Thread subject: Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos :: 345 BW Conquest/Miami boat show report
Posted by Bob Kemmler JR on 02/17/07 - 11:15 AM
#1
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
Posted by sraab928 on 02/17/07 - 12:00 PM
#2
Thanks for sharing Bob!
Posted by draftsman on 02/18/07 - 6:44 PM
#4
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....
Posted by Bob Kemmler JR on 02/18/07 - 7:28 PM
#5
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!
Posted by Mambo Minnow on 02/19/07 - 6:43 AM
#6
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!
Posted by sraab928 on 02/19/07 - 7:26 AM
#7
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.;)
Posted by Buckda on 02/19/07 - 12:46 PM
#8
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
Posted by Bob Kemmler JR on 03/01/07 - 7:11 AM
#9
[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! :D
Edited by Bob Kemmler JR on 03/01/07 - 7:18 AM
Posted by Jeff on 03/01/07 - 7:46 AM
#10
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON? Whatever it is it looks fast!
Posted by sraab928 on 03/01/07 - 8:10 AM
#11
If I am seeing correctly it looks like that puppy has 4 engines!
Posted by Bob Kemmler JR on 03/01/07 - 7:09 PM
#12
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.
Posted by sraab928 on 03/02/07 - 3:26 AM
#13
Can you share details of your ride? Exactly how fast did they get it up to? :o
Posted by Bob Kemmler JR on 03/02/07 - 7:53 AM
#14
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.