.45 Magnum by SkeltonCraft

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    Posted: 24 Aug 2019 at 1:04pm
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The pickup date (Wednesday next week! Thumbs Up) has finally been set for Dads new weapon for his retirement (whenever that will be), am making this topic for future reference as SkeltonCraft have minimal information out there in the boating industry for NZ.

A quick run down of what she is and why it was selected compared to others on the market.
Firstly, the struggle to flick the 520 Lazercraft around at my parents place is exactly that. It is a mission, us younger folks it is no dramas but for my parents, its just an incidient waiting to happen and the risk with injury / damage is to either boat or house or them is simply not worth the hassle, hence the downsize to something ideally in the 4.3-4.5m range.

After looking at every possibility on the market offered in NZ the search was narrowed down, now although my parents boating desires now is considerably different to their offsprings boat use. (with age comes wisdom and selects decent weather windows and the option to not freeze in the ocean every weekend) The intended purpose is for when Mum and Dad retire they are able to enjoy a day out on the water hassle free and if the weather gets a bit snotty can slowly chug home nice and dry and warm, while trying to obtain the comforts of the lazercraft (although we are well aware that simply no boat will ride as good as lazer)

Pontoon boats got scrapped fairly quickly.. Their construction materials are simply thinner alloy to keep the weights down and also more welds more things to go wrong. Their beams across the market are terribly narrow for length and then the internal beam is horrendous. The ride of a pontoon boat is going to be like hitting brick walls compared to the where we have come from with the lazer.

Mclays, FC boats quickly got ruled out for various reasons and obviously the last standing contender was the .45 Magnum by Skelton Craft. (it is what we went for after all)

Firstly I would like to say, that Mark and the team at SkeltonCraft have done an exceptional job, everything we have thrown at them that has required some thought and 3D CAD planning. It has been executed brilliantly, they have gone above and beyond for us and they are based in Taupo and have a range of boats and will actually listen to what you have to say. The build process did take a lot longer than expected the price you pay for good workmanship and when suppliers take a bit longer to get materials and others bits and pieces the delays that are out of their hands however the delays do all add up but it is all good.

Secondly, Elite Auto Spray in Taupo have done a fantastic job on the painting of the boat. Big props to these guys. The finish is amazing.

Thirdly, Pacific Coast Marine & Diesel in Whitianga for being absoutlely good buggers and having the big heart sitting in their workshop since ordering the motor at the boat show (also for having the sharpest pencil out of all the dealers from Taupo to Whangarei.)

The .45 Magnum:
 - 4.5m length
 - 2.2m beam
 - 17 degrees deadrise
 - 60L underfloor tank standard (100L underfloor tank is what we have gone with)
 - Foldable centre cab (2.1m so fits in a standard garage)
 - 5mm hull, 3mm sides 
 - Custom build Alloy trailer by Skelton Craft
 
The extra's:
 - Scrapped the dive ladder that comes standard. Pointless extra clutter on the transom.
 - Scrapped having a wash down pump.
 - Scrapped the live bait tank that is built in with the chopping board. (personal preference, lucky dip fishing isn't high on the families priorities, would never get used)
 - Tow bracket added to the Chopping board to be able to wakeboard / ski / sea biscuit.
 - Opted for no cleats, less tangles with float lines and can use the handles / bowrails for ropes at ramps / pontoons.
 - Viper Rapid 1000 drum winch
 - Got the hardtop / centre cab thing strengthen so I can stand / sit on it when out wide for marlin.
 - Painted in Holdens Poison Ivy Green (was hard finding a colour that would stand out and not blend in with the ocean and have Mum and Dad agreeing to it!)
 - Nyalic everywhere else that hasn't been painted
 - More fish holders than you can shake a stick at, more importantly a few on the hard top part. Ideal for the dive flag. Nice and visable.

The sparkie stuff:
 - Garmin ECHOMAP 95SV paired with the GT51M-TM (600W) transducer
 - GME VHF with a 1.8m Aerial and a AM/FM splitter
 - Fusion RA70 (I think from memory) with just two 6 Inch 200W speakers mounted in the dash.
 - White / Blue LED lighting kit with a dimable switch the entire way around the gunwales
 - Windscreen Wiper
 - Bilge pump
 - Navigation Lights
 - Twin Batteries, 780CCA decided against having one starter and one deep cycle, just have two starters.
 - USB chargers for the GoPros / Phones.

 The heart transplant:
 - Suzuki DF100B
 - Single digital Suzuki gauge
 - NMEA Kit to pair GPS speed from the Garmin to the Digital Gauge
 - Hydraulic steering

After all of the above being considered the boat name has been selected to be UnderGunned as we think that fits it pretty well.

Special Thanks to Steps for letting me pick at his brain and mull over ideas and have good relative input.

Krow for the input with the future lightbar because it will be coming. 

Muzzfishing for saving us a few bucks with the input on the transducer and how Burnsco swap them out and then just have to make up the difference! 

Appreciate it a lot guys. Looking forward to getting the motor slapped on the back and finishing off a few things that need to be installed and getting her out on the water! Bring on the next few weeks!

Photos to follow from today little trip to Taupo.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (2) Likes(2)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Aug 2019 at 1:11pm
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She still has a bit of finishing off to do and I've probably missed a lot of things. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pjc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Aug 2019 at 1:36pm
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very nice. Firm believer of why bash home at 20knts and be uncomfortable when,as you say, chug home safe n dry.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote OuttaHere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Aug 2019 at 8:25pm
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Man that thing is gonna boogey with a 100 on the back :o
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Aug 2019 at 6:39am
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Certainly is going to be interesting to what its performance figures are like, it has 10% more beam than any other boat in its size class and built on the solid side so will be extremely interesting.

The guys over at Whitianga ordered the standard Suzuki prop for it with 19" pitch and will be starting from there. At a guess i'm picking it will require 20" pitch but leave it up to the professionals to sort out. 

Thank goodness the petrol is cheap in Hamilton! 100L is going to make the old fella cry filling it up LOLLOL


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Sufishent Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2019 at 8:59am
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That looks great - keen to hear how it goes on the water
You can never have enough fishing tackle
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2019 at 6:29am
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Well shes in our possession and the trailer is 2.36m guard to guard and my garage doors in hamilton are 2.3m so she spent the night outside.

Bit of a stuff up in the courier means it doesnt have the dvsr / vsr whatever they are called 4 way switch thingies for the batteries. No dramas we will slap it in.

On a side note. Good to see my boat parking pit I made being used for its purpose!






Shes now heading off to Whitianga for the heart transplant bring on the 100 ponies!

Also have bought the deck tread and is sitting in the lounge along with the led lights for under the gunnels. Will have a bit of tinkering to do when we get her back from the motor install.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2019 at 10:14am
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Been a long time in the process from initial thoughts.
 looking good, and practical as 1st intended.
Also very well powered, gental on the throttle, economic.
Results of good research.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2019 at 7:10am
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Quick update. Few teething issues as to be expected.

The original plan to fold the top towards the bow to fit in the garage isnt as easy as first thought. Requires two people and isnt practical for mum and dad. Will be changing the way the vhf wire runs and making a plug in / unplug adapter for the windscreen wiper to allow it to be folded down into the cockpit.

We may also look at getting more alloy panels to cover where the batteries sit as there is way less room than originally thought and making the wiring and all that stuff out of the elements seems much more appealing
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2019 at 9:50am
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Is the whole centre console fold down able towards the stern?

Any reason why just the top section from dash up was not considered to fold down?
 Forward or back.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2019 at 12:20pm
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Bottom bit of the glass you can see in the first photo posted where it pivorts to fold down. Just simply undo the wing nuts at the front of the cabin thingy and hold the rocket launcher up top and walk slowly backwards. Makes it 2.1m height to sneak into garages.

Ill get a photo of both folded forward and backwards next week when shes back in the driveway.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2019 at 6:09pm
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Quick update.

Shes had her heart transplant the fellas at PC marine managed to get her to 6000rpm when it was blowing 25knots last week hitting 32knots on the gps with 80L onboard and 2 blokes in the boat.

She has a few things to get ironed out so Mark from skeltoncraft has taken her back to Taupo.

The things include. Making the guards stronger so we can stand on them.

Covering the batteries at the rear (we have decides we dont mind the wasted space but having all the wiring and batteries out of the elements is more important than the minor storage space left over on the transom).

Transducer is to go lower and to have the spray cover design changed to how I want.



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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Sep 2019 at 6:10pm
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Sep 2019 at 1:34pm
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Have just got back from the first attempt at an outing.

Good news its very stable. Comfortable and goes well.

Bad news got to the enterance of the harbour to have the motor start sort of cutting out / starving of fuel but had enough fuel didnt have to prime it to start it.. (happened 4 times) Voltage fine. No alarm bells from the suzuki controller throttle thingy like when the tote runs out in the lazer . Has a fuel filter so can't be stuff in the fuel.. Its almost like a misfire? Is connect to the sounder via nmea2000 network. Oil pressure fine. Temperature of the motor fine.

But anyways this is what the outboard doctors are for. Hoping its something that makes me look like a fool like a wire that has a poor connection or something.

Brightside. 27knots at 13.3l per hour 4300rpm (with the out going tide)
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote JustAnotherSpearo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Sep 2019 at 6:09pm
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Found the issue and have made things more friendly to access and to diagnose while at out sea in the process.

A bundle of excess wires bundled up and placed around the fuel line cause the line to have a slight kink and im assuming when going over wake etc it was enough pressure to starve the motor from fuel. Also there was no quick way to acess the priming bulb as it was.

The excitement to take the new toy out without properly checking things has been a lesson learnt.
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