A British FS17

[cape man]

Steve,

ABOUT time you got that girl back out. Great report. You must be a happy camper! Have a pint of cider for me!

[steve292]

Thanks for the replies & opinions. I had more or less decided on a fin, but Cl reply has tipped me toward the lighter(& cheaper)
fin rather than the aluminuim one I had considered, which was very much like CL's stingray. The reasoning behind this is I don't have a bad porpoise & it only happens right at WOT. Ithink between that & Bassmuns suggestion of weight distribution I'll get it
Thank you for taking the time to post such a considered & insightfull reply, Larry.

Does that engine have power trim? If so, can you stop the porpoising by trimming the engine down? A slight porpoise is normal at WOT and high engine trim, but if you can't trim it out, then a hydrofoil will stop it for sure.

It has PTT & trim but I couldn't get rid of the porpoising by trimming. I may be chasing perfection, as I know people who have the same characteristic, & just reduce speed by 1-2 mph, but I figure why come all this way & stop now?

If your not getting any ventilation in hard turns you might try raising the motor up 1 hole and seeing how that works. That will give you some speed and rpm without changing the prop

Thanks Tom, I'll try that if the fin rips too much off the speed & rpm.

The best bit of the day?.....the guy at the slip who asked me where the custom build boatyard that built my hull was
I am a happy chap

Gotta love it

Funny thing is I am storing the outfit at a Leisure storage facility about mile from the house, as I want the drive clear to do some stuff, & the yard foreman said much the same thing, followed by..."no...your kidding, did you really build it?.. thats great"
& 25minutes of questions

And I am especially impressed in the way you buried your own weight in the "1550 lbs all up".

[jgroves]

Hey Steve! Man your boat looks great and I'm excited to see your numbers on it! I really dig the high sides! I peep in ocassionally to look at the builds but not as much as I should. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. It's hard to imagine what I did before a boat

[cape man]

About time for both of you to post some new pics of the boats and you having fun...

[steve292]

About time for both of you to post some new pics of the boats and you having fun...

soon....working lots, & 3 years worth of house stuff to catch up on. weather is on & off too.

Hey Steve! Man your boat looks great and I'm excited to see your numbers on it! I really dig the high sides! I peep in ocassionally to look at the builds but not as much as I should. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. It's hard to imagine what I did before a boat

Thanks jeremy, nice to hear from you again
steve

[steve292]

No pics as it was a bit to rough, but I went to Weymouth today, & fished the shambles bank, along with 5 other boats from the club I am in. The forecast was for a calm sea, but we were faced with a 3ft, closed spaced chop. The Fs handled it great, keeping going at a steady 12-13knts,just on plane, with only occasional windblown spray coming onboard. I also found out that I need to get 3/8 fuel hose instead of 5/16 because when running for a long period the engine is starving of fuel, & the primer bulb is collapsing. That coupled to the fact I had VHF trouble as well, & to be frank the fishing was crap, sent me in after 3hrs, with just a few mackerel & 2 dogfish to show for my troubles.160 mile round trip towing as well ...never mind if you don't go you don't know, do you.?
However, I towed down in the morning,due to work stuff, & the others went down on Friday & sampled the nightlif in weymouth, there were some fine sights when we were putting in , that was some compensation.
Steve

[colonialc19]

Well, like you said, you don't know if you don't go ,
sounds like a productive trip all in all, you found out you needed a 3/8" fuel line, and that you need to work on your VHF,and the sight seeing is always a plus

[Lower]

A couple trips to work out the kinks and your good to go. Glad to hear your getting out and enjoying the boat! I too look foward to some new pics!

[Cracker Larry]

I also found out that I need to get 3/8 fuel hose instead of 5/16 because when running for a long period the engine is starving of fuel, & the primer bulb is collapsing.

Steve, the check valve in those chickensh@t primer bulbs are famous for failure and collapse. It may be as simple as a bad primer. I forget which engine you have, but if it's a 2 stroke especially be careful of running it hard while starving for fuel. This in effect leans out the fuel mixture, reduces lubrication and causes extremely high cylinder temps, hot enough to melt the pistons Ask how I know

[TomD]

Steve,

Great looking boat - was wondering whether you had some advice on good UK suppliers for fittings and deck hardware. I was at university in Bristol - but live in East Africa - am passing through the UK and was hoping to fill my suitcase with goodies....