Boats

[pomerob]

As you have said before, it is a lot easier to catch fish when you are comfortable and fresh, rather than sore and aching from being cramped into a sardine can.

[DecimalDan]

Hi DanielDog.

The T-bird and Tornado are both great boats, and are excellently packaged in terms of ride and creature comforts. The questions left are what tow vehicle do you have, and what size outboard are you looking to run on either rig?

toyota hilux 270 2x4 with 150 yamaha 4stroke. Is that sufficient ?

[pomerob]

tow vechile sounds 100%. the 150hp is min spec for both, If the wallet allowed I would look at the 175 - 200hp.

The Tornado has a brilliant write up with the evenrude 150, however it will have to work a lot harder than the 200 to do the same job.

I will be looking at the 200 - 225.

[DecimalDan]

DanielDog, if you are looking at the T-Bird, do yourself a favour and have a look at the Tornado as well. The Tornado without motor will set you back about R110 000 (about R260 000 to R300 000 with motor).
You can also look at the New VFF or Bass Seeker 570, these will set you back about R85 000 before motor.
The American boats before motors will set you back about R250 000 for the same size boat.
Like RobFisher says, test drive as many as you can before you buy.
The T-Bird is an awesome boat but do you want a boat that big?

Hi Shannon, Is there a tornado agent in KZN.?

[DecimalDan]

tow vechile sounds 100%. the 150hp is min spec for both, If the wallet allowed I would look at the 175 - 200hp.

The Tornado has a brilliant write up with the evenrude 150, however it will have to work a lot harder than the 200 to do the same job.

I will be looking at the 200 - 225.

i was told the spec is 115 -225 ? for 17 '

[pomerob]

Shandon Hawman

+27 (0)83 230 3935 (all hours)

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[tolla]

good luck finding a new 175 hp motor, they tend to do 150hp , 200hp , 225hp and 250hp.
read a post on a yank site mercury will have a 175hp xs motor later in the year, the xs motors are meant to be a bit lighter and quicker.

[VX70]

Get a 200hp motor. It perfect for the T-Bird!

The thing with new boats are that they are actually very light, and one doesn?t have to have a very strong tow vehicle but an average 2 litre will do the job.

[pomerob]

I will be looking at the 200 - 225.

i was told the spec is 115 -225 ? for 17 '

Have a look at the spec sheet they say ideal horse power is 150hp, what I have learnt about SA boating is that ideal hp is set by the zim boys, here in SA we tend to go bigger despite the fact that we have smaller water, so the idea hp should be your minimum.

Look at the VX70. In zim it is rated 90hp - 115hp, 8O a VX70 with a 115hp would be slower than my boat (Dragon fly MKIII with Mariner 90hp). here in SA the VX70 is rated 90hp - 225hp.

Tolla I believe you get the Evenrude 175 FICHT and the Johnson 175 CARB.

[VX70]

The recommended horsepower for the T-Bird is 90 ? 250 Ideal is 150 and for the VX70 its 90 ? 225

tow vechile sounds 100%. the 150hp is min spec for both, If the wallet allowed I would look at the 175 - 200hp.

The Tornado has a brilliant write up with the evenrude 150, however it will have to work a lot harder than the 200 to do the same job.

I will be looking at the 200 - 225.

i was told the spec is 115 -225 ? for 17 '

[pomerob]

Those are the SA specs deon, look at the differeance at the zim specs 8O

[drew]

... and then take an average 2 litre car and try and pull a T-Bird with a 200Hp in the rain, out of Inanda valley 8O Chances are you're stuck there for the night, but yes, a 200HP is perfect for a T-Bird.

[VX70]

Yeah, but I can say my VX run with that 200 on the back! Isn?t there like some rules or regulations on the size motor they can use in Zim? Why would it differ from here?

Those are the SA specs deon, look at the differeance at the zim specs 8O

[VX70]

Ok, maybe I was talking kak :lol: but the point I was trying to make is that the new boats are way lighter than the boats of 4-5 years ago!

... and then take an average 2 litre car and try and pull a T-Bird with a 200Hp in the rain, out of Inanda valley 8O Chances are you're stuck there for the night, but yes, a 200HP is perfect for a T-Bird.

[Terminator]

Bass boats in Zim have to conform with US Coast Guard hp ratings. (Zim federation rules). In keeping with the South African theme, here there are no rules! Only a manufacturers recommendation. If a boat builder in SA says that his 16ft boat can handle a 250hp, then it's up to him. The US Coastguard ruling is according to a length and width formula I believe.