mirage 32...have you seen this?

[Mr. Sandman]

A guy at my dock has one...AWESOME...
http://www.mirage-mfg.com/html/sf_pilot_house.html

I tell ya I need to save my $$

[likwid]

Yanno, All these GREAT boats keep popping up trying to do stuff that others have been doing for 50 years now.

What ever happened to people sticking to the basics with Surfhunters and Brownells and Mackenzies?

They're all proven and tested New England fishing rigs.
And there's not much more you'd need.

Probably available at half the cost of the newer boats.

Also the aluminum hulled jobs that have been wandering around Buzzards Bay for a while now, including an old surfhunter style with the casting rail ontop of the house with controls and a water jet drive.

Chet? Any clue who built that? Its a Cuttyhunk boat I know that much...

[Mr. Sandman]

Yeah, I have seen that guy with the AL boat and jet drive. He noses into the the rocks, they cast and he backs out....It is a nice rig...ugly but nice. I think he is a CH charter boat guy.

Surfhunters and Brownells and Mackenzies?

Surfhunters are over priced today
Brownells and Mackenzies are classics but so out dated and featureless you are better off with a glass boat for the same coin. YES they are STRONG and PROVEN boats and great to look at and talk about but you don't want to really fish off that...I would rather have a 26' regulator then a 26' Mack.

[likwid]

there was a hunter down in Fairhaven used for less than the Mirage 32

the guy with the aluminum beast is a Ch charter guy.

He used to run an oldschool Surfhunter... same slip at Fairhaven Shipyard

I grew up fishing out of a Mack with the stern trolling tiller and controls... Never noticed any issues fishing from it.

But comparing a center console against a boat with a cabin is kinda silly eh?

Yet on second though, having a cabin with an actual fold down top is nice. Esp. for Buzzards Bay. (we all know how it can be out)
S'why the Tripp Anglers make good BB boats, along with the older (fiberglass) Brownells etc.

If I had the inclination and hated myself enough I'd find a Mackenzie in decent shape and restore it.
My father's old Mackenzie is still in Plymouth Harbor and still gets fished (he sold it years ago)

[Raider Ronnie]

I like the 30mph @ 3.0mpg !!!

[BigBo]

These are pretty nice also. Check out the 22'. They make it in bigger boats too.
http://www.ospreyboats.com/

[ScottM]

I'm with likwid on the old bass boats. There's just something about fishing Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound in a classic bass boat. Sure they're slow, and the upkeep of a MacKenzie or Brownell will drive you to drink, but they sure are nice. Best compromise would be a Fortier or Dyer since they're 'glass.

[beachwalker]

with the power train it is over 120000 clams

Looks sweet though

[likwid]

Fortier has kept with the oldschool bassboat design.
Deep V with the short deck (that you could put a rail and controls on) and a huge cockpit.

They make great fishing boats.

My only complaint about the Brownells and Tripp Anglers is the round bilge.
They roll like a bastard in a sea.

Rather be in a real bassboat than a CC during the afternoon Buzzards Bay hurricane.

[Mr. Sandman]

good for trolling and live baiting...poor casting boats
Engine is a huge box in a bad spot as well
also slow and noisey and wet

[likwid]

Most engine boxes on well set up bassboats is dead center cockpit... away from the rails/stern.

Also... wet?
No way in hell anywhere near as wet as your average CC

[KJLane]

Fellas, how does a jet drive engine work? If you can nose into the rocks and back out I take it you have control when backing up like an outboard. (You don't want to be trying to back up in a rocky place with an inboard). I've never heard of a jet drive. What the heck is it?

[likwid]

Same as a jetski

except it has a door that flips down and reverses the direction of the waterjet

[Mr. Sandman]

jet drive is a water pump, moves the craft on the principle of changing momentum of water within the pump. No transmission per say...for reverse you have a C shaped cup up that re-directs the jet in reverse.

In theory you can go wide open and slam it in reverse and stop the craft in 1 boat length. It practice you will be ejected out of your seat.

The high speed ferrys use them. At speeds > 30Knts they become slightly more efficent then a conv. prop. At slower speed, they are less efficient.

You save on appendage drag ( no prop/skeg/shaft or rudder) which can add up to several knots at high speed. Also reduces draft.

I have a lot of data form hamilton jet drive company showing all this and they use to have a nice web site but I think it has changed.

[KJLane]

gotcha. thanks guys.