Harley 42'

stuff for harleys

swamp, before you write off the diesel idea completely try to price out rebuilt cat 3126's. I only paid $36,200 for a pair brand new in 04. I know new prices are way up but I would trust a re-man from the right dealer. I think there are a few around. Do you ever read Boat & Harbors?, a yellow newspaper looking publication, lot of stuff like that in there. You should alos call my dealer Tim @ T&S 410-968-2970 he gets all kinds of deals coming thru, does a lot of volume. I'm just trying to give you input from over 13 years of heavy use using only 2 sets of the cats and I think I have several years left in these. You just don't have to work on them much at all and there are dealers & parts everywhere.
Martin, the hardtop looks cool and would be comfy in certain weather. We are open boaters however. Even though I've got a nice convertible top with curtains it is rarely up and when it is it is ususally when trolling on hot summer days. My girlfriend recently bought a 24' Scout Abaco (nice, similar to a Grady-White, really beefy) with a factory hard-top that was gorgeous. She kept the top on only a few months and paid to have it professionally removed and replaced w/convertiable soft top. I guess we want to be wrinkly when we get old. My props are 25 spline but I have #8 drives, I thought you had #10. Same shaft size? You can ask Rik @ Arneson what the specs are on my drives I just got them from him (to replace my old Sp-1000's) about 3 years ago. If you think they will fit just and want to proceed just e-mail Susan and we can put it together. Would want them back by mid-december when boat is shipped to S. Fla., might even have you ship them to Palm Beach if shipping costs are any less (I doubt it).

 

That top would work very well for the type of boating in my area. I do alot of boating in the winter. It doesn't get that cold usually, but it rains alot. In the summer I still leave the bimini on all the time. I'm a shade worshiper these days anyway. as long as there is large opening windows i don't see a big problem with getting too hot. You could always install a huge a/c system if needed. If Martin decides to go ahead with this project I will follow it very closely.

I have researched the heck out of repoweing with diesels. You are right that the cat 3126 420 hp makes the most sense. just not sure I love the boat enough to keep it for another 5 or more years. I have already owned longer than any other boat ever (7 years). I usually get board after a couple of years and get something else. I have enjoyed working on this old girl over the last several years though. There always seems to be another project to do on her. Currently I'm installing a auto pilot on her. Just got all the components installed and rigged. trying to get all the lines bled now then I can start sea trials.

 

Thanks for the inputs on the diesels - rough stage in our lives, two weddings, one more year of college tuitions, and the inevitable home things that keep breaking...we're broke ;-)

The CAT 420s give you what kind of a cruise speed?

Steve post how that autopilot works out for you....cool project.

 

Do you gents think a pair of:

JOHN DEERE 6068T – M5s

Rated at 300 HP but 800 ft/lbs or torque woukd move my Harley 42 better than my big block gas 502s?

 

I bought the TR-1 Gladiator. It costs about twice as much as most, but I have read alot of good press about it. The main reason I went with this particular unit was the fact that it did not need a rudder input. This would have made a big project even bigger. As it is I did not even take the boat out of the water to install it. Just had to "T" into the current hydraulic steering lines and install the components. The programing can be intense, but once you figure out the basics it's not too bad.


So far it is the coolest gadget on the boat. Infinitely adjustable. All of the gains can be adjusted on the fly. Holds a course alot better than I can. I'm getting it dialed into my GPS currently. Very very happy with it.

Steve H

 

selling soem big transom door hinges

Anyone need these before I go eBay?

 

What were those hinges used for?

Steve

 

Oversized hinges were used for the transom door on my Superstar 42 1988.

 

Oh that's right. Those are monsters.

How is your engine project coming along?

Steve

 

what engine project......

kidding aside I have taken a break from fighting with the boat...she is floating behind the house...a diver visits her monthy...I fire up the running good engine weekly but I have not done anything. Tuitions, job changes, weddings, and other things are all taking priority over the boat.

I'll get to it when the $$$s are available. Should have sold it when it was running....

 

bowthruster on Harley 42

anybody got a bow thruster on a harley 42? I bought a new design model made by Vetus during the Annapolis boat (special pricing) for about $3,200, in the box. Supposed to have more power and quieter than previous version. Still deciding whether to tackle install myself or farm it out. I am curious if somebody has one and if so how they like it. The 42' with pointy nose and Arnesons make for for some tough times docking in close quarters, especially with a stiff wind! I'll post up progress on the job & look for any input you guys have. Auto-pilot- somebody noted a recent Harley/Arneson install with a Galdiator tr-1, hows that rig working out? I checked it out on web-site, looks very nice. That is the next gadget I want to put on, any input appreciated.

 

Lee,

I have been looking at bow thrusters for a long time. Just this morning as a matter of fact! I too have been in tough docking situations because of wind, current, mixed in with a long light weight boat and surface drives.
The only thing holding me back on the install is the weather. It is very cold and I rented out my last storage to someone else. A soon as it warms up some I just may tackle it too.
After researching this I have found that the depth of the thrust tube should equal its diameter, other wise it may suck air. We also need it as far forward as possible to give the thruster maximum amount of directional leverage. This is not an issue in most boats that are very wide and the bow has a blunt entry. We are not so lucky. With a slender narrow nose and a sharp V, getting the thruster forward is tough. We will have to bring it a little further back than we want but it should still work fine. I think this would put it aft of the V berth bulkhead. Which in turn would cause the thruster motor to protrude up from the flooring, even with the motor mounted on its side. This in my opinion would not be an issue. I would simply build a box over it and use it as a step to get into the v berth. I think it would look very nice if it was designed well.

Now having said all of this, I must admit that I have not measured the boat out of the water. I have just eyeballed it while it is in the water. So I may be singing a new song after I measure it out high and dry. Please keep us posted with lots of pictures!


I did install the Gladiator TR1 last fall. It is by far the coolest boat gagdet I have ever bought. It makes long boat trips much safer and enjoyable for the helmsman.
The programing can be a challenge. I still don't have mine dialed in all the way yet. Currently it will hold a compass course or GPS course perfectly. But I haven't got it following a GPS route very well yet. It's close but still needs dialed in some more. It will have to wait for warmer weather.
I did have some install issues. First test drive boat would not steer from the helm unles it was turned very quickly. The working pressure of the Arensons was too high for the AP pump. It was letting pressure bypass the steering ram through the pump. So I installed the verado check valve in the system backwards isolating the pump from the helm pressures.(It's actually designed to isolate the helm from the pump pressure pulses because the Mercury helm is not very robust) That cured the problem.

When I purchased mine you had a choice of two pumps. "High volume, low pressure" or "low volume high pressure" (verado version). Now they offer "high volume high pressure" If I was doing it again, I would purchase the most recent pump. I may get one anyway for a spare. I have a single steering ram so the volume was not a big deal. Lee I think you have two so the high volume pump would be a good idea.

Back in October I brought the boat back up from the coast after crabbing season was about done. It takes about two and a half hours. I did not touch the helm from the time I left the Astoria Mooring Basin until I pulled into my boathouse in Longview. Just had the remote controll to make corrections occasionally or make a turn. I really like looking behind me and seeing a nice straight wake. I highly recomend it. You can call me if you want to discuss it further.

Steve Hixson
360-423-0890

 

Dude - cool toy! Nice write up too

 

bow thruster auto pilot

I went to Miami boat show lst week. I confirmed all the materials and delievery of the bow thurster. It is a 7" tube vetus. It is correct that it will need to be installed aft of the v-berth bulkhead. I have already stripped out that section of the cabin and put in a PVC template tube. The good news is that if you lay the motor down horizontal it will only be a few inches higher than existing floor. I tried to track down the gladiator auto pilot crew at the show but found that they have been bought by Garmin. One of the guys there was previously with gladiator and now is a consultant for Garmin. He has some concerns about the application on the Arnesons, something to do with pressure and volume. He is doing some research for me. He also suggested another auto pilot made by Course-Master. So I am still doing research. I know Steve had indicated that his Gladiator was working fine, that is usually the best test, install it and try it.
Swamp I am still in Palm Beach for a while if you have time I might could swing by and look at your boat. Post me a message to let me know if it would work for you.

 

back in the press but making flats fishing inverted V's?:

INNOVATION

In Bartow, the seat of landlocked Polk County, Howard D. Harley believes he has come up with a more fuel efficient hull design for Florida's popular flatboats an inverted V shape he says uses up to 40 percent less fuel than others its size.

Harley is president and chief executive of Bartow-based Harley Shipbuilding Corp., which specializes in surface effect ships and luxury yachts million- and multimillion- dollar vessels.

These days Harley has bought another boat company, N-V Boats Inc., and is tooling up for production of its new lightweight 19-footlong, 7-foot-wide flatboat targeted at freshwater anglers. The inverted- V hull design allows the boat to navigate in shallow water, so Harley says the boat should prove useful in the Everglades and the Keys. A similar size flatboat with an outboard engine can weigh 1,300 pounds and up, but Harley's boat (its hull is formed in a vacuum mold with vacuum infusion building process, and made out of Kevlar, Vinylester resin and Airlite foam-core material) weighs in at a mere 850 pounds with an engine. It will be sold as a package deal. With upholstered seating, all the necessary gauges and a mounted engine, Harley says his boat is moderately priced at about $30,000 and he may even throw in a trailer.

The inverted-V provides for outstanding stability, 2-3 can stand on one side with practically no list; the boat can idle in as little as six inches of water and, of very interesting importance, the prop is much higher than conventional V-hull boats, up to as much as 10 inches higher with jackplate, and will get on plane with the jackplate in the full up position! This means getting in and out of much shallower water than conventional flats boats.

Harley intends to give buyers a choice of two engines. A two-stroke outboard (he prefers the Evinrude E-Tec outboards because they are the most quiet and fuel efficient he has found) or an innovative efficient 88 horsepower, 760 cubic-inch two-stroke inboard motor. The latter is a personal watercraft engine built by an Asian manufacturer, but Harley wouldn't say who. A shaft linked to the inboard engine turns inside a tube extending outside the stern under a small swim platform with sideskirts. The shaft turns a four-blade propeller.

The boat's inverted-V design allows the propeller to sit higher than the two bottom edges of the hull, Harley says, allowing the boat to navigate in water as shallow as six inches, and as an added benefit, keeping the propeller far above most marine animal and plant life.

Harley says his boat can reach speeds of up to 55 mph using a four-stroke or two-stroke Evinrude E-Tec of 130 hp. And over 50 mph with a 115 horsepower outboard. But, Harley says the lighter, quieter, efficient 88 horsepower inboard two-stroke can reach a not-tooshabby wide-open speed of 45 mph, and cruise up to 40 mph.

Harley figures at a most efficient cruising speed of 26 mph, the twostroke inboard would get between 7 and 8 miles per gallon. He says other heavier 19-foot flatboats using outboard engines are typically only getting about 5 to 5.5 mpg at cruise.

To learn more about Harley's fuelsaving boat and engine, call Harley Boats