Buying 1995 272 Sailfish - Any Advice? & Wish Me Luck

[MikeMadBch]

Well, we made it home without incident. Another 70+ miles and she ran like a champ. Due to inclement weather we were forced to take the ICW home for everyone's comfort. A 3+ hour ride in 4-5 footers and lots of wind would be no fun at all. So, we took the 5+ hour route through the ICW and had a pleasant trip, with the exception of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride across Tampa Bay. Man, what a mess, the wind was against the tide and there was just of mess of 3 ft slop across the bay, all the while taking it on the beam. I wasn't able to do anything about the steering while on the trip, so, it was quite the challenge keeping the boat on anything resembling a straight course. First thing to be done to the boat - get the steering fixed!

We burned approx. 160 gallons on our trip, which included much running about on Friday and Saturday. So, all in all, the boat did very well. I think the old girl is just happy to get out and about. She's averaged only 50 hours of use per year, and we put more than a dozen on her just this weekend, with many more hours to come this summer.

I'm still smarting a little from the fuel bill of $750+, but, I guess it was worth it. Our typical boating days will most likely be only a short time of running at speed, and quite a bit of putting around. Fishing trips will typically be 10-15 miles offshore, some trolling and some bottom fishing, so, the fuel shouldn't be as much of an issue.

She is definitely a comfortable boat to cruise on, and my concerns about 400hp being enough are gone. Those motors have a ton of power and get the boat on plane very quickly.

Now the work begins. Steering is step 1. Then comes some serious cleaning, helm seats need brackets replaced, replace bait well pump, fix the head, and add a removable bimini top to cover the cockpit area. Will also be looking into the items noted by those who've been kind enough to offer advice here on the forum.

Thanks again to all for the advice and well wishes. Put me down as another happy Grady White owner.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day, and a big THANK YOU to all who have served our country to give us the opportunity to have the freedom that we enjoy, and so often take for granted. THANK YOU and may GOD BLESS the men and women of our armed forces, past and present.

 

[MikeMadBch]

So, I still haven't figured out how to put photos on the site, but, I'm working on it. My new (to me) Grady is doing well. I think she's happy to be getting so much attention. She's resting comfortably on my lift and she gets some attention every few days.

While I still haven't managed to get out fishing yet, we've taken a few sunset/cocktail cruises, and everything appears to be in order. Still haven't gotten the bugs out of the steering, now waiting on parts to replace all seals. Got the bait well pump working and installed the ever-important stereo (gotta have tunes). Also waiting on the head rebuild kit to get the potty functioning for the admiral.

I'm struggling with the motor flushing process. You've got to be a circus performer to get the muffs on the lower unit on these big old engines. Anyone have a flush kit that works on 1995 saltwater series? Also, any input on the run/don't run debate when flushing the motors?

So far, I love the boat. Still finding my way around, but, having some fun.

This weekend has been a total washout with tropical storm dumping rain like crazy. Had to stick to working on my flats boat on Saturday, under the boat cover - damn, it was hot under there. But, got a new live well pump installed, installed a Wang Stick (shallow water anchor stick) and new fuel water seps.

 

[Capt Bill]

Mike, congrats on your new (to you) Sailfish, and :welcome
Like others, I am enjoying your tales of adventure and repair, :wink: , and am looking forward to you putting up lots of pics. (BTW, it's easy to do... put them on a free photo hosting site like photobucket.com, and then copy the img link from there, and paste it in your post. You can use the 'Img' button along the top of the 'Post a Reply' box here, to do that.

I had a '93 Sailfish for 12 years, originally with the same enginesas you have, and then later repowered with the fuel injected. They both burned the gas, but you'll find the sweet spot, and settle there for most of your running.

Getting that steering fixed is most important, as that should be smooth and easy to steer. I did add a high quality stainless steel 'suicide knob' to my present Sailfish. Very nice especially when turning the wheel on close-quarters handling.

The boat is very comfortable, as you have found, and fishes really well. Enjoy her to the fullest, and keep up the great posts here on GG.

 

[Gary M]

Welcome aboard Mike!

We had a 1994 Sailfish for 4 years and she took us back and forth to the Bahamas many, many times! You will LOVE the boat and if you do the occassional upgrade and keep her in tip-top shape, you'll do great when you sell her to move up to a Marlin! Mine sold to the very first couple that looked at the boat...... as did my 20 G-W. What did you name her?

On those "heavy" trips, you might help the ride better if you place the heaviest stuff, (beer, waters, beer, rum, etc) all the way back in the mid-berth. That will put some weight farther aft and down lower.

Also, you have some pretty good storage under the mid-berth and we used that for the items that you hope you never need, like spare props, emergency beer, etc.

Our previous owner had a storage box built from Starboard and it was screwed down onto the stringers in the bilge/battery area. The "walls" were short enough to access the batts but man, it was GREAT storage for Yamalube, Ring Free, etc.

The PO also had a very nice retractable aft Bimini that could easily be retracted and tied down onto the back of the hard top when it was time to go fishing. Otherwise, it turns your fishing cockpit into a nice, outdoor patio! We have another one on our 2001 Marlin!

 

[BobrUSMC]

Tucker and all,
Wanted to update everyone on the steering problem. The first day we took the boat out was a near disaster. Because of the stiff steering we had a terrible time, getting out of the slip was no problem, but it was a windy day and because of that and the steering we managed to ram the fueling dock. Fortunately if was a glancing blow. The next challenge was getting the boat back in the slip. We have a fairly narrow slip and the wind began blowing mightily. As I got the boat positioned to back in the stiff steering almost proved an insurmountable problem. By the time I could get the engines swung around and the boat moving in the right direction the wind would blow the bow around and I'd have to abort, abort. Now I know why GW named it the SAILfish. At any rate it took about six times before I could get the boat in. I resolved then and there that I wasn't moving again until I got the steering problem solved. I spent fourteen years working on aircraft so I know a ilttle about hydraulic systems. Went to West Marine and got the correct steering fluid and went back and drained the system at the engine side including the hydraulic cyclinders. Found that my wife's cake pans do wonderful second service and oil collectors. After about an hour of turning the wheel we finally got the system empty. I had carefully read the Sea Star manual so I felt comfortable that we would be able to purge the system of air no problem. Of course things didnot follow the scenario they have in the book. The bleed valves worked great, but the part about holding the piston while turning the wheel was not to be, the piston doesn't move the housing does. After much use of USMC approved terms, I decided to ignore that part and concentrate on getting the system full of fluid. This we did and most of the air out through the bleed valves. Since I was using the 'filler cap' on the fluid bottles, I noticed a lot of air bubbles coming up through the filler hose which surprised me. I expected a little but not as much as we saw. At any rate after about an hour of turning the wheel and venting air I judged that we were full. Next problem, what the hell do you do when you have a half full bottle of steering fluid attached to the helm by a hose? Answer, make a mess. Closed everything up and used the rest of the two rolls of paper towels. Then the crucial part of the day... Turned the wheel and wonder of wonders the engine turned fairly easily. We have taken the boat out since (I topped off the system the next time, it didn't need much) and it has worked wonderfully. Not as easy as my old Sea Hunt, but I don't invite a hernia swinging the stern around anymore. Added a spinner knob and the has really helped also. So there is my tale. Hope it helps someone down the line.
Yo'all keep smiling,
Semper Fi
Bob R

 

[Tucker]

So all you did was replace the fluid right?? Bet the PO had transmission fluid in there. When I did my steering, I chose not to drain but to flush out the old with the new. I used av hydraulic fluid which is pink. The Sea Star fluid is amber. Pretty easy to tell when the old stuff is out and the new stuff is in. Glad you got that taken care of; on to the next thing right?

 

[simmonsviolet]

Its really glad to know about the opinions and suggestion given by the people here.. I will surely look forward to it and may be it helps me in the future...
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