5.6m Hydrofield questions

[Pointyfish]

Hi all I've got a couple of questions with reguards to these hulls before I seriously consider buying one.

Firstly what sort of performance can i expect from a 115hp etec? I've notice most of these hulls are powered by a 130-150hp outboard. Would it struggle to get on the plane or maintain the plane in real bad weather?

Secondly does any one own one of these and use it for trolling for billfish? I want to be able to troll a spread of pushers around at 8 knots. I know a lot of small trailer boats have problems at this pace with the bow lifting high out of the water.

Cheers

[Duckfish]

Hi Pf,
Definately go for the bigger hp. A 5.6m boat would require those horses. If you want any questions answered, pm Business Class. He has one which he stretched to 6 odd metres.
Duck

[business class]

Hi all I've got a couple of questions with reguards to these hulls before I seriously consider buying one.

Firstly what sort of performance can i expect from a 115hp etec? I've notice most of these hulls are powered by a 130-150hp outboard. Would it struggle to get on the plane or maintain the plane in real bad weather?

Secondly does any one own one of these and use it for trolling for billfish? I want to be able to troll a spread of pushers around at 8 knots. I know a lot of small trailer boats have problems at this pace with the bow lifting high out of the water.

Cheers

Hey Mate,

A 115 E-Tec wont keep you on the plain in a bit of swell and crap weather. Go a 150hp as we had a 140hp Suzuki on a 5.6 and it did the job but did struggled a bit in a decent sea. I have done an extension on a 5.6 hull to make it 6.8 meters, and customized it with the transom set up to accomidate both batteries and a 110Ltr live well tank in the centre. We have it set up for Game fishing and we dont have an issue when towing for both Blues nor blacks or high speeding for spanish or wahoo. We are actually about to put her up for sale as we are thinking of going the next size up. We have a 225 Honda 4 stroke on ours and it is a Perfect match with that size. There a Great Hull mate and a great Fishing Platform Overall.

[Pointyfish]

Thanks guys, the boat I was looking at had the 115hp already fitted. I might be better of waiting for another to come up.

Business Class, I think your boat might be a bit larger than I'm after. I need something I can tow behind a Prado and something I can afford to run myself during the week on my RnR.
Did you have any issues with your boat dragging pushers before you extend it? It didn't want to sit high in the front and chew an excessive amount of fuel?

[zakster]

As Matty says, the 115 is underpowered imo. My mate has just purchased the 5.6 with the 125 hp Mariner 2/stroke and its a pig. 150 4/stroke Suzuki to be fitted next week. Properly donked the 5.6 will be an excellent choice for any type of fishing you want to do.

Cheers.

[Jaguar 18]

When i purchased mine it had a 90, It's my first boat and the price suited my budget, but after a couple of trips with a few experienced people with me and then me going out in there boats to see the difference, I went for a 200hp and was lucky enough to sell the 90 on ebay for the same price as I purchased the 200, the difference is like chalk and cheese, and surprisingly not a lot of fuel usage difference.