New fishing machine!

[Redthies]

I’ve been shopping for a bigger boat lately, as we are expecting our third dog to arrive in a few weeks. Our current flat bottom Jon boat is fine for the wife and I and our Weimaraner and Dachshund, but the younger of those two just turned 10, and our rule is to spice things up with a puppy when the youngest hits 10. We went to visit the puppies on Tuesday, and on the way home stopped in to see my wife’s sister and her husband on the small island they live on. I mentioned the search for a new boat and he said “you can have mine for free... I’m tired of looking at it”. Well, being a savvy shopper, I of course said yes. So I hitched it up and dragged it home.

Now as generous as Gord is, he is at least that same level of disinterested in doing maintenance on something he has decided to not like anymore. The boat was put away without any preparations for winter, or preventative maintenance done. The steering has seized up at the motor, and I found out today it’s leaking gear oil out of the prop shaft seal. I have yet to fire it up, but I gave it a good cleaning, charged the battery (then found a second battery later), and made it a whole lot more presentable. Luckily I’m working on an Airstream for the son of our local Grady White dealer, who is also a Merc dealer. They are going to swap me some hours and get the steering and engine squared away.

It’s a KMV 528 CC, which is a Norwegian designed hull that is on par with Boston Whaler for seaworthiness, and apparently is a very stable boat at rest or low speed as the hull is a sort of displacement / deep vee hybrid. They claim it will plane faster than a conventional deep vee with 25% less power needed to do it. It also will float highenough to run the engine with a full load and 7” hole through the hull. Some big claims. I’m hoping to not have to test the last one! Some pics below of both new bird dog and new boat:

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice. Both new additions look good.
I really like the chocolate one.

[Redthies]

Chocolate? You mean the Weimaraner? There are moments of fear of not sleeping, but we are definitely excited about her arrival!

[JEBar]

nice on both .... out of a need for more room for his family and dogs, our youngest son just purchased a center console .... we went out it in for the first time on Memorial Day .... must say we were impressed by the room and versatility .... looking forward to your ongoing fishing and recreation reports

[Hatchdog]

After reading your text I expected to see a wreck of a boat when I got to the pictures. Looks like at least he kept the hull somewhat clean and maintained. (Understand the pics are after you gave it some love). That’s a nice looking boat and looks to be great for the clan you plan to bring along. Great looking pups too, we’re still waiting to get our pup and my wife spoke with the breeder the other day. Looks like we are number 27 on the list.

Enjoy both new additions.

[markiver54]

All looks great!!
Nice boat, especially at that price!
If I could caption the one pic, it looks like Mom is thinking, " Will they ever finish "

[Ernie]

Like Hatchdog I was surprised by the boat pics. Looks great. So do the pups.

[Redthies]

If I could caption the one pic, it looks like Mom is thinking, " Will they ever finish "

You’d be right. She definitely wants it over. Their teeth are at the needle phase, and she had some very sore looking teats!


The boat is definitely a great deal at the price, but the steering is seized and he was hammering on the linkage etc. There might be a bunch of expensive parts that need replacing. I’m hoping to get the existing motor running reliably, but not sure how much that’s going to take. My Mercury guys are dropping by this evening and will take a look. I charged up both batteries so will try to fire it up tonight.

[markiver54]

Good luck with the boat James!

[daytime dave]

Both will take some working with. I'm sure you will get both to your liking and have them both to where you want them some time down the road. Good luck with both. One may be easier than the other.