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345 BW Conquest/Miami boat show report
Bob Kemmler JR	#1  Posted on 02/17/07 - 11:15 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	Here's the link to the official Whaler photo and spec sheet for the new 345 Conquest. http://www.whaler.com/rec/pdfs/345CQS...cSheet.pdf They can give you much better pics than anything I could get, as well as all the important details. The new boat was obviously massive coming from a person who's largest boat is a old 21 bannana hull Revenge. The site of the 3 275 Verados on the back made me cringe at the thought of filling that beast up for offshore fishing runs, but was also just awesome to see. Overall fit and finish was excellant as one would expect from a Whaler, however I do think they fell short on some very minor and easily fixed areas. One area that struck me as a "Duh" moment on thier part was the plastic strainer pickup on the bottom of the hull and plastic thru-hulls on the forward area of the bow. Why on earth would Whaler use these when every other thru hull fitting is brass or stainless steel?, especially the strainer on the bottom of the hull, which I can see shattering upon impact with any type of debris. Just boggles my mind why they'd scrimp on a few things as minor as that. Another area that was a bit of a let down, were the cabin drawers. They seemed to be mounted on cheap plastic slides and wobbled badly up opening them. It seemed as if they would be broken in a short amount of time after a little use. Again, these are very minor quirks, but also easily solved and would add very little to the cost of the boat, but add a lot in making a quality first impression IMO. The piloting position was VERY comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable. I could see myself making a trip out to the deep grouper holes too easily lol The dash layout was incredible. I felt like I was in a airplane, more so then on a boat. Everything was within easy reach and could clearly be seen. The cockpit area was very large and the transom door would making sliding the big ones in a breeze. I am 5'11" and about 210 at the moment and was very comfortable in the cabin, even the lower seating area that is much larger than the pics lead you to believe. The cabinet doors and drawer pulls are a pop up, so there is no protruding knobs to bump into when ther weather gets bumpy. The bow thruster was something I wasn't used to seeing on a Whaler, but looked to be nicely installed and incorporated into the bow area. There is a very deep vee entry on the bow of this hull that I imagine makes for a nice smooth ride in the choppy stuff when trimmed down. [IMG]http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/5427/im002100kj6.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/761/im002090tp6.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/2876/im002091ru4.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/92/im002099dp2.th.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9998/im002098kb6.th.jpg[/IMG] I'll add more to this as I get time and if you also saw the boat at the show, feel free to add your opinions of the boat to this thread. Or any other boat show news you think is worthy. Edited by Bob Kemmler JR on 02/17/07 - 3:59 PM On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler
sraab928	#2  Posted on 02/17/07 - 12:00 PM
Member Project Albums Posts: 1282 Comments: 13 Joined: 12/27/05	Thanks for sharing Bob! Scott 1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8
Bob Kemmler JR	#3  Posted on 02/17/07 - 3:55 PM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	There was also a Carolina Skiff that looked to be VERY similar to a classic Whaler hull with the bow smirk and general shape. [IMG]http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/195/im002102or0.th.jpg[/IMG] Edited by Bob Kemmler JR on 02/17/07 - 4:00 PM On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler
draftsman	#4  Posted on 02/18/07 - 6:44 PM
Member Posts: 80 Comments: 0 Joined: 01/27/07	Did you notice the vent down at the waterline on the stbd aft side? And the thruster pocket that is a caulked in insert as apposed to a glassed in/hand finished opening, it didn't seem quality to me. Does it look like a Whaler to you? It gets harder and harder to see it....
Bob Kemmler JR	#5  Posted on 02/18/07 - 7:28 PM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	I don't recall the vent. I imagine they couldn't have glassed that bow thruster in due to future repair or replacement, but it did look a little cheap. I got it from a VERY good source there will be 2 larger hulls within the year. I think for the money it's a awesome boat, but they could have used a few small minor items of a higher quality and left a person with a better overall impression. It's the small details that make a big overall impression IMO. I will also post a link from another boating related website (high performance type boats) that will show the 39 foot center console Cigarette boat i went on that was powered with 4 300 XS mercury outboards if Joe says it's ok. That was a AWESOME ride! On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler
Mambo Minnow	#6  Posted on 02/19/07 - 6:43 AM
Member Posts: 64 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/31/05	Agree on the plastic. Ironically, it appears that is the same plastic strainer I have on my 00 Conquest. I had the same reaction when I saw it on my boat. I believe Perko makes a brass equivalent, too!
sraab928	#7  Posted on 02/19/07 - 7:26 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 1282 Comments: 13 Joined: 12/27/05	If you glass in the bow thruster how would you replace it? I have seen them installed both ways. I must say when I first saw it I thought - must have been an afterthought after driving the boat. But the more I thought about it I figured it was that way for serviceability. - I guess I could be right on either account - Only the engineers know for sure. Scott 1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8
Buckda	#8  Posted on 02/19/07 - 12:46 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 325 Comments: 2 Joined: 01/15/07	I'd be interested to see someone standing next to one of the hull molds for this baby. Those molds must be MASSIVE. I guess that's an item for the Edgewater plant tour for next year's 50th anniversary! Dave
Bob Kemmler JR	#9  Posted on 03/01/07 - 7:11 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	[img]http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/CaptMooseknuckle/Bad%20Ass%20Mercs/021di5.jpg[/img] Fred K at the helm and myself in the gray jacket with a ear to ear grin! Edited by Bob Kemmler JR on 03/01/07 - 7:18 AM On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler
Jeff	#10  Posted on 03/01/07 - 7:46 AM
Member Posts: 1987 Comments: 34 Joined: 04/02/05	WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON? Whatever it is it looks fast! 1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive
sraab928	#11  Posted on 03/01/07 - 8:10 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 1282 Comments: 13 Joined: 12/27/05	If I am seeing correctly it looks like that puppy has 4 engines! Scott 1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8
Bob Kemmler JR	#12  Posted on 03/01/07 - 7:09 PM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	Joe i swear i resized that pic on my photobucket, i have no idea why it's still big? I'll try and fix that in a bit. The boat was a 39 Cigarette CC with 4 300 XS Mercury's. On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler
sraab928	#13  Posted on 03/02/07 - 3:26 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 1282 Comments: 13 Joined: 12/27/05	Can you share details of your ride? Exactly how fast did they get it up to? Scott 1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8
Bob Kemmler JR	#14  Posted on 03/02/07 - 7:53 AM
Member Project Albums Posts: 269 Comments: 7 Joined: 10/10/05	I think he took it up to about 70 at one point, it didn't take long to get there at all. The motors didn't smoke at all from what i saw and were very quiet at idle and had a pleasant performance sound at WOT, but not harsh at all. My friends and i were able to carry on a conversation at WOT easily. Fred said they had put about 101 miles on it that day taking people out for test rides and used only 87 gallons of fuel for all 4 motors. The running was basically short idle periods and then WOT throttle most of the time. I'd say those fuel useage numbers are very impressive. The Opti's are by far the best DFI outboard out there IMO. On the hunt for a classic 19 or 21 Whaler