New Hewes Craft 24' Alaskan

[Day Break]

Guys, i just put a deposit on a 24' Hewes Craft Alaskan with premium package at a dealership in Portland Oregon. I am going to go out and take a look at it in the next two weeks and most likely finalize the sale. It will be rigged with a Yamaha 250 four stroke as the main motor and a Yamaha 9.9 kicker with tilt, trim, electric start and will be tied to the main motor stearing. Boat also has a rear driver station. Do any of you guys have an opinion on this boat for Lake Ontario use? I have been fishing on a 20' Lund Sport Angler since 2007 and want to get away from canvas top and my wife is tired of sitting on a 5 gallon bucket so wants privacy and portapotty so that is part of the reason for the change. I am sure this new boat will handle the rough water much better as the hull actually measures 26' long. I hear the Hewescraft will be a much more seaworthy boat with self draining bow and a door to close on the pilot house keeping it dry inside.

In addition, if you were rigging your final boat from scratch what brand of equipment do you recommend for the following:

Radar

GPS - is this part of the radar system?

Autopilot - is it worth the money with a rear driving station? Dealer is offering to install a Garmin TR-1 in the package

Down riggers - I have fished with big Jon's since 2000

Rod holders - I have used big Jon's since 2000 and they seem solid but i see soem guys running verticle rod holder now days

Planer system - I have used big Jon's since 2000 with Otter boards

Depth finder - i want to cut no corners here. Some buddies are rcommending the Furuno 585

Temp probe - I am in love with the Fish Hawk X-4 after using one for the past year

Am I forgetting anything other than my checkbook?

If this sale goes through i will be selling a 20' 2007 Lund Sport Angler that is loaded for fishing, always parked indoors and is clean as a wistle as i am very particular. I thought this was my last boat so i rigged it that way. This is a sweet fishing machine with a ton of room in the back. I will post it with pictures soon.

This boat is rigged with:

Mercury Optimax 150 HP

Mercury Pro Troll 9.9 kicker tied to main motor stearing

Wash down system

Auto Bilge

Manual Bilge

Cutting board system

Hummin bird 917 C combo depth finder / GPS

Gavelick EZ in Ladder that is removable

Minnekota 55/54 autopilot trolling motor

Raymarine VHF radio

Shakespear antenna

Fish Hawk x-4

Sony stereo MP3 player with two speakers

RAM mounting systems on everything

Ritchie compass

3-Big Jon Tournament series down riggers with slide bases

4-Big Jon adjustable rod holders

Big Jon bow planer mast with slide base

Full canvas cover for storage and trailering

Full canvas wrap around plastic for three sides keeping you warm and dry

Full galvanized Shore Lander bunk trailer

Two extra pedistal seats giving you seating for 6-people when you want

Will probably start asking $35,000 with what i have invested and the condition of the boat.

[Big Water]

DB,

I ordered a new 26' Pacific Cruiser this spring that has the full dinette, gally, head options and had it moored at Wilson this year. These are fantastic boats and built like a tank. I've got some definite opinions about the various options and I'll post them when I get a chance. Which cabin configuration did you select?

Doug

[Yankee Troller]

I was on Doug's ride. Pretty sweet! Congrats on the purchase. I wish I had your guys money! Those puppies aren't cheap.

[Mortigan]

Luckily drool washes right off those pretty aluminum plates...

[Day Break]

Boat has the short cabin I believe called the Alaskan bulkhead. I am opting for more fishing room versus more cabin space. Has the two suspension seats followed by the sleeper benches. Looking forward to your info.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[salmonite]

Those are freaking sweet!!!! closest dealer is in illinois though, wish more used ones would start showing up on the east coast

[Big Water]

In addition, if you were rigging your final boat from scratch what brand of equipment do you recommend for the following:

Radar

GPS - is this part of the radar system?

Autopilot - is it worth the money with a rear driving station? Dealer is offering to install a Garmin TR-1 in the package

Down riggers - I have fished with big Jon's since 2000

Rod holders - I have used big Jon's since 2000 and they seem solid but i see soem guys running verticle rod holder now days

Planer system - I have used big Jon's since 2000 with Otter boards

Depth finder - i want to cut no corners here. Some buddies are rcommending the Furuno 585

Temp probe - I am in love with the Fish Hawk X-4 after using one for the past year

Am I forgetting anything other than my checkbook?

DB

The options that I wouldn't hesitate on are (Your boat may already contain many of these):

Autopilot - Don't Think Twice about this. This is way more than a convenience and I wouldn't own a boat without it going forward. You will lose the ability to steer the kicker with the rear wheel, but thats not necessary.

Diamond plate deck floor - With this, every exposed surface is weatherproof and you won't need to worry about tears in the vinyl deck or rotting floors.

Fishing deck flood light - You'll need this for early morning and late evening excursions.

Side-of-cabin rod holders - You'll need these for rod storage while fishing. The overhead rocket launcher extends rods too far over the deck area to be useful when rigging or fighting fish.

Roof top Rocket Launchers - If you're like most people, you have far more rods along than you can fish at one time. This is a good location for them while travelling but they need to be moved from there while fishing as noted above.

Cutting Board and Washdown System - While this isn't an absolute necessity, cleaning fish while onboard beats bringing them to the dock, carrying them to the cutting station and waiting in line. You can also get the fillets on ice sooner by cleaning them onboard.

Two Fishfinder configuration (One at Captioans Chair and one at the rear deck area) - The dealer felt that a single larger fishfinder in the cabin would suffice, but it would be a reel nuisance to constantly peer through the cabin to see the screen.

Options I chose, but aren't necessities;

Livewell Configuration - I release a lot of the fish I catch and this option has allowed me to put them in aerated water and revive fish that would never had survived if I had just released them.

Manual Anchor pulpit - I rarely anchor, but if you do any type of fishing requiring anchoring, this makes for easy anchor deployment and storage.

Sharkhide Aluminum Hull Protector - I really can't say that this has provided additional protection against oxidation because I don't know what it would have been like without it. As it is, there has been no signs of oxidation or scuffing on my hull.

Lowrance Radar - I was chased off of the lake a couple of times in 2011 because of fog and not having radar. This didn't happen at all in 2012, but it will be great when it's too thick to see out there.

Other considerations

My boat came with two raised downrigger pedestals permanently mounted about half way back the deck. This made the last 18-20" of the gunwale somewhat unusable, but I had short Berts Tracks installed there anyway. What I will do is place a Berts ratcheting rod holder there on a 45 degree angle that tilts IN towards the center of the deck and rearward. From that I often run a long copper down the chute and this configuration places the line about dead center on the transom. You could also use one of the rocket launchers for this, but they're positioned such that they point slightly outward toward each side and put the copper closer to the other lines.

I had Berts Tracks installed on almost all of the exposured gunwale along the deck and it allows for multiple rod holder configurations for all of your wires, copper, leadcore and planer board lines.

The railing along the top sides of these boats is a perfect configuration for the Planer board reels and pulleys. I mounted the pulleys about 5' from the deck toward the bow and mounted the reels near the back of the rails, within reach from the deck. This places the line going to the boards well in front of, and out of the way of, your other lines. Eventually, I'm going to install some sort of electric retrieval system, but I expect the pulleys will stay just as configured.

I aslo had the dealer install the cabling, transducer and base mount for my Fishhawk X4 on the boat so that I could move the unit between my 18' Lowe and this boat without buying a second X4. The mount is installed on a gimbale bracket over the rear steering station and above my second fishfinder.

My fishfinder units are Lowrance HDS-7 and HDS-8. The 7" is in the cabin and the 8" mounted above the rear steering station. I'm not an expert of fishfinders, but I can't find fault with these units. They are both GPS capable and are wired such that they communicate with each other i.e. if I mark a waypoint on one, it also displays on the other. They both also display data from the Lowrance radar unit.

The rear driving station is only used in those rare instances when I'm not using the kicker on autopilot. You'll find that once waves reach 4+ feet, that the kicker can't maintain consistent speed or dirction unless trolling directly with the waves. In those rare instances, I turn one of my dual 135hp engines on and steer with the rear station wheel.

The boat came with Scotty Downriggers with extendable 5' booms and I'm very pleased with them, but everyone has their own thoughts on downriggers.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this boat and, like I said above, it's built like a tank and Hewscraft puts out a very high quality product.

If you have any other questions or want some pics, let me know.

Doug

[Big Water]

Those are freaking sweet!!!! closest dealer is in illinois though, wish more used ones would start showing up on the east coast

As info, I ordered my boat from Tom and Jerrys Boats in Mount Vernon Washington and even with the additional freight charge, it was several thousand dollars cheaper than the price quoted by the guy in Illinois. I gave him a chance to lower his price, but it was non-negotiable. Tom and Jerrys also provides a lot of buyer support and answered all of my questions promptly and resolved a few small issues I had after the sale (couldn't figure out where the all of the valves were for the plumbing system and the tie down straps were slightly cut during transport).

[Don Supon]

The TR1 autopilot will steer the kicker very well, but you will damage it if you forget to disconnect from the main motor during use.

Garmin makes another model for motors over 15 HP. I'm not familiar with it's features, but it will steer the main motor for you (perhaps allowing you to steer the kicker through the main motor). If it has the same programming patterns as the TR1, that's what I would purchase if I had a do-over.

I'm jealouse of your boat and wish you much success with it.

[Big Water]

The TR1 autopilot will steer the kicker very well, but you will damage it if you forget to disconnect from the main motor during use.

Garmin makes another model for motors over 15 HP. I'm not familiar with it's features, but it will steer the main motor for you (perhaps allowing you to steer the kicker through the main motor). If it has the same programming patterns as the TR1, that's what I would purchase if I had a do-over.

I'm jealouse of your boat and wish you much success with it.

In my case, there is no connection between my kicker and main motor. The kicker works solely off of the Garmin with no tie connection. They do make a larger unit capable of steering the large outboards, but I didn't see a need since I would be trolling with the kicker 99% of the time.

[Big Water]

I wish I had your guys money!

It's a trade off then; I wish I had your guys skill and knowledge!

[Day Break]

Guys, I really appreciate the info. Doug, if you have the time and want to supply some pictures of how your boat is rigged that would be helpful. I know that is a lot to ask from someone you don't really know. I fish out of Olcott in the spring and the Oak during the summer so I may need to catch up with you and buy you a beer or something

Mark

[BAZOOKAJOE]

Congrats!! They look like awesome boats!!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Fishtails]

Congrats on your upcoming purchase....I'm green with envy!! A Hewes Craft is my next, and probably final boat. It's still a couple years out for me so I'll just drool over your boats until then

[Iceman]

Check out the Garmin GHP-10 Autopilot, as it will work with the main motor & the kicker just fine. Garmin 5000 series chart plotter with the eChip. Those two will work togerther very well. Seastar hydraulic steering with a big pump as well.

[A-TOM-MIK]

Have you had good luck with your Lund? I just purchased a second boat for a fall time perch boat it happens to be a Lund Pro Angler but an 18'model, interested in info on problems or success you've had, did you own yours since 2007? I will only use the boat about 2 months or 40 times a year each fall.

Tom

[stan]

That same dealer out here carries the NORTH RIVER. Take a look at the 2012 North River 24' Seahawk Cuddy before you head back east. They are made with heavier metal, they are also more fishermen friendly with out paying for extra options.

[Big Water]

This is the view of the side gunwale showing the downrigger pedestal and Berts Tracks. The back rod holder is positioned so that the holder tilts inward and back at a 45 dgree angle to accommodate my chute rods. You will have more deck space since my boat has the flush toilet option (According to my wife, this wasn't negotiable ).

The next picture shows how the fishfinder and X4 are mounted above the rear steering station. I've taken them off for now, but you can see the brackets.

This pic shows the side rail and the position of the planer board pulley. I have the planer board reel removed for now, but it is situated close to, and within reach of the deck.

Hope this helps.

Doug

[Day Break]

Thanks everyone for the info and thank you Doug for the pictures!

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Tom, I've owned a Lund, and know many guys down here that have them. That boat will outlast us all with that amount of use, unless of course you sink it with bounty! Just an odd rivet leak once in a great while. Triple bow plate.

The Lunds and Crestliners have the ride of a glass boat and are fine choices for production boats. The beasts made of aluminum that these guys are ordering are in another league altogether, however. Awesome.

[Day Break]

I second Capt. Vince's comments about the Lund boats. I run them since 2000. I had an 18" Adventure and now the 20' Sport fisherman. The boats have been bulletproof and so have the Mercury Optimax motors and Pro Troll kickers. I do not have a single complaint except it does not have privacy with a portapotti and a hard top! Other than that they fish and handle great!

[Day Break]

BW, do you think a 9.9 HP kicker is large enough for this boat?

[pacific time]

I have a pacific 2325V which is also a heavy duty plate alloy vessel with Honda 225 main and honda 20Hp kicker. Top speed with the 20hp is only 8mph. On windy days I am glad that I have the extra hp. Another item you will not want to leave out is a Controllking remote throttle control for your kicker motor. 2 nd to my autopilot this is the greatest tool on my boat. Best of luck with your purchase.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Day Break]

Thanks for the info! I want to rig it right the first time!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Day Break]

Anybody have any experience with the Garmin GPSMAP chart plotters such as the 6012 and 4010 tied in conjunction with GMR 18 HD Radar and GSD 24 Digital Black Box with an Airmar 600 watt transducer? I have never used Garmin equipment on a boat but they have complete systems and my boat distributor on the West Coast is recommended the Garmin equipment. He says he installs lot's of them for the salt water guys. He did tell me to stay away from the touch screen models.