_Sloth_

Yep - What Greg said. The DTS throttle is very smooth (and definitley smoother than cable) and yes it can be adjusted. The issue is that the motor has a lot of torque - the six is a beefy engine. If he is used to the small displacement 200 hp engines like Suzuki and Yamaha then the extra torque will be very noticeable. It does take some getting used to but you won't ever want to go back. Most of us have big 4-blade props too. These increase the responsiveness because there is very little slip. A 3-blade prop with more slip is recommended if you drive in very choppy conditions - it makes for a smoother ride and it is easier to manage the throttle because the prop slip takes a bit of the edge off. There are some good articles out there if you want to read more about prop selection for different conditions. The 200 or 225 V8 is the way to go. DTS is the only option for these. But the DTS is is definitely a plus. You get used to the torque and will drive it comfortably in any conditions. Prop selection involves compromise - but most of us have opted for the 4-blade because it gives a very sporty responsiveness...

Thanks for the replies @GregOug and @_Sloth_.  Nice to get first hand comments.
 
I spoke to a guy today who took delivery of a V6 DTS over the weekend . He said in the choppy conditions he really struggled with the throttle and making fine adjustments was very difficult. Reckons it was basically either on or off. Also very easy to bump accidentally
Do you guys reckon that's just a case of him needing to get used to a new system? Have you had similar trouble initially? Can the "stiffness" of the throttle be adjusted?
 

Not quite sure what he means by being easy to bump accidentally. That would infer a very loose throttle. And it’s not either on or off. It’s the same movement range as any other throttle. It’s just that each increment of the throttle is more noticeable when you have more power.

Hi Greg,
Sorry for the very late reply...The Minn Kota is great. The cost was definitely worth it from my perspective - I use it all the time and it suits the type of fishing I do (lures/soft plastics). I had one on my last boat too and I struggled a bit with the Stej  until I had the minn kota. In hindsight - I would probably just go for the terrova (manual deploy) than the ulterra which would have save me a few hundred dollars - but overall very happy. It was quite an expensive exercise though and so I would only recommend it to someone that really wants to use it a lot.
Cheers,
S
 

Hi Greg,
Sorry for the very late reply...The Minn Kota is great. The cost was definitely worth it from my perspective - I use it all the time and it suits the type of fishing I do (lures/soft plastics). I had one on my last boat too and I struggled a bit with the Stej  until I had the minn kota. In hindsight - I would probably just go for the terrova (manual deploy) than the ulterra which would have save me a few hundred dollars - but overall very happy. It was quite an expensive exercise though and so I would only recommend it to someone that really wants to use it a lot.
Cheers,
S
 

Will do.Tim said they are fitting HDS 9 inch units in the SS64. The Elite is about 5mm bigger so hopefully it will fit or it will have to go on the Ram mount...

I have the 19P Rev4 on the 225 hp V8 Pro XS
Top speed I have had is 92 kph (about 57 mph) on the gps. Not fully wound out so there are probably a few more kph there if I was game to try. Not sure of max RPM but definitely not up near the limit. Probably around 5600. She was going OK until I hit some tiny ripples side on which started her chine walking. I trimmed in and dropped the speed to get it back under control... I think the 17P Rev4 sounds good. Mine sits very steadily at around 80 kph without any hint of chine walking but I think it is inevitable on a boat with 21 degree dead rise at the transom at speeds above 85 kph. People that know what they are doing (i.e. not me) can counter the chine walking by steering against it in a rhythm. I mostly run around between 40 and 60 kph conditions permitting which is plenty fast enough for me.

Yeah that's the plan. Haven't had the deck pieces made yet...trying to save some more coin after the Minn Kota install and I have yet to install the 9 inch sounder which has been sitting in the cupboard for the last few months 😞. The pieces will be interchangeable so on a "boating" outing I'd put the seats in and on a "fishing" outing I'd put the casting deck in instead. Slightly longer term plan will be to get some cushions custom made that can sit over the casting deck (more saving needed) - then it will be able to stay in permanantly. In the short term I have some high density waterproof foam that I can make some temporary cushions from (this stuff can be cut to size with a foam saw at Clark Rubber for a small fee). The foam is actually pretty expensive too but I have some left over from a previous project...

Hi Willi,
I have made an estimate for you by looking at some photos of mine in the water and measuring from where the waterline is to the bottom of the hull (at the rear). There was one person on board and I would have had at least 150 L fuel on board but otherwise not heavily loaded (maybe 100 kg of gear). From the waterline to the bottom of the hull was 450 mm (approx). So you are going to need about 500 mm of water to float the boat. Greg's point about the transducer is a good one. If you anchor off the opposite the transducer for the last of the run out the boat should then sit leaning on the side opposite the transducer. I have never actually done this myself so follow my advice e with caution 🙂
Hope that helps.
S
PS On many occasions I have anchored up with the boat floating and the ladder touches the sand - that gives a visual perspective of the water needed.

Hi Woosha,
As Greg says no one here has had both so a bit hard to say. Worth keeping I'm mind that neither are ski boats. They both have a 20+ degree deadrise at the transom which means they both pull a decent wake. I would say both would be more suited to wakeboards than skis especially with a full boat and it sounds like you want get a few people in there. The BRX has a nice wrap-around lounge in the rear as well as the space up front (which is a bit smaller than the front space in the SS64). The lounge area in the BRX is nice but the space outside the back of the BRX is tiny though (just a couple of boarding platforms) so not much room to maneuver with skis etc although perhaps you do all that in the water. I do find the back platforms of the SS64 great for swimming off as there is space to get dry before coming in to the cockpit plus no standing on the rear seats is good too. I spoke to Tim at Stejcraft about the possibility of making a removable seat that slots in the walkway area to complete the wrap-around seating in the SS64 for days when you just want to cruise with lots of people on board. He said it would be easy - so you could always ask him about that. The SS64 with a wrap around rear seat would have significantly more room than the BRX because the boat is a bit wider and longer.
If you go the SS with a Merc you would need to raise the height of the ski pole - I don't think the standard height is high enough with the high cowl of the Merc engines. Could be true for the BRX too with a Merc but most of the dealers put Suzukis on the Signatures and the cowl sits much lower on those.
You would be happy either I think but of the two boats I think the BRX is probably better for what you want to do. No customizing necessary. Good resale value too.
Lastly both have modern design and construction. Unlike the 620BR the BRX has a full molded top insert (not sure what it is called) as does the SS64. The signature hull is really good and their quality control is pretty good too. Most people that get them are happy with them...
Hope that helps,
S
 

Hi Woosha,
As Greg says no one here has had both so a bit hard to say. Worth keeping I'm mind that neither are ski boats. They both have a 20+ degree deadrise at the transom which means they both pull a decent wake. I would say both would be more suited to wakeboards than skis especially with a full boat and it sounds like you want get a few people in there. The BRX has a nice wrap-around lounge in the rear as well as the space up front (which is a bit smaller than the front space in the SS64). The lounge area in the BRX is nice but the space outside the back of the BRX is tiny though (just a couple of boarding platforms) so not much room to maneuver with skis etc although perhaps you do all that in the water. I do find the back platforms of the SS64 great for swimming off as there is space to get dry before coming in to the cockpit plus no standing on the rear seats is good too. I spoke to Tim at Stejcraft about the possibility of making a removable seat that slots in the walkway area to complete the wrap-around seating in the SS64 for days when you just want to cruise with lots of people on board. He said it would be easy - so you could always ask him about that. The SS64 with a wrap around rear seat would have significantly more room than the BRX because the boat is a bit wider and longer.
If you go the SS with a Merc you would need to raise the height of the ski pole - I don't think the standard height is high enough with the high cowl of the Merc engines. Could be true for the BRX too with a Merc but most of the dealers put Suzukis on the Signatures and the cowl sits much lower on those.
You would be happy either I think but of the two boats I think the BRX is probably better for what you want to do. No customizing necessary. Good resale value too.
Lastly both have modern design and construction. Unlike the 620BR the BRX has a full molded top insert (not sure what it is called) as does the SS64. The signature hull is really good and their quality control is pretty good too. Most people that get them are happy with them...
Hope that helps,
S
 

I dropped it off on Tuesday.
Picking up later next week as I am getting a few other bits and pieces sorted too.
I discussed it with him and left him the keys. He is going to take a test drive and look in to it...
Will let you know if he finds it.

Perfect. Thanks mate. 

Casting deck templates made. Two pieces. The one on the left is the same shape as the left cushion. The one on the right extends over the front half of the walkway. I decided not to use the whole walkway because I want to leave the deck in permanently and my wife likes sitting up front and wants some walkway. I have traced the pieces and will get them cut from thermo-lite on a CNC router. Hen some sea-dek for grip/comfort. Have kept a copy of the templates in case anyone else wants to do a casting deck too...

Hi All,
I have finally got the Minn Kota Ulterra installed! As promised - here are some photos. Overall I am pretty happy with it.
Installation includes two 120 amp hour deep cycle batteries - one in each console. A prosport dual bank charger, mounted inside the passenger console, a custom fabricated stainless steel mount and the 80 lb, 24V Minn Kota Ulterra (72 inch shaft) mounted on a quick release platform. Not much change from $10K but about half of that is for the electric motor. Could probably have saved $1.5K by not installing an onboard charger and using the manual deploy Terrova model. On the other hand could have spent another couple of thousand for a 24V Lithium Ion battery but opted to save the dollars and carry the extra weight (65 kg (Lead) rather than 20 kg (Lithium).
It doesn't make the boat look better but doesn't ruin it either. Looking forward to putting it through it's paces.
I also had some bow and stern rails installed - plan is to attach rod-holders to those using RAM mount tough claws. The rails look really good - the photos don't really do them justice.
Cheers
S
 

Hi All,
I have finally got the Minn Kota Ulterra installed! As promised - here are some photos. Overall I am pretty happy with it.
Installation includes two 120 amp hour deep cycle batteries - one in each console. A prosport dual bank charger, mounted inside the passenger console, a custom fabricated stainless steel mount and the 80 lb, 24V Minn Kota Ulterra (72 inch shaft) mounted on a quick release platform. Not much change from $10K but about half of that is for the electric motor. Could probably have saved $1.5K by not installing an onboard charger and using the manual deploy Terrova model. On the other hand could have spent another couple of thousand for a 24V Lithium Ion battery but opted to save the dollars and carry the extra weight (65 kg (Lead) rather than 20 kg (Lithium).
It doesn't make the boat look better but doesn't ruin it either. Looking forward to putting it through it's paces.
I also had some bow and stern rails installed - plan is to attach rod-holders to those using RAM mount tough claws. The rails look really good - the photos don't really do them justice.
Cheers
S
 

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?

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...

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.

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.

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.

I’ll add some pics under the ss64 thread.

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
 

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