all the SS64 boats out together one day and take a run in each other’s for comparison...

Do you run at those speeds with the tower and Bimini up? Does the Bimini add to the lift?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all, 

 

I've got one as well, effin love it. Had it since November 2020. I have the V6 200 merc. 

I'm on the northern Gold Coast. 

I changed from the 3 blade to the 4 blade under recommendation from tim from stejcraft. It took all the chine walk out of it, massive difference. It's so stable now. 

I've fitted a baitmate board that drops into the ski pole hole and bolts up at the bottom. Fitted a couple stainless rod holders in the rear gunwales. 

It's going in shortly for a sav winch with remote and a bimini. 

I'm interested in seeing some picks of the casting deck some of you blokes have fitted, I'd like to make one. 

Should organise a day out for us owners 

Cheers 

IMG_20210221_114033_551.jpg

IMG_20210221_114033_581.jpg

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On 13/03/2021 at 8:45 AM, _Sloth_ said:

Fair enough. I tried heaps of props with my last boat and was never 100% happy. I like the 19P Rev4 on my current boat except that I can’t get it to wide open throttle - fastest so far 92 kph. Started chine walking when I hit some ripples. I think speeds above 85 with a 21 degree dead rise at the transom will always be susceptible to chine walk but it is interesting that the prop is making a big difference in this case. I reckon we should get all the SS64 boats out together one day and take a run in each other’s for comparison...

Do you run at those speeds with the tower and Bimini up? Does the Bimini add to the lift?

Hey Sloth,

Yeah - those speeds are with the tower and bimini on - I expect there is a bit of lift from the bimini given it angles up a little towards the front. I've got clears but haven't run WOT with them on so that might be an interesting test.

 

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12 hours ago, TheStej said:

Hi all, 

 

I've got one as well, effin love it. Had it since November 2020. I have the V6 200 merc. 

I'm on the northern Gold Coast. 

I changed from the 3 blade to the 4 blade under recommendation from tim from stejcraft. It took all the chine walk out of it, massive difference. It's so stable now. 

I've fitted a baitmate board that drops into the ski pole hole and bolts up at the bottom. Fitted a couple stainless rod holders in the rear gunwales. 

It's going in shortly for a sav winch with remote and a bimini. 

I'm interested in seeing some picks of the casting deck some of you blokes have fitted, I'd like to make one. 

Should organise a day out for us owners 

Cheers 

IMG_20210221_114033_551.jpg

IMG_20210221_114033_581.jpg

Hi @TheStej - I like that launcher setup - looks nice and sturdy.

Would be keen for a day out with SS64 owners - would be a great sight having a few of then cruising along together.

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Screen Shot 2021-03-28 at 7.40.00 pm.pdfScreen Shot 2021-03-28 at 7.39.31 pm.pdf

These are the drawings I made for my casting deck. I am going to make the two pieces out of ply. If I like how it works I'll get some pieces of thermo-lite cut as well as some seadek...still waiting for the stainless fabricators to do my Minn Kota mount...getting pretty frustrated.

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Cheers boys, 

Definitely going to have a crack at a casting deck. Yep Im happy as with the baitmate setup, has a shelf under the board and is easy as to remove when not needed. I'll post a pick from the front, keep in mind it's just sitting there and not fitted properly in the pic that's why it's on an angle and not at the right height. 

Love that hatch door in the helm as well rusty I'm going to steal that idea as well. 

Once again, let's figure out a date for an owners run. 

Cheers 

Jade 

Screenshot_20210329_195621.jpg

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