First overnight on Venture!

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Easyvictor.14

New member
Took the "New" 23 Venture to Possum Kingdom Lake west of DFW for a short 2 day trip.
My observations: the Venture tows very easily behind my 1/2 ton Ram Diesel.
This boat draws LOTS of attention here in Texas. People were cruising up to us all day asking about the boat and admiring it.

Boat runs and rides beautifully, but I'm planning to move more weight forward. There is a lot of weight at the stern, Suzuki 150, Suzuki 9.9 w power tilt, 60 gallons fuel, Honda EU2000, big heavy cooler.
I moved generator inside in front of co pilot seat, cooler under the bed and filled 17 gallon water tank (bow mounted), after this shift, I was running 50% bow down trim, 3900 RPM, 21-23 MPH GPS, nice nose low attitude and great ride.
Anchored in an area called Hell's Gate, had dinner, turned on anchor light, star gazed, had a few cocktails and turned in. Slept great, no bugs thanks to good screens.
This is gonna be a great Loop Cruising machine.
Thanks all C Brats for valuable info on this site!!

Posted a few new pics too.
 
Great trip!
Also, I have two West Marine bean bag chairs that I use on my Whaler Montauk. They can be a little cumbersome to stow, but the are awesome on the Venture! At anchor, we toss them up on the bow and sit against the front windows and/or the bow rail, right over the windlass and cleat. It's like having two Lazy Boy loungers on board.
 
We have a 2008 venture 23. The water tank is under the seat opposite the stove. You mention a bow installation. Is that under the V-berth?
 
Chimoii,
My 2008 Venture had the water tank removed from under the dinette and moved to under the forward V berth just aft of the anchor locker. It's a 17 gal Vetus flexible bladder inside of a heavy canvas bag with a filler hose on top and supply hose connection on the bottom. All of the plumbing and pump location are as originally built. Still fills on port side, pump still under dinette.
Seems to work well and puts 136# of water up front.
 
Easyvictor.14,

Congrats on the first night out. It is a great feeling. Enjoy.

BTW, what 1/2 ton, diesel Ram are you using. By chance, the new Econo Diesel? I have bee looking at that one very intently.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Hardee,
Yes, it's the new 3.0 liter EcoDiesel. Mine is a 4wd, Crew Cab, long bed Laramie package.
Fantastic truck! I've owned just about every brand of truck, and this one is by far my favorite. It has a tow rating of 9200#, mine has a lot of options, but still has 8000# towing capability.
It's not a 3/4 ton cummins, but it's not supposed to be, it's a 1/2 ton truck that has an incredible ride, super quiet and gets an AVERAGE of 25mpg.
On my most recent trip, about 220mile round trip towing the C Dory, I averaged 16.7 mpg.

There's a pic of the truck in my album.
 
OK, so you probably didn't get your truck at Dave Smith's in Kellogg, ID, but maybe you slept in a Holiday Express.

It sounds like the perfect tow rig for a 22.

Thanks. PM sent.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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