hull material

[ac holmes]

Hi folks,

I am installing a new transducer for a fish finder in my new 21. I am using a shoot through the hull rather than cutting a hole and need to know if the hull on the 21 is cored with foam or plywood, or is it solid resin and cloth?

Thanks,

Andrew Holmes

 

[mlull]

It's solid. No worry. One note, if you have a bow thruster, think a little about turbulence at some speeds when you're placing the transducer.

 

[ac holmes]

Yes indeed,

Thank you for reminding me about the bow thruster. I am installing a Furuno 585 and a m260 1000w transducer. The boat (named TARA) came with a Garmin 541s and it is a good enough plotter but the transducer situation is pitiful...it is a cheap little puck that is actually sold by Airmar as a clamp on for electric motors and is meant to be used in the water, not shoot through the hull. It has been glued down in at a rather extreme angle so the depth read function is not to be trusted, and it is a very puny setup and only single frequency, although the Garmin is capable of dual frequency. I suspect the Garmin may do a little better with a better transducer but I went fishing with a friend who had the 585 and 1000w output transducer and I was stunned with the functionality; we could actually see salmon and lake trout following our lures and striking them right on the screen.

I now have 15 hours on TARA's motor and am following the suggestions in the manual for break-in. I am able to get 10.8 MPH at 3400 RPMS which is in the ball park, I guess.

I am pleased with the 21 and do not yet have buyers regret, but I must say that a few little details have perplexed me. The dash and wheel "shelf" is not very well fastened to the boat. I have installed a Ray Marine X-5 sport pilot auto helm and it works well but generates quite a lot of torque and I can hear things creaking and will need to upgrade the fastening with some stainless brackets etc., etc. I do not understand how such a beautiful little boat that is so very well made, suffers the indignity of little details that are not well thought out like the two mentioned above.

 

[Kamalani]

Andrew H. - I was excited to read that you have installed the Sport Pilot on your R-21EC. I've wanted to do the same on ours, but have not had any response from any others who have done this. I am mostly concerned with the installation of the drive unit on the steering shaft, and fitting to the existing steering assembly. (meaning the black, cone-shaped housing behind the helm where the shaft protrudes). Does the drive motor just fit flush up against that? Any possibility of seeing a few pix ? Many Thanks,
Alex, "Kamalani"

 

[rt11002003]

Andrew H., I share your concern about little things that should have been taken care of, but weren't. :shock: With options, these little 21 footers retail in the $70,000 range. I expect more for my money than what I got. 🙁 In my more than 300 posts one can find a lot of my compliants and concerns about the R21EC.

The first R25 I boarded warned me, which I promptly ignored. 😳 As I sat in the nav seat, the "fiddle" on the facing shelf pulled loose; it was/is (?) held by small staples. Told myself to forget about Ranger tugs. 🙁 Should have.

Your Yanmar's performance is spot on, if my memory serves me. Mine will not pull 3400 rpm max loaded, which I think is factory specified, or is it 3600 rpm (?); I'm "over propped". I've discussed this to no end with the factory; they offer to replace the prop, but it's up to me to do the change out. In fact, everything that has been fixed to date has been done by me.

I get the urge every now and again to buy a R25/SC, or a R27 or the R29. But, then I'm reminded of my concerns and decide I don't need more problems at a greater cost.

I'm battling a high pitched screech from the Yanmar, which has been there from day one. I have about 130 hours on the engine and it hasn't blown up, so I guess the noise isn't fatal, just obnoxious.

Gene

 

[ac holmes]

Hi Tuggers,

I will try to get some pictures of the Ray Marine X-5 install. I will also need some advice on how to post them. I had the dealer do the job for me before I took delivery and the mechanic had a good solution, but did screw up the torque specs a when he put it all together, so I did it over with the proper specs. It is pretty easy to do if one follows the instructions carefully. The unit is able to adapt to different situations as will be necessary on the 21-EC. My steering is a little stiff without the auto helm turned on, but I do not know if that is the Ray Marine unit or the way the Uniflex system works on it's own. I was able to improve the situation by torquing everything to specs rather than live with the over tightened mess that the dealer charged me plenty for.

If I sound a bit cynical that is because I am. I built a few small boats a in my younger day, and also owned a Danish built wooden DRAGON class sloop in which the skill of the builders was so obvious and the attention to detail was an obsession (it was the US Olympic team boat in the early 60's), so I know the difference between good workmanship and ill-concieved solutions and after thoughts. I suspect the 21 is pretty well put together but the extended cockpit idea left some loose ends that did not get proper design attention. Some of the details are shabby and downright foolish in design and conception. Everybody is so overcome with how "cute" the tugs are that the company is able to get away with it for now, however, 70K is 70K and I too, expected more. I do not want another project boat as I have had many of them in my 66 years.

Find a good marine diesel mechanic to check out your Yanmar. They are terrific motors and run forever but valve adjustment and injector timing is critical to performance. Once they are dialed in OK, they go on and on. There are actually mechanics that understand diesels and can make them run as they should. I guess 3400 RPMs are ok with the 4 bladed prop according to posts on this thread by Andrew Custis, but the manual mentions 3600-3800 as a target at full throttle. I am sick of other peoples excuses and half truths about the material world, so I do most things for myself. Marine deisels are an exception and beyond me, so I look to the experts.

Best,

AC Holmes