Hello and questions for 2001 306 Bimini

[Sardinia306Bimini]

Hello over there!
My name is Chris, I'm Swiss but live from 1996 on the Italian Island of Sardinia.
I boat for all my life, had two dive operations and a sport fishing company in Costa Rica.
Owned a BW 23 Outrage, a Venture 34 and a 28ft Panga and several rib's for work purpose, now i 95% fish.

I would like to sell my 30ft RIB what I like but it has some design flaws what makes it uncomfortable for full day fishing (console to near to bench, bench too short, console to much stern ward, difficult to install electric motor and downrigger) and get again a fiberglass CC as it is more comfortable for certain kinds of fishing.

I found a 306 Bimini here on the island and went seeing it in the shipyard yesterday and was impressed by the design and that confirmed me that a Bimini/Canyon would be the right fit for me.

However there are some concerning things what makes me gather more informations to avoid to buy a can of worms.

1° Can both fuel tanks be pulled without cutting any flooring?
Replacing them does not worry me if it's easy to pull them after removing the bench.

2° I guess that the bilge was originally painted, on the boat I saw raw fiberglass is showing

3° I was reading about the rotten stringer problem, but could not see much so I would need to investigate later.
However, can they be accessed removing the fuel tanks or are some of them inacessible?

4° Owner cut a hole in center keel to install a B265 flush and said that this is the original mounting location.
Transducer seem installed right on first sight, but I doubt that this is the GW Transducer mounting location

5° The hull has about 3/4 black a kind of a pocket on each side.
What are they for? May they be the correct place to mount a thru-hull with a fairing block?

6° The boat has two Suzuki DF250 from 2020, but half of the lower unit is submerged when tilted up and owner painted the lower units with AF. I had the same problem with my BW 23 (as most pre 4 stroke hulls) and I know it's doable, but not my favorite thing to do.
Is that normal for the older 306 with 4 strokes?
Could adding weight in the anchor locker solve that due lifting the transom a bit higher
The outboards where mounted at their lowest position but I don't know length, is that correct

7° Was the hull changed after 2000 to support 4 stroke outboards, or is it still the same with more recent 306?

8° Is there any hull changes to a 2009 306 Bimini,
there is one for sale in mainland Italy and that would make it more complicated to see her.

It seems to me that the boat was year around slipped from 2001 on, and that's a long time.
However from the outside she looks nice, gelcoat is not chalky and transom sounds full knocking on it without stress cracks, bang cap looks newer and well sealed, only a few spider cracks on non structural places around the boat, t-top structure has a surprising amount of small corrosion blooms, just estethic but my 99 Ventures tower structure was in a much better shape.

Thanks so much for your help

Chris

 

[Ekea]

i cant help with all the questions, but from what i am aware of, stringer rot is not so much the concern with that vintage as is transom rot that can lead into stringer rot in the worst cases. that being said, in 1998, GW went from regular marine plywood to greenwood xl which is much more rot resistant.

another thing to conisider is the deck drain hoses, if original, will likely need to be replaced. if you can do it yourself, its a cheap job, but access may be poor.

my chase sits a bit stern-low with 4-strokes. how did the scuppers look relative to the water level?

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

Thanks you so much for your answer.

The scuppers are all of chrome plated brass and they are above the waterline, only the two splash well drains are white plastic and look newer and sealed well.
Cockpit drains are plastic and in a not too good state but not too bad either
Hoses from cockpit drains seem to be new/er, I could check the ports side one behind the door and the black rubber hose looks rather new and I exclude original.
There is a cut out in a wooden bulkhead starboard side of the door below the live well what looks it was cut to reach the hoses from starboard side drain hoses, but could not verify that.
Yes the bilge access is absolutely terrible but I was reading here how to do it blindly with special tools. I worked for years in a shipyard and can do a lot of things by my self, but no fiberglassing and with my 60 years I am not keen to do awkward jobs by my self so I probably will have the cockpit drains changed by someone.

Yes I was reading that about Greenwood what is good from GW to address that problem.
I saw no signs of cracks in the gelcoat on the transom or hollow sound tapping it. But that does not exclude wet transom.
They just washed the boat when I was arriving so there was water, but I smelled a moldy smell mostly under the bench and inside the bilge or fuel tank access hatches and that made me a bit thinking about the rot problem, the exposed resin inside the hull also.

The hull looks solid from the outside and inside the cockpit and no cracks in gelcoat what indicate that hull static seems to be fine, for now.

The boat was on the stands as owner will pull hull to zero and start over with primer and new antifouling this week, after I could sea trial her.

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

Here some more informations about the boat

2001 sold but HIN show 00 as last two numbers, so she is a 2000 model.

Owner installed 2020
- twin Suzuki DF250 with manual control and 150 hours
- Garmin 8412 xsv
- Airmar 265LH transducer glassed in center keel
- Garmin 18 mile radar
- collapsible carbon outriggers on T-Top (have not seen them)
- Autopilot
- electric 12V outlets for electric reels
- he redone complete electrical system inside waterproof boxes

I am interested in this boat as owner installed all I have and basically I can take off my GSD26 and the 8410 and install it on the Bimini and I have all I need.

Price is broker fee included around 90K
Considering the new outboards and electronics not expensive, but the age ...

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I just talked with another broker who has a beautiful, shiny 2009 206 Bimini for sale and price is about 30k more, but in Italy Mainland and I have to take a plane or overnight ferry to go there to see this boat.
BUT: Raytheon electronics with 1Kw transducer, no radar, twin seat instead of bench,
and the biggest problem is twin 2009 Yamaha F350 and that are one of the outboards I would not like to own. For the flywheel problem and for the high fuel consumption.

I could reuse the most likely installed B265/275 transducer, sell the other Raytheon stuff and install my own Garmin setup of 7408 + 8410 + GSD26 plus adding a Garmin Radar.
I think a upholsterer can make a cushion to put over the box between the two seats to make a bench out of them.
Installing two 12 outlets should be a quick and easy job
But I probably have to sell the F350 and repower with something new recent, most likely Suzuki as I had a 200HP V6 same as the 225 and 250hp models and I had twin DF300Ap in Costa Rica on my Venture.

Fuel is very expensive here, between 9 to 10$ per gallon and the thing I am interested is less fuel consumption around 25-28 knots as I rarely drive my boats faster so I dont need 350hp outboards. Only reason to keep the F350's would be if their fuel consumption is similar to twin 250HP outboards because the F350 will probably run at much less rpms around 25/28 knots, but no idea if that would work.

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I just talked with another broker who has a beautiful, shiny 2009 206 Bimini for sale and price is about 30k more, but in Italy Mainland and I have to take a plane or overnight ferry to go there to see this boat.
BUT: Raytheon electronics with 1Kw transducer, no radar, twin seat instead of bench,
and the biggest problem is twin 2009 Yamaha F350 and that are one of the outboards I would not like to own. For the flywheel problem and for the high fuel consumption.

However this boat is offered for 120k broker fees included, what makes it interesting confronting it with the 2001 what is much more used.

I could reuse the most likely installed B265/275 transducer, sell the other Raytheon stuff and install my own Garmin setup of 7408 + 8410 + GSD26 plus adding a Garmin Radar.
I think a upholsterer can make a cushion to put over the box between the two seats to make a bench out of them.
Installing two 12 outlets should be a quick and easy job
But I probably have to sell the F350 and repower with something new recent, most likely Suzuki as I had a 200HP V6 same as the 225 and 250hp models and I had twin DF300Ap in Costa Rica on my Venture.

Fuel is very expensive here, between 9 to 10$ per gallon and the thing I am interested is less fuel consumption around 25-28 knots as I rarely drive my boats faster so I dont need 350hp outboards. Only reason to keep the F350's would be if their fuel consumption is similar to twin 250HP outboards because the F350 will probably run at much less rpms around 25/28 knots, but no idea if that would work.

Chris

 

[JJF]

Hi,

Regarding the fuel consumption with the F350s. I have a 2018 Canyon 306 with twin F350s ("C" Series).

I cruise at 30 MPH getting 1.4 MPG. (boat goes through most anything at 26-30 MPH)
If I run at 47 MPH or greater, then it drops to .8 - 1 MPG.

Given that you said you don't fast, fuel consumption at higher speeds doesn't appear to be an issue for you. The bigger question is how far you have to run to where you fish.

IMO, the nice thing about the 350s is that they can keep the boat on plane at slower speeds. Perhaps 250s & 300s can do it as well, but I can't attest to that as I have only run mine with the 350s.

The following link has the performance numbers with the F300s.

https://boattest.com/boats/grady-white/canyon-306-2017

The table further below is for a Canyon 336 with F350s. My numbers are mostly in line with them and a bit better. Basically, my performance is between the 300s on the 306 and the 350s on the 336 (which makes sense to me).

FWIW: the 306 is a great fishing platform and it does a great job cruising with friends and family. Lots of good features and tons of deck space. It is a bit short on storage, but it hasn't been an issue for me. I prefer to travel a bit light.

Yamaha Performance Bulletin
RPM	MPH		GPH	MPG
1000	6.1		3.0	2.02
1500	8.4		5.3	1.59
2000	10.3		8.9	1.16
2500	14.7		12.6	1.17
3000	22.9		17.2	1.33
3500	28.8		21.3	1.36
4000	33.8		28.3	1.19
4500	38.4		35.6	1.08
5000	42.7		46.1	0.93
5500	46.1		60.8	0.76
6000	51.9		68.0	0.76

 

[JJF]

FYI: on my 2018 Canyon with F350s, the scuppers are well above the water. They are in the painted waterline, but out of the water.

 

[TikiCharterFishing]

Transducers are never mounted on the centerline of a hull. That’s why they come in varying degrees of hull deadrise.

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I cruise at 30 MPH getting 1.4 MPG. (boat goes through most anything at 26-30 MPH)

Thanks so much JJF!
That sounds as good numbers for 30 mph /26 knots as this is the usual speed I run with my 30ft RIB as I get reasonable MPG.

I deep drop up to 12 miles out, most spots are 12 miles from the marina, but sometimes they are 20 miles as a few days ago. Trolling can be much more distance but at 6-8 knots / 7-9 mph.

However, it seems that fuel consumption will be about double of what I have now what is not surprising considering the 2200 lbs more and the much wider hull.

The question is it with the 250's, 300, 350 twin prop or the new Honda BF350 what seems to be a beast.
I hope next week I can sea trial the older one here in Sardinia and then I will get the numbers with twin DF250 and post them.

Yes I loved the setup of the 306, looks perfect for me.
Storage is a bit low as you wrote and that is important to me as I have all in my boat so I just can grab a bottle of water, a sandwich and bait and off I am.
I worked from 1998 in unsafe places where I had to load and unload everything every damned day and I never want to have this again. Now I am super happy in the marina I am now as I can leave everything on board.
However, I believe storage is more than enough, but I will need to eliminate some stuff I have in the RIB but rarely use.
The only thing that I am aware of is that the bathroom inside the console must be transformed in rod storage as it is the only long/high space to store them.
I never used or missed to not have a toilet so that is fortunately not an issue.

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

FYI: on my 2018 Canyon with F350s, the scuppers are well above the water. They are in the painted waterline, but out of the water.

Thanks so much!

The 2001 306 Bimini I saw yesterday had DF250 and all scuppers where about 2 fingers above the water line, also the rams of the trim/tilt seemed not in the water.

The 2009 306 Bimini show on one photo the lower units half way in the water but I can't see the scuppers, however I believe that they will be out of the water as well.

Thats already a good thing!

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

Transducers are never mounted on the centerline of a hull. That’s why they come in varying degrees of hull deadrise.

Can you explain me/us that?

The B165/175 series thru-hulls comes in different degrees to avoid a fairing block,
the 265/275 thru-hulls have 0° and the dead rise is corrected with the fairing block,
or glassed in center keel at 0°.

For my kind of fishing I need a 265/275 transducer, the 165/175 is not good enough.

My Venture 34 had a B260 center line on the delta pad this hull has and it worked great.
The 2001 Bimini I saw had the B265 installed center line by the actual owner and that makes me a bit nervous if it's done correctly.

Chris

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

I just talked with another broker who has a beautiful, shiny 2009 206 Bimini for sale and price is about 30k more, but in Italy Mainland and I have to take a plane or overnight ferry to go there to see this boat.
BUT: Raytheon electronics with 1Kw transducer, no radar, twin seat instead of bench,
and the biggest problem is twin 2009 Yamaha F350 and that are one of the outboards I would not like to own. For the flywheel problem and for the high fuel consumption.

Chris

Ok, the situation is like this:
100K 2001 Bimini 306
is too wreck that I consider it, she is with new electronics and 2020 DF250 but boat looks old and has strange smell inside bilge.

120K 2011 Canyon 306
Broker called me after 3 weeks and told me that owner raised the price to 150K as he put 16K in new electronics in it.
I signed purchase offer for 120 and owner refused and broker told me that owner send lowest acceptable price but did not received it after 2 weeks. So I guess they are just playing with me.

110K 2009 Canyon 306 as quoted above
I leave next Tuesday to Switzerland and will drive by other Broker who is Italian Importer to see the boat.
Boat looks nice on pix but I am still worried about the 2009 F350 as they have in THT a very bad reputation.
I told broker that and he said that no problems are known and that ECU's where changed and flywheels once.
However, Broker want to sell and I don't want to have troubles with the known troublesome F350.

If I as the question "should I buy twin 2009 F350" in THT I know what will be the answer:
a) no
b) buy Mercury
So I ask the question here as it is a GW and a lot here had/have the A series F350:
how serious are the problems with the 2009 F350 really?

I really don't want to buy the boat for 110K and blow one/both engines soon after or worst on the 200K+ trip from Italy Mainland to Sardinia. Repower with new Suzuki DF300 would cost me probably about 50K and I may can find a pair of low used ones for 35-40K, but still I don't want to end paying 160/170K for a 2009 boat.
For similar price I can get a same age and low hour pristine Carolina Classic 32 or 35 what is a different beast, but probably a bit complicated to handle alone.

Any suggestions or first person experience with the A series F350?

If someone should be able to look up the serial numbers, here they are, but one the numbers, not the prefix
1003652 + 1002128

Thanks so much!

Chris

 

[JJF]

When I bought my 2018 306 Canyon with "C Series" F350s, I discussed it with service manager at my local GW/Yamaha dealer. He told me to avoid the "A & B Series" motors. He said the "C Series" are fine.

 

[Sardinia306Bimini]

Thanks JJF,
thats what I heard too.
Chris