Does the joystick operate the thruster or did you go with Axius where it is all driven by the engines?

Wow that could have been ugly!

I have not to be honest but I see where there's certainly room for more. The intention for that area is to be a step. I don't normally have all that many people on my boat at the same time to have any real concern over not having enough

Stereo setup mimics the last 340 and it's pretty stout. I'm not saying a few more speakers in the bench area wouldnt sound better but I just don't think it's necessary or at least not for me. Stereo performs rather well as is.

Just the Thruster. I was told that you can't buy a CC from Nort-Tech w/ joystick O/B' s bc Nor-Tech doesn't believe that system belongs on a boat that can run as fast as they do. (60mph +)

I agree with them. With Axius you can't have a tie bar on the engines. I had Axius on my last boat. Thruster works better than Axius too.

Sea-Dek

will be black over cool gray

Headed to Fort Myers next week to retrieve her.

Nice work.

You should take in the SBI Nationals in Clearwater while you are there. Maybe you can learn something about racing. LMAO

wow love that flooring, thanks for sharing your experience with us, its been great to follow along on both builds

Congrats on the new boat pictures look great. As for the stereo upgrade with Nor-Tech they were still missing some in my opinion. I added two in the gunwale on each side between the rear bench and cooler seat with two pointing out the back along with another amp. It woke up the system quite nicely.

I appreciate all the PROPS given throughout this thread.
I've been boatless all summer by my own doing but not been chomping at the bit either since I'm very familiar w/ the build process.

There's no doubt I have been very fortunate to be able to own a Nor-Tech 340 for a year and replace it 6 mos later. Having the ability to take all I learned from the first experience as well as from many of my fellow OSO'rs here then apply that knowledge and my personal preferences to a new boat has been very cool. I'm really looking forward to seeing this boat next weekend and I anticipate owning it quite a bit longer.

Once I get it back to NC I get some better cockpit and cabin shots + performance results.

Rick,

Both my boats have been custom systems but really no more speakers than you'd get w/ the Nor-Tech Package. All my electronics for the 2015 were purchased thru and installed by Electronics Unlimited (Ron Muller - Double Rigged on OSO) and I was extremely pleased w/ that decision.

Ron helped me spec all the equipment for the 2017 but everything purchased thru and installed by Nor-Tech w/ the exception of the FLIR, I bought that from Electronics Unlimited. Great pricing + helped me take advantage of a $500 rebate. First Class operation.

I'm anticipating the stereo being equally as good as the last. Same speakers and amps, next evolution of the head unit.

Ron will definitely be the guy that I use to spec out my Skater system. That will be a fun winter project.

Michael, Thanks for the kind words! It is always a pleasure working with someone more detailed than me!
Hope you enjoy the new boat as it is a really nice ride. Look forward to hooking up next summer at LKN.
Missed not going this year.

Looking forward to it.

I asked to have my forward facing cabin skylight replaced w/ the same hi gloss finish carbon fiber they use on the dash (see post# 705). I've yet to see it but heard it came out really nice. Wasn't sure they'd be able to get the material to curve like it needed to. I wanted it bc the std tinted lexan panel that Nor-Tech normally uses lets allot of sunlight and heat in. It also gets blasted w/ bugs so I'm hoping the carbon is more durable and easier to clean. Still plenty of light from the starboard lexan side light + the 2 port holes.

A/C shouldn't have to work as hard either.

Unfortunately this isn't a very good pic but the only one I have.

Ran 81mph today w/ stock Merc Rev4 25p props, 130 gals (roughly 1/2 a tank) and 2 on board.
Plan to compare this performance to my modified Rev4 25XP's tomorrow.

Great speed .. Thats what we see with the 39 with 400s and same props. Can't wait to see what the boat will do with the xps. Btw rev 25 LAB props picked up the 39 by 3 mph. I have couple friends running them on there 39's.

The first challenge I have is that I ordered my boat w/ 25.5 XP's and they were too big.
Had them tuned on so I will know more tomorrow. Sportboats ran the boat today just to provide us w/ a baseline.
What I will say is that the out of the box XP's were all over the map pitch wise w/ the LH being the largest. That couldn't have helped matters especially since the counter rotating engine struggles to turn as much rpm to begin with.

American Custom Marine has a set of 25 rev Labs in stock.

Did they take a stk set and send them to BBlades or are you referring to a set of XP's?

Bought direct from Mercury labbed rev 25 s

Didn't realize they offered them.

yep

Enjoyed a day of boating to Cabbage Key & Port Royal before beginning the 12hr journey home.

Very pleased w/ my option selections and the overall finished product!

A BIG THANK YOU to all that were involved but especially;

John Kray- Sportboats Marine
Mark Bonafide- Evolution Trailers
Trond / Terry & Henrik- Nor-Tech Performance Boats

That black Sea Dek looks great it will certainly be easy to keep clean! I don't think it will get to hot in the sun but curious to know if you happen to be out on a hot day. I'm guessing it may not be hot up there for a while.

How about those props ????

I have the Grey Sea Dek and it can get HOT trust me..

This was my dilemma w/ regard to the SeaDek: My boat is painted metallic silver and I have dove gray upholstery. That's already 2 different colors from the gray/silver family that don't match each other. As you know Sea-Dek comes in cool gray (like I had on the 2015) and storm gray which is much like battleship gray neither of which match anything on the boat.

I wanted black from the beginning knowing it would match everything + really pop against the other colors but was concerned about it getting hot. Knowing I don't live in FL nor is it my primary place to boat I went for it.

Having boated all day in FL this past Sat with boat sitting at times for an hour+ the answer to everyone's question is YES it gets hot. Too Hot to walk on No. Too Hot to stand in one place I'd say is based on ones individual threshold but it didn't have me dancing around. Keep in mind that the entire floor isn't in the sun all the time and as soon as I'm underway w/ air flowing over it it's no longer hot. More like warm.

In the end I'm good w/ my color choice and know a pr of socks is a simple solution to the hot surface as is a quick spray of water.

It looks great. Might have to waive the bare feet only rules on those 100 degree days. The Plas Deck flooring we have is the same way. Last boat I had it was a darker tan with black stripes, that go really hot. This time it is a light tan with cream color stripes that match the interior. It is way cooler, but can still get pretty warm. What I like best about it is clean up. A few drops of dawn and warm water in a bucket with a long handle stiff brush, rinse it down and it looks like brand new.

Jury still out on the props.

Sportboats ran 81mph w/ stk Rev4 25p's 130gals and 2 on board no rpm documented

I ran 75 w/ the modified larger props, 175gals and 3 on board (or what I equated to as 550 addt'l lbs) @ 6200rpm.
Later the next day we ran 75-76mph on the limiters after burning off all but 30gals of fuel w/ 3 on board. That's approx. a 1000lbs lighter fuel load at max rpm.

The new props I bought have all been measured and set to the same pitch.
I've arranged to have the stock Rev4 25p's that ran 81mph measured then compare to what I currently have and decide whether they can be matched or I have to purchase a new set to replace my XP's.
In either case once I have the scans of the props that ran best I have the info to duplicate them.
At end of the day I don't really care about the big # 81mph or other just maximizing my overall prop efficiency which should optimize my cruise speed.

I believe Plas-Deck and Sea-Dek they both have their pros and cons.
I chose color, design, comfort and price over durability. Cheap enough to replace a section if damaged.

You Do Know that it is a greased track where Nortech runs their Sea Trails. A little current Helps ! lol

I've heard that and realize the river doesn't provide much room.

In my case the testing that occurred Fri and Sat was by SportBoats Marine and or myself from Sanibal bridge to the 1st no wake zone and back.

Props have made their way back to me so the plan is to get on the water and document their performance this weekend. Also plan to do a little dusk into dark boating to get a feel for the FLIR and what it's capable of.

Those of you that know me, know I tend to select paint colors that are easy to touch up or colors we use here at work so I have a resource when needed. This boat was painted w/ the same Silver and Black found on the #88 Nationwide Insurance race car. The 2 colors are known as Cosmic Dust and Brilliant Black Metallic.

As most of you probably know when you apply for USCG Vessel Documentation you must have a boat name and hailing port on your application. I was at a loss so I just decided to go w/ Cosmic Dust. It has nothing to do w/ boating, the water nor is it catchy like "Vitamin Sea" but it also leaves one wondering "what exactly is Cosmic Dust"??? so I went with it.

Attached are a few of the renderings I worked thru to get to a Final font / layout.

I like #4
I think you should have the hailing port as "Crater, Mars" too.

Damn, why didn't I think of that?? That would have been Hilarious!! Unfortunately I'm not sure I could have sneaked that past USCG.

The final version is really a hybrid of several of the individual versions pulled together. The space for a boat name is limited so I had to figure that in. Most of the feedback I received from others wasn't real positive on incorporating a planet in the name. Tried to keep it somewhat simple and clean.

#4 and # 5

#6

Well I appreciate the input but in reality I've already decided upon the standalone Version )1. My post above may not have been clear, I was just sharing the process that got me to what I decided upon.