Centre consul

[Seahorse]

I have a 455 territory with 50 hp tiller.

What I was thinking of doing was to convert to a centre consol.

I am bit tired of the tiller and thought the alternatives.

With a centre consol, I was thinking that the ride would be lot better, and I always was one who like to stand when driving.

Will the centre consol give me a reasonably good ride? Is there a better place to put the consol. I can get one made by a family boat builder.

Do guys that have centre consoles, happy with there set ups and is there still plenty of room to fish.

Would also upgrade from 50 yamm 4 st to the new yammy 70 hp 4 str.

I thought this would be cheaper than selling and rebuking as I love my sea jay layout.


Cheers
Greg

[Seahorse]

I meant cheaper to do it this way instead of sell and then buy another.

[johncar]

I love CC's and yes I think it could be a good thing to do. You will just need to look at what is involved, cost it all out and see if it is worth it to you. Realise too that you may over capitalise the boat but if you intend to keep it long term, less of an issue.
I did a conversion to an old Quintrex 4.3 Fishabout and it turned out quite well, it did improve the boat all round IMHO. Full floor, with U/floor fuel tank, seat box and foward storage box. Nice boat in the end but you don't get your money back when you sell, so it can be more financially sensible to sell yours and buy what you want. But if you like a project it can be good.

[Seahorse]

Thanks John.
Yeah I like my seajay. I was also interested in what the ride is like in cent con. I have had forward steer tinnies and always rattled ur bones.
The tiller steer is ok as u r sitting right down the back. Mate of mine has a bow rider 4.8m and they ride real well. No real bone shakers.
I was thinking that if the consol was positioned it would give a reasonablely cushioned ride.
How u find that?
I can get the consol made and all cabled up with hydraulic steering nice and cheap.

Cheers
Greg

[nigelr]

re standing while 'driving'......last week after reading a comment on here I removed the large ally 'box' seats from my 5.3 ally runaboat.....thought "well I never use 'em and they get in the way sometimes and will decrease total weight etc". Forgetting that although I stand and drive, I lean back and brace myself on the driver's seat while underway.....so next trip out no seats and a slow 30 mins drive home though some nice chop on the front 1/4 with nothing to brace myself against.....sore back for several days, lesson learnt and seats are now back in. Moral of the story....some sort of seat/support is great for travelling in the chop, I am 55 seahorse, maybe wouldn't bother a younger man but perhaps something to consider.
Cheers.

[Floating Rib]

Side console, imagine routing of cables would be easier and opens up a lot of space in the boat, you could probably mount it just far enough forward to still get that good back of the boat ride. Eskies and tackle boxes on the opposite side to give the balance if only 1 aboard.

[Axl]

I have a 455 territory with 50 hp tiller.

What I was thinking of doing was to convert to a centre consol.

I am bit tired of the tiller and thought the alternatives.

With a centre consol, I was thinking that the ride would be lot better, and I always was one who like to stand when driving. Yes the ride is alot better standing mid boat rather than sitting down the back.

Will the centre consol give me a reasonably good ride? Is there a better place to put the consol. I can get one made by a family boat builder.

Do guys that have centre consoles, happy with there set ups and is there still plenty of room to fish. C/C were made for fishing there is plenty of room.

Would also upgrade from 50 yamm 4 st to the new yammy 70 hp 4 str. Sounds good (Cost).

I thought this would be cheaper than selling and rebuking as I love my sea jay layout.


Cheers
Greg

I had two tiller steer boats before the C/C I currently have and I have never looked back, much better ride and plenty of fishing space.

It sounds like you are going to do alot of work and with the engine upgrade are you sure it is cheaper to do this rather than upgrade the whole rig?

[ozynorts]

Hey Seahorse, are you sure you can do this cheaper by chopping your boat up?
It is going to cost 10k just for the motor upgrade. How much are you planning to spend on the rest of the work?

[ozynorts]

The other thing that is interesting, according to the Sea Jay website the territory 4.55 has a max hp of 50hp.

[ozynorts]

Perhaps you do a deal and trade your boat for this one and put your current motor on the new one.
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?R=12983656
or just buy the boat above, change everything over yourself and then sell what's left.:D

[bluefin59]

Have you thought about a side console ? They aren't perfect but they do provide a bit of protection and get the weight a little bit further forward making the the boat a bit more forward heavy and giving the hull a chance to work a bit better by pushing the bow in the water where it should be . It's just a matter of getting the balance right after that , mine works a treat . I might be able to organize a look or a ride if your interested and you are on the Northside ....Matt

[Si]

Hey mate. Can i ask what you dont like about the tiller arrangement specifically? The Seajay Tropic is the same boat you have already but with a dedicated centre console and padded seats. but yes only rated for 50hp.

[Seahorse]

Yeah I know about the rated to 50 bit, but think I have someone who can recertify it. Max 50 is crazy. There are 4.2 out there running around with 50 on the back.
I can get consol made for nothing and hopefully trade in the 50 hp, I think 10000 is bit over top.

[johncar]

OK Greg it seems that you have the budget under control and some good connections to get some of it done with minimal cost. Just do a bit of homework on the motor upgrade and do it right. You should be able to do some assimilations with adding the equivalent weight to the back of the new motor and put yourself in the position where you intend your CC to be and add some weight where the CC is intended. If safe to do so make up an extension for your tiller so you can take her for a run and see how it feels.

[Seahorse]

Good idea john. Might be worth the go.

[tunaticer]

I would go for a ride in a few tinnies that are centre console but with differing positions for the console to see how much difference there is. A forward mounted CC generally gives my knees and lower back hell, A centre mounted CC gives a better ride and more foredeck. A rear mounted CC gives a very good ride but more spray over the top.

[Seahorse]

Yeah jack, got few things to look at.