Any Arima Owners here?

[Enniberg]

just bought a 17 foot sea chaser

Congratulations Owen. You now own the best boat in its class - nothing compares. Just my humble opinion!

Lots of great info on arimaboats.com

 

[Dave S]

I'm in the club now! I've got a 1996 Sea Explorer 16'. After about a week of minor repairs, cleaning, polishing, and motor and control swaps, I took it out yesterday into Brentwood Bay with a buddy. Boat felt great. I love it! No listing and it went quite well with a Yamaha F60. Will need to give another water test since I raised motor up one notch today. Might look at trying another prop too. Currently on there is an aluminum 3 blade 10 3/8" 13P. Might look at increasing diameter. At least that is what Victoria Propellers online prop calculator said. lol. Would love to get some trim tabs on it but I can't afford it right now. Not sold on the smart tabs. Would prefer some adjustable tabs. I have a hydrofoil that I could try to help with planning at slower speeds and getting out of the hole quicker with heavier loads. Just not quite sure I want to drill holes in my cavi plate. Thoughts?

Here's a link to the web album. Looks even hotter with the Yammy main and kicker.
https://picasaweb.google.com/113305...authkey=Gv1sRgCNCa1uid-9K2mAE&feat=directlink

 

[Dave S]

Oh, and figured out what to name it. "Strait Drifter"

 

[Owen Drysdale]

the name of my boat is x-ta-sea im not sure if i want to put a 115 yam or a 90 yam?

 

[chris73]

Owen, a 90 will be absolutely plenty for the 17'.

 

[Enniberg]

I have a 4 stroke Yamaha 90 on my 17 SC - it provides ample power and good fuel economy. Fish mostly off shore with 3 people on the boat and never felt that more power was needed.

 

[Time]

Welcome to the club Dave.
Boat looks good.
Looked at your dash picture - has the dash been modified to fit all those gauges?
Sheeet - you even have a clock.

 

[Sculpin]

Awesome pic's of your vessels Sharphooks. When I was researching glass boats I was really intrigued with the C-Dory's and the Arima's (still am). I came across those Inland marine folks and saw a few pic's of those custom cabins on the Arima's. That would be the selling point for me on an Arima. Those mod's are the cat's azz and make the boat. Thanks for posting up those pic's. Great looking boats you had and currently have. I like all the comments from the Arima owner's that know what they were buying and knew what they wanted. Stability at rest or fishing at a few miles an hour is what I am after as well. Learn to slow down in the chop or heavy weather and know your vessel. The fuel economy says alot as well. The ability to stay on plane at lower speed is a plus in heavy weather as well.

Cheers,
Sculpin

 

[Dave S]

Welcome to the club Dave.
Boat looks good.
Looked at your dash picture - has the dash been modified to fit all those gauges?
Sheeet - you even have a clock.

The previous owner bought a complete dash kit that is a mold unit with gauges included. I don't know what to say about the clock.

 

[Sharphooks]

Thanks for the comments, Sculpin. I'm feeling the October blues right about now, seeing her moping in my driveway instead of being out on the water...

One other nice thing about 17 - 21 ft Arimas---they have the perfect floor/deck design for shooting a thru-hull transducer. No foam, no wood, just a fiberglass skin that is more or less flat (unfortunately, not the case with the 22 ft SeaLegend: they installed the gas tank under the fish deck instead of under the splash well so a transducer has to hang off the stern on that boat)

Here's a mod I did on my 21 SeaRanger: two thru-hull transducers. The 1Kw suitcase is so powerful you can see individual barnacles on buoy cables..... but man, it was a painful experience cuttting a big hole in the fish box like that

 

[Tsquared]

2 years in on a 19 ft Seachaser with a 130 |Honda we had shipped up from Georgia. We couldn't be more pleased with the boat--there are acres of room on the deck--which I love. Here is a pic from prawn fishing in April which shows some of the deck space.

T2

 

[Owen Drysdale]

Just wonderin how my 17 foot sea chaser is gunna do when fishing off shore?

 

[Sharphooks]

You'll do just fine in a 17 footer as long as you watch your weather (which any owner of a sportsfishing boat should do anyway)

I ran a 19 ft Seachaser for many years. She saw time on Big Bank and up north in QCS--- took me safely from thick to thin and back again. I bumped up to a 21 footer last year so I could sleep in the forepeak but my guess is, with similar beam, a corky hull and extended stern sponsons, the 17 footer is just as capable a boat as its older brothers.

Last summer I was up around Cape Caution in pea soup fog. I hear a boat coming and there goes a 17 foot Arima past me, going north. No radar, just a guy at the wheel with a determined expression on his face. I knew he'd come from Hardy. Maybe he was on his way to Rupert?

Just set her up with reliable power (both main and kicker), give them proper maintenance, and as a bare minimum, get a chartplotter with a detailed chip for whatever area you're planning on running her in.

Radar? I guess in a boat that size it depends on whether you'll have something to attach the radome to, but it's not a bad idea to add that to your list of electronics...

 

[Enniberg]

I have fished my 17 Arima out of Ukee for the last four summers - it is a very capable and safe boat.

I have also owned a 21 SR in the past and the longer hull rides smoother when it gets rough, but as long as you slow down, the 17 will handle big seas with ease.

 

[Sculpin]

Really great post's on here by Arima owners and the topic about slowing down for the conditions regardless of the boat you own. Very sound advice and common sense.

 

[burnsy22]

I have a 17 foot Sea Ranger and Was off of Cape Beale last year in some big offshore swells and also off on Entrence island in Nanaimo in really ****** conditions and never felt uncomfortable in the boat. The boat handles so well side to side because of the 8 foot beam. The only thing is that in lumpy seas when travelling you do have to slow down because they don't cut the waves like a double eagle or other hulls with a deeper V.

That being said it really depends on how far off shore you go. For me I still would like to travel with another boat as I am unfamiliar with off shore fishing and it still is relatively small boat, (although I like to call it the biggest small boat around). Just plan around the weather and trust your instincts, for me in my first year of boat ownership I realised that if I thought that it looked to ****** to head out I might as well wait...That time you force going out into crappy weather is the time you may get in to trouble.

 

[Dave S]

I have a 17 foot Sea Ranger and Was off of Cape Beale last year in some big offshore swells and also off on Entrence island in Nanaimo in really ****** conditions and never felt uncomfortable in the boat. The boat handles so well side to side because of the 8 foot beam. The only thing is that in lumpy seas when travelling you do have to slow down because they don't cut the waves like a double eagle or other hulls with a deeper V.

That being said it really depends on how far off shore you go. For me I still would like to travel with another boat as I am unfamiliar with off shore fishing and it still is relatively small boat, (although I like to call it the biggest small boat around). Just plan around the weather and trust your instincts, for me in my first year of boat ownership I realised that if I thought that it looked to ****** to head out I might as well wait...That time you force going out into crappy weather is the time you may get in to trouble.

I have a 16' Sea Explorer and agree with what Burnsy is saying here. They are a little corky but that is also what helps them plane at a slow speed which is helpful in rougher water. Especially helpful in a following sea. But if it is forecast to be rough, who wants to go out anyway. I also prefer to travel offshore and to remote areas well prepared and sometimes in tandem. I respect the ocean and think that it is always out to prove how tough it is so I tend to be conservative out there.

 

[hambone]

Digging up an old thread here.

Wondering if any Arima owners have done modifications to the removable table that sits over the motor well? Im thinking of making it more useful for our boats main purpose, which is fishing, prawning and crabbing.

Starboard looks like the right material because ideally the table should be tough enough to place traps on, cut fish etc. Theres plenty of ideas and pictures on the ArimaOwners site but I just thought i would check in here to see if anyone has done something similar.

I would also be making any new table impossible to hit with the motor when bringing it up and not fully paying attention after a long day on the water.

 

[Bifmalibu]

I don't think youll find anything new here. You've pretty much seen it all at ABOG.

 

[Tsquared]

Digging up an old thread here.

Wondering if any Arima owners have done modifications to the removable table that sits over the motor well? Im thinking of making it more useful for our boats main purpose, which is fishing, prawning and crabbing.

Starboard looks like the right material because ideally the table should be tough enough to place traps on, cut fish etc. Theres plenty of ideas and pictures on the ArimaOwners site but I just thought i would check in here to see if anyone has done something similar.

I would also be making any new table impossible to hit with the motor when bringing it up and not fully paying attention after a long day on the water.

We put a cutting board on top of the stock table but otherwise use it as is. I had my doubts When my partner said he wanted to keep the table on all the time but now I wouldn't do without it.
T2