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Anybody planning to add or have added a compass to your Helmsman? I don’t think the boat comes with one, and I can’t remember a picture with one installed. If so, where would you install? I looked for a Telltale Compass (upside down) but couldn’t find anyone who makes them anymore. One could...

Thank you for the kind comments. I personally have learned a lot from everyone who has participated, including you. Been fun working with the Helmsman team, too. Professional, caring group of people both here and at Helmsman.

The boat will be delivered to Miami or possibly New Orleans. The booking is confirmed to leave Asia on October 30th. We will then bring it up to the Tennessee River to finish outfitting. Then we will head back out from there.

Doug, the checklist and operating instructions for the Amy Ann would work to develop one for yourself. That is the boat advertised for lease on the Helmsman web site. I have adopted some of that and will finalize when the boat arrives. Will vastly simplify it for you. Other current owners can...

Will do!

Will put that in the planner!

With the 480 that number seems right to me. The variable is that occurs with a clean hull and running gear, according to a couple of earlier discussions.

The 38 and 43 are both single engine boats. I put the 480 hp version of the QSB in mine. The Helmsman folks suggested adding trim tabs for the additional HP. So the bow would probably lift out of the water without them at higher RPM’s. (the higher HP engine was my wife’s requirement to outrun...

I am pretty sure that it is a light. Which will come in handy. I want to have a camera back there somewhere, so having a light back there will be handy.

Our completion photos arrived yesterday. Here are a couple of pics. You can see the true craftsmanship that is put into everything about the boat. We are really happy with the way it turned out and really like the lighter settees and counter top. The planned arrival is set for late November. I...

Then you have the newer control unit, which is a good thing. If you do decide to pull the old one, I would remove the parts that would work on the new and keep for spares.

Doug, it looks great! That finish really brings the color out. Almost home!

I had a 2006 NovaKool. The AC DC power was two separate units. The larger silver box was where the AC converted to DC. The smaller unit was a variation of the newer Secop 101N0510 ac/dc power unit which accepted the converted DC power from the silver box and the DC feed from the battery. The...

Yes, they did. I will receive the replacement this week. The Takacat inflator is a cheap hand pump called a SupPump. The gauge on it didn’t work. Defender sent a warranty claim in for it. I will probably just buy an electric tire pump with an adaptor and use the hand pump as a back up. The...

So I took the new Takacat out with the ePropulsion yesterday. I ordered the short shaft. When I got it out on the lake, I found that the prop would start cavitating at about half throttle. I sent a message and a video of the motor underway to the vendor. It turns out that they sent an extra...

That is great news! It will be fun to follow along as the build develops. Helmsman is great to work with, and that alone would make a new build fun, but the customization and many decisions to be made on hull number 1 will inform others who follow. I like the choices you made so far.

When I spoke with the Permanon representative he said to use 10% but also stated that in areas with a lot of exposure to sun, it is ok to use a heavier concentration. His comment was that it will provide a more durable surface. I will probably use a heavier concentration on the front of the...

The key is getting the surface as close to perfect as possible prior to putting the ceramic on. Those companies who sell ceramic coating direct to consumers have a process in place. One course of action is to have a detailing companypolish the boat (not wax it) then apply Glidecoat or Permanon...

Thanks, I discount everything someone selling something says (to some degree). However, when you have a one on one discussion with someone and they appear sincere, offer references, volunteer further insights and gotchas, then I typically take them a little more seriously than a run of the mill...

I have spoken to two manufacturers about using their ceramic on gelcoat. They are both adamant that it works great with gelcoat using the same reasoning as the guy in the video. They have offered to put me in touch with some customers. I have also been discussing the level of satisfaction with...

That looks great. The finish on your pictures is what I am hoping for.

We certainly will. The trip will be fun. Certainly a good warmup for future trips.

It is exciting. They make a great boat and it will be fun to stretch its legs across the gulf. It is a well behaved boat in close quarters. It will be so much fun to get the opportunity to skipper it.

The boat won’t arrive until the end of November. My plan is to get coated some time in the first month. Will report back what we think. I haven’t found any concerns or complaints from folks yet, so we will see. It is good you have tested it for us. Ease of application is another selling point...

We just received word from Scott and the Helmsman team that our boat should arrive around the end of November. That is subject to the cargo shipping system and the ports, of course. Then another phase of the fun begins!