Yamaha fr 27 glass boats

[The Mad Cat]

There's a few of these Yamaha FR 27's on the market at the moment, has anyone got an opinion good, bad or even just a comment about Yamaha glass boats in general. Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks.

TMC

[JulianDeMarchi]

Geez, Yamaha's are good... Just sayin' :)

Honda too! ;)

not sure bout yamaha boats though sorry!

[JulianDeMarchi]

My first dislike, so this is how it feels hey...

[ifishcq1]

they go great
but a Honda would be even better on the back
cheers

[Shark Poker]

Have another one on me, mate. Just for fun.

[ric]

There's a few of these Yamaha FR 27's on the market at the moment, has anyone got an opinion good, bad or even just a comment about Yamaha glass boats in general. Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks.

TMC

i have been in a few different yamaha boats in PNG and they were not a problem. From memory they were pretty beefy and strong. I am not familiar with their model line up to be specific though.

[Shark Poker]

There's a few of these Yamaha FR 27's on the market at the moment, has anyone got an opinion good, bad or even just a comment about Yamaha glass boats in general. Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks.

TMC

I really wish you good luck trying to find out about these.
Most people understand the Longboat designs to some extent, and the Japs build those shapes up to the size of ferries.

Although you would assume that anything YAMAHA made would be in the thousands, I found it very hard to google or research many Japanese made craft for sale in that country.
(And my wife speaks and reads perfect Japanese.)

Also, the flybridge cruisers always looked to me to be a copy of a USA made Bayliner in terms of cabin structure. But I never did get to study the hull design or test drive them.
Again good luck. If the flybridge cruisers are as good as their other boats, it is worth looking into.

[myusernam]

there's nothing longboatish about the fr27 from what I can see. quite conventional except diesel and trailerable. Lots around because cheap imported from japan. probably overwidth? to trailer.

[Triple]

probably overwidth? to trailer.

2.75m beam or thereabouts..

[Horse]

They certainly are interesting vessels. The diesel sits under the deck so gives a lot of space. I think they would make a great pocket cruiser but look as ugly as a pair of crocs

[The Mad Cat]

i have been in a few different yamaha boats in PNG and they were not a problem. From memory they were pretty beefy and strong. I am not familiar with their model line up to be specific though.

Thanks Ric,
I worded the question badly, I should have probably said cabin boats similar to the FR 27 as there is a few models around that size but as Fatbuoy has said not much information out there. I own a Yamaha Southwind UB 19 and love it. The princess is wanting a bit more protection and something we can do a few overnighters and trips away for a few days.

TMC

[maru222]

my lady loves our yamaha 20 sr very well built and hull design ,not a good fishing boat but great at everything else.
dave

[The Mad Cat]

I'm clutching at straws now, surely someone has a mate who know a mate who knows someone with an FR 27 or even been on one. I have been translating bits from Russian web sites about them but no real info on them yet. Help please.

TMC

[Shark Poker]

Can you be a little more specific in what you would like to discuss and find out? Perhaps we can work it out that way?
I would like to help you with this.
Pauly

[The Mad Cat]

Thanks Fatbouy, I'll put up a few questions.
How they ride in rougher waters ie roll a lot or sit nicely.
Was wood used in them.
What is the finish like.
With the engine below deck is there a problem with water getting into the engine bay ( this was the first question from a fiberglasser and boat builder I know )
Just a general feel of what their like ( I know this question is a bit open ended)
I've never owned a boat like this and the one's that are for sale are not close enough to have a quick look at.

Thanks,
TMC

[Chimo]

Check this out http://a-marina.com/boat/1780_en.html

[Shark Poker]

Specifications available indicate that many 27' are for some reason only 8 feet wide.

This would indicate that they would hopefully have some similar characteristics with that length to beam ratio.
Photos on the internet show a very moderate forefoot yet reasonable stem, indicating a very moderate deadrise.

Added with an inboard this should be an indicator of very, very good stability.
And hopefully not an inefficient deepV hull requirement to match.


So while the cabin structure reminds you of similar era USA boats, the hull design is still pretty domestic.

I have wandered around boat and ship yards many times in and outside Tokyo. For some reason they don't seem to care about some wide-eyed foreigner doing just that.
One of the things I have noticed is that you will get some fairly confined space cabins. Rather tight of space.
It is simply a fact that your normal Japanese bloke is smaller than your normal Aussie.

Similar aged Southwind and other Jap designs were using timber insertions into their construction. No reason to think it would be any different with a 27'.
So my suggestion would be to invest in a trip to check one or two out, personally.

I will ask another couple of guys about this as well.

Pauly

[myusernam]

^^^I am calling BS. there's nothing longboatish about it whatsoever. the japs do make large longboats. but that isn't one.

[bobbyb]

if they had problems you would have no trouble finding them on the INTERNET. no news is good news. (maybe).....

[MyWay]

from memory one Ausfish member had one and he also posted a video clip here ,coming back from Barwon Banks
I think he only say good things about it
later on it was on market due to be too big for his needs

[Crunchy]

Similar aged Southwind and other Jap designs were using timber insertions into their construction. No reason to think it would be any different with a 27'.
So my suggestion would be to invest in a trip to check one or two out, personally.

Pauly

I'm not sure Pauly, this from an article written by Gary Howard who helped Yamaha develop the UB520 built by Southwind in the late 90's

Essentially, the Southwind UB520 is an open 5.2m fibreglass boat of 100% timber-free construction that boasts a large centre console. With a beam of under 2.0m, it's relatively narrow, however, it's fair to say that almost every cm of the boat is fishable.

Cheers
C

[myusernam]

I'm not sure Pauly, this from an article written by Gary Howard who helped Yamaha develop the UB520 built by Southwind in the late 90's

Essentially, the Southwind UB520 is an open 5.2m fibreglass boat of 100% timber-free construction that boasts a large centre console. With a beam of under 2.0m, it's relatively narrow, however, it's fair to say that almost every cm of the boat is fishable.

Cheers
C
WTF has this got to do with anything?! one is a 5.2m an australian designed and built boat by a company called southwind. The other is a 7.2m much older boat built in japan.

Lots of BS in this thread!

[Crunchy]

Calm down, it has nothing to do with FR27's but I was correcting Pauly's comment about Southwind's, take the time to actually read the post instead of nutting off.

[ifishcq1]

WTF has this got to do with anything?! one is a 5.2m an australian designed and built boat by a company called southwind. The other is a 7.2m much older boat built in japan.

Lots of BS in this thread!
settle petal FatBouy is on the money sonny
you only think you know so don't go calling BS,, you just sound under educated
Southwind was Yamaha hense the name "Yamaha Southwind" ffs
there are a stack of sizes and base shapes, the 5.2 you mention is one small part of the family and was designed in Aus as part of the Southwind brand that was part of yamaha
southwind and yamahas were originally designed in japan in the same factory the designs were then sold world wide by yamaha
there are several builders of the same hulls around the world
Yamaha had the original idea to set up molds for economically built hulls in third world countries so they could have boats, add to local economy and start a market for their motors
this is where the first fibreglass longboats originated, did it ever make you wonder why the long boats built in New Guinea look like the ones from Panama look like the ones from the Phillipines look like the ones from Australia and everywhere else???
since then there have been many site specific mods and hybrids

Now back to the propper subject now school is over

Peter Webster did an article about the 7.6 m when an office near his at Runaway Bay a few years started importing them from China
they bought in the 25ft version and called them Wave breakers I think (I could find out) I have pictures and layup details somewhere
they are a frigging good hull in lots of conditions I know a guy who filled his hull with bladders and did a 1400km plus trip from Madang to a resort in the Solomons
Allmond is one manufacturer who sells them global

[myusernam]

southwind would have just paid for the license to use the ub19 and 22 moulds from yamaha. they had nothing to do with yamaha. they then just built the 5.2 to compliment their lineup. they used ply in their other longboats. Even if they were all under the one parent company, it;s a pretty long bow to draw to try and say that just becuse one hull made in one country didn't have timber. as for fatbouys post, it IS BS> Just because yamaha lend their name to a hull doesn't mean it's a longboat. They make heaps of hulls. Looks pretty similar to a theodore in lines to me. no one would ever accuse them of being a longboat. at 27 feet and 8 feet beam it's length to beam ratio is completely normal. and so it doesn't have 24 deg deadrise. so do plenty of other boats. 16/18 deg deadrise (which i would say it is) is pretty normal esp for a sterndrive only boat. Yes boats with lower deadrises dont rock so much.

[Shark Poker]

Thanks ifish,

It had never dawned upon me how the longboats paralleled Yamaha outboards distribution as "Transoms" Yep, you did not see many Southwinds running around with Mercs or Johnnos!

And Crunchy, I do not (fully) agree about them being timber free.
Maybe the UB520 and forward, but not at all sure about the earlier and higher selling UB19s and 22's or general southwind products. (And I did refer to boats from the early 90's)

Getting back to the subject of this thread, I looked at a few more fr 27's and they are not too hard to find for sale.

Re the timber, it is probably of little consideration either way. Sure you know every second old trailer boat has had the transom or floor replaced, but this seems to be far less common with boats kept in the salt water.
IMO, when was the last time you read a for sale ad for a Bertram 25 where it says the floor or was replaced?

It also would appear that the FR 27 would be a very easy boat to check out. With that length to beam ratio, step aboard and you are going to "know" within minutes.

A sea trial in some decent chop and observation of the rpm/speed ratios and you will be pretty sure.

Remember as an owner of a longboat, you may be hard to impress easily on performance but may easily be overtaken by creature comforts.

The rest will be like any other boat check. Thanks for inviting our opinions. Hope they help.

[odes20]

Gees Im amazed at the experience some of you blokes have and your knowledge.

Great info. I have seen these advertised over the years and wondered about them.

Great thread !