I'm writing from the lobby of the Comfort Inn in Sarasota, FL. I arrived to the Yellowfin factory in Sarasota yesterday AM. I was on the boat and in the water with company owner Wylie Nagler by around 10am. He went through the boat with me and then we headed out the inlet. It was quickly apparent this is no Cadillac- it is a sports car- big time! The Yamaha V8 F-350's are strong and as you push the throttles the boat ventilates and hops onto its steps and then simply glides across the water. Wylie went through demonstrations on how to operate the boat, mainly on using the engine trim and trim tabs. The Yellowfin is much different than any boat I've had before. It's design seems to suck the hull to the water; whereas another boat would want to jump waves and thus you add trim tab, with this boat you simply advance the throttles further forward and that drops the bow and sticks it tighter to the sea. This boat is not for the leisurely fisherman. This boat is for the fisherman who wants to go faster than anyone else, in relatively more comfort than anyone else. The boat does not beat and bang in the traditional sense like you and I know where the bow goes up and then pounds down. The boat stays tight and soft to the water, however as the speed increases, you must constantly work the trim to keep it from breaking too loose and chine walking from side to side. You must drive this boat, and man is it a thrill to do that.After testing the boat with Wylie I met a local guide- Damien- at the ramp. We loaded on a few fishing rods and odds and ends. The plan was to run offshore and "mess around". The main objective was to learn more about running the boat and how it handles and also to try to shake it down before towing it back home. Florida fishermen are very good fishermen, but I have to say they are a bit spoiled with their weather (at least West coast FL guys). There were some storms nearby and the wind had kicked up to 15kts and there were some white caps- it looked like good boat testing conditions to me. Plus I had Sirius satellite weather installed on this boat and the radar showed the storms as only nearshore and wouldn't affect us offshore. We punched in a spot 25 miles offshore and we were gone. No kidding, we were there in 30 minutes- skimming along at 55mph. The speed is decieving as you don't think you are really going that fast. We jigged some Sardines and Cigar Minnows and slow trolled them around the buoy- putting the first fish to the boat as we landed 4 Kings in the 15-20 pound range. We ran a few more miles to try some bottom fishing, but didn't have much luck with that. We called it a day at 4pm and cruised home. And thus the new OIFC.com Yellowfin 32 has been christened.
Performance specs to date (200 gallons of fuel, 2 people): top speed-65mph with current Yamaha, 3 blade, 23 pitch propellers- 1.0mpg . Best efficiency at 4000 rpm, 40mph and 1.7mpg. Best operating speed seemed to be 4700rpm at 50mph and 1.5mpg.
I will have the boat back home on Thursday AM- looking forward to being back.
-Capt. Brant McMullan
