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Message board > Navigation & sea worthiness > Hardy Fishing 24 stability and scupper issues

Message 2 of 2
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Saturday 16 April 2016

Hi Ian. I think there are two prongs to this issue. These are guesses based on my experience of other Hardy boats with similar hulls - overpowered and over weighted, and also from conversations with owners and reports of performance of H25's and F24's in the past - so it is guess work and detective work - not definate information.. It maybe wrong, it maybe right.. - I'm just trying to help. Was the D4 fitted as original?? I know a couple of F24's have been refitted with D4's - replacing their original AQAD41's- is this one of those boats? The Volvo D4 with DPH drive is a very very heavy motor - designed for big boats - I think it's in the area of 650kg - something like that anyway. The old Volvo 41 series was 550kg - and that was still heavy for the Hardy 24/25 also. The new boats by Hardy have the Yanmar series engines - these are a lot lighter (about 430kg - 450kg I think) and thus I'd think the flooding issue is most likely simply a product of the weight of that D4. I would think for safety's sake - you refer to Hardy Marine and check if they have any maximum engine weight figures for the boat - I suspect they may have. 225hp is a lot for a Fishing 24 - originally the Hardy 25/F24 hull was for a max of 150hp - and then I think a number were built with the 200hp - Volvo AQAD41 (Check with hardy - but with the extra weight of the extended wheelhouse etc I think this was needed in some cases). With the 200hp I've heard the F24 could do a good 27 knots which is very fast indeed for the hull - and I'd really expect a planning hull with any type of keel to become twitchy at those speeds - as the keel tries to "track". I think hardy build the new F24 with a max of 220hp Yanmar - though the latest one had 180hp- best check with them. My understanding is the greater power is for shifting more weight (i.e. more fisherman) using a lower pitch prop as opposed to giving a high top speed. - Again, for safety - best check with Hardy marine for Max power ratings for this boat. Given the high weight of the D4 - I'd expect the boat needs copious use of some fairly big trim tabs - these trying to lift the stern - if so, this will likley cause issues with bow steer at high speeds - this I'd have thought could be of an alarming nature if the boat is powerful and the tabs are deflected a long way down. So - slow down and bring the tabs back someway, once planing. I'm just in the process of buying a Hardy 25, and we're going for light weight power - these are only 24' hulls afterall - and modern boats of this size would usually have the light weight Volvo D3 engines - or the little 2.0L mercruiser (or outboards). Back way back when, the BMW 150hp and Mercruiser 150hp (same VM diesel unit) was common - and gave 22knots.. The 150hp AQD41 Volvo was also common. I understand the old 130hp AQAD31 was common on the H25 - but was a bit underpowered given its 450kg weight. In terms of the high engine power and high engine weight, I would expect a surveyor to pick up on these issues and note due caution if the engine has been retro fitted.... Good luck with it. Best Regards Simon.

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Message 1 of 2
Posted by member Ian Barnaby on Saturday 16 April 2016

I have just sold my Mariner and am in the process of buying a Fishing 24 with the extended wheelhouse and the D4 225hp engine. I've just had her surveyed and the report has flagged up a couple of worrying issues and I was wondering if anyone else has encountered the same; Firstly, she is very unstable at max speed and secondly, water is coming in through the scuppers when going astern and also when persons are stood at the back. It may or maybe not be relevant but there is currently very little loose kit on the boat and perhaps crucially, there is no anchor and chain fitted. It would be really good to hear from anyone who has come across similar problems and any advice or comments would be gratefully received. Many thanks

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