Recent content by alfa1023

Jeff, The wood dowels are very firmly "attached" via fiberglass cloth and resin. I have not had any come loose. So I am able to snug the screws down good and tight (within reason, of course). I suppose you could strip it out or even crack the dowel if you got to crazy with torqueing the screws...

Jeff, I got tired of messing with the grommets also. A couple of years ago, I took them all out and got some hard wood dowels that fit the holes where the grommets were. I mixed up some fiberglass epoxy and soaked the dowels in it, then epoxied them in the grommet holes. After everything cured...

Have a 2005 330 Express with F250's. We love the boat and use it for everything from day trips to the sandbar to multi-week trips to the Bahamas and Keys (always sleep on the boat). Realistically, the cabin sleeps 2 adults comfortably (we have no kids). More than that and I would think it would...

Bluewater, I would have thought the lemon pledge would have left some sort of residue on the eisenglass that you would either see and or feel?

The eisenglass on my 2005 330 Express was getting yellow and also sticky to the touch. I saw somewhere online to try Flitz with their buffing ball. Took all the panels off the boat and worked them on a table cushioned with two layers of soft towels with my Dewalt cordless drill and the Flitz. My...

Tom, We moved up from a 2000 272 Sailfish to our 2005 330 Express a few years back. The first time you drive the 330 it feels huge compared to the Sailfish. But you quickly get used to it and then if you get back on a Sailfish (or equivalent sized boat) it is amazing how small they now feel...

Bill, Any chance your buddies boat has bottom paint? I have Yamaha SSII 3 blade 15" pitch props on mine - what Grady put on it day 1. Max RPM is between 5800 and 6000 rpm, so theoretically my boat is correctly. Would love to try 4 blade props for a better hole shot, but I digress. When I first...

I agree with MagicBill to a degree. I have F250's on my boat and if I won the lottery tomorrow, would put the new F300's on it in a heartbeat. I am getting a bit better speed/rpm than he mentions for his friend's boat (4800 rpm is giving me 34mph +/- depending on sea state and load). The MPG is...

Have never been on the 305, but own a 330. I would be concerned about how tight the helm area would be on the 305. I like the center helm setup for driving the boat, but when we have several people on board, especially if they are in/out of the cabin with "stuff", the helm area gets crowded and...

Re: Anyone have pics of Roll control dive tank rack on Marli Nick, I will try and get over to the boat one day this week and take pics. I just used some aluminum flat stock from Home Depot to make my "drop brackets". The brackets are hidden behind the rail/pads so getting them pretty wasn't as...

Re: Anyone have pics of Roll control dive tank rack on Marli Nick, I have (had) the roll control setup on both my 330 Express as well as previously on my 272 Sailfish. On the Sailfish, there was room under the coaming pads to mount the rails directly to the fiberglass beneath them without...

Just a minor clarification - somewhere toward the end of the 272 model production they went to the full running surface at the stern. I had a 2000 272 Sailfish that had that hull configuration. It was a great boat. But like many others we got the 2 foot-itis (I guess actually 5 - 6 foot-itis)...

Not quite the comparison you asked, but I had a 272 Sailfish prior to getting the 330 Express. Both have/had Yami F250's. The Sailfish was expectedly stern heavy with these motors, but handled the weight well and seemed to handle all seas great. Loved the boat but we wanted something bigger...

Similar performance as above, with fuel burn and speed varying a little dependent on load and condition. Props are 15 3/4 X 15 Yamaha SWSII. My sweet spot for GPH seems to be in the 4600 - 4800 rpm range getting around 1.2 mpg, running anywhere from 28 to 32 mph (heavy load, offshore waves to...

Magicalbill, Yes, my 90hp has been in saltwater use from day 1. I agree, it has provided more than its fair share of life. But It does get treated like royalty and actually still looks almost new even at this advanced age. I have to believe my anal focus on maintenance has helped lead to its...