May 2012 Update

L

Les Lampman

New member
It's been really quiet here... :shock:

Thought I'd better pop in and let folks know I'm still breathin' and kickn'.

I made the 7900 mile round trip to Halifax, NS and back without trouble. Lots of wild weather and pulled the Rosborough RF-246 over Bozeman Pass in MT in a snow storm but all in a day's work as they say. I got home and that's the main thing.

I am oh so close to officially announcing the larger Marinaut. The last few tweaks are being done on the transom to accommodate twin engines and to have a transom door (yes...both at the same time).

I don't know what the actual model designation will be yet because I don't know the final length. When I made the change to the transom I didn't want to lose any length in the cockpit so the boat will be a few inches longer than before.

Maybe I have a M256 on my hands rather than the M245 designation I've been using but we'll see. Because of the way the transom will be shaped it's only a few inches more of fiberglass (and then only about 25" high) so it won't add any weight that's really meaningful.

As soon as I have the final drawings (promised within the next 12 days) I'll post them here, and then I'll work on doing the Marinaut website page for the new boat.

Cheers!

Les
 
Hi,

Yes I have the V10 (in a F350 Crew Cab 4x4 Dually).

I averaged 8.5 mpg for the trip to Connecticut pulling the Marinaut 215 on a triple axle Rosborough trailer (about 5,000 pounds).

I averaged 7.5 mpg for the trip from Halifax to Oak Harbor pulling the RF-246 (about 8,000 pounds).

I average about 11.5 mpg in normal driving in my semi-rural area with just the truck.

I wish I could have gotten a 5-Star Tuning programmer and programs for the trip but I ran out of time and money before I left. I think it might have helped since they have a specific towing profile available.

Les
 
Les,

Glad you're still breathin' and kickin'. In fact, sounds like you've been a busy man. I cannot fathom a 7900 mile trip pulling a big boat. I pull my 25 Cruiser to the FL Keys which is 2000 miles round trip. To think of getting home after that trip and then hopping back in the truck to do it three more times is unimaginable. :shock:

But on to better things, like the Marinaut "256". That boat is coming on line a little sooner than I expected. The 215 is a really cool looking boat. I will definitely be checking www.marinautboats.com to see the new 246 - or whatever you may choose to call it.

Thanks for the update.
 
Well, as is wont to happen things are ever changing.

I picked up a new M215 hull (blue) yesterday and transported it to Cornet Bay for "building". We also have another starting right away (a grey hull).

Because the delivery sequence is changing (the tan hull we built is being set aside for the moment) the hull numbers are going to change as well to reflect their delivery order. The blue hull that we just got that will be delivered next will be A0002 (the "A" by the way is for the M215; a "B" will be used for the next model, and so forth), and the grey hull coming after that will be A0003. The tan hull will be A0004 if nothing changes but could be A0005 if another boat needs to be built before we finish that one.

The tan hull is spoken for but will be finished at a later date.

There's a long-winded explanation that goes along with this but the short version is that it's due to the way the Hull Identification Numbers system works with regard to model years and production dates.

So...there should be some more photos starting next week.

Les
 
joefish":3vlul186 said:
Les,

Glad you're still breathin' and kickin'. In fact, sounds like you've been a busy man. I cannot fathom a 7900 mile trip pulling a big boat. I pull my 25 Cruiser to the FL Keys which is 2000 miles round trip. To think of getting home after that trip and then hopping back in the truck to do it three more times is unimaginable. :shock:

But on to better things, like the Marinaut "256". That boat is coming on line a little sooner than I expected. The 215 is a really cool looking boat. I will definitely be checking www.marinautboats.com to see the new 246 - or whatever you may choose to call it.

Thanks for the update.
Click to expand...

It was a trip for sure! :) I'm not exactly ready to do it again (at least not at that pace).

Unfortunately I'm not sure the M256 is going to come on line sooner. I had a long discussion yesterday with the folks that will take the carved plug from the folks that do that work, bring it to a very fine finish, and then build the molds from the plugs. Their estimated cost far exceeds what I had thought the cost were going to be based on some earlier research.

I'm going to write more about that in a separate thread on the larger Marinaut so look for that in the next few days.

Les
 
jingram":2ob35jho said:
That is unfortunate to hear Les... and because of the nature of the 215 mold, there is no way to accomodate twins, correct?
Click to expand...

The answer to your question is "yes"...the M215 is a single engine boat.

This is a no-win scenario because technically there is no reason for twins on the M215 (or really the larger Marinaut) and because of that it becomes a personal and subjective choice rather than an objective one. That means neither party in the discussion can be "right" or "wrong" and yet the decision for each person is the "right" one for them.

I can tell you that because the choice is personal and not technical that the choice at the design level was to incorporate more storage, more cockpit space, and to lock in the range of variables in terms of horsepower, weight, and required space.

Allowing for twins on the M215 would have fundamentally changed the boat. It would have affected the choice to use saddle tanks, the ability to have storage space in the cockpit, the balance of the boat, and the complete helm station.

It's not that we think the choice of twins is wrong, it isn't at all, but very few boats the size of the M215 are twin engine powered (even the vast majority of CD22s are single engine). In weighing that against gaining all the good things that came out of designing a single-engine-only boat the choice, to us, seemed very much to favor not allocating the space for twin engines.

My thoughts on the larger Marinaut aren't much different except that more boats in that size range are twin engine powered and therefore it's more of a expectation in the market. However, that design choice, when coupled with the desire for a transom door, pushes the boat out to 26 feet; initially the larger Marinaut was the M245 at 24' 6" so we've had to add 18" inches to accommodate the twins. I'm not sure yet that it's worth it since it increases the weight of the boat, and the weight and length of the trailer. As always, it's always, always, always, compromises.

Les
 
Today's outboards are so reliable, that having twins seems an unnecessary expensive and complex solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. Add to that the added expense initially, and in maintenaance, and a single makes the best sense for most aplications.

Which means that if one really has to have twins, then the Marinaut 215 isn't the boat for you. That may also mean th larger Marinaut would be best served by being a design for a single.
 
You are right... I've been around long enough here and on other groups either as an active participant or as a lurker to know how passionate both sides of this issue are. My question certainly wasn't meant to start that debate again, lol.

You are also right that today's modern EFI OB is incredibly reliable and that in 97% of the use cases that most Marinaut/C-Dory/Pocket Cruiser folks would find themselves in, a single and a kicker are the perfect combo.

I fall in that 3%. I'm that dumbass that will wait for that weather window and cross the Gulf Stream over to Bimini on his way to the Abaco or the Exumas in a CD22 or something like the Marinaut. In that narrow use range I prefer the safety of twins even if a whole lot of it may be purely psychological.

The flip arguement to all of this of course is whether or not this kind of boat is even fit for this application. Is it the best boat for that kind of application, not by a VERY long shot! However, the beauty of these boats is their flexibility. Being able to trailer from all parts of the country and do crazy trips like the one mentioned above.

I hope the larger Marinaut comes together, but if not, the 215 is one hell of a boat and with the high levels of QC involved with the builds and high levels of customization, I wouldn't be looking at anything else if I was buying a single.
 
Hi again,

The thing is, I don't think the choice of a single or twins should be a debate in the first place.

In some cases the boat can or cannot handle a single (catamarans for the most part) or twins (like the M215) and the decision, for that boat, is made. There are boats that must have twins in order to get the horsepower needed and in that case the decision is made. The rest of the time it's a personal choice and shouldn't be a debate, it's a pleasure boat (meaning outings should be fun) and one should just get what they want and feel most comfortable with. I advocate and fully respect that choice. Most of the time the most important aspects of a design are psychological, not physical.

Where things go bump-in-the-night is when you're trying to design and build a boat. The number of choices and compromises is staggering. The M215 is a good case in point; there was just no way to get what we did in the M215 without making the choice to make the motorwell smaller and restrict the boat to a single main engine. It really wasn't about debate about whether a single engine or twins was "better" but about how the heck do you get everything we want in a 21' 6" boat-shaped hunk of fiberglass. The answer, since one of those "must have thing" in the M215 design was the saddle tanks, was to compromise on the use of twin engines in order to get the space necessary to install the saddle tanks.

The same thing is happening on the larger Marinaut. I can go with a smaller motorwell for a single and get the transom door in a 24' 6" boat, or I can allow for twin engines and then (because the transom door won't fit beside the motorwell) I have to go to a 26' boat to have enough length to allow for a transom door. So which one "wins" so to speak? There's no "right" answer since some folks will like the shorter version and some the longer version but it affect the price, weight, ability to store, length of slip needed, maybe the tow vehicle, and so on. Not always easy choices.

Ships sink too so it's pretty apparent that there is no "best" boat (vessel) in all circumstances. I think trips to the Bahamas in a CD22 or M215 sound just fine with the right weather and Gulf Stream conditions and plan to do the same myself! :)

Thanks for the thoughts and comments.

Les
 
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