FS 17 - Raised Sheer

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VT_Jeff
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by VT_Jeff »

"used the prop to turn it over by hand a few times. "

Going to assume you had the plugs out when you did this....?

I agree about the 4-stroke thoughts: well worth the extra weight, IMO.

Sounds like you do some actual, serious, sailing! Keep us posted on the Bermuda trip, sounds like a blast!

Would love to see some longer videos of that boat screaming around when you can, amazing work all around!
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

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TomW1
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by TomW1 »

Well done Joe. :D Tom
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joe2700
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by joe2700 »

Thanks everyone!
VT_Jeff wrote: Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:32 am "used the prop to turn it over by hand a few times. "

Going to assume you had the plugs out when you did this....?

I agree about the 4-stroke thoughts: well worth the extra weight, IMO.

Sounds like you do some actual, serious, sailing! Keep us posted on the Bermuda trip, sounds like a blast!

Would love to see some longer videos of that boat screaming around when you can, amazing work all around!
Correct! Sprayed the fogging oil in through the spark plug holes and turned it over before reinstalling them. Was just worried about seating the rings properly after they sat for so long.

I have a good video of my last run of the season plus some performance testing I will post soon.

joe2700
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer - sea trials

Post by joe2700 »

By September I had put the first 20 hours on the engine so time for the first maintenance. Pulled the boat out and completed the first service changing the oil, filter, gear oil, and greasing everything.

I was a little under propped since I could hit the rev limiter at full throttle so I also changed the first cheap amazon prop(11-1/2 x 13) to a second cheap amazon prop(11-1/4 x 15). I plan to get a nice stainless prop once I get the correct one figured out. Will talk about this more when I get to performance results.

Wasn't using the boat a whole lot during September as it was the final run up to our wedding in early October. We DIY'd a lot for the wedding with help of family and friends and had a great time. After we recovered from that just used the boat as much as possible on the Charles and out in Boston harbor through early November when I have to be out of my slip. A few random pics of our fall trips.
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I did manage to find a rock cutting through somewhere I thought was shallow and sandy, but was in fact shallow and rocky. Wasn't on plane but hit hard enough to really jar the boat and I checked for water coming in. There was none but I felt good about having the separate sealed compartments as we completed the rest of our journey back. After pulling the boat it was a pretty good scratch to fill on the chine, but no structural damage.
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Early December I took a last ride of the year back on the Cape and did my most intentional performance testing. Here are some pics from the last ride.
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And here is a video of the last ride, I'll detail all my performance results in the next post.

https://youtu.be/1mT0aXom_F8

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VT_Jeff
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by VT_Jeff »

Wow! I'm guessing you know that marsh pretty well!

That Simrad display is awesome. I don't even have a fuel gauge!

Looked like it took a few milliseconds to go from 19 to 27, slick!
There are only two seasons in Vermont: boating season, and boat-building season.

Completed Paul Butler 14' Clark Fork Drifter
Completed Jacques Mertens FS14LS + 10%, Build Thread
Started Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie

Dan_Smullen
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by Dan_Smullen »

Beautiful ride! Looks like a great place to fish!

joe2700
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by joe2700 »

VT_Jeff wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:13 pm Wow! I'm guessing you know that marsh pretty well!

That Simrad display is awesome. I don't even have a fuel gauge!

Looked like it took a few milliseconds to go from 19 to 27, slick!
I've been though there a few times haha, one handed(holding the phone in the other) was a new challenge though! Had to try to come in at a speed I could make the turn since I couldn't easily adjust the throttle. It does pick up to WOT pretty quick!
Dan_Smullen wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:31 pm Beautiful ride! Looks like a great place to fish!
Thanks Dan! There are a few spots around these little islands in the bay that even I have caught some fish and I would not call myself a fisherman by any stretch of the imagination.

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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by Fuzz »

Really enjoyed the video :wink:

joe2700
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer - Testing

Post by joe2700 »

As I mentioned in the previous post, on my last day out for the year I did some performance testing.

I had used the boat for around 30 hours so far, 10 of those after I changed props. Overall my impression was that the boat performed very well. It was fast enough, maneuvered well at low speeds, maneuvered well at high speeds when there wasn't ventilation, was pretty dry, and was good in mild chop for such a flat bottom.

The boat drained easily when moving at all and no water came in through the gemlux duck bill scuppers even when standing at the back. At rest it drained most of the water so you would never have to worry about leaving it in the rain, but retained a little which can be annoying. I think this is a combination of the duck bill scuppers needing a little pressure to open, and the sole being a little too flat so water doesn't all go to the stern. I plan to experiment with removing the duck bills, although I suspect water will then come in when you stand at the back. Another option is to put a 3 way valve in the drain hose so I can drain to the bilge when I was a dry sole, but be self bailing most of the time. It's not the end of the world but if I can find a solution that would be great.

Ergonomically the seats all seemed to work well, I love my console and driving position, and the stereo sounds great. Even in primer grey she got plenty of compliments and surprise she was home built.

With the first prop(11-1/2 x 13) I would hit the rev limiter and I had ventilation issues when turning and even occasionally when going straight in mild chop. This was with the motor trimmed all the way down. With the second prop(11-1/4 x 15) I no longer hit the limiter, but was still at the upper end of the range. I no longer had ventilation going straight with the motor down, but couldn't trim it up much. Ventilation in turns was reduced but still happened sometimes.

My motor is already at the lowest mounting position so I can not lower it without significant modifications to the transom. That said, it seems like the cavitation plate is already just below the plane of the bottom of the boat, so I don't think I should need to go lower. I know it's hard to tell from pictures, I'll need to check again with a straight edge.
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I will say I wish the motor trimmed down a little more or that the transom had a few more degrees of angle. I can only use the very bottom end of the trim range as is, the rest is wasted. I've also always liked having the option of tucking the prop way under the boat and pushing it up either to get on plane in a hurry or hold the boat on plane at slower speeds. The motor is in a fine angle for normal use, but being in the middle of the trim range would offer more flexibility.

Both of the props so far have been very cheap aluminum ones. I'm hoping that switching to a higher quality stainless prop will reduce ventilation further. If that does not help one last thing to look at will be if I'm getting turbulence off the keel.

Numbers coming up next...

joe2700
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Re: FS 17 - Raised Sheer

Post by joe2700 »

From my impressions in the last post, on to the performance numbers.

To start I must reveal this is probably the heaviest FS17 ever built. Very glad I don't think I ever claimed this would be a lightweight build! I got the car/trailer weight right before and after putting the boat in for testing and she is 1780 lbs with a full 22 gallon fuel tank, 6 pack/bag of ice in the cooler, and all normal tools and equipment. That means with me onboard we are talking 1940 lbs for a light leave the dock weight and with a few friends and full cooler/gear you are getting into the 2300-2500 lb range. Raised sheer, large console, side decks, large fuel tank, 4 stroke, and lots of hardware will do that. Good thing I raised the sole...
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From the study plans the displacement at the DWL is 1,465 lbs with a PPI of 330 lbs. That means I'm about 475lbs over the design displacement and theoretically about 1.5" lower in the water.

Performance numbers:
  • 1940 lbs as tested
  • Suzuki DF60A 60HP outboard
  • 11-1/4 x 15 aluminum prop
  • Salt water
Top speed tested by making multiple runs up and down the channel in opposing directions and taking the average speed to eliminate wind/current:
  • 28.2kts (32.5mph) @ 6047 rpm
  • With a 2.27:1 drive ratio that means about 14% prop slip.
I also did a test accelerating from a stop to top speed, then backing off in 1000 rpm increments to record speed and fuel economy. I advanced the throttle quickly but did not just slam it forward. In this test I only went one direction so I would expect these speeds to be up to half a knot off. I have a video of the MFD for this entire test below. Note the speeds are based on gps, so probably lag a little behind reality.
  • 0-10 kts: 7 seconds
  • 0-20 kts: 10 seconds
  • 0-26 kts: 20 seconds
  • *Trimmed motor up to reach 28 kt top speed

ktsrpmNM/gal
28.260475.0
2250006.7
1440007.2
7.530006.0
5.5200010.0
Video of the test:

https://youtu.be/3QliL304t7Q

Overall I think the performance is great. I hope to reduce ventilation and perhaps gain a tiny bit of performance by finding a high quality stainless prop. If it slightly reduced max RPM that would be ok as I'm pretty close to the top of the 5,300-6,300 rpm range. If that doesn't resolve the ventilation I'll look at the keel or perhaps having to lower the motor as that's really the only performance problem.

Other than that I can make a 100 mile round trip at a quiet and comfortable 22 kt cruising speed keeping 1/3 fuel in reserve. On a much more regular basis I can make a ton of short trips in comfort with friends and beer without ever worrying about fuel. Really loving it so far!

So what's next. Paint! I was going to have someone spray it with awlgrip but have decided to do it myself. I'm going to roll alexseal using their rolling additive that hopefully means no tipping required. The boat is back in the garage and I will begin removing everything. Just picked up this trunk full of alexseal to keep me busy this winter.
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