picking up new 215 on friday

[MarkGW]

The dealer should have out new boat fully rigged up by friday. If all goes well we will be able to get out salmon fishing before the season is over. I can't wait to get out there for albacore.

[jergofish]

MarkGW, Me too! I picked up my boat Tuesday afternoon. The dealer and I took it out for a quick run for a prop check before I hooked it up to the trailier. The performance of the Suzuki 175 was awesome, Cruising at 3500 gives a speed of about 28 and WOT was about 50. Since the engine has almost no time on it we didn't run it for more than a few seconds at WOT just to check the prop. I should be able to improve on those numbers when the engine loosens up and I learn to trim engine and the big Bennett trim tabs.

Since pick up I've attached the bimini, hooked up the VHF, have mounted the GPS/Sonar and am in the middle of fastening on the Bennett Trim Tabs. I still have to install the pick ups for the GPS/Sonar and the hydralics for the trim tabs.

I have to work again tomorrow but will take Friday off for a whole day of boat work before the boat's first real sea trials on Saturday and Sunday.

[MarkGW]

Sounds nice, we are going to try to get out this weekened. Is it important to break in the motor and if so how much do I really need to break it in?

[jergofish]

Suzuki has a break in schedule in its owner's manual. Total break in takes about 10 hours from what I remember and has really low rpm recommendations for the first two. I'll check it again before I go out this Saturday.

[MolarBoater]

Break in is programmed. The oil light will begin blinking when you are done @20 hours for a DF 140. I would invest in a Suzuki repair manual (Quicklinks/BrownsPointMarina) and Suzuki/Racor fuel-water separator also a Suzuki motor cover if you have wasps/flying insects active in your area.
You should enjoy it, my 140 has been perfect for 5 years. Congrats, Molar

[jergofish]

Molar, I remember all the stuff about the indicator lights but not the times and RPM's. I'll take the book with me on Saturday and Sunday so I can follow the schedule. I want to get the twenty on before I take off for Baja on the 14th.

Yes, I'll be adding a water separator and a particle filter. Insects are not a problem here except for mosquito's. As far as a manual, it's a good idea although I don't know how much good it will do me. I sort of lost it when they did away with distributer caps and carburetors. I noticed that the new motor even has a diagnostics plug, just like a new car.

Way too much tech stuff for me!

[jergofish]

The big day is hours away. I worked like a slave and have hooked up the GPS/Sonar, VHF radio, battery monitors, bimini, and the big job, the Bennett trim tabs.

Plus I installed safety gear, put away life jackets, set up anchor, all the regular boating stuff. Oh yeah, stuck on the CF numbers and the boat's name, "No Nonsense".

I've still got to install a few wire ties and bundle the wires so they don't look like a hash job but should have only about an hour to two hour's work before hooking up to the van and away I go.

I'll try to remember the camera.

[jergofish]

The first 8.6 hours were great. Saturday was a nice boat ride and then Sunday was one of the windiest days I've ever been on the delta with wind speeds of 25 and gusts to 40. Amazingly, though we slowed to ten miles an hour at times, we took very little spray over the sides.

I was pleased at how the boat handled in the wind. It tracked well at low speeds, something I wasn't sure of since it's a little high sided compared to typical delta boats. I didn't really do any time/speed trials yet since the winds and currents were so great that I was getting 5 to 6 miles per hour difference between ground speed and water speed on the Lowrance on occassion.

The fuel management package from Lowrance has not arrived yet as well so I wouldn't have been able to report on GPH at certain RPMs anyway. Hopefully, I'll have all the goodies installed by the coming weekend and the wind and waves will have settled down as well. I uploaded some pictures last night but can's seem to find them. I'll try again tonight.

[MarkGW]

we took the new boat out on saturday just to break in the motor. I love the suzuki because it is very quite and has good excelleration. We mainly just varied our speeds but did open the throttle to see how fast the 140 pushed us. The maximum speed was right around 42 but that will probrably change once we get the kicker put on. All in all I was very pleased with the engine performance and the way the boat handled.