Thread: Hartley Vixen 17 Build

Engine's on, builders plate is on, HIN plate is on, boat is registered, gauges, wheel, hydraulic steering is in (damn that sucked -.-), switch panels are in, lights ready to go in, last things to do will be install the items to be sika-flexed in like stainless handrails/ladder, cleats, anchor roller, hatches, inspection port at transom. Hopefully we'll get those things done tonight or tomorrow night (weathers bad both days) then hopefully she's good for a swim on Wednesday when the weather is looking to be better.

Well well well...

A day we have all been waiting for.

Far far too long, far far too much work, all went into this moment and more alike.

We were incredibly nervous, being that only half of the design was an actual design, and the rest was my design... I not being a boat designer, not boat builder (contrary to what the builders plate says).

The only things we didn't do ourselves (my father and I), was install/mount the engine (we did the hydraulic steering) and fabricate the trailer (that also being to my design, something I also had not ever done before).

Onto a roughly chronological account of yesterday.

Whilst I was at work my father packed the boat up with the removable items, I took off at around 4pm to grab dad and the boat, hitched up, got ready and headed down to the river.

We ran through a checklist of items pre-launch at the ramp, all looked good, time to turn around back the boat up to the ramp. Once the trailer wheels were in the water we popped the chain off and went to undo the winch ratchet to take the winch line off the boat, aaaaaand she flies down the trailer into the water with the winch line still attached, unable to be stopped, she was well deep enough to be fine with that happening, but it looks like 11 keel rollers may be too many for a 6-700 kg boat. Anywho dad had to get a little wet and run down to the knee deep water unhook the trailer. Alls well and off I took to park and come back.

I get back to the boat and ahh, there she is, still floating. Dads lowered the engine into the water and begun priming the bulb. Sadly no luck priming the bulb (pumping and pumping but she isn't getting any harder, which is sad as I'm only 26). After a few minutes we gave up priming the bulb and thought maybe we could just start the engine (we had to re-do the fuel lines as the engine installer made a mistake and they leaked, so we bought new lines and a new bulb and re-ran it ourselves). Well, *broom broom* she starts up and a couple quick pumps and the bulb is primed. Not really sure what was going on before-hand with the bulb not priming, but I guess she's working.

We took a minute to gather ourselves and we let go from the jetty and drifted away. Popped her into gear and off she went (at 2 knots), engine run in time starts now I guess, so we putted around the anchorage close to shore in-case anything went wrong, everything seemed to be going quite well, we even came across a boat my father owned when I was about... 5 years old (an S80 named Ace High), which is the boat I first begun sailing on! Small world hey?

So we proceeded to spend the next hour putting around the Swan River looking at all the moored boats, taking turns steering, playing with weight distribution, checking under the floor for water.

As we're crossing through Melville waters we notice a large ferry cruising past us putting up a pretty nice size wake... We looked at each other and smiled, and I pointed the boat straight at it (albeit at 4 knots). And as the wake approaches us... Oh , this is a lot bigger than expected, up she flies and back down she comes, water shooting out of the sides of the flare bow like I haven't seen before. Smooth landing, no creaks, groans or noises. Big smiles all around!

Eventually we noticed that the engine had ticked over an hour! Time to start playing the rev's a little bit more, so we opened up the throttle a little more than we were before and let her jump up onto the plane (just following the engine manuals run-in procedure). Up she jumped into the high teens, watching the wake break away with around 3000 rpm on the tacho.

After another half an hour blasting around it was time to head in. She went up the trailer like a dream, and not a drop of water in the bilge.

Time to put a few finishing touches on over the next week, crank those hours up, re-name it (from it's rego number to a real name), re-christen her and she's good to go.

Happy days guys!

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Excellent work Mate!-Congrats with the launch and it's all very heady stuff leading up to the 'big day'.

Well done again-Scott.

My father build 4 or 5 Harley design boats when I was a kid so I have seen how much work goes into them. Well done. Enjoy using it now.

There's nothing more gratifying than launch day and nothing more impressive than the smiles from the builder, once they realize it floats and isn't leaking. Congratulations.

Since she first touched the water she has either been on the water or in the workshop every day, 8 hours now on the motor, first 4 were in the river, last 4 offshore, had up to half a dozen people out.

It was great getting her out in the ocean, it was blowing about 18 knots off Hillarys, so quite choppy, but she just lapped it up, very comfotably riding into the breeze at 20 knots, flare bow being worked out haha

Top speed so far about 30 knots, was in the ocean on the rough day, so hopefully some day we'll see how high that can get on a smooth day!

Videos to come.

great news, a great build, and some very user-friendly mods.

Thank you all so much!

Sorry I haven’t been back in a while, it’s been pretty busy, sadly no woodwork, also sadly no photos.

But I’ll throw a few updates here, and I will be back in a few weeks with hopefully more videos and photos (I’m not really much of a photo taker, but we’ll go on a few trips so I won’t be the one with the camera).

She’s up somewhere in the high teens for hours on the motor now (despite our heinous wind conditions this month).

Top speed now 34 knots, awaiting a new propeller (as she hits 6100rpm with ease and should be topping out at 5500rpm), I wonder if she’ll make the 40 knot barrier?

She’s also taken us on dive trips, river cruises, and even some wakeboarding… Which is a bit funny as the wake she puts up is… TINY.

Over the past weekend we decided to take her to Rottnest Island as the forecast was for 15 knots from the South East (we’re in Western Australia), dying in the early afternoon and building after that to 25 knots from the South West (the good old Fremantle Doctor!). Rottnest is 35 kilometres offshore (SW) from where we launched (Hilary’s). So six of us piled on in the morning and off we went, everything went off without a hitch, we made it over there by 8am, had a typical Rottnest Island day. Whilst we were under the water the wind decided to be a little different to the forecast, and instead of dying off, built up to a 25 knot South Westerly by 11. So after lunch we relaxed, in preparation for a very interesting ride home! We took off on a 35 kilometre journey through pretty rough seas, but amazingly pretty much all went well, the only problem I had was when pushing it a little bit hard over a wave we ploughed into the wave in front and the force of the water up the flared bow blew the bumper strip off, so after 10 minutes fiddling and unscrewing the fixing caps we were back on our way! So the 30 minute trip there turned into a 70 minute trip home. But oh well, all went well, she’s a trooper! On a side note, she burned through 23 litres of fuel that day (70-80km travelled).

P.s. Please tell me it’s normal to begin thinking of the next build at this point in time?

P.p.s. PAR, would you be interested in having a chat about a future design I’m thinking of? I’ve been toying with ideas in CAD for something a little different to what I’ve built here, a little more classic, a little prettier, a little heavier, and a bit slower.

Lucky bugger.
Yep, rough seas and you have to go slow.
Been there, done that.

Hooroo.

John

ROTFLMAO

Any time is a **good time** to be thinking about the next build!

Excellent job on the Vixen. Top class workmanship and some excellent 'modernisation' mods ot the trad design.

Now all you need is a hard top, fenders, a mid-thigh 'Jesus rail' so the big ones don't pull you right in, oh, and how about life jackets while boating....!!!

Nah, just 'pokin' ya'... I *know* you were wearing them on the way out to Rotto! <wink>

Top spot for a bevvy and an optic nerve, btw. Long time since I've been to Rotto (late eighties....)

I especially like the stainless scoop on what I assume is the drain from the anchor well. Nice touch.

Once you have the illness, it's pretty much all you can think about, unless you're in the moaning chair thinking about something more intimate to the current project. Drop me an email and we'll see what you're into.

I'll pop you an email when I have a little more time and have progressed my ideas a little further

Have one problem with the boat though, after all this time and effort, I still don't have the right prop! First a 13, then a 14, then a 17, now this week I'm going to pick up a 19, new top speed with the 17 prop yesterday is 37 knots, however still over-revving the engine. So lets see if she'll crack the 40 knot barrier with the 19.