Proline 27 Walk - So Far So Good :)

[mustang5]

Hi guys,

Well I have finally been able to religiously take the Proline out on a weekly basis, and all I can say is WOW! :)

I suppose for those who dont know the history, here are the specs of the boat I imported from the US of A:

2002 Proline Walk around (29ft overall)
Twin 2001 200hp Optimax's

So, Im not going to bore you with the importation issues and hassles, that has been covered relentlessly in my other threads, this one is more for the performance and whether it has met my expectations or not.

Here goes:

I think I waited roughly 3 weeks for weekends of 30knts to die down until I decided I would take the Boat to Mackay lol!! Well, that was the best thing I have done so far as the sea conditions up there compared to Gladstone are like chalk and Cheese. It has really allowed me to open her up and take us out wide which we have done (130km each way to outer reefs). The boat now planes out to 5800rpm, and has a top speed of 42knts with 4pob and 700 litres of fuel on board, 200 litres of water and all ice, rods and everything else. Fuel consumption I averaged it out to be 1km per Litre. However this fluctuates given the conditions, and when I need to use the trim tabs the fuel per hour reading goes up whilst the speed comes done. But its comfortable :)

So I have put 30hrs on the motors since importing the boat, and after ironing out all the little gremlins in the first 5 hours of use, all I can say is I am a very happy man, and wouldnt even think of looking at another boat for a very long time :)

What do I think of the Opti's?? Well the problems I have had have been due to them sitting for some time.. But Since using them with Quickleen and on a regular basis, they have become far better motors each trip. The DFI Oil is expensive, but I feel very comfortable when using the right oil, with quickleen in the fuel and making sure I blow the cobwebs out. So far so good :)

Anyways, Here are some pics. Thanks for reading. Any Q's happy to answer.


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[clevelandv8]

cool read..... good to know all the bugs ironed out, i woulda been throwing my toys out of the cot with the motor issues, glad it didn't cost you a BOMB to fix the niggles!
i've often pondered changing career and studying outboards.... there seems to be alot of work and not many sharp gurus to fix them.

[Muddy Toes]

ooohhhhhh baby

[Tickleish]

Nice one Mustang - it certainly looks the goods & the more you use the Opti's the better they will be.

I'd love to go for a ride one day;D

[Bull]

Very nice Rig. Now its time to enjoy.
Cheers Bull

[fishfeeder]

Mate good to see you have ironed out the bugs and now getting out on the water and enjoying that weapon of a boat
make sure you post up a report of all the nice RED fish coming over the side..

Cheers
Brett

[2IC]

Mustang,,,after reading about your importation issues in other threads:o all i can say is GO HARD SON:D looks great on the water,, enjoy lets see some reds reports next:)

[FisHard]

Awesome mate, glad to hear its coming together! 1L per klm? You'd have to be bloody happy with that! Good luck with it and us southerners would love a few trip reports from the reef :) please :D

[lethal]

awesome loooking boat and great specs,
good things come to those trying to achieve them, well done

[mustang5]

Thanks Fellas.

Have caught a few Reds, but I have been a bit too addicted to the troll settings on the Smart Craft Gauges haha!! So we have been bagging out on some Tuna and Mackeral the last couple of outings.

The Fuel consumption is a lot better than I was expecting... Plus, because I am used to it and still getting confidence in the gauge, All these trips have been with a topped up full tank lol!! So I really have to run her down and I am sure with less weight she might travel even more economical.


Cheers

[fishfeeder]

Mate you should look into heading to 1770 for the M&G in September ...
Be good to see the beast in action.

Cheers
Brett

[Muddy Toes]

Mate you should look into heading to 1770 for the M&G in September ...
Be good to see the beast in action.

Cheers
Brett

I don't think so Brett, look at the motors in the 4th picture.....look familiar?
And also Owen your not welcome mate, If your rig was sub 24ft then it would be alright but at 27ft........we don't want you there.

[jtpython]

Nice mate the super at work has the 23 i just bought his seats off him for mine
JT

[Smithy]

Good work getting it all sorted yourself. Just be prepared at 650-750 hours for your compressor to blow up. Seen it happen on a few mates boats around those sorts of hours.

[rhodesey]

The fuel consumption one km to the liter is that both engines combined, if so thats good going.

[mustang5]

The fuel consumption one km to the liter is that both engines combined, if so thats good going.

Yeah I may have jumped the gun on that lol!! I got 1km per litre in the dead calm milk pond, sitting on 3500rpm or there abouts. This weekend I did about 300kms for 430 Liters :P It was rough, and heading douth into a southerly swell with the trim tabs in full trim and the rain jackets on in a 2m sea :o

@ Muddy Toes, its actually 29ft overall :P

[devendiva]

Mustang,

I'm sure its your boat two houses up from my place in Mackay (Rural View). Are you permanently in Mackay now?

[TREVELLY]

Yeah I may have jumped the gun on that lol!! I got 1km per litre in the dead calm milk pond, sitting on 3500rpm or there abouts. This weekend I did about 300kms for 430 Liters :P It was rough, and heading douth into a southerly swell with the trim tabs in full trim and the rain jackets on in a 2m sea :o

@ Muddy Toes, its actually 29ft overall :P

Nice rig.

$600 in fuel is okay if you can split the cost between 4 guys. Must admit though my missus wouldn't be happy with me doing that every weekend - you must be single ;D

Now 29 feet long - you aren't counting the bowsprit are you? They really don't count. ;)

Fully fueled and water on the boat you are towing a rig about 6t with a vehicle less than 2t and not much on the back wheels weight wise - be careful.

You mentioned broaching a bit - assume in a following sea you have the trim tabs up?

When I first picked up my boat I made sure it had clears on it ready to go. The mate I had with me after a couple of days out in strong winds off Lucinda said three best things invented by man are 1) "G" string, 2) A/C and 3) clears :) I agree :)

Sounds like you are enjoying the journey even with the trials - thanks for sharing

[Muddy Toes]

@ Muddy Toes, its actually 29ft overall :P

Is that with the engine tilted up or down.......

either way have fun in it mate, you've certainly done the hard yards to earn it.

[mustang5]

Mustang,

I'm sure its your boat two houses up from my place in Mackay (Rural View). Are you permanently in Mackay now?

Yes it is in rural view for the moment, just until i sort out what im doing with work. Im pretty much there each weekend :) just a lousy 5hrs up the road. Ill be there friday afternoon come say gday :)

Trevally, believe it or not i had the boat weighed at a weigh bridge It came back at 2.72t which had half a tank of fuel. I think fully loaded would push past the 3.5t but i generally fuel
Up in the marina for this reason. When i towed it from gladstone to mackay it was fully empty and the Navara did it with ease.

With regards to the broaching, yes that is in a heavy following sea, and the trim tabs arent engaged. I have since found that it is safer at a quicker speed in a following sea.

Yup! i am recently single, so living the dream atm :)

Haha yeah clears, g strings and a/c, but surely you have to add an electric anchor to
That list :p

@muddy! I dont know what that includes, its just what all the specs say!!! Haha. And hey, if you can do the titanic off the bowsprit surely it counts?? J/k lol

[MyWay]

very very nice
it is hard to tell ,is it look better on water or on trailer
I can just imagine the roar of that twins optimax
I got one 150hp and it roar and rattles OK but I just love it for fuel economy

cheers

[Apollo]

I don't think so Brett, look at the motors in the 4th picture.....look familiar?



Yes Anthony, but he has a spare one just in case so he will be fine at the M&G.

Top looking rig and looks as though you are getting it sorted. Mine is in the middle of the Pacific somewhere so should be here in 3 weeks.

[mustang5]

Boat is still going strong, I cannot fault it.

A couple of weeks back I got caught in some serious conditions.. Im not a good judge of sea height, however Im talking 3-4m which seemed vertical at the time.. Well above the boat anyways..

I never thought Id be calling for life jackets in a 27ft boat, but yes, they came out pretty quick, and so did a few white faces.

How did she handle?? Well lets just say the boat can handle more than the skipper can. haha!! The bruises were not pretty.

Attached is a pic from earlier on, this was when we were still able to plane... A bit later on, closer to land was, and will be the worst seas Ive seen.

For those interested this was up near Cape Capricorn :)

Love the Mercs, and the American boats built for these conditions ;)
82074

[fishfeeder]

More importantly did you catch any FISH ??

[mustang5]

Two sharks and a few cod. Nothing notable haha

[johncar]

Congrats on your boat, getting it all up to task and getting used to her ways all good fun. Yes I was very surprised at the initial fuel figures, just didn't add up but the later ones look more like it. The hull must be also very light for it's size, my 22' tinny is heavier than that at around 3 tonne BMT with only half fuel @ 200litres and close to 3.5T fully loaded. Some type of foam sandwich construction I assume?
The broaching is a bit of a bitch but some things can help, keeping the tabs out of play, engines trimmed out as far as possible and getting some weight to the stern or at least out of the front end as much as you can. If it ever gets real nasty at sea get your crew down on the stern.
Anyway thanks for sharing your experience with it all.

[mustang5]

Hey John,

Yeah I suppose the biggest factor in the fuel consumption with such a big boat is the conditions. I find it uses close to km per litre in calm, and about double that in rough stuff, which is to be expected.

The boat is light for its size, and towing it really isnt as bad as I once expected.

Yeah I still havent had much rough water experience in it in order to find the happy medium. I left the tabs out of play in a following sea, but my god they help head on. (Just need the rain jackets :P)

[clevelandv8]

bit suprised to see your boat up for sale though after following all the posts mustang!!!!!

[mustang5]

Never Happy selling but when its gotta go its gotta go

[Snapperscott]

What's the reason for selling is it that bad or you worried bout the optics?

[julian1]

Boat is still going strong, I cannot fault it.

A couple of weeks back I got caught in some serious conditions.. Im not a good judge of sea height, however Im talking 3-4m which seemed vertical at the time.. Well above the boat anyways..

I never thought Id be calling for life jackets in a 27ft boat, but yes, they came out pretty quick, and so did a few white faces.

How did she handle?? Well lets just say the boat can handle more than the skipper can. haha!! The bruises were not pretty.

Attached is a pic from earlier on, this was when we were still able to plane... A bit later on, closer to land was, and will be the worst seas Ive seen.

For those interested this was up near Cape Capricorn :)

Love the Mercs, and the American boats built for these conditions ;)
82074

is this a pic of the rough sea ?? :-?

[chop duster]

he said the pic was from earlier in the day

[mustang5]

Snapperscott, reason for selling is for house deposit. Currently paying 575 a week rent in a town where I can buy a house for 160k. Unfortunately the boats the only thing that can get me the deposit.

And yes, that pic was earlier in the day, and we all know pics don't do it justice..

[mustang5]

And for the record, had it out two weeks ago and had both Optis running for 13hrs straight ;) nothing wrong with the Optis they are bullet proof.

P.s. it sold :)

[FisHard]

2 best days of boat ownership: the day you get her, and the day she drives away ;)

[WalrusLike]

2 best days of boat ownership: the day you get her, and the day she drives away ;)

I can only agree with one of those. I've only had two boats and both times delirious on purchase day and ever after.

I still pat her as I pass on way to car for work. She is beautiful. :)