War Eagle Blackhawk?

[Ol Red]

That was something I had to learn the hard way okhawg. It was aggravating at first.

I had the same issue with my last boat (excel). It had an electric winch built in and mounted under the front deck. This made the bow similar to the way the duckbill comes down on the Blackhawk.

[Ol Red]

Okhawg, I can't wait to read about the wareagle 150 zuke combo. I keep reading the zukes are beasts. Zuke will be my next motor.

I am anxious to see the reviews on the zuke as well. I'm trying to decide be it and the Evinrude H.O. 150hp for mine.

[Ol Red]

Sorry for the delay. I had a heck of a time resizing the photos without the quality degrading severely. I ended up just putting them in DropBox for which the link is below.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ie2uh0o95...dghDHp_Ea?dl=0

I was really concerned with the added stress on the transom, so I decided to go all out with a transom stiffening plate. I made it out of 3/8" 6061-T6 aluminum and then painted it in aluminum primer before topping it off with gloss white. It's super solid. The other pics are just a few showing the PPs deployed and there's one of the JP peeking out from between the motor and transom.

can u get a measurement from
the ground to the top of your power pole and from ground to top of center console
for me? I'm in the process of building s garage and need to
ensure I get s tall enough garage door to put my new boat in.

Thanks! Boat looks awesome btw!! Any more updates? Speeds, ride quality, etc?? Anxious to hear as I'm ordering s very similar setup to yours once I finish the garage project!

[DearJon]

can u get a measurement from
the ground to the top of your power pole and from ground to top of center console
for me? I'm in the process of building s garage and need to
ensure I get s tall enough garage door to put my new boat in.

Thanks! Boat looks awesome btw!! Any more updates? Speeds, ride quality, etc?? Anxious to hear as I'm ordering s very similar setup to yours once I finish the garage project!

Thanks, Ol Red! She's a work in progress. With the trailer level, the measurements from the ground to the tops of the PPs and top of CC are 82" and 77" respectively. If I were building a garage, I would want around 88" - 90" as my minimum clearance just to be safe. I've been out camping at Hanging Rock National Park for the past few days, so I haven't had the chance to collect much more data. Wife wouldn't let me take the boat. She knew I'd just fish all day, and leave the hiking to her and my daughter. Lol. When I have been able to get out on the water, I've been very pleased with the ride quality. With a light chop, I can cruise at 50+ mph without freaking the wife out like I used to in my old boat. It was a G3 1548 with a Yami F40 on it. 30 mph was about as fast as she would go, but in a tiny tin like that it felt squirrelly. We have a couple of lap dogs, and they've even taken to sitting up in the open chairs and enjoying the breeze now that the ride's not so bumpy. My plan is to go out tomorrow with the GPS and try to get max speed readings at different JP heights and trim levels. I'll also be recording the RPMs at WOT to see if there is any room for improvement. The biggest issue I have right now is weight. I really want to relocate my two trolling batts up front to redistribute that 103 lbs. I've looked inside the storage compartment though, and I can't see how to route the trolling motor wires without cutting a whole bunch of metal structure. I'm just not comfortable sawing into a brand new boat like that. I think I may end up biting the bullet and just go lithium. Three lithium batts weigh about the same as one of the group 31 lead acid varieties. It's a lot of money though. Decisions decisions.....

[DearJon]

Ok, so I took the boat out today for some performance testing with GPS in hand. The boat was loaded with some basic fishing equipment, trolling motor, three group 31 batts, and the 37 gal. fuel tank was just about topped off. The only other equipment was the two PPs with their accompanying pumps, and me of course. Bad weather was looming, but I was blessed with the proverbial "calm before the storm". The intracoastal waterway was pretty much like glass save the occasional wake from a passing boat. I experimented with different jack plate heights and always trimmed up as high as I could until the boat would start to porpoise. I noticed a unique "wobble" which would appear just at the top when the maximum allowable trim had been reached. I felt like the boat wanted to balance on a small section at the rear. Similar to how a pad hull might perform. I lack the driving skill to maintain that sweet spot balancing act, so the boat would eventually start to porpoise. Of note, the boat never felt out of control during testing as none of these movements were exaggerated. They were all very subtle. Anyways, here is what I found:

JP on 0/1= (lowest settings) Water sprays up behind the boat from the JP dragging
JP on 2= Spray subsides. 52.9mph
JP on 3= (middle setting) 54.1mph
JP on 4= 52.7mph
JP on 5= 53.5mph
JP on 6= 53.1mph

I got the feeling the prop might just be just starting to cavitate slightly on the highest setting. I bet it would in a sharp turn. Haven't tested that, and don't plan to at those speeds. Bottom line: Don't trust your boat's speedometer. GPS is the only real measurement. My speedo had me running 60mph. For those that care, the hole shot was phenomenal. Boat jumps on plane almost instantaneously, with time to plane in the 2 - 2.5 second range. The prop is a three blade, but has a slight cup to it which helps, I'm sure. I bet I could experiment with with some different props, and maybe sacrifice some hole shot for more top end. To me, its just not worth it. Lastly, my RPMs reached a maximum of 5800-5900 (analog gauge) on my best run, so the prop on it now is pretty well matched IMO.

[Hitekrednek]

Dear John, what prop do you have?

[DearJon]

Dear John, what prop do you have?

Hey Hitekrednek. It's a Power Tech stainless steel 3-blade. Diameter is 14.25" and I believe the pitch is 20. The numbers etched into the barrell of the prop read "PTZ3R20PCL200". I don't know what all the characters mean, but PTZ3 is the model. R is for right. 20P is probably the pitch. CL200 could denote cupped or something similar. If anyone knows how to specifically decipher Power Tech serial numbers, please chime in. Here's a link to the prop:

http://www.ptprop.com/index.php?page...mart&Itemid=46

[Ol Red]

DearJon,
thanks for keeping us posted on the speed tests and prop/jack plate info you provided. Sounds like you're dialing it in and the boat is working out great for you! I finalized the plans for my detached garage/shop and hope to get started on it in the next few weeks so I can get my boat ordered by end of summer!

You guys feel free to post up any photos of your boats (out on the water, fishing/hunting, on the trailer behind your truck, etc) as those of us waiting definitely enjoy seeing them!

Luke

[winghunting]

Here' my 961

[Transom]

That is a nice looking rig from outside. Looks well made on the inside. I would prefer a deck that goes all the way back to the console though.

[winghunting]

I don't disagree. That's why I'm thinking about getting rid of it and getting something with a bigger deck.

[BigEasy]

Look at the Tomahawk series. They are on my short list for a new boat when the time comes.

[Hitekrednek]

Winghunting, what motor is that and what Jack plate set back?

[okhawg]

Finally picked up my Blackhawk today. I will start rigging tomorrow. Have to figure out how to run nmea from console to the front and how to do the talons.

[Transom]

Nice looking rig! Is that a livewell or baitwell in front of the console?

[okhawg]

Nice looking rig! Is that a livewell or baitwell in front of the console?

Baitwell. The livewell goes all the way across behind the seats.

[Hitekrednek]

Okhawg, could you please post some more pics of different angles of the interior. I'm interested in the way your gun box looks.

[gatorglenn]

Okhawg,
Thats a great rig.
I know your existed. That wait was a killer. Post pics of the work.

[okhawg]

Okhawg, could you please post some more pics of different angles of the interior. I'm interested in the way your gun box looks.

I got a couple more pics. If you want something different, let me know.

[TahoeDust]

Looks great okhawg. I know it was a long wait. Congrats.