Chap Signature 270. Sea trail done.

[Mainah]

Thanks for the info @Mainah . I have 5 miles between my boat parking place and the launch dock. I figure if I am careful then I might be able to go to the launch dock and back. For the trip to Fll for the Bimini trip I plan to rent a heavy duty truck for that week and tow it to Fll. I have to change my tow vehicle in 2019 anyway and will get a heavy duty diesel then.

Sounds like you may be ok. You may want to consider upgrading your rear tires and be careful with your steering even with only 5 miles to the ramp. That much tongue weight without load leveling will unload the front end and make steering less precise. Perhaps even bag the rear end.

New to you boat and a new or new to you HD truck within two years makes me jealous. Hope I get drool over that boat.

 

[Betik]

Thanks for the info @Mainah .For the trip to Fll for the Bimini trip I plan to rent a heavy duty truck for that week and tow it to Fll.

I asked last year to rent a F350, so it was $1500 for a week. So when I traded it in my 3 month Honda Pilot I baked in that $1,500 as an extra value on my trade.

 

[Hilario Perez]

Amar a 350 or 250 4×4 Ford Super Duty diesel will be awesome.

 

[Speedling]

Nice boat!

 

[Speedling]

If you do the same trip as me my wife and i need details and a tour!

 

[Andy S]

Thanks for the info @Mainah . I have 5 miles between my boat parking place and the launch dock. I figure if I am careful then I might be able to go to the launch dock and back. For the trip to Fll for the Bimini trip I plan to rent a heavy duty truck for that week and tow it to Fll. I have to change my tow vehicle in 2019 anyway and will get a heavy duty diesel then.

Amar, the previous owner of my 27' Triton towed in the same scenario as you without issue. He towed with a 2004 F150 4x4 5.4l and only went 4 miles each way, he did this for 13 years and never had an issue with his truck. And like you on the few trips he towed long distances he rented/borrowed a heavy duty truck.

Nice boat!!!

 

[bronze_10]

This is the type our next boat will be... but we have sometime yet before the tubbing years are over... congrats on the buy... if u go on the june trip i got dibs with @Speedling for a tour!

 

[Amar Nanduri]

This is the type our next boat will be... but we have sometime yet before the tubbing years are over... congrats on the buy... if u go on the june trip i got dibs with @Speedling for a tour!

Definitely. I will have the boat in my hands in 3 weeks time and will inform you and @Speedling

 

[Ronnie]

I like that swim platform is integrated into hull by design and it looks like it has a windless system as well. My friend had a 25’ rinker and those upgrades alone cost him$7,500. Does it have its own generator or will you be using shore power only? I surprised that it’s on a dual axle trailer instead of one with three axles since my friend’s was on a triple axle and the mastercraft x35i saw a few years ago at a dealership was on a triple as well, both boats weighed about 7k lbs each as I recall no where near the 10k you are at even including the trailer’s weight.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

I like that swim platform is integrated into hull by design and it looks like it has a windless system as well. My friend had a 25’ rinker and those upgrades alone cost him$7,500. Does it have its own generator or will you be issuing shore power only? I surprised that it’s on a dual axles trailer instead of one with three axles since my friends was on a triple axle and the mastercraft x35i saw a few years ago was on a triple as well, both boats weighed about 7k lbs each as I recall.

I love that the swim platform is integrated into the hull. Disadvantage is that I cannot put a steel rail at the back above the props (for kids safety). It comes with a generator ( 4 hrs on it ) but does not have a windlass system. I plan to put that in anyway as I boat by myself most of the times ( and this time I will go farther to sea and camp overnights ) . I was surprised about the dual axle trailer, but I am getting brakes put on the second axle also and hope that should be safe enough to trailer long distances.

 

[haknslash]

Dang that's a nice and hefty upgrade! Congrats!

 

[tim h]

Nice looking boat @Amar Nanduri !

What kind of mileage can you expect ?
I'm thinking of the guy that crossed with us last year with a similar boat, he carried 75 gallons and ran out a little over halfway across...

You will also need to really watch your depth in shallow areas.
Have you considered Stainless Steel brakes ?

 

[robert843]

Nice looking boat @Amar Nanduri !

What kind of mileage can you expect ?
I'm thinking of the guy that crossed with us last year with a similar boat, he carried 75 gallons and ran out a little over halfway across...

You will also need to really watch your depth in shallow areas.
Have you considered Stainless Steel brakes ?

@tim h I had a similar size and weight boat with the 8.1l engine and in good water I got around 1.5 mpg but offshore even in ok conditions it was reduced to 1 mpg or less. We had a 110 gallon tank and we would go fishing about 15 miles offshore with a little trolling involved and we almost always would burn about 80-90 gallons in that day. I know @Amar Nanduri was talking about Exuma next year he would likely need to carry around 40-50 extra gallons on that trip just to be on the safe side. @Amar Nanduri I love the boat though man looks great!

 

[Amar Nanduri]

Nice looking boat @Amar Nanduri !

What kind of mileage can you expect ?
I'm thinking of the guy that crossed with us last year with a similar boat, he carried 75 gallons and ran out a little over halfway across...

You will also need to really watch your depth in shallow areas.
Have you considered Stainless Steel brakes ?

Thank you Tim. I did think about the amount of fuel the boat will drink. I think I will get an external 30 - 50 gallon fuel tank that I can put in the stern compartment at the back ( to be on the safe side ). The second set of brakes I am getting put will be stainless. And yes I will need to watch out for the depth. Till I get familiar with the prop boat, I will stay a minimum of 5 feet depth. With the Yamaha I was able to go comfortably to 3 feet depth

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@tim h I had a similar size and weight boat with the 8.1l engine and in good water I got around 1.5 mpg but offshore even in ok conditions it was reduced to 1 mpg or less. We had a 110 gallon tank and we would go fishing about 15 miles offshore with a little trolling involved and we almost always would burn about 80-90 gallons in that day. I know @Amar Nanduri was talking about Exuma next year he would likely need to carry around 40-50 extra gallons on that trip just to be on the safe side. @Amar Nanduri I love the boat though man looks great!

Thank you Robert. I will carry an external fuel tank for Exumas. However if I am not that comfortable with the chap fuel consumption I will re-evaluate my options and possibly get a very used yamaha 230 just for the exumas and abacos trips.

 

[bronze_10]

U got me looking them up on boat trader now..... found one in south carolina with twin 4.3... and its RED! But the wife doesnt have 40 k sitting around. I wouldnt even be mad if she had secretly squrriling it away.... as long as it paid for a boat...

 

[Amar Nanduri]

My requirements were very specific. The beam should not exceed 8’6” and total weight should be less than 8000 pounds so that I can trailer it to any place. I almost bought a chap 250. The surveyor I hired was going to the boat to do the survey and he got a call that the boat was sold to someone else. I was mid air to Colombia and when I landed I got an email to that same effect. Needless to say we were very disappointed. One week later I find this boat, look at it for 30 minutes agree to pay full price , write up a contract and put the deposit. I was going with my gut feeling on this boat even though the combined weight exceeds 10000 pounds and more than my truck can tow. I will know in 3 weeks if I made the right choice. My family has not seen the boat yet except in pictures.

Bottom line....look for obscure craigslist ads. That is how I saw this boat. Not many boat sellers know about boattrader as they are old school and traditional.

 

[bronze_10]

I already have the f250 tow vehicle!! Let me know if u need me to go get it for u... and i can even um.... STORE it in my drive way for 4 to 6 months or so!

 

[Ronnie]

an extension for the swim deck may be available for your boat. My friend’s rinker only had a 6 to 9 inch lip at the stern so we would look directly down at the drive and prop from the rear cockpit seat, none of us would use the step while the engine was on so he bit the bullet and bought the extension after the first year of ownership.

As for the dual axle trailer i would be more concerned about the tires / axles weight rating than the tow vehicle or trailer brakes. I recently checked the rating for my 242 and recall it being 3k lbs per axle.

 

[Sbrown]

Congratulation on the purchase, it looks like a very nice boat. I hope you and your family have many great trips and make lots of memories with it.