Reelfast

[gt]

being preped for paint. now in outfitting. maybe a few more jpegs next week. getting close to delivery on the fishing machine :p

[Steve Rohrbach]

gt, thanks for sharing the photo. Reelfast is going to be one awesome fishing machine. Good luck sleeping with the excitment of the pending delivery. Steve

[gt]

driving in on monday to check out the paint job, drop off the vinyl lettering and see how the outfitting is going along. maybe more jpegs.

[topwater]

cool boat, i remember watching my boat get built there. since you're still in the outfitting stage i thought i'd share some hints from running an almar for 5 years. get padding on the rails... you'll never regret it. lockable rod racks along the gunnels was one of the best items i had built in. never had to worry about rods banging around or someone stepping on or falling into them while travelling or fishing. my boat is sitting for sale up at boat country in everett if you want to check out some of the features i mentioned.

one question, why the open console and not the sitka style pilothouse almar is well known for? maybe all the luxery made me a bit of a sissy, but getting out of the wind (especially while running) and having a heater made life much more pleasant fishing the ocean... especially in rough seas... and getting an almar means you will have the ability to fish water that most won't want to deal with. almars simply kick ass, period. your first run in your new almar will be one of your best boating days ever.

what length / beam and v did you end up ordering?

chris

[gt]

thanks chris. it took me almost a year of interviewing builders and flying around looking at glass boats. i have fished from an open boat all of my saltwater days so i just could not see having a pilot house and limiting 360 access, especially when fly fishing. if a dealer was closer than ohio, i more than likely would have purchased what i consider the very best blue water cc glass boat made, regulator marine. this machine is something to behold and operate in open water, WOW!

this CC is a compromise from a 'true' east coast cc boat. it does have a full windshield with wiper and 2 smaller permanant sidelight windows, it's usually not 80 with 90% humdity around here. however, the cc can be closed off with izinglass all the way around so you can zip down if you are taking water/spray or if you want to cut the breeze further.

a small heater is still possible but that has never been a problem for me, a real fleece kind of guy. i am going to live with the gunnal coming for now and decide if i want any padding, lots of sources for this material, and a great idea. the gunnals are clean, no rails or obstructions including pop up cleats on the top surface. small rails on the inside edge of the gunnal will provide a grab rail fore and a 3" tall rail on the stern will serve the same purpose and double as a place for rod holders. L plates for future downriggers are also in place.

trailering was important to me so 8'6" beam is what it had to be. big discussion on wider therefore more stable, but this is what i decided. i did not want to be limited nor have to continuously come up with oversized trip permits. length was also a good discussion. 25' from bow to stern with the motor platform aft of that, so it should tape out at about 27' LOA, longer than i thought but i am not sorry now seeing the amount of floor space for fishing flies.

lockable rod racks are a great idea but i opted for a huge dry storage locker and 2 whopper fish boxes while minimizing the under rail space. i have dropped off some special fly rod holders for install and they also did some standard rocket launchers for the conventional tackle. i think the head will accomodate the rods, and is lockable with a real lock, for the time when the boat is moored.

i did run an almar before i committed and it was a great smooth ride. i am looking forward to making the strait runs as well as the crossings over to the SJ's when the fishing warrants. so many of the boats i see running around are similar to my old 20footer and are probably ok so long as the seas don't lump up too bad. what are considered to be 'bay boats' on the east coast.

i swore the last time i got lost in the fog, never again. so this is getting a full compliment of the latest integrated navigation electronics. way slick with a single display for the entire range of functions.

headed in tomorrow with the vinyl and will hopefully get a few more jpegs of progress. i was there before the deck went on so i actually have jpegs of the stringer system and what that is all about. this is the third boat i have had fabricated to my spec but it is certainly the most professionally built and so far the cleanest design. almar is a company worth considering for anyone wanting to do this. just don't plan on having your boat next tuesday.

[gt]

reelfast in outfitting this am. gauge locations noted, half the antennas are on, electronic compasses are in, popup cleats in place, nice nonskid floor coating. the big gap in the hull is where the beach steps and ladder are mounted, note the bodasious 'beaching plate' on the keel. should have the engines on tomorrow. the vinyl is going on today, hopefully some jpegs tomorrow from the CAD guy. second wk of sept is looking like it might happen.

[sturgeon crazy]

SWEET BOAT!!
I am just starting to shop for a boat, if you don't mind, what price range is this running in?
SC

[gt]

don't mind your asking but, sorry, i make it a habit of not discussing business deals with folks i don't know personally, or in an open forum.

my suggestion regarding shopping is to wait until the seattle boat show. the numbers of boat manufacturers represented will give you food for thought for quite a while. that said, this is a totally custom boat, topside. the hull from almar is one they have been building for a long time so they know it performs. in fact the boat i got a ride in was purchased by the us navy, six of them!

if you are looking for a glass boat, you should be asking very pointed questions regarding construction. some very well know long time mfg's are still using wood, a chopper gun and thousands of pounds of resin. i was only able to find 6 mfg's who were hand laying or vacum bagging and had all composite construction. you should also be aware that a top quality boat bonds the upper and lower molded units chemically and foam fills the entire cavity. sound famaliar?? its not an exclusive construction technique any longer.

shop hard, ask lots of questions. if you are looking to have aluminum as the boat material, almar is really worth a look. everything they do is up to commercial use standards, no corner cutting by them, and very, very competitive in pricing. but, you will find multiple aluminum fabricators at the seattle show as well.

[TomB]

if you are looking into aluminum boats, pacific also makes very quality boats. the boat i used this summer for research was a pacific skiff that was self bailing and self righting with enough freeboard for very rough water. the open design would have been great for ff'ing, though it was not as big or seaworthy as the almar.
-T

[gt]

vinyl makes it official :D

[sturgeon crazy]

sorry if this is to many questions and don't want to take over your post but...
wondering what your opinion is on glass vs. aluminum. I'm looking for a boat for open water( columbia,pacific, light sound duty). don't plan on beaching the boat. plus, I am thinking a bit bigger than reelfast, somewhere in the 30-38 ft range with a long range capacity and speed. Pricining seems to jump considerably in aluminum boats( that I have looked at) comparably to glass plus the power packages seem to be on the smaller side.
any thought's?
what type/size moter is reelfast getting and what do you expect for range?
she's definately a sweet ride!!
look forward to more pic's
SC

[gt]

only aluminum boats i have seen in the 35> are all custom made. i believe almar, as an example, builds to 14 x 40 or there abouts. power plants are totally your choice. they were working on a boat for the port of portland dredge. this crew boat was around 40' with twin 500+hp diesels driving HUGE hamilton pumps. so you can outfit your boat anyway you want.

big glass boats all tend to be 'cruiser' configurations. now if that is what you are after, you have a ton of choices. as i have expressed already, check what you can't see. wood in the construction of glass boats is simply dry rot waiting to happen. no matter how well the mfg tries to seal out water from getting to the wood, water is simply an invasive medium, the clock simply ticks away.

i have never looked at glass boats >26 but your investigation should prove interesting to you. there is also the issue of glass bubbling due to constant water contact so there is another important question to persue as a boat the size you are thinking is sure to be permanently moored.

reelfast is designed to fish, period. there is no cuddy, there is no V berth, there is no wasted space. i wanted a boat that you could circle without obstructions, so that is what i designed. everyone has their own opinion regarding what they think is best for their application. so, there is no right or wrong, only what fits your purpose.

off the shelf boats tend to follow sales trends. in the PNW you always find what are refered to as 'walk around' configurations. the issue for me is that 2/3 of the boat is not easily available for fishing. i finally convinced my wife that running to the SJs, fishing, and then staying in a nice B&B was a way better solution that a cuddy.

reelfast is powered by twin yamaha 150s. range should easily be 300+ but i won't know specifically until i run the engines in and start doing fuel consumption checks. it could easily turn out to be 400+ based on what i have seen various mfg's reporting who also run yamahas on similar sized boats. i also broke with the traditional PNW 'kicker' motor and opted for the lenco 'trollin'tabs', twin 24v electric motors. i originally had a bow mount but reconsidered. silent trolling will be kind of odd.

hope that helps. as i also mentioned, if you can wait until the seattle boat show, you will more than likely see a wide range of boats and deals galore.

chris also mentioned that his almar is forsale at http://www.boatcountry.com/ they have also have a wide range of glass boats in the size range you mentioned. nothing wrong with used if you can find a configuration that meets your needs. happy thinking and shopping. for me, i am coming on a year in this process, take your time and have fun.

[sturgeon crazy]

Thank's for the info
SC

[gt]

tuesday's visit found the wiring being redone as sam didn't think the job to this point was sanitary enough. being an anal boat electrician is a good thing. chatted with the canvas guy regarding the surround and have that squared away. should have been hauled off for bottom painting today, a 3 day shot. getting closer to being put in the water for the sea trial, maybe next week.


you can see the motors have been hung and the lenco 'trollin'tabs' are now installed. i heard a 47# chinook had been landed over the weekend locally, gettin'anxious for the launch.

[Steve Rohrbach]

Reelfast appears to be the perfect name given the size of the power hanging off the stern. It will be hard to not pop a wheelie. I hope the final detailing goes smoothly and you are out on the water soon. Steve

[gt]

next week :D :D

more jpegs, maybe monday.

[Stonefish]

GT,
I see you decided on the Lenco Tabs. I remember our earlier discussion on this subject in the Saltwater Electric Motor thread started by Marty G. You had mentioned the negative opinions / reviews of Lenco's on Blanton's site.
What made you decide to go the Lenco route rather then a saltwater electric motor or gas kicker?
The boat looks like it is fast becoming a fishing machine. Congrats!
Thanks,
Brian

[gt]

yes, i had decided against the lenco trollin'tabs based on the article on this topic. after i reread the evaluation, i found that the negative opinions were based on their performance in flats types of situations. i could understand how this might be an issue for someone in FL or TX. but after scratching my head for a minute or two i realized i was in WA :ray1: since we don't have flats and this absolutely keeps the front deck clean and uncluttered, i reversed course. i didn't do the gas kicker for several reasons: silence is nice, these tabs allow way more manuverability, i like different approaches, the big money boys who fish for a living use electric.

the install is a 24v independent electrical system with big honking deep cycle batteries amidships. we will see if i can get a days worth of silent running out of this setup. if not, i know the 150s troll quite nicely and are pretty good at sippin fuel.

we shall see how my ideas pan out in actual practice. i am sure some of them won't work as i had hoped but that is also part of the fun in designing and having a boat constructed to your very own hair brain notions of what makes a boat a fishing machine.

[ibn]

Looks like it will be ready just in time for hardcore winter rockfish out at Neah Bay, when do we get to go? :)

[gt]

soon ibn, very soon. butt first the coho of dungness bay need some attention :D

[gt]

first ride this afternoon. hopefully, photo updates this evening, or whenever i get home.

[Steve Rohrbach]

I feel the need.....

[gt]

sorry for the crappy photo. was planning on getting some water shots but the pt defiance ramp was way too busy this afternoon, maybe some good shots this coming weekend.

reelfast weighed in at 5,200 state certified scale pounds, almost everything worked first time out of the box, a couple of minor fixes should set it straight, with zero hours on either engine, i ran it up to 43.5 GPS calibrated knots, about 50 mph, engines are way to stiff to rev beyond 5,600rpm so this speed could go up a bit. amazing just what a difference the trim has on speed, going to have some fun learning just how to optimize for running.

[ibn]

Too sweet, I'm excited for you. Boating is one of my favorite by-products of fly fishing. Enjoy the burn in, looks fantastic. That's going to open up some serious fishing opportunities for you if you're willing to go out in the pacific. I see Albacore and Swiftsure Silvers in your future! :)

Congrats!

[gt]

thanks ibn. my last 'home port' was depot bay, OR. through the hole and out you go just as far as you dare. you bet, open ocean is directly in my sights, albacore would be great fun to run for next season.

hopefully the dungness coho area will be the first of many trips in this area and beyond.

[ibn]

Out of curiosity what kind of rig are you going to use to pull it?

[gt]

f150, big v8, air bags on the rear shocks, trailer tow package, brake controller. rated at about 7500# tow capacity so should be more than ok for the driving i will be doing with reelfast on the road. yep, i'm one of those guys who will yield to'yah as well ;)

[gt]

tomorrow!:cool:

[gt]

couple of shots from this am at john wayne marina. puttered around sequim bay fiddling with all of the electronics, more tomorrow. have a whopping 2hrs on the engines at this point. will run out of the bay tomorrow a bit late as the tide exchange is a pretty good one and see whats cookin' with the dungness coho season, have heard nothing at this point.