Orkney 520

[rich]

I currently have an Orkney 440 about 18 months old with a 15hp Mercury 2 stroke, which is a super little boat and I am very pleased with the build quality, but why do all new boats shrink by about 2 foot just after you buy them?

I am now looking at the 520. I shall be using the boat around the Poole Bay / Poole harbour area. I can get a new one with cuddy, 30hp Yamaha 4 stroke and roller coaster trailer for about

[Maverick Martin]

Alun j will be along shortly with exactly the answers you need as he has done just what you are proposing to do...upgraded from a 440 to a 520. Several others also own the 520 so you will definately get answers

 

Martin

[alun j.]

Rich,

 

I've had the best 4 years fishing since 1) ....getting a 4 40 2) .... joining PBSBAC and getting involved .

 

The 4 40 is an ideal start, great to be able to get out safely on your own and VERY economical ........ but limited for room and load.

 

I've only had the 5 20 a few weeks but am already loving it..... I can still launch and retrieve single-handed [ the trailer is so good.......it's actually easier!]. She rides the sea better with less slam and the Yam 30 4-stroke is sooooooo quiet. With two up she quickly zooms up to 20+ mph [still running -in] and sips the juice.

 

I had the folding dodger on my 4 40 to give more room forward and for getting to the anchor......but a bit of protection if weather turned....... it worked a treat.....

 

.....so it didn't take me long to choose to repeat...... what a good move. On the

5 20 the dodger is big, giving lots of cover when needed...... but folded down you feel you've got masses more space and working the anchor warp is so much easier than sqeezing through small hatches.

 

Build quality and finish are up to Orkney's high standards, I've added seats and siderails with rod holders; a plotter / sounder and second battery to power bait tank and / or lights .

 

Only drawback I've found so far is partly to do with having those swivelly seats; when out on your own, sitting in a seat means the boat leans a bit to one side [i suppose it would be the same in any boat]........in the 4 40, the cross bench seat meant you could sit in the middle .

 

The delivery time was about a week longer than the estimate at time of order, so she came right at the end of my holiday and weather wasn't so good.

It's nice having a shiny, new boat...... but it would be better to get it in the water more..........with the 5 20 you can do this whether you have crew or not!

 

Have fun,

 

Alun.

[Paul D]

Rich,

 

I have had my 520 for over 3 years now. Well pleased with her.

 

Initially, I had a 30HP Honda engine but now have a 40HP E-Tec which is a little overpowered for the boat ( but great fun ). Due to the extra weight of the E-Tec and having 60 litres of water + 2 batteries + extra 10 litres of fuel at the rear - I had problems with the boat porpoising at speed. Fitted smart-tabs and solved this in one go.

 

Upside of the boat is they are more frugal than the heavier Warriors ( I can fish all day drifting for bass over the island and still use less than 25 litres ).

In rough seas they have good handling characteristics.

Double skinned so a bit more reassuring re: safety.

Self draining deck ( although would be nice if it had a sort of one way valve fitted to stop the water coming back in when not underway )

 

Downside is they are more sensitive to your crew moving around whilst underway ( ask Mark B !! ) and slam a bit if attempting to go at speed through a rough sea. Also, mine tends to decide it wants to veer off course if the engine is trimmed in too far whilst under speed ( broaching ? ) - but we are talking 18knots + with rough sea.

Trailer with mine is not suited to the boat, so harder to launch but still do-able single handed.

 

 

[Leicester Fisheagle]

Have been thinking of asking the same questions as this could well be the boat for me next season. So I will be following this thread with great interest. What have those with the cuddy option done for a VHF aerial? Notice that Paul has added extra battery plus bait tank is this straight forward ?

[alun j.]

Hi Allan,

 

I'm opting for a handheld [ at first ] and seeing if it meets my [limited] VHF needs; I like the open boat and ability to swing my rods about.

 

Second battery goes in the port seat locker and connected to cig. lighter type socket via a fuse. I can plug in my bait tank pump [ a portable set-up] or a series of fluro lights for night fishing. I've kept things simple and not wired to the other, main battery; topping up with a charger every other trip is simple.

 

Alun.

[Adam F]

IMHO handhelds are only useful if you only ever venture 1/2 miles offshore in the regular company of other boats close by (less than a mile)

 

I have had mine for 4 years and only found it useful once or twice.

 

A fixed unit is better valuable, more useful and when you need it most (Mayday?) will be the kit you rely on, even on an open boat the ariel neednt be an issue - a simple foulding mount is all that is needed.

 

Adam

[Leicester Fisheagle]

Hi Alun sounds as if your arrangement would suite me as well. A couple of other questions which owners may be able to help with. If I do get one next season it will have to live in a boat compound in Weymouth. I am thinking of going for the dodger optoin rather than fixed cuddy. So, is a boat cover an option if side hand rails are fitted? I already have a supply of these with some s/s rod holders.

Secondly, BHG seems to be the favourite dealer in the area. Is there anyone -Alun?- who would be prepared to PM me and let me know how they found their experience. Wherever I buy it I also need to bear in mind servicing under the warranty period on the engine. As I am currently based in the Weymouth/Portland area when not up here in Leicester, servicing could be carried out in that area but there isn't a great deal of choice if say a Yamaha were fitted Poole would seem to be an option as I understand there is a dealer by Salterns but I don't really fancy dragging it back to BHG if that's where I finish up buying.

[Paul D]

Fitting a cover when side rails are fitted is definitely possible as this is exactly what mine has.

 

VHF aerial mounting when a cuddy is fitted is easy as it mounts on the top of the cuddy. I suspect you intended to query how you fit one with a fold up dodger ? ( Alun J is your man for that )

 

I have my second battery fitted in the same compartment as the first one ( there is plenty of space for two batteries ). I have the 1-Both-2 switch fitted inside the same compartment as well. Easily done.

Downside though is extra weight at the stern.

[Leicester Fisheagle]

Thanks for the info which is spot on. Would prefer a cuddy option but not sure yet if I will have to try and get the boat in a garage. I saw that there was a lot of talk about livebait tanks etc. a few weeks ago.Will get back in touch to see what set up people have if the purchase goes through. Am coming down for a RYA Course in Oct. so will probably nip into BNG as we will pass fairly close to there on the return.

I only get to a few Club meetings, mainly in the summer, but will try and put a few more names to faces next time I get to one.

[rich]

 

Interested to see that Leicester Fisheagle has the same concerns as me when it comes to buying a new Orkney.

BHG at Lymington offer a package for the 520 with a 30 hp Yamaha engine.

If something should go wrong, I dont want to trailer the boat all the way to Lymington.

I have been looking at the Honda outboards and there is a main dealer, Poole Marine Services only a stones throw from me. I guess an option would be to buy the boat from BHG and get PMS to fit it out with a Honda. The downside of that is that having spoken to the guys in the workshop at BHG they are familier with the boats and can run all the cables out of sight as they know where all the foam bouyancy stops and starts. Perhaps PMS could fit it and commission it at BHG.

Looking at the fishing boats in Poole fishermans dock, an awful lot of them are fitted with Yamaha engines. Is there an main agent in Poole for Yamaha?

What would you choose to do, as at the end of the day the price is about the same.

 

Rich

[alun j.]

I think BHG go with Yams for a reason or two ! They certainly seem to know their stuff about the Yamaha engines.......... and always seem really helpful.

 

I'm sure there's a Yamaha dealer in Poole that would service; there's a flag and Yam sign at Salterns Marina.

 

On the 5 20 , fitting out [ any engine ] should be easy as there is trunking and easy access along the sides.

 

Good luck with your choice / decision.

 

Alun.

[Paul D]

Rich,

 

I had a Honda 30 on the Orkney originally. They are fine until they need parts and then they start getting very expensive ( but I guess the same goes for any outboards )

 

According to Yamaha website salterns marina are authorised Yamaha dealers.

 

 

[Dreamcatcher]

Hi Guys,

 

Just thought I would chuck my comments into the ring. I have owned my Orkney 520 since Feb 2003. She is a great boat handling well in all seas that I will ever voluntarily encounter, providing you ease off the speed if it's choppy, but then I'm no speed demon so no problem. I have the Yamaha 30hp 4 stroke too and it's a brilliant engine. It's quiet, smooth and frugal and has never given me a problem. Since owning her I have fitted side rails, roof grab handles, rear seat cushions and a bespoke bait board over the transom, in order to keep more deck area clear when fishing 3 up. I have just upgraded the electronics but the weather has stopped me playing with my new toys. I did have a problem with water collecting under the floor (via the transom well) but Orkney took her in 3 times until resolved, at no charge and out of warranty.....Good service eh.

Interesting to hear the earlier comment about the positives of joining a club. My Son now works weekends so I end up scratching around for crew.....solution, join a local club. Yes, in theory, but finding a good one with vacancies is not so easy. I would love to join PBSBAC but feel that living in Worthing it's a bit far!!!

Anyway, good luck if you choose the 520, you won't be dissapointed. Oh and don't forget the major advantage with the Orkney (Dixon Bate Rapide) trailer....no brakes and sealed bearings, Fantastic!

 

Cheers,

 

Gary

[Sinbad]

RE VHF

when transmitting on a fixed set, it switches to 25W and receives on 1W, so fixed set wins every time. Handheld transmits on lower power 5W. (allegedly) - waiting to be corrected by the eagle eyed posters !

 

alot of mounts have a 180 degree tilt, for folding down when towing, or you could use a 12ft whip aerial and permanent mount if you had no cuddy- just screw it on when you need it.

 

Some handlhelds also allow an external antenna - all depends what distance you intend to go. In a 520, I doubt whether you would be going more than 15m offshore.

 

Paul

[Maverick Martin]

Eagle eyed we are

 

Power selcetivity on fixed sets is available eitehr 5 or 25 watss. However fixed sets will always switch to 25 watts when sending on ch16 and may do so on other channels.

 

Handhelds will do exactly what they say on the tin, max will be 5 watt but some are as low as 3 watt, all are 1 watt on low power. Fixed sets are 5 watt on low power and 25 watt on full power unless the tin says otherwise.

 

First time I have seen a sub

[hotshot]

First time I have seen a sub