Moving to The Dark Side. Pilot House w/F300. Just because... it's Atlantic Northeast.

[zipper]

Which AP kit did you get? I assume the boat has hydraulic steering. You are going to love AP.

 

[swatski]

It is a garmin reactor 40 based system, and yes my F300 is still seastar hydraulic. The idea is to have it fully integrated with the MFD/GPS, and I have the new wireless remote with gesture control, that supposed to be pretty cool; will come handy if/when we add a tower.

I was very happy we could get one of the last of those 4.2 DEC motors, the updated Yamaha DES V6 4.2 lineup is all electric steering - better in many ways - but not for me. I generally like buying things that are tried and true, and the Seastar steering has been basically unchanged in about ten years since it came out with the original 4.2s. Those updated DES motors also have some magical reverse improvements, they must have talked to jetboatpilot, lol. (J/k). However, traditional hydraulic-pump APs will no longer work, and one will need to look into the Yamaha proprietary new systems to work with the new electric steering. Best not to be the first in line for that, if you ask me.
I'm hoping for a reasonably straightforward install, albeit there is some tricky plumbing and bleeding involved with my second station; I'll have to tackle it myself (unless I want to wait a year for an installer, lol) - around here all the good ones are scarce to start with and all of them far-behind on orders, it's not even funny.

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[Elliott]

I have an autopilot on my Yamaha FSH 19. If I release the steering wheel at no-wake speed, it starts circling around and around.
It is very handy, while I am attending to bumpers/lines outside the marina.

 

[swatski]

The new boat is pretty long for my driveway operations, at 31ft LOA, it is going to be a squeeze - maneuvering it.
Since I plan on doing my own maintenance the boat will need to be brought in 2-3 times a season.
So, I decided to just bite the bullet and install a front tow bar.

Finished it today, went without a glitch basically, other than letting PB blaster work on the bolts for few days, and I had to trim parts of the undercarriage shield slightly.
I will probably keep this front tow bar OFF most of the time, and only install when needed, it is relatively easy to put on and off.

These are the stock front hookups:


Taken off and trimmed:


Back on, with the tow bar, great fit and relatively low profile:



Overall the bar fits way better than I expected, and has great ground clearance.
Here it is mock-fitted with the WeighSafe hitch, it will work great in the driveway; need to use a short 6-7" extender to flip the hitch and fit the coupler.


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[ourlee]

Dude you MUST leave that on. It’s so bad ass.

 

[swatski]

Finally, I found an adapter that works with the front hitch receiver, gives me the ball height I need. I'm going to start testing the backyard driveway maneuverability with this new hitch over the weekend.



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[drewkaree]

Is there any concern about wear or damage to the front end suspension with that? Seems odd to say that I wouldn't worry about it with your 240, but the new boat seems like it might be a bit more (I may have missed the weight on the new boat somewhere).

I also may have missed where you found the hitch setup for the front end. I know there are a few out there, but having one you could buy "off the shelf" that was designed for your vehicle seems like it'd be a problem. I don't have need for one, yet, but we have some ideas in mind for boat storage, and that might be something I'd want to consider.

 

[2kwik4u]

You're going to love the maneuverability of that front hitch.

Careful the combo will drive like a forklift more than a truck. Trailer will react way faster to steering inputs.

 

[swatski]

Is there any concern about wear or damage to the front end suspension with that? Seems odd to say that I wouldn't worry about it with your 240, but the new boat seems like it might be a bit more (I may have missed the weight on the new boat somewhere).

I also may have missed where you found the hitch setup for the front end. I know there are a few out there, but having one you could buy "off the shelf" that was designed for your vehicle seems like it'd be a problem. I don't have need for one, yet, but we have some ideas in mind for boat storage, and that might be something I'd want to consider.

Excellent point! Thinking about this, I felt it was necessary to finagle a ball mount with the shortest possible arm from the receiver, contorted as it ended up being; it would had been way easier to do with just a simple long extender but that would push the ball further away from the "fulcrum" of the front hitch receiver, multiplying effective load on the front suspension.

I have no idea what the 2320 (Parker) tongue weight is; given it's size and the cabin up front, it looks imposing; however, the trailer tongue is rather long to accommodate the extended pulpit as that boat is 31' LOA (alleviating the load) and the F300 outboard, hanging off the stern, provides a massive counterweight. I would not be surprised if the tongue weight is similar to the 240 which has the engines almost midship by comparison (forward of the transom and 2-3' of swim platform overhanging while the F300 is mounted at the aft edge of a 3' armstrong bracket).

In my past life, trailering outboard boats, it's usually been a challenge to get enough weight up front to reduce their tendency to sway. The new Loadrite trailer has a lot of adjustment points if I need to even the load. I spoke with the dealer and they will assist if I need to make adjustments in their lot before taking the boat home; they said those trailers rode really well, in general, but I'm not making any assumptions.

Importantly, that silly built-in scale of the WeighSafe hitch will come in handy!
I plan to take a good reading while the scale-hitch is mounted in the rear receiver for my regular towing position, and reassess.

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[Gym]

Thank God @swatski I thought, when you said you were moving to the dark side you meant the other Yamaha forum.
Parker's are great seaworthy boats. We see several on the ocean here on Cape Cod. Enjoy.

 

[the MfM]

Finally, I found an adapter that works with the front hitch receiver, gives me the ball height I need. I'm going to start testing the backyard driveway maneuverability with this new hitch over the weekend.
View attachment 144760
View attachment 144761

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[MrMoose]

And for @swatski 's next trick, he's gonna tow that Parker down the highway backwards... Why? Because I just dared him.

 

[swatski]

That front hitch freaking rocks!!!
Just like @2kwik4u said, it feels much like operating a forklift.... super weird but totally precise, moving the trailer with complete control.
(No, I did not take it out on the street. Was I tempted? Yes. But I know better than to listen to @MrMoose! lololol)

I just taped the surge brake actuator lock in place, and everything went very smoothly.

I was able to push the Yammie around at any angle. Got it in the corner of the yard, not possible otherwise because of the way a curb curves - sharp turn over a steep slope.



Now I have plenty of room for the Parker. we were hoping to have the Yammie at the lake by this weekend, but the lake is still iced!


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[Betik]

@swatski I am not sure what to make of that erected thing in front of you.....

Thinking about putting one my Japanese made Prius, but I think it might look more appropriate on my American made black truck.

 

[swatski]

@swatski I am not sure what to make of that erected thing in front of you.....

Thinking about putting one my Japanese made Prius, but I think it might look more appropriate on my American made black truck.

It does look kinky. lol. I'll give you that.
Still, works amazingly well.

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[2kwik4u]

@swatski Any traction problems with the oddball weight bias? I know the 240 is no comparison to a full enclosed adn loaded race car trailer, but I'm sure there was some "weird dynamics" there. My buddy that does it all the time had to concoct a way to get his '95 Tahoe to be front wheel drive. SO he got a driveshaft disengaging contraption for RV usage and put that on the main drive axle, then puts it in 4Lo when he's moving his trailer around. Gives him the gear reduction of 4Lo, in front wheel drive, but without the binding that comes with being on the pavement in 4wd. It's a really interesting solution, and the only reason he had to do it was the lack of traction on the rear tires with the tongue weight on the front. He normally runs a WDH when towing from the rear because of the size of the trailer.

At any rate. Really glad that worked out for you!

 

[zipper]

Thank God @swatski I thought, when you said you were moving to the dark side you meant the other Yamaha forum...

Or buying a sailboat. LOL

 

[MrMoose]

I can't wait to live vicariously through @swatski when he starts posting pic of all the fish he catches in his new boat.

 

[djetok]

That front hitch freaking rocks!!!
Just like @2kwik4u said, it feels much like operating a forklift.... super weird but totally precise, moving the trailer with complete control.
(No, I did not take it out on the street. Was I tempted? Yes. But I know better than to listen to @MrMoose! lololol)

I just taped the surge brake actuator lock in place, and everything went very smoothly.
View attachment 144879
I was able to push the Yammie around at any angle. Got it in the corner of the yard, not possible otherwise because of the way a curb curves - sharp turn over a steep slope.
View attachment 144880
View attachment 144881

Now I have plenty of room for the Parker. we were hoping to have the Yammie at the lake by this weekend, but the lake is still iced!
View attachment 144883

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Hell man, that is a awesome parking area!

 

[drewkaree]

@swatski Any traction problems with the oddball weight bias? I know the 240 is no comparison to a full enclosed adn loaded race car trailer, but I'm sure there was some "weird dynamics" there. My buddy that does it all the time had to concoct a way to get his '95 Tahoe to be front wheel drive. SO he got a driveshaft disengaging contraption for RV usage and put that on the main drive axle, then puts it in 4Lo when he's moving his trailer around. Gives him the gear reduction of 4Lo, in front wheel drive, but without the binding that comes with being on the pavement in 4wd. It's a really interesting solution, and the only reason he had to do it was the lack of traction on the rear tires with the tongue weight on the front. He normally runs a WDH when towing from the rear because of the size of the trailer.

At any rate. Really glad that worked out for you!

That's really friggen ingenious!