Thank you for this video, very helpful. I am your age and bought a tidewater 25 cc 2 years ago and found many of the same issues. I think all manufacturers depends on who is working the line that day when building the boat in regards to attention to detail and proper torque , wiring , etc. Happy Boating. Also like the last comment - owning a boat guarantees an expensive fish dinner- lol- so true.
I bought new and still have a tidewater 2018 2200 cc. That boat had many more issues then the sailfish. when they delivered it even the trailer lights were wired backwards (I know that’s not on the boat builder). I fixed or had fixed all of them, - just heading out now to confirm the gas tank back flow preventer that cracked, and I had replaced with some difficulty, is working 100%. Glad you liked the video.
Thank you for posting this video. I recently sold my 2008 Sailfish 3006 EC. I would have hoped that Sailfish would have improved their wiring and electrical issues from my boat to yours. I had an opportunity to tour the factory and receive a tour from the plant manager. I expressed my electrical issues to the PM and he said they were working on improving the electrical wiring. The through bolt fittings are another issue on all Sailfish boats. My through bolt issue was the eye to winch the boat onto the trailer. Mine was beginning to pull out. I contacted Gerald at Sailfish and he was fantastic to work with. I brought the boat to them and they fixed the issue. The eyelet was installed without a backing plate. I loved the boat and had no issues with taking it 120 miles offshore. But I probably would not purchase another Sailfish boat.
I found Sailfish to be very responsive. I also spent some time a few years with a boat repair expert and we talked about alot of boats, high end, middle and low. What I came away with, even high end boats have issues, and decided to do what I did; accept what is and push to improve for the future.
Excellent video! You are very handy and made some great improvements . Shame on Sailfish for a lot of these issues . It’s disappointing . I really like their 276 DC but I have an Everglades now and these issues like wiring are not prevalent . Not being handy , I don’t want to risk these issues in my next boat . Glad you and you’re son can make those improvements ! 👏🏼👏🏼
sucks you had all those issues. I just went to the atlantic city boat show. I did like the sailfish but I'm leaning towards blackfin. Lucky you are so handy.
Thanks for the video. I took bought a new 245DC this year. If you could it would be nice to have links to some of the product upgrades that you have made.
good video bro i got a 2660 and am up grading to a 320cc ur right about wiring is a trocious but you got a lot of good tips of what to check before i take it home thanks
I have a 2660 Center console. Bow lights stopped working. Lights are good wiring issue. Hope I can snake a new wire to the bow and back to console. Does anyone know the color of the wires sailfish use from the switch to the bow? Trying to see where the break is. Love the boat the large 9Ft beam handles well and the twin 150 Yahnahas push it fine with good fuel economy. Liked the video need to do a good inspection this spring.
Thanks for the great video. Looking at a Sailfish, Key West or Robalo and this is one of the best video's I've seen. Thanks for taking he time to do this. Can you tell me how you narrowed it down to the Sailfish? Was there anything you saw in the other boats that led you away from them and towards the Sailfish?
for my purposes the sailfish had a better layout and my wife liked (insisted) she wanted the better head then the Robalo. I only briefly looked at Key west and dont remember much else about that. The runner up for me was the Cobia, which seemed like a fine boat, but sailfish had better seakeeping and much better head - see above.
Would you be willing to share photos of how you routed the antenna line when it came out of the tube and up through the roof? I’m performing a new install tomorrow and I assume I drill a hole through the hardtop and into the speaker box for the line?
I will try and get a chance to to take photos tommorow to the show route. I did drill a hole through the roof, but did not drill any holes in the speaker box. I recall there is a chase all the wires run thru and I may have only drilled in that from the side, so it was not visable from the seats. I did take the whole top off and proped it up to run all the wires. Since I did the video, I added radar and a night camera and followed the same method +/-.
Great video on the sailfish. I got the same boat and love it. Did you end up putting the trolling motor on? I’m looking at putting one on soon myself. Just looking to see how it went and a little guidance. Trolling motor size, battery location, ect. Thanks David
trolling motor is on hold for a little while, I put radar and Autopilot in. My thoughts on the trolling motor are 36 volt litium, batteries(s) under the front bow seat- but I have not measured or checked anything yet. Same with lenght, expect it will have to be at least 72" or maybe 87".
Thank you for this post. I have a 2018 245DC and love the boat. When you mounted the rack for lines under the helm what size screws did you use or did you bolt them through? I also have the same issue with the cockpit door and will install a similar latch this season.
Love the review and video. Decided to go forward buying a 2018 model this year. Beautiful boat for family and fishing as u said. Thanks for ur efforts putting the video together! Just curious, did u install a trolling motor as u mentioned? Which model did u go for? U don't have by chance another video about the installation of a trolling motor I assume? Seems to be a pain in general but worth it!? Again thanks for uploading this video! Best Oz
Did not do trolling motor yet. Installing radar and autopilot now. Maybe next year for trolling motor. Trolling motor is great over wrecks much easier then traditional anchor. Thank you for the comments.
from amazon, says currently unavialable, but maybe you can find somewhere else. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZVDJ7KQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I would start with considreeing making the motor well access larger (sailfish may have done that in later models). If that doesnt make sense (after looking at it close before doing it), Another option is to abandon the bad pump in place and install new one that is reachable from the seat hatch, the worst option is a access on the swim platform over the pump.
I thought sailfish did a great job in handling it. They recognized some quality control issues and addressed them. I was not trying to pick on sailfish but illustrate an issue I found in the industry. Yes GW & BW have better wiring, but they get there fair share of complaints and cost much more. And this boat has better layout for going from fishing to family fun, which was important to me. My last new boat had far more issues. Not even getting to the boat - they delivered the trailer with turn signals backwards, fenders rubbing and bilge pump recirculating the bilge water. The dealer and manufacture were of little help. There were multiple issues with the boat, and I ended going to a 3rd party to get the boat right and that helped me learn a lot about the industry. My dealer MarineMax and Sailfish took my issues and video seriously and I appreciated that.
We need more videos like this .
Thank you for yours.
Thanks for the comments
Thank you for this video, very helpful. I am your age and bought a tidewater 25 cc 2 years ago and found many of the same issues. I think all manufacturers depends on who is working the line that day when building the boat in regards to attention to detail and proper torque , wiring , etc. Happy Boating. Also like the last comment - owning a boat guarantees an expensive fish dinner- lol- so true.
I bought new and still have a tidewater 2018 2200 cc. That boat had many more issues then the sailfish. when they delivered it even the trailer lights were wired backwards (I know that’s not on the boat builder). I fixed or had fixed all of them, - just heading out now to confirm the gas tank back flow preventer that cracked, and I had replaced with some difficulty, is working 100%. Glad you liked the video.
Thank you for posting this video. I recently sold my 2008 Sailfish 3006 EC.
I would have hoped that Sailfish would have improved their wiring and electrical issues from my boat to yours. I had an opportunity to tour the factory and receive a tour from the plant manager. I expressed my electrical issues to the PM and he said they were working on improving the electrical wiring.
The through bolt fittings are another issue on all Sailfish boats.
My through bolt issue was the eye to winch the boat onto the trailer. Mine was beginning to pull out. I contacted Gerald at Sailfish and he was fantastic to work with. I brought the boat to them and they fixed the issue. The eyelet was installed without a backing plate.
I loved the boat and had no issues with taking it 120 miles offshore. But I probably would not purchase another Sailfish boat.
I found Sailfish to be very responsive. I also spent some time a few years with a boat repair expert and we talked about alot of boats, high end, middle and low. What I came away with, even high end boats have issues, and decided to do what I did; accept what is and push to improve for the future.
Glad I found your informative video. Very helpful. Thanks.
Happy to hear that
Excellent video! You are very handy and made some great improvements . Shame on Sailfish for a lot of these issues . It’s disappointing . I really like their 276 DC but I have an Everglades now and these issues like wiring are not prevalent . Not being handy , I don’t want to risk these issues in my next boat . Glad you and you’re son can make those improvements ! 👏🏼👏🏼
thanks for the comments, I was checking out sailfish's at the Miami boat show and there wiring is much better- Everglades makes a great boat!
Ok I will definitely check them out again . Have a great day and enjoy your boat !
sucks you had all those issues. I just went to the atlantic city boat show. I did like the sailfish but I'm leaning towards blackfin. Lucky you are so handy.
I was at AC yesterday also. Blackfin looks like great upscale fishing boats.
Nice job! I didn’t think it was in the weeds. Very informative and superb advice.
thanks for the kind words
Great video! I wish more boat owners would make content like this. Well done!
Thank you very much!
Great video 👍 man 👨 thanks for the info.
thx
Thanks for sharing this. Very in depth
thx for comment
Great Video ! I learned a lot.
Thanks for the video. I took bought a new 245DC this year. If you could it would be nice to have links to some of the product upgrades that you have made.
I will try to in the next few days, but very busy now, thank you for the comments
good video bro i got a 2660 and am up grading to a 320cc ur right about wiring is a trocious but you got a lot of good tips of what to check before i take it home thanks
Thx and good luck with bigger boat.
I have a 2660 Center console. Bow lights stopped working. Lights are good wiring issue. Hope I can snake a new wire to the bow and back to console. Does anyone know the color of the wires sailfish use from the switch to the bow? Trying to see where the break is. Love the boat the large 9Ft beam handles well and the twin 150 Yahnahas push it fine with good fuel economy. Liked the video need to do a good inspection this spring.
Center consoles are sometime harder to get wires to the front. But imagine its doable.
Thanks for the great video. Looking at a Sailfish, Key West or Robalo and this is one of the best video's I've seen. Thanks for taking he time to do this. Can you tell me how you narrowed it down to the Sailfish? Was there anything you saw in the other boats that led you away from them and towards the Sailfish?
for my purposes the sailfish had a better layout and my wife liked (insisted) she wanted the better head then the Robalo. I only briefly looked at Key west and dont remember much else about that. The runner up for me was the Cobia, which seemed like a fine boat, but sailfish had better seakeeping and much better head - see above.
Would you be willing to share photos of how you routed the antenna line when it came out of the tube and up through the roof? I’m performing a new install tomorrow and I assume I drill a hole through the hardtop and into the speaker box for the line?
I will try and get a chance to to take photos tommorow to the show route. I did drill a hole through the roof, but did not drill any holes in the speaker box. I recall there is a chase all the wires run thru and I may have only drilled in that from the side, so it was not visable from the seats. I did take the whole top off and proped it up to run all the wires. Since I did the video, I added radar and a night camera and followed the same method +/-.
I’m not down at the boat but to get the top off, you were able to access the nuts on the backside of the bolts that hold it on?
@iTechGuy2 yes on bolts. On my boat one bolt was under the spot light, so had to take that off
Great video on the sailfish. I got the same boat and love it. Did you end up putting the trolling motor on? I’m looking at putting one on soon myself. Just looking to see how it went and a little guidance. Trolling motor size, battery location, ect. Thanks David
trolling motor is on hold for a little while, I put radar and Autopilot in. My thoughts on the trolling motor are 36 volt litium, batteries(s) under the front bow seat- but I have not measured or checked anything yet. Same with lenght, expect it will have to be at least 72" or maybe 87".
@@dmbekusconstruction I was thinking the same thing. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for this post. I have a 2018 245DC and love the boat. When you mounted the rack for lines under the helm what size screws did you use or did you bolt them through? I also have the same issue with the cockpit door and will install a similar latch this season.
I don't remember the size, I'm in NJ and the boat is in FL to April, I won't be back to FL to March. I'm going to say 1/2" #12s stainless pan head
Love the review and video. Decided to go forward buying a 2018 model this year. Beautiful boat for family and fishing as u said. Thanks for ur efforts putting the video together! Just curious, did u install a trolling motor as u mentioned? Which model did u go for? U don't have by chance another video about the installation of a trolling motor I assume? Seems to be a pain in general but worth it!? Again thanks for uploading this video! Best Oz
Did not do trolling motor yet. Installing radar and autopilot now. Maybe next year for trolling motor. Trolling motor is great over wrecks much easier then traditional anchor. Thank you for the comments.
Wish u and your family a happy holiday season! I was wondering which trolling motor, option, brand u have chosen? It's a heavy boat. All the best, Oz
where
did
you buy the rod holders
for the action cam mount
from amazon, says currently unavialable, but maybe you can find somewhere else.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZVDJ7KQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Question under the helm is it enclosed or is it open with the wore exposed
Small access panel from inside, can see up into and access from steering wheel side
how would u recommend getting to the macerator pump way in the stern?
I would start with considreeing making the motor well access larger (sailfish may have done that in later models). If that doesnt make sense (after looking at it close before doing it), Another option is to abandon the bad pump in place and install new one that is reachable from the seat hatch, the worst option is a access on the swim platform over the pump.
Wow great job fixing what otherwise is poor craftsmanship and execution. If I were Sailfish Id pay you handsomely to take the video down,
I thought sailfish did a great job in handling it. They recognized some quality control issues and addressed them. I was not trying to pick on sailfish but illustrate an issue I found in the industry. Yes GW & BW have better wiring, but they get there fair share of complaints and cost much more. And this boat has better layout for going from fishing to family fun, which was important to me.
My last new boat had far more issues. Not even getting to the boat - they delivered the trailer with turn signals backwards, fenders rubbing and bilge pump recirculating the bilge water. The dealer and manufacture were of little help. There were multiple issues with the boat, and I ended going to a 3rd party to get the boat right and that helped me learn a lot about the industry.
My dealer MarineMax and Sailfish took my issues and video seriously and I appreciated that.