2020 Sea Pro 228

[catchersrock]

She is at the dealership! Finishing up the motor install. I should have her early next week. 











I will post more picts, videos, and data once I get her broken in. 

Need to change my signature pict now!

[gnrphil]

Nice, looking forward to hearing more about that 250 Merc.

[Juan]

That's SLICK!! emthup Is there a T-top in her future?
You're not going to put any nasty old puffer fish in that are ya?

[catchersrock]

Thanks and yes on the T Top, I have an appointment at Modlins Welding for mid September.

modlinswelding.com/

[985crabs]

Catcher that is sexy! That motor looks alien. Can’t wait to hear your stories. Congratulations.

[freezerfiller]

Very nice! Can't wait to hear your report.

[catchersrock]

Good morning

So, I have finished the break in, and, got her all rigged out, except for the t top.

First of all, the motor. That thing is incredible, and, she is a beast. So much torque! Smooth, quiet! When idling, the only thing you can hear is the water peeing! I think it needs a little more pitch. I can hit the red line, but, I am waiting till I get the t top on her to make prop adjustments. A few picts below, but, I can get 4 1/2 miles per gallon and top's out in the low 50's at a little over 2 mpg.







Now the boat:

I fished a little yesterday and she fishes great. Tons of room and storage. I have added aerators to the bait tanks and they work great. Plenty of room for me and I am a little short for my weight.

Now to my only current "Non Praise" comments. The trim tabs were factory installed and at fully retracted, they are at a negative angle. I have to trim to the second or third light to get them parallel with the bottom of the hull. That probably wouldnt be an issue, but, the boat needs at least that much tab to stop severe porpoising. With the tabs all the way up, I cannot trim the motor up at all. This is new to me. My last sea pro had tabs and they were larger than these and the fully retracted position was parallel with the bottom of the hull. The higher the speed, the more tab it needs to stop the porpoising. WOT needs 4 to 5 on the indicator lights just to run. I have only ever used tabs to push the nose down in rough water or to correct listing. Can any of you guys let me know if this is normal? I am considering adjusting them so that the fully retracted position is parallel with the hull bottom so that at least I dont need to add tab just for normal cruising.

[gtightline]

Excellent looking boat Catchersrock...if the only tweeking you need to do is on the tabs, then you are in the win column..they have to make it right to your liking, isn't it Bow to Stern x 5 years, and the trim tabs are a factory add on...I would let the dealer do any kind of adjustments you might be considering...just saying.....Congratulations on that beautiful Sea Pro..👍

[catchersrock]

Thanks, and Yep, 5 years. They are having their yearly dealer day today at the factory and I sent a list with my sales person. The other items I had on her list was a current owners manual (the current one is from 2017) and a request to leave pull strings in the rigging pipes, or, even an adder for an extra empty pipe if possible. I would have paid for that. If any of you are considering ordering a new one, please ask them to pull in some strings for you. The rigging and wiring is the best I have seen. Very neat and tight. But, that can make adding things tough.

[Juan]

BEAUTIFUL ride and sounds like it's close to perfect with a little tweaking. As you know and already said, ideally, the tabs should be almost level with the hull when fully retracted ( mounted no more than 1/4" above the hull) and should quickly make adjustment in the ride with the slightest deployment. I can only make comparisons based on my hull which I believe is the same or very similar but it shouldn't porpoise with the tabs fully retracted either. (unless the motor is trimmed too high) What if it didn't have tabs? Maybe the motor height needs adjustment?
If you're maxing out rpms right at the red line now, I'd think you may already be pitched right since you'll probably lose a few rpm and 2 to 5 mph with the addition of the T-top. ( I know I did).
I gotta ask: What's your opinion on the gull wing hatch lids? That's the only thing I dislike about the Next Wave boats.

btw: Thanks again for the transducer. Bought it as a spare for the Sea Pro but stuck it on the Carolina Skiff I bought recently so now I can just pop the Lowrance off one and onto the other when I want to. Works great!

[catchersrock]

Hey Juan, thats great on the transducer.

I like the gull wings, I can access these boxes without climbing in the boat, which I understand is the purpose.

I am a little concerned about the porpoising. Would engine mounting height cause this?

[Juan]

Sept 10, 2019 10:36:06 GMT -6 catchersrock said:

Hey Juan, thats great on the transducer.

I like the gull wings, I can access these boxes without climbing in the boat, which I understand is the purpose.

I am a little concerned about the porpoising. Would engine mounting height cause this?

Yes it can, the motor might be set too low causing it to porpoise. Have you had a change to check where the cavitation plate is sitting when you're on plane?

Glad you like the gull wing hatches... I think they look good but can't help to think that the hinges get a lot of stress on them and might crack the glass sooner or later.

[freezerfiller]

Man I am so jealous (did I say that out loud?)!

[catchersrock]

Sept 10, 2019 15:51:58 GMT -6 Juan said:

Sept 10, 2019 10:36:06 GMT -6 catchersrock said:

Hey Juan, thats great on the transducer.

I like the gull wings, I can access these boxes without climbing in the boat, which I understand is the purpose.

I am a little concerned about the porpoising. Would engine mounting height cause this?

Yes it can, the motor might be set too low causing it to porpoise. Have you had a change to check where the cavitation plate is sitting when you're on plane?

Glad you like the gull wing hatches... I think they look good but can't help to think that the hinges get a lot of stress on them and might crack the glass sooner or later.

Juan

Two pictures below and link to a video. What do you think? 

[gnrphil]

Too low , move it up one hole.

[Juan]

Sept 16, 2019 8:29:07 GMT -6 gnrphil said:

Too low , move it up one hole.

What Phil said. emthup

[catchersrock]

Guys

I had the dealership move the motor up one hole. The boat performed much better and I picked up 2.5 MPH top end. Then, I filled the bait tanks and livewell (this boat has 2 bait tanks at 16 gallons each and the livewell is 37.5 gallons, thus adding 576.15 lbs to the aft end of the boat) and the porpoising returned. Do I need to raise it another hole, or, should I consider adding a jack plate?

[Juan]

A jack plate would be sweet and would let you fine tune the ride not to mention run in shallower water but I'd try moving it up another hole before I dished out that kind of coin if the porpoising is your only concern. Just be sure you don't raise it above the lower unit's water pick up.

[gnrphil]

Agree with Juan , but I'd like to see how the AV plate looks before you do that.
Are the tabs Lenco or bennet ?, I think with Lenco's you can turn the bottom part of the actuator to lengthen or shorten the stroke. You maybe able to get them level this way, but I think you need bigger tabs.

[Juan]

What hole is it mounted in now? After they raised it a notch, were you still able to trim up without throwing a rooster tail?
Lay a yard stick or flat board against the hull under the boat and see where it lines up with the cavitation plate.
Post a close up picture of the trim tabs. 12 x 12 Lencos if mounted correctly should be perfect on that boat.