Holden Beach Non-Fishing Report

[Capt. Lyndon]

Just wanted to let everyone know that due to winds and rigging new motors, we haven't fished but one day since last thursday. We tried to spanish fish yesterday, but only managed 2 in the slop and murk. We shark fished for the last half hour or so of the trip, and did catch one small hammerhead around 45 lbs. The good news is that we have replaced the 225 optimax's with 200 verado's. With these engines, we have gained around .3 mpg, but have lost 7 kts on the top end, which is no big deal since I rarely run over 30 knots. It is nice to actually be able to hear yourself think while running and fishing. Let's just hope the new motors raise fish like the old one's did. I'm kind of going to miss the opti's. They've been good to me the last year, running almost 1,000 hours, and raising countless thousands of fish. It's time to get the Verado's trained as soon as the wind let's up. I'm going to try to drum fish in the next couple of days. I'll let everyone know what happens.

[gottaflylee]

Capt. Lyn, your right about them raising fish, Sails will eat the back of the boat with them...

[Capt. Lyndon]

Lee, that's the only thing that's got me concerned about the Verado's, but will see how they do.

[Robja]

Lyndon,

We took a boat ride Sunday morning and I looked for your boat but I forgot it was probably on the hill.

[Capt. Lyndon]

It was behind the shop. We splashed her monday evening.

[Mustang Sally]

7 knots? That is a lot of speed to lose! When I replaced my 2 stroke with a 4 stroke, I gained speed. Wierd.

[Capt. Lyndon]

7 knots? That is a lot of speed to lose! When I replaced my 2 stroke with a 4 stroke, I gained speed. Wierd.

We lost 50 hp as well. We went from 225 opti's to 200 verado's. I would have liked to have had 225 or 250 verado's, but the 6 cylinder engines would have added 275 lbs. to the transom, while the 4 cylinder 200's only added 20 lbs. The extra weight would have ruined the ride of what has to be the best riding cc under 30 ft. on the market. A good friend of mine made the mistake of going from 225 two-strokes to 250 fourstrokes on the same boat, and said it wasn't even the same ride. In my situation, speed means nothing, a smooth ride and good fuel economy are what counts. The opti's we just took off only had 3/4 of an hour over 4500 rpm, and close to a thousand hours at 4100 rpm or below. The opti's hit the rev limiter at 6000 if that tells you anything.

[hblac]

7 knots? That is a lot of speed to lose! When I replaced my 2 stroke with a 4 stroke, I gained speed. Wierd.

Lyndon,

I don't believe I'd give up 7 knots for 0.3mpg. Besides the Opti's sound pretty good to me. Perhaps the Verados will be slightly less problematic than Opti's? What was the cost difference between the 200 Verados and another set of 225 Opti's? Of course, at the rate I'm going I'll never get enough hours on mine to ever need replacing.

Hal

[SeaBiscuit]

The extra weight would have ruined the ride of what has to be the best riding cc under 30 ft. on the market.

Captain Lyndon, what make and model is your boat? Can we get some pictures with the new black motors?
Thanks,
Biscuit

[Capt. Lyndon]

Lyndon,

I don't believe I'd give up 7 knots for 0.3mpg. Besides the Opti's sound pretty good to me. Perhaps the Verados will be slightly less problematic than Opti's? What was the cost difference between the 200 Verados and another set of 225 Opti's? Of course, at the rate I'm going I'll never get enough hours on mine to ever need replacing.

Hal

Hal, she'll run 40 knts. top end now instead of 47, I rarely run over 30. The gain of .3 mpg is at 27-30, which is our cruising speed. On a normal summer week, I run around 400 miles, at this distance, we'll save app. 40 gallons of fuel a week.