Ahoy there: I looked for a trawler to retire on for several years before I retired. Then one day I ran my Uniflite lake boat into a pier under full power (long story involving tripping over a carpet) and put a 1/16th" nick in the gelcoat while doing several thousand dollars damage to the cement and steel dock. I decided that I wouldn't own anything but a Uniflite after that. I now live on a 1974 Unliflite 42 AC with 903 Cummins V-8s, in N/W Washington. This is my 4th Uniflite. I cruise at about 8 knots with both engines at around 1300 to1400 rpm and get about 1.2 to 1.3 nm/gal. Since I'm a live aboard my actual water line is about 1/4 inch above the painted waterline so I'm moving a lot more weight than a weekend boater usually does. I can get about 15kts out of the boat at full throttle, but you can watch the fuel gauge move at that power setting. It's handy to know you've got the extra power when you might need it, but it's to expensive for me to use it regularly.
The infamous blister problem you'll hear about if you discuss Uniflites with anyone, only applies to boats built after August of 1974. The problem is only cosmetic and does not affect the structural integrity of the hull. When I had my engines surveyed before I bought the boat the Cummins mechanic said I have some good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that with modern engines I can get you twice the horsepower at half the weight. The good news is you can leave these engines to your grandchildren, you wont be able to live long enough to wear them out. Fair winds and following seas: Kent MV Day Six On Jun 4, 5:33 pm, JohnMadison <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, everyone... > > I have been looking at trawlers for some months and this afternoon > changed my search engine to include Motor Yachts. I came across a 1975 > Uniflite 42 and it looks really nice. BUT...can anyone give me an idea > of how these perform (I will be cruising and living aboard full time), > any particular problems for which they are known and what the full > consumption at cruising speed is? > > Or, if known, perhaps someone could direct me to a source. I've done > some "googling" but haven't come up with a review yet. > > Thanks... > > John -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "UnifliteWorld" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/unifliteworld?hl=en.
