Post by wbones9 on May 13, 2019 13:50:23 GMT -5
I'll use this thread as a running forum for the old model Sailfish boats and the updates I'm doing to mine...
My previous boat was a Key West 216BR that we loved, but we found it a bit small when we took others out, or when we hit bigger water. We have 2 boys so we often have another family with us. So I sold the Key West with the intent to get into a slightly larger bay boat with a large center console with a porta-potty. What I ended up getting was far bigger than that.
We used the KW a ton last summer, however the intent was always to flip it if the right offer showed up. That offer did show up, and the boat was sold.
We knew the next boat needed to be a touch larger and with a 2 and 4 year old boys, an area with a porta potty would be a plus. I started looking for a 24' bay boat but they haven't made them for long enough for the used market to fall into my (cheap) budget. We started looking a WAC styles and really liked the hydrasport 2300 WAC. On that search, I stumbled on what was advertised as a first gen Sailfish 236 center console. These boats are extremely hard to find, mostly because they just didnt make that many. I liked the hull lines the first time I saw it, but the high freeboard on the bow isn't what I had in mind.... the bow lines started to grow on me more and more and once we understood the side of the walk in helm area, it fit our needs perfectly.
Fast forward another coupe weeks and 8+ phone calls to an extremely nice gentleman in FL, and we had a deal. He was the second owner and had it for 18 years. It was never slipped, never stored outdoors and was always stored in his barn in central FL. Never been bottom painted, never had storm damage and an owner I could seem to trust. I even send a local boating friend that lives in FL to go see it and he bluntly told me to buy it (he runs a regulator)
So the family is always ready for a road trip (The KW was from NOLA) and we're up in Michigan. We made a nice long weekend out of it and the total trip report was 22mpg down at ~78 mph, 9.5 back at 70mph. Pulls great at 70. The full trip time (ignition on, AIS) was a touch over 48 hours.
So here she is. A babied 1996 Sailfish with a Yamaha 225 and a touch over 600 total hours. The console area is larger than I thought and comes with cushions to make a flat area about 4'x5'; perfect for the boys to nap or hide out a storm (or the sun). From the tip of the prop, trimmed down, to the tip of the pulpit to the prop is 29.5 feet.
Not counting the pulpit, bow to stern rub rail is about 24'5".
Goals for this boat are still a lot of local day trips on inland lakes but we want to use the Detroit and Saginaw rivers more as well at St Clair more. We're also hoping to do some island trips this year... Lime Island, Beaver, Manitoulin, etc...
The linked pics below should show up shortly. Until then, I've attached some photos of what it looked like as received in FL
My previous boat was a Key West 216BR that we loved, but we found it a bit small when we took others out, or when we hit bigger water. We have 2 boys so we often have another family with us. So I sold the Key West with the intent to get into a slightly larger bay boat with a large center console with a porta-potty. What I ended up getting was far bigger than that.
We used the KW a ton last summer, however the intent was always to flip it if the right offer showed up. That offer did show up, and the boat was sold.
We knew the next boat needed to be a touch larger and with a 2 and 4 year old boys, an area with a porta potty would be a plus. I started looking for a 24' bay boat but they haven't made them for long enough for the used market to fall into my (cheap) budget. We started looking a WAC styles and really liked the hydrasport 2300 WAC. On that search, I stumbled on what was advertised as a first gen Sailfish 236 center console. These boats are extremely hard to find, mostly because they just didnt make that many. I liked the hull lines the first time I saw it, but the high freeboard on the bow isn't what I had in mind.... the bow lines started to grow on me more and more and once we understood the side of the walk in helm area, it fit our needs perfectly.
Fast forward another coupe weeks and 8+ phone calls to an extremely nice gentleman in FL, and we had a deal. He was the second owner and had it for 18 years. It was never slipped, never stored outdoors and was always stored in his barn in central FL. Never been bottom painted, never had storm damage and an owner I could seem to trust. I even send a local boating friend that lives in FL to go see it and he bluntly told me to buy it (he runs a regulator)
So the family is always ready for a road trip (The KW was from NOLA) and we're up in Michigan. We made a nice long weekend out of it and the total trip report was 22mpg down at ~78 mph, 9.5 back at 70mph. Pulls great at 70. The full trip time (ignition on, AIS) was a touch over 48 hours.
So here she is. A babied 1996 Sailfish with a Yamaha 225 and a touch over 600 total hours. The console area is larger than I thought and comes with cushions to make a flat area about 4'x5'; perfect for the boys to nap or hide out a storm (or the sun). From the tip of the prop, trimmed down, to the tip of the pulpit to the prop is 29.5 feet.
Not counting the pulpit, bow to stern rub rail is about 24'5".
Goals for this boat are still a lot of local day trips on inland lakes but we want to use the Detroit and Saginaw rivers more as well at St Clair more. We're also hoping to do some island trips this year... Lime Island, Beaver, Manitoulin, etc...
The linked pics below should show up shortly. Until then, I've attached some photos of what it looked like as received in FL