Whittley SL2200 Sea Legend ... Opinions!

[White Pointer]

G'day,

Does anyone have experience of Whittley SL2200?

I'm looking at a 2007 model that has never been in the water. It has a 150HP Honda and comes in just over 2,000Kg. It sits on a Tinka rated at 3200Kg with Sensabrake.

It is pretty well kitted out but needs instuments and a few odds and sods to make it work as the amphibious caravan and a good fishing rig.

It will probably cost me $86,000 on the water (plus insurance).

I would have liked more power on a boat this size but I'm told the Honda 150 has no trouble keeping it on the plane and the VVT is OK for hole shot. More power really means going to 200HP and it's a $3,000 day out.

Waddaya think?

White Pointer

[The-easyrider]

G'day WP I have a 650 sea legend and love it and the wife loves it and the kids love it I can shoot across a very choppy bay with ease and have been out at the cape in some not so good conditions and it handled them with ease. I have set mine up to sleep four with the kids in the cabin and me and the mrs on a queen size bed at the back also i have fitted a table and the bed provides seating for for at the table and we run a waco fridge and it even has a BBQ, it is great for weekends away or longer. Then in 5 mins I can turn it back to a fishing rig and head off shore with the boys Mine has a 220hp mercruiser and is more than enough power so I dont think the 150 would be to bad but if it is at a dealer you should be able to drive a good deal out of them. let me know if you want any more info.
regards AB

[julian1]

the Sea Legend 650 or 2200 is a very underrated hull, they run a 23 degree deadrise and are well built. They are softer than the Haines Hunter 650 Classic, maybe not as stable but not much in it, trim tabs are standard as they should be on a mono and they run a very fine entry on the bow. also the finish is up there with the best of them. It might be worth giving JV Marine a call in Melbourne to get a real price as i think they were starting a base package at around $65k with 175 Zuke and a full set up with 200 Zuke and the works for $75k as they are keen to move them atm, they may be cheaper even with freighting from Melbourne. I reckon the 150 will be minimum, the 225 Honda with Vtec goes very well and might be worth the few extra dollars

[White Pointer]

G'day WP I have a 650 sea legend and love it and the wife loves it and the kids love it I can shoot across a very choppy bay with ease and have been out at the cape in some not so good conditions and it handled them with ease. I have set mine up to sleep four with the kids in the cabin and me and the mrs on a queen size bed at the back also i have fitted a table and the bed provides seating for for at the table and we run a waco fridge and it even has a BBQ, it is great for weekends away or longer. Then in 5 mins I can turn it back to a fishing rig and head off shore with the boys Mine has a 220hp mercruiser and is more than enough power so I dont think the 150 would be to bad but if it is at a dealer you should be able to drive a good deal out of them. let me know if you want any more info.
regards AB

G'day,

Thanks for that. Your rig sounds a lot like our plans. We don't have kids on our hands anymore but we want to use it as an amphibious caravan for touring along the east coast so I have bought a MAGMA BBQ with post mounts.

I would appreciate any other information about your set up (e.g. batteries, instrumentation, what works well, what doesn't work so well).

I thought the anchor well was a bit small for offshore work when you want at least three times depth in rope and chain. It would be hopeless with a winch in it.

The boat I am looking at is on a 3.2T Tinka trailer. How have you found low speed handling to drive the boat onto the trailer? I expect I will have to launch and retrieve on my own a fair bit.

Thanks again.

White Pointer

[The-easyrider]

No worries I have twin sea master 110amp batteries which seem to handle the load for us use LED lights where possible, I fitted a idigtal inline volt gage from battery world for $20 now I can see at a glance what is left in the battery good peace of mind. I made up a neat little table that folds down out f the way and is invaulable when preping food will take some pics if you want. I carry about 150m of rope in the well and there would be room for 50 more easy. driving off and on the trailer is a breese. I fitted some extra insulation to the engine cover which greatly reduced the engine noise

[White Pointer]

No worries I have twin sea master 110amp batteries which seem to handle the load for us use LED lights where possible, I fitted a idigtal inline volt gage from battery world for $20 now I can see at a glance what is left in the battery good peace of mind. I made up a neat little table that folds down out f the way and is invaulable when preping food will take some pics if you want. I carry about 150m of rope in the well and there would be room for 50 more easy. driving off and on the trailer is a breese. I fitted some extra insulation to the engine cover which greatly reduced the engine noise

G'day,

And thanks again.

I've asked for a link from engine to Lowrance plotter that gives voltage for the battery on line and for all lights to be LED. That will reduce draw. I've asked for an amp meter to ensure charge rate. I know this is belt and braces but I'm that sort of guy.

I would appreciate pics of your table and a description of material and finishing, if that's OK. I'm pretty handy with a jigsaw and a pot of marine varnish.

The anchor well must have changed over time and models. I asked how much the anchor well on the boat I was looking at could handle and was told 50M rope and chain maximum - and that looked about right. 150M was what I had in mind but I guess I can manage for fishing with a couple of good splices and a shackle.

My boat will be an outboard and they tend to leave the noise behind. The Honda's are very quiet in any case. Outboard was a mandatory once I decided that the boat must have level flotation.

Thanks again,

White Pointer

[The-easyrider]

No worries I will take some pics and post them another thing mine has is a rear deck which gives so much extra room but only would suit an inboard

[The-easyrider]

The table was dead easy I used 9mm abond structal ply for the base and put a pretty picture on top then covered that with a clear sheet of polly carbonite from bunnings about $20 for memory then trimed the edge with a timber angle also from bunnings about 5 or 6 dollars a lengh then a bit of stain. Oh yeh took the square corners off so as not to be banging into them in crampped confines. Then just fittted a mounting block to the engine box with stainless bolts and sika to get the table to drop down flat against the box and hinged the table to that. Used some shock cord loops to hold in place when not in use. The support leg to hold it up for use is a alli tube (old tent pole) flatened at one end and just sits under a alli saddle I made up and props against the bottom of the engine box. If you would like any info on the rear bed just sing out . I set that up as we found the cabin a tad small length wise for both of us as only one of us could strech out at a time Iam 5'11" and the parole officer is 5'8"

[gofishin]

WP, is it a real 22 foot hull, or does that include the bowsprit and boarding platform? If the latter then the 150 might be OK, otherwise i would suggest it would be underpowered, especially considering it is a 23 deg hull and kitted out fairly well (read heavy). However, i don't talk from experience with this hull, but did seriously look at the larger SL's before deciding on the CC.

There was a member here that i think had an O/B model SL, not sure what size, 'Hamish...' with maybe a number or something on the end of his name.

ER, nice work mate. Where did you get that large fish ID chart, I've only seen them A4 size? Do you find the rails (tiger cage! ) on the boarding platform gets in the way of fishing? I suppose that you just walk out there if it's a big'n.
cheers
Brendon

[The-easyrider]

No I fish from out there and the rails are good to lean into when fighting fish and when out cruisin with the wife and kids the exta room is great and a bbq fits onto the rail. When I first looked at the boat I was a bit unsure about the back verander but now I love it , nothing like sittin on the back deck havin a beer and a fish Got the chart at whitworths at Albion

[White Pointer]

WP, is it a real 22 foot hull, or does that include the bowsprit and boarding platform? If the latter then the 150 might be OK, otherwise i would suggest it would be underpowered, especially considering it is a 23 deg hull and kitted out fairly well (read heavy). However, i don't talk from experience with this hull, but did seriously look at the larger SL's before deciding on the CC.

There was a member here that i think had an O/B model SL, not sure what size, 'Hamish...' with maybe a number or something on the end of his name.

ER, nice work mate. Where did you get that large fish ID chart, I've only seen them A4 size? Do you find the rails (tiger cage! ) on the boarding platform gets in the way of fishing? I suppose that you just walk out there if it's a big'n.
cheers
Brendon

G'day,

The hull OAL is quoted as 6.49Mt.

The BMT with full fuel and crap on board is probably around 2200Kg. Therefore the boat+motor+fuel, etc at the launching ramp is around 1600kg. That is a heavy boat and all the better for it with an efficient hull. But it also needs power for safety. I'm sure the 150HP will be OK in swells up to 2.5Mt but weather doesn't work predictably. When the sea is up and coming in all directions hole shot performance to get on the back of a wave is the difference between doing it and broaching and rolling over.

I've asked for a price to put 200Hp on it.

We'll see what they come up with.

White Pointer

[gofishin]

WP, I checked out the specs & pics. It has a 'narrowish' beam, hence would be more easily pushed than i first thought, however may suffer more from a heavier ar$e. Although it is rated to 225, i would be wary that the 200/225 would be a little heavy in a V6 4/ (I'm talking O/B config). I assume you are talking to the local dealer, are you talking a 200 Honda or Merc? The L4 Viagrado would probably be a great match, though not sure you would need that much oomph on that boat now that i have had a look at the specs. 175 zuke may be perfect...but then that's just a guess.

If your dealer can't provide performance figures with the different engine options that you are looking at, surely other dealers (or the manufacturers) can?
cheers

[White Pointer]

WP, I checked out the specs & pics. It has a 'narrowish' beam, hence would be more easily pushed than i first thought, however may suffer more from a heavier ar$e. Although it is rated to 225, i would be wary that the 200/225 would be a little heavy in a V6 4/ (I'm talking O/B config). I assume you are talking to the local dealer, are you talking a 200 Honda or Merc? The L4 Viagrado would probably be a great match, though not sure you would need that much oomph on that boat now that i have had a look at the specs. 175 zuke may be perfect...but then that's just a guess.

If your dealer can't provide performance figures with the different engine options that you are looking at, surely other dealers (or the manufacturers) can?
cheers

G'day and thanks,

The 175HP Suzuki would be a good fit. Its the same as the 150HP but with VVT.

But the dealer sells Mercury and Honda and I want to give them the opportunity to quote to do a one shop sale, first. The Honda 150HP has VVT but it is Honda's biggest 4-cyl. After that the 175, 200 and 225 are all V6 and all weigh the same - well within the Whittley's maximum transom weight.

We'll see.

White Pointer

[The-easyrider]

If you speak to dave at Northside Marine he had a 650 sea legend with a 225 hp honda on it he seems to be a honest up front bloke has given me plenty of help and advise with mine even though I didnt buy of him in the end as I picked up a 2nd one . If you doubt there sea wortheness ask about how he drove his from brisbane to the whitsundays.

[kingtin]

You can get an idea of how handy the marlin board is by watchin' this vid..............just open the gate and drag the vermin in

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...ghlight=bitten

kev