Splashed my new Judge - Lots of pics
 

Splashed her for the first time Friday. I have family (in-laws) visiting, so couldn't do a lot of fishing, but I managed to get to as many WWDs as I could and did a little perch fishing as well. She lived up to my expectations both in Friday's 2.5' chop where I cruised at 30 knots into the wind with no problem, and today's skinny water when it took 18 inches to run her aground.

I looked at a lot of boats, and decided on the 27CC for several reasons. First off, I'm used to 26' boat having fished out of the Sea Ray for three years. I wanted something of similar length so I could fish in rough weather, but I also needed a boat that is easy to trailer to where the fish are. Other interests were a bass boat style casting platform, a place to duck in out of the weather or sleep in emergencies, a shallow draft for top-water spots, and a long comfortable warranty. Finally, price because I still owed a little on the 383 Stroker I recently put in my other boat. It came down to three brands and the Judge had the best price even after the modifications I needed.

I went with the 225 Honda after talking to as many people as I could about the engine with the deciding factor being high recommendations from some agency and tow boat guys. I added a Lowrance HDS-8 GPS/sonar combo and tagged on the Structure Scan unit 'cause it's so dern cool. (The first fish-finder I owned in 1974 was a Lowrance and I've never seen the need to change.)

My wife christened her today with mason jar of Tennessee's finest. Her name is "Thunder Road" after the song & movie, and is a tribute to my best friend who passed last year. He made the best corn liquor I ever tasted. We grew up along the original Thunder Road that Robert Mitchum sings about. Here are some pics taken over the weekend including a few fish I caught and released and some shots of the electronics in action.

http://www.mountainsoul.net/judgesplash1

http://www.mountainsoul.net/judgesplash

http://www.mountainsoul.net/3dkentpoint
http://www.mountainsoul.net/narrowsscan

http://www.mountainsoul.net/bowset

http://www.mountainsoul.net/aftsunset

http://www.mountainsoul.net/judgepit

http://www.mountainsoul.net/wyebridge

http://www.mountainsoul.net/judge27fish2 http://www.mountainsoul.net/judge27fish

http://www.mountainsoul.net/firstjudgefish

Man that boat looks nice! Congrats and I hope she's everything you wanted her to be.

-JB

I'll be keeping an eye out for you when I'm on the point at Oyster Cove.
Beautiful boat, looks muti-functional.
Congratulations!

Jeff

Shawn,
Schweeet boat! Looks a little small next to your 7' self.

Jim

Awesome boat Shawn! Congrats.......................Mark

Beautiful boat Shawn. Where are all the rocket launchers? That Honda 225 will do fine on that boat with great fuel consumption = more shine $$$.........Gary

that's a great boat. congrats.

Beautiful boat on a beautiful day catching some beautiful fish. Enjoy your time on the bay with her.

Nice boat...Long way from the boats you must have had down south....

Nice fish, of course it seems like you are always onto some....Great way to get her started...

Sweet boat Shawn. The name you have chosen for your boat is awesome as well, especially the story behind it.....Don

Shawn opted for the boat with the CE Smith top. The top should work well for him for a couple of reasons. The first being that it is smaller than the standard custom tops Bill does so it will give him more casting room being the light tackle king he is. The second is that it can easily get up grades to the top inexpensively and readily at shops like bass pro shops, west marine, cabellas, etc. (on a custom top, to add a rod holder costs like $150 where he can add a smith one for half that amount).

Shawn, congrats on the boat. I was very excited for you. I hope she does all you want her to!

What a sweet looking boat Shawn and I know there will be "Many" fish cought on her.

Congrats! I especially like the windshield. :p

Congrats Shawn, that sure is a nice ride. Hope she catches a lot of fish for ya. I especially like the enclosure as well. :)
Cheers,
Bob

Shawn; best of luck to you with the new ride and new lowrance. Keep us updated on her performance and also on your HDS.
5th (Marty)

Shawn,

Congratulations! You get the best of both worlds, a CC with a forward cabin to crash in. It's making me re-think an eventual walk around. I like the cockpit too!

Don

She looked good at the factory, She looks even better in the water. Time to make a lot of new memories. Congratulations once again.

Congratulations Shawn. Great choice in boat and electronics...those fish don't stand a chance:D

You owe me a trip!

Congrats on the new ride shawn.

Beautiful boat. Congrats! Now you gotta get her bloody and dirty. :D

Got to see Shawn's boat go by tonight.
When leaving the 6 mph zone she jumped right up on plane, looked smooth.
You look good in that boat Shawn!
What prop are you turning on the Honda?

Jeff

The prop with the 225 Honda is a PowerTech OFX 4 blade stainless steel prop. It has a 15.25" diameter and a 15" pitch. PowerTech makes many of Honda's premium props.

http://www.ptprop.com/component/page...art/Itemid,46/

B,

What would the top speed be on the 27' with a 15" pitch?
Yes I know speed is not the main goal here, I'm just curious.
Seemed to have good bite as Shawn left the no wake area.
I am considering a 4 blade also. Totally different boat and engine though.

Thanks,
Jeff

trimmed up on calm water the 27cc does around 40mph. i have had my Chesapeake to just over 39 with her trimmed out and running. The cc is slightly faster due to weight

since you have a merc motor. I would look at the Merc Rev 4 prop. It has a ton of bite too. See what the merc prop selector states you should have by entering your current performance: http://appcenter.mercurymarine.com/propSelector/home.do

Good luck!

I didn't know any of the answers. When they come up, I just call Greg. :-)

There is no reason no to be out there tonight:eek:
The weather man is right on:confused:
It is suppose to get beautiful for the next 5 days. Lets hope for the best.

My plan is to add a jack plate and the Rev Four is one of the props I'll talk to Ken @prop gods about.

Thanks guys,
Jeff

I will say that I had a rev 4 on my last boat for a bit and it had tons of grip and liked the motor mounted high. However it would ventilate some at slower speeds when "bogging" the boat (between plane and displacement). I dont have those issues at all with the Powertech. When you talk to ken at prop gods again, ask him about the Powertech OFX too. It is an impressive prop. Bill tested a ton of props on his boat and found the OFX to be the best - on the Judge hull anyhow.

Thanks for the info Greg.

Jeff

The better question is how many fish are you catching off that point??? :D

5 the night you saw us. We have been averaging 2-3 a night per person. Nothing big, 24" is the biggest so far. Enough to keep it interesting.

Jeff