New Boat: 1987 SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17

[svsonora]

Is a 6-lbs BRUCE-type anchor appropriate for [a 1987 SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17]?

BACKSTORY: I got my 1987 17 Super Sport Limited. The boat is dirty, but the gel coat is still shiny and there are no soft spots anywhere.

The wiring was so old and done badly. I re-wired the lamps—boy did re-installing that rub rail suck. I installed a four-switch-panel to control navigation lighting, provide a cigar lighter socket, a USB charging outlet, and a Voltmeter. One switch remains to use for compass and gauge illumination. I think I'm going to get rid of the OEM bus bar - I'll just keep it for the lights.

I worked Friday night and Saturday morning to mid-day so I could test drive the boat. Girlfriend did all the vinyl and vacuumed up all the leaves before we left. The driver seat board probably needs replacement. I'm decently handy with woodworking so I'll make one soon.

I will have to rewire the bilge pump with a new switch. Thing is ancient - looks original. I'm going to cut and remove all the old wires and run it directly to the battery. I'll also have to install a tach and trim gauge. I'll undo some of the ground wire and add a bus bar for the ground. (since most of the other accessories go to the switch panel -- but the grounds go individually). Also add a master switch.

After that, I'm going to re-bed all the screws with 4200. Remove surface rust off of all of the stainless steel hardware. Clean, polish gelcoat and a get a coat of wax on it. THEN I'll think about replacing the bronze hardware on the boat.

Bimini could use some work. The geometry is not right - middle bow does nothing and simply flops around, starting to undo the stiching. I have a premium tan bimini cover with zippered slots. I'll run that while I get someone to move the middle bow slot up forward a little bit.

I'll also have to build some sort of supporting frame for the cover, to keep the rain off the boat. The transom drains will have to be replaced too. Snagged a flaring tool at west marine (the last one they had left) for 12 bucks.

I had a blast driving the thing around. Cruising around at 18 to 20 nautical-miles-per-hour seems to be the sweet spot for this boat with the 75-HP engine.

I did get up to 29-nautical-miles-per-hour at full throttle. It does pound a bit - forward seats are painful when almost jumping off of other boat's wakes. I'll have to slow down to a semi-plane when going through big wakes.

Thank you all for being there to guide me in making my decision. I want to get this boat all done up so I can focus on doing some upgrades on the sailboat for next season (running lines to the cockpit, and some minor maintenance and repairs).

Scratching my head on where to mount my fixed mount VHF on this boat. Vertically left side of the helmsman console makes sense but people will bump into it all the time going forward.

I don't really know how to trim the boat. Even at full 'down' position the bow never gets near plowing down. I am thinking I can do something to make the boat a bit more comfortable.



Links to images:
https://i.imgur.com/6EB6bBs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cxEewfj.jpg

[conch]

Looks good, you could mount your VHF out of sight and use a remote microphone taking up very little space on your dash.
Chuck

[svsonora]

I may mount [the VHF Marine Band Radio] on the port dash. When I don't have guests and I have crew, [port dash] can be a communications station. I'll just [mount the radio] on top of the console.

[jimh]

IIs a 6-lbs BRUCE-type anchor appropriate for [a 1987 SUPER SPORT LIMITED 17]?

Ground tackle must be sized to suit the sea and wind you will be anchored in. For a 17-foot open boat the typical anchor would be appropriate for very modest seas and light winds. Most 17-foot open skiffs are NOT left on their anchor very long, or left unattended, or left in storm conditions.

[jimh]

...could mount your VHF out of sight and use a remote microphone...

These days a modern VHF Marine Band radio with digital selective calling is a complex device, and having a good view of the front panel display, soft buttons, and all controls is really essential for operation. Also black-box radios with remote control hand microphones tend to have very large, telephone-style handsets in order to provide all the necessary controls. The displays on the handsets are usually much smaller than on a typical radio, and if your visual acuity is is not 20/20 you generally cannot read the display easily. And the black box radios are usually much more expensive.

I may mount [the VHF Marine Band Radio] on the port dash...on top of the console.

Good plan. The radio will need an antenna. See

VHF Marine Band Antenna for Small Boats
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/VHFAntenna.html

[svsonora]

Some photos


Fig. 1.


Fug. 2.


Fig. 3.


Fig. 4.


Fig. 5.

[jimh]

Nothing says "classic Boston Whaler" better than a view of one as seen above in FIg. 3.