WilliBoaz

On 10/05/2023 at 9:27 AM, _Sloth_ said:

Hi All,

Just wondering how all the SS64s are going? I've had mine for 3 years now. No major issues.

My stereo has stopped working and screws coming loose all over the place - some of which have been re-tightened so many times I am going to have to drill out and use larger ones. This is a particular a problem on my drivers side console (the screws that hold the foot well insert in place). I have always had a bit of a problem in this area - something doesn't fight right and when all the screws are snugged up I get some crunching noises when taking sharp chop from the starboard forward quarter. Probably going to replace some of these screws with bolts and lock nuts.

The top hinge on my windscreen broke free last weekend. The rivets snapped. Need to find a better fixing to re-attach it.

I spend most of my time out in the bay pounding it out in the chop so that might explain the windscreen.

Other than that I am still happy with my choice. How are others fairing?

S

PS I spent a weekend in the great sandy straight between Fraser and the mainland. Did around 300 kms driving in two days (mostly at or above 50 kph). Could have run top speed but I was worried about hitting the wildlife - heaps of dolphins and dugongs etc. Such a great place for the SS64. 

Hi mate

Yes, I'm very happy with mine.  Sadly don't get out as much as I'd like to.

I pretty much bought my boat to use in the Sandy Strait - I have a property at Poona.  Boat sits high n dry at low tide, which is the only downside.  That and the prevailing gale-force south-easter in summer...

15 hours ago, _Sloth_ said:

I was out Wednesday. First flushed using dual feed muffs and the high speed pickup blocker. Temp straight to 100! Triggered alarm. Never done that before. Had no problems with temp out on the water. Incidentally I got her up to 93 kph! Anyway. I tried using the hose connection on the motor. Worked beautifully. Temp at 62 throughout. Not sure why the muffs didn’t work but I’ll be using the hose connection on the motor in future. 

I don't think you're supposed to run the motor when using the hose connector 

14 hours ago, GregOug said:

Went out yesterday and flushed the motor when I got home. I watched the temperature gauge and it hovered around 56-57 and never went over 59, just using the standard muffs on it.

Interesting.  Did you have water coming out the telltale? Did it start immediately when you started the engine?

Thanks, I'll check it out

7 minutes ago, TheStej said:

 

Cool, thanks mate. Don't understand why they wouldn't mention any of this in the manual???  Time from Stejcraft also seems to be a bit in the dark on this.

Anyway, at least I've got some ideas to try out now - I'll give this a crack. 

Whilst I've got everyone's attention, do any of you use a motor trim support when towing the boat?

Cheers!

50 minutes ago, _Sloth_ said:

Yeah. I do. But I use a strap with a rubber stopper on it. This slows water escape but doesn’t stop it fully. 

Thanks.  Is the strap something you made or did you buy it somewhere?

34 minutes ago, TheStej said:

I have the V6 200. I was using the strap/plug to block the high speed pick up , the muffs that pump in water both sides. The donk was getting hot each time I flushed it. Eventually one arvo the warning came on that it was over heated( I got distracted with the neighbour over the fence and a beer) 

I spoke to Tim who put me onto Hayden at Wyld about boats . I took Hayden's advice and haven't had a problem since. I now tape the high speed pick up and put the strap over it, I tape one side of the water pick ups and use the old school water in one side muffs. Temp stays stable now . 

Awesome, thanks for the info, I will give that a go.  Did he tell you how long to run for?

2 hours ago, GregOug said:

I’m not sure what either of you mean? I’ve used muffs since I first got the boat. I’ve never had any alarms go off. I just run it for ten minutes or so and switch off. Mine just have a hose attachment on one side and the other side just covers the intake

Do you block the high speed intakes? If I don't, I don't get water out the telltale which worries me.

I used muffs yesterday, with tape over the high speed pickup. Got a temp warning even though water coming from telltale was cool. Obviously switched it off immediately.

Interestingly, when I took the tape off the high speed pickup, the water that drained from there was quite hot. There must be a sensor in the lower unit that detected that. 

Any thoughts? I've read the motor's manual and they recommend using the engine flush attachment. 

I'm confused now, as I've always thought earmuffs are best, but it's a bit stressful when you're getting temp warnings on a big new motor like that.

On another note, I finally got some time to use the boat in good weather up the Sandy Strait over the weekend with a few mates.  It was sensational, and all the boys were duly impressed with the new toy.  I'm very pleased with the performance, and super happy I waited for the V8.

Last weekend I took the boat up the Pumicestone passage for a bit of a whirl.  Disappointingly, on the way back I hit a sandbank going pretty fast, so took some paint off the skeg.  Hopefully no serious damage to the motor itself; I spoke to Tim Catanese and he said it should be OK.  I've hit sandbanks before in other boats, but still sucks doing it in a brand new one.

Can I ask what you guys do for motor flush? Earmuffs or the hose connector? If earmuffs, do you block the high-speed pickups with some tape?

On 31/05/2022 at 12:23 AM, Rusty_Nail said:

Hi WilliBoaz,

Didn't get out on the weekend as my crew all bailed on me at the last minute unfortunately due to illness.
However, I did get some time to take the covers off the boat and took some pics of the esky storage area. The esky is the Dune brand from Anaconda which has a lower profile than the one that was originally supplied with the boat. After lowering the aluminium brackets a little, it fitted neatly under the seat cushion with a few mm to spare.
I also cut a few small sections out of the base board as it was in direct contact with the fuel pipe and added some extra bracing on the back of the base board and rear of the esky area.

The esky opens easily, but doesn't stay open on it's own - which isn't too bad as it ensures the kids don't leave it open accidentally. 

Thanks for posting your mod.  I think Tim must have made some changes to the boat since you bought yours, as my esky fits nicely under the seat.  The problem I have is that the whole esky tilts forward when you open the lid as the back of the lid pushes against the back of the compartment.  Not the end of the world, I guess.

15 hours ago, Rusty_Nail said:

Is anyone heading out this weekend given some nice weather on the cards. I'm heading out to Tangalooma for the day from Shorncliffe/Cabbage Tree Creek.

Couldn't get out today (would have been ideal), thinking about a run on the bay tomorrow but a bit worried about the wind. Interested to hear your thoughts?

1 hour ago, Old Scaley said:

You aren’t too far away from the South Brisbane ramp.  It used to have a pontoon but Inot sure after the flood. Excellent parking. 

Had a look at it last week, it's currently being upgraded so closed until July

16 hours ago, Rusty_Nail said:

@WilliBoaz - on our boat I lowered the aluminium brackets that support the board that the esky sits on, which combined with a lower height esky from Anaconda (still 42L though from memory) allows about 10mm of space when the seat cushion is there. The esky can be opened in place when the seat is removed, although the lid does rub against the gel coat. If it's a decent day in Brisbane tomorrow (or sometime this week) I'll take some pictures and send them through.
On your other post about where to put in, I've been looking at going to Fig Tree pocket until the pontoon at Jindalee is repaired. There's no pontoon at FTP, but there is a reasonable section of sand/mud to beach the boat on if the tide is low enough.

Thanks mate, look forward to seeing those pics.

I've used the FTP ramp before, but didn't really fancy loading the family into the boat through the mud, or having the boat grind on the ramp...

Looks very different now, so might be worth a look. It's the closest ramp to my house.

28 minutes ago, _Sloth_ said:

I put the esky between the driver and passenger console. It fits nicely there. I use the space under the rear seat for fishing gear. Greg’s idea with the stoppers is good. I’m going to do the same.

Do you mean in the walkway between the 2 seats? Doesn't that block walkthrough access to the bow section?

Has anyone found a practical solution to accessing the Esky under the back bench? Even with the seat removed the lid doesn't stay open.

On 08/05/2022 at 8:58 AM, _Sloth_ said:

Best boat ramp on the Northside is pelican park at clontarf. 4 lanes plus floating pontoon that holds 6+ boats. Good wind protection and no tidal flow. Can launch at any tide. If weather in the bay is **** you can run into the pine. Usually not too busy either. Could be worth the extra travel time for the first few launches. 

Yep, work in Redcliffe a few days a week so I know that one. Will give it a crack sometime.

22 hours ago, _Sloth_ said:

Nice looking boat mate. Very happy for you. Many hours of fun out the water ahead of you.  Every time you start that engine you’ll be glad you waited for it. Where are you located?

I'm in Ashgrove, looking to head out somewhere today but cant decide where to go. Need a boat ramp with a pontoon, but it looks like all the ones on the river were destroyed by the flood

16 hours ago, GregOug said:

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.

Yes, I also thought it just sounded loose.  He said he swivelled the chair to look back and something in his pocket bumped the throttle and changed his speed.

Glad to hear it can be adjusted.  

Definitely don't want to get stuck in the upgrade spiral - I reckon you learned gentlemen are correct, I will wait for the V8.  I've waited a year already, what's an extra few months?

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?

Hi folks. Not sure if you all remember me, but I paid a deposit Feb 2021 for a SS64 with V8 200 Merc. 

Long story short, I'm still waiting on a motor...

There is a chance I can get a V6, but without DTS. Any thoughts on how much I'll be missing out on? I've only ever used cable.

Cheers

William

23 hours ago, _Sloth_ said:

Garmin, Humminbird, Raymarine, Simrad and Lowrance make excellent gear. I don't really think Brand makes too much difference. I have had Lowrance gear for the last 10 years or so so tend to just stay with that (you get used to the software etc). Simrad is made by the same people. The Simrad NSS Evo is exactly the same hardware that Mercury use for their Digital Vesselview gauges so there are possibly some advantages to using that. I think you can plug and play directly to the engine although not sure about that. 

I have the HDS Live 7 in mine. It fits neatly in the dash but it is too small for my likeing. The seating position is such that you are a fair way from the screen. You can fit a 9 inch in the dash minus the shrouds around the gauges. This would be much better. I have bought a 9 inch Lowrance Elite that I intend to put in the dash and then mount the 7 inch on a ram mount so I have two screens in the cockpit. These two units can be networked and can operate independently off the same transducer (i.e. one showing downscan and maps and the other showing sidescan etc...). This is how I had my last boat set up and it works well. Anyway - one high end 9 inch screen would be good - whichever brand. 

The other thing to consider is the transducer. For Lowrance the common one is called "active scan". They all have one which gives similar image quality. There is another higher end one that can do live sonar (called Active Target for Lowrance) - if you haven't seen this it is worth a look (YouTube). It gives a live sonar image but it is very expensive and I think it is probably cheating if you are fishing....The other brands also have similar tech available. Garmin were first with this and might be a little ahead of the others...

So with all that - I think a good option is the Lowrance Elite FS 9 inch which is about the same price as the 7 inch HDS but does almost all the same things...you will appreciate the screen real estate.

Again, thanks for all the info. It sounds like the 9 inch is the go. Now I just need to decide between HDS or elite. I suspect you're right that elite will be plenty for my needs

22 hours ago, _Sloth_ said:

Hey Willi,

Tides at Poona were pretty small last weekend. It might be better on larger tides? Also 15 cm should only take 1/2 an hour or so. I'd say my estimate is pretty conservative too. The SS64 will probably float in less than 500mm (it's a wide boat with big revers chines) 450mm might be enough.

S

Yes, they were tiny! I'd say the summary is I should be able to get in at least a half-day of boating per day at Poona with the Stejcraft, by which time wife and kids will be pretty much done, especially in summer.

On 09/03/2021 at 2:35 PM, _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.

I've optioned the HDS-7 Live as well - what are your thoughts on this unit?  I have literally zero experience - all my previous boating has been in South Africa where such devices were regarded as witchcraft!

I still have time to specify something different, e.g larger screen, Garmin vs Lowrance, etc.  I know the brand choice is largely a personal thing, but interested to hear your and the forum's thoughts.  It's surprisingly difficult to find a proper review of this unit online - mostly just clickbaity articles that regurgitate the specs.

I'm thinking bigger screen is better, and retrofitting is harder and more expensive...