Potential new boat owners

thataway · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 9:20 pm Post subject:

I have the Lowrance 26, which is the 6" and a year earlier version of the 113. I think that the depth sounder would be difficult to beat--great structure and fish ID--wonderful resolution and excellent various night and day screens. The charts on the hard drive are wonderful and really all that you need, but Navionics are also available for this chart plotter.
I have a Standard Horizon as a second chart plotter and they are different, (with the Max charts)--but the Lowrance is very adequate. I happen to use a separate Furuno Radar, because I really like Furuno--and am putting one in the C D 25 also. This is my 3rd 1715 Furuno radar. I personally don't like the overlay--but this is a personal opinion.

We like two VHF radios, perticullarly if you are operating in areas of heavy commercial traffic. Also consider AIS if in heavy commercial traffic areas.

The "standard" refigerators are very small--Both Thataway and Discovery had chest type of freezer/refigerators, which we both think are more functional and much more effecient.

I am not sure that the radar arch and rocket launchers would be my choice. With a camper canvas, how much use will the rocket launchers be?

I had a chance to run my CD 25 and Tom Cat in almost identical conditions in the last two days. Hands down winner is the Tom Cat in the chop--The CD 25 was at displacement speed to be comfortable, we were running at up to 35 knots in the Tom Cat in similar conditions.

I personally like the Suzuki engines--perhaps even emphasized by the amount of corrosion on the Hondas on the 4 year old CD 25--But the Suzuki's swing a slightly bigger prop, have a longer warantee and have a fantastic record of service. But again--personal choice. Suzuki also is NMEA 2000 compatable, which is compatable with the Lowrance units--and the Lowrance fuel management system--I think much more versitile than the Honda.

I would get a custom canvas rather than the "factory" canvas--I used Sunbrella Plus (water proof)--much heavier vinly and better fittings than the factory units.

Alok · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject:

Mark:

If you are going to keep the boat in the water for any length of time, you are going to have to think about a bottom job. Without bottom paint, a boat starts showing significant marine growth on the hull within a week in our part of the country- it may take longer in your colder waters.

A full bottom job includes epoxy coating and bottom paint. Ideally, 4 coats of epoxy are followed by three coats of bottom paint, though many seem to get by with less. This is an important decision, because a bottom job is not cheap (for our Tomcat the cost was $2400). In addition, once a boat has a bottom paint, it is best kept in the water...Talk to your local boatyard and see what they say.

Adeline · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:34 pm Post subject:

I can't believe I omitted Lowrance when I commented earlier. Gettin' forgetful, I guess. I ran Lowrance sonar and gps in Adeline until last year(17 years) and they were great. I was planning on getting a 110 until the Standard Horizon CP1000C happened along at an unbeatable price(refurbished w/full warranty). I REALLY like Lowrance, especially their fishfinders but Im real happy with the S.H.. Like I said, there's lots of great electronics out there. Whatever you do, make sure your new vhf radio is DSC(class D) capable and you can interface with your gps. That way, other dsc transmitters can be seen on your display, along with bearing, range, and other helpful info.

thataway · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject:

To expand on what Pete said about DSC--the Standard Horizon chart plotters easily interface with the DSC radios--to give the actual chart location of a vessel sending a signal.

drjohn71a · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 10:26 am Post subject:

Mark and Diana... Congrats on your choice! I am certain you will not regret picking the TomCat.

Re: Bottom paint... I guess the factory job is best, but I did not get it due to thinking I'd be using a lift at the lake. Problem is that a lift is only at one lake, and I ended up going to several other lakes, incl. the Gulf and Puget Sound! If you don't get the factory bottom paint, the local guys recommend keeping the boat in the water a month or so without bottom paint in order to get the wax off the bottom (from production) and to get a scumline to identify the exact bottom paint coverage area. I am having mine bottom painted about the end of July.

Re: Electonics... I'd recommend one of the well known packages that use the latest communications setup so you can expand to multiple stations, or hook up cameras, auto-pilot, etc., easily. One thing to understand is that, if one part of those systems goes out, the whole thing can go out... maybe the depth finder might work.
Backup is critical! I bought a $269 Lowrance iFinder H2Oc and got the map disc. That unit has saved my bacon a half dozen times since the Raymarine unit kept blowing fuses. Turns out the installer had grounded the Seatalk cables. Seatalk cables are kind of like speaker cables, the latest electronics guy says... One thing I've found out is that the portables and fixed mounts use the same gps chips, if you have the same manufacturer! I have Raymarine fixed electronics and Lowrance portable, so I've had to buy double chips.

VHF radio... get a reasonably good, waterproof portable VHF. We have been in storms when all the installed electronics bit the dust...right in the middle of the greatest need! The portable gps and VHF were worth their weight in gold.

Camper Back - I have found the current factory camper back by King Canvas to be of excellent design. Most of the time, when it's raining, I just leave the top and back sides on, leaving the panels by the cabin and the center aft open.

Towing: Although it, at first glance, appears daunting, the TomCat on a trailer is a dream to drive on the highway with my Ford 250 diesel Super Duty pickup. I got the electric/hydraulic trailer brakes which gives you pin point control on the sensitivity and allows you to feather out sway should the wind or a huge semi get things moving sideways.

I think the Dodge, the Ford, or the Chevy 3/4 ton crew cab diesel pickups would probably work out fine. The extra long wheelbase helps to keep the rig running straight and minimizes "hopping"

More later, got to work... good luck on your dream!

John

Byrdman · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:00 am Post subject:

Good to see folks looking at the TC255. Prior TC24 owner and it was a great boat too. I do miss the cat ride and stability.

Saw in your post you may be contracting on Tuesday.. Cool...but, in your search, you may want to at least allow yourself a gander at Bob's TC255 in CA. "Bobcat" in the for sale section on our front page. This boat was put together by Les Lampman in Oak Harbor WA....with very...very much attention to detail.

As an individual, I feel this particular hull will be hands down in better shape than a new hull coming out of the factory today. Just my opinion...and truly worth a peak prior to throwing down the big bucks for a brand new...not yet tweaked/upgraded hull.

Enjoy.... and this may get you to Bob's boat.
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=4460

Byrdman

drjohn71a · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 12:08 pm Post subject:

Mark and Diana...

I forgot to mention that you definitely need FOUR batteries, esp. if you have the built in refridgerator.

I think the aft station is very well worth the extra cost. Helps alot coming into fuel docks, dumping stations and any close maneuvering in rough weather, not to mention the ease of being out back in the cockpit for fishing, cruising, etc.

Re: If the used TomCat is equipped for what you want, it certainly would be a money saver. The used TomCat that is dive equipped has a jog type aft steering which is different than the full aft helm. I would stop short of saying that the used TomCat is a superior hull to one of the newer hulls, though.

Good luck,

John

gljjr · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject:

mark&diana · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:41 pm Post subject:

Many thanks to John, Bob, Pete, Alok, “Byrdman” and the many others for your comments and excellent advice.

I’m finding myself a little overwhelmed with all the information available and how many decisions there are to be made! But I guess part of the fun of being a boat owner is diving into the details of the various equipment, options, etc.

I looked at the used TC for sale in California (Dive Cat) – looks like a great boat with lots of well thought out modifications and equipment. It seems to be specially configured, however, for diving which even though I have my dive card – is not really applicable where I will most likely be using our boat.

- Great points about the bottom paint. I would not have even thought of that. Looks like the best course of action is to put in the water for now and have it added in a couple of months.

- Lots of good input from everyone on electronics. I’m definitely going to get a multifunctional unit and a handheld GPS back-up. I will take the advice to compare various models at Rogers Marina before deciding which one to purchase. I have also made a check list of what to look for in a VHF radio.

- Looks like I also need to do a little more research before getting the camper back. I’m going to look at photos of what others have done and see if I can come up with an appropriate design and ask more questions about who will do the work and types of material.

I’ll let everyone knows what happens!

Thanks again

drjohn71a · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:44 am Post subject:

Mark,

Probably the biggest difference on the Camper Back design is whether to have zip out screens/windows. We usually have enough wind around here and down to the Gulf to keep small insects from hanging around, but up North where you are, it would probably be good to have zip out clear plastic, leaving screens for your protection when the boat is at rest.

Bottom paint... I am guessing the quality of the factory job is excellent, and it is much cheaper than having the job done after delivery. Most ppl I've checked with end up paying about $2500 for bottom paint, if you're lucky enough to find someone to do it at all due to the hazardous materials laws.

It was just an accident that I ended up deciding to have the bottom painted after delivery.

Enjoy the process! John

Doryman · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject:

KenG · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:23 pm Post subject: DIY would be 1/5 of $2500!

mark&diana · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject:

Well we did it and now are proud boat owners!

Since the boat was already delivered from the factory - we need to add the bottom paint - but are getting it done fairly reasonably.

I'll spend this weekend figuring out which navigation/electronics system to get.

Thanks again to everyone's input.

colobear · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:36 pm Post subject:

Congratulations and welcome. This is a great bunch of people and an incredibly valuable site.

Alyssa Jean · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:56 am Post subject:

Unless you are planning on leaving the boat in the water for extended periods of time I see no reason to spend the time and money on bottom paint. I keep the boat on a trailer. The longest time I had a boat in the water was the 30 day trip to Ketchikan last year and when I returned I had no growth on the bottom at all.