Ferm, its still for sale

[spareparts]

this guy has had this thing for sale for quite a while
http://charleston.craigslist.org/boa/708399087.html

[Bygracealone]

Ferm, trade him for your flats boat if he includes everything as a package deal...

[THEFERMANATOR]

I already bought the HYDRA-SPORT, so the FORMULA will have to wait for awhile. There wasn't any interest in my 315HP MERCRUISER or my BRAVO 1 kit, so it sounds like a good project for cooler weather. Have somebody driving down from CHARLOTTE NC tommorrow to look at it, so hopefully he likes it. But then again, if I had $5 for every person that said they were coming over to look at it I wouldn't need to sell it. It's one thing if they don't like it when they see it, it's another thing if they just don't show when they say they will.

[willy]

Went to look at one of those last week, beautiful boats. I noticed the Formula version is not a self bailing cockpit and the water taken on board has to seep around things and under the engine box cover to drain into the bildge.
The Albermarle version has water channels built in the floor and big three inch wide drains on the transom with one way flaps on them. Big diffrence in my opinion.
Loved that boat anyhow, he had done a lot of work on it including a full Imron paint job and the price was good.
Anybody know how they do on fuel with a 260 hp I/O and alpha outdrive. He said he never measured?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Most report close to 2 NMPG out of there FORMULA/ALBEMARLE. The ALBEMARLE 24 is a direct copy of the 62-72 FORMULA 233 as far as hull and cap design, but ALBEMARLE did raise the floor to make them self bailing where as FORMULA used the lower floor for the higher gunnel height. I like the high gunnels in the FORMULAS since most of my fishing is bottom fishing where you need to lock yourself in tight for leverage to reel em up.

[willy]

To be honest Ferm they are high, and losing a couple of inches to make them a much more sea worthy and safe hull seems like a small compromise.
Especially since they are so deep to begin with. Also a set of cockpit cushions and especially a toe rail would make it just about perfecto

[spareparts]

we used to run a 233 Formula to the Georgetown hole and back, including a full day of trolling, running out at 22 knts, back in at 24-26 knts. Three fat fisherman, full load of ice and beverages on the way out. Full load of fish, less ice and a whole lot of empty cans back in. It had twin Volvo Aq 151 I/Os. We would burn around 80-85 gals(had a 90 gal tank). Total trip was about 225-250 miles. We would have burned a little less if we played with the hull some more, our Formula was an early model made for running fast, we had to put large tabs on it to keep the nose down(lots of drag). Later models had some hook in the hull, Albermarle took it one step further by adding even more hook or using a jackshaft to move the motor fwd. If we had kept the boat, I would have added wedges to the bottom to bring the nose down without so much tab, it would have really helped that boat at teh speeds we were running

[Monkey Butler]

Originally Posted by spareparts

we used to run a 233 Formula to the Georgetown hole and back,

I still have it in the back of my head to get one of these hulls and make it my ultimate fishing boat. You seem to be very familiar with them so mind if I bounce a few questions off you?

The hook? I never knew that. What years had it and how much and where was it?

You mentoned adding wedges. I understand that but how would that work in conjunction with tabs? Or would you then leave the tabs off?

I have heard that the 23's with brackets don't run that well. can you confirm this? If moving the motor forward as in the Albemarle made the hull better then I would asume that a bracket would be bad. I have a photo that I posted here before of a 23 with a flotation bracket that popped the chines out of the water. It look custom but I just wonder if that would work good while running?

Comments?