30 Sisu

[ackshark11]

Any info on this hull or where to research. Know it's a decent hull but hard to find much research on them. Pros, Cons Thanks

 

[BillD]

Any info on this hull or where to research. Know it's a decent hull but hard to find much research on them. Pros, Cons Thanks

Dock buddy of mine has a 30 Sisu with a flybridge. Nice boat.
He had it built in 1980.
Has a Volvo in it right now.
He's a recreational/commercial lobstermen tuna guy.
He loves the boat !

 

[Frank]

I owned one for five years - 1988/1993. Bare bones model without a bridge. Nice boat, great lines. Rolled quite a bit on the drift. Some issues in a following sea. 14 knots top with 200hp Perkins. Balsa cored hull. If it has spray rails check for leaks around the mounting bolts.

 

[Downeaster]

I owned one for five years - 1988/1993. Bare bones model without a bridge. Nice boat, great lines. Rolled quite a bit on the drift. Some issues in a following sea. 14 knots top with 200hp Perkins. Balsa cored hull. If it has spray rails check for leaks around the mounting bolts.

Cored and spray rail bolt leaks - wonderful. During the day, the Sisu were regarded as being lightly built. That "day" is so far back that the gold standard then in place was solid glass so this might not be true by today's standards. Regards the design's seakeeping qualities, compare them to the Bruno's. Royal Lowell, of course, drew most of the Sisu lines (though he died shortly thereafter and his brother, Carol, may have drawn the later Sisu model and he certainly did draw certain design elements for the Sisu line). The last time I saw Carol was at Sisu's facilities and he was working on the bass boat configuration for the 26 - I seem to recall that the 26 followed the 30 but its been a long time.

 

[ackshark11]

Heard the original 30' was a beal design. Boat looks solid just worried about the cored hull and roll on the drift with a soft chine as I'm on the drift most of the time. Any info is good

 

[Downeaster]

Unless one is familiar with the Brunos, I really didn't answer the thread originator's question very well. Like all Royal Lowell designs, if the apertures (windows, rudder and drive shaft stuffing boxes, etc.) to open water hold, the boat will take at least as much as the operator can.

 

[Downeaster]

Heard the original 30' was a beal design. Boat looks solid just worried about the cored hull and roll on the drift with a soft chine as I'm on the drift most of the time. Any info is good

Hhmmm... Not sure where you heard that. Did that source name a specific Beal or was s/he referring to the island bearing that name? Royal's family came from J'port/Beals but they also came from Nova Scotia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts - I'm speaking of Royals' grandfather William 'Will' Frost here. In fact, Royal lived in the southern part of Maine - Yarmouth/Portland area, I believe. Here's a fact you won't easily come across but Will Frost is interred on Beal's Island.

 

[Frank]

Ack,

Definitely a Royal Lowell design. As far as the rolling goes, it rolls long after every other boat in the rip line has stopped rolling. You'll find other owners will deny this, pride I guess. I can recall running into two commerical 30' Sisu owners in Chatham, MA with the same boat as mine. We had a good chuckle about Sisus being built with flying bridges. Extra weight above must have been a hoot.

 

[Robo]

30 ft Sisu

I own one with a flybridge. Has a 653 Detroit.Solid little boat. I get a lotta looks from guys as I head out the channel. Thumbs up, a nod of the head, she's one pretty boat. A little wet but its hard to make it pound, comfortable ride, 12 to 13 knots.

Robo

 

[WoundUpMarine]

robo you mind posting some pictures??

 

[Capttony]

Woundup, I took a look at the young brothers you bought fromo Buz. That's a nice boat good luck with it.

 

[coddock]

I worked on one waaaay back(1980ish) for Brad Bowens.He worked winters for many years for Bob Brown(Andrea Gail/Hannah Bowden) offshore lobster and swordfish.
We fished 600 traps a day.Long long days,needless to say.Some days would go 18 hrs.He would load that sucker with bait,traps,lobsters,etc. and it never missed a beat;even in some serious snot!

 

[blinsquirrel]

30' Sisu

1984 30' Sisu with Volvo TAMD60c (250hp)....boats for sale in the classified section

 

[Robo]

I will post some if I can find any. I may be able to get a few but she's in the boathouse for a bit yet.

Robo

 

[sween]

Sisu 30

it is a Royal Lowell design, built in various locations depending on year; good solid, simple boat, narrow in the beam, slips thru water with little horsepower. you can find more info at Eastern Boats who now owns the mold, though i am told they are not as good as the old ones

 

[jgr]

i have a 30' finished with an enclosed salon and fly bridge. head on in weather i had no business being in was no problem (lower helm, not up top- too wet). following seas, not too good but find a downeast that likes following seas. i fish plum gut and the race and i do not agree with whoever said she rocks too much. this boat rocks less than my buddies fortier and the bertams around me. if your afraid of rocking get a garvey.
no problems with my core. solid boat and a whole lot of room. biggest 30' boat you will ever find if you have the layout i have.

 

[Frank]

Ack,

You might want to take a look at this Sisu thread:

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/51485-sisu-boats.html

Three separate comments made yesterday about the rolling issue. Best to arrange for a ride a judge for yourself. As you can see there are differing opinions on what is acceptable stability.

 

[30' Sisu]

My dry SISU 30

I purchased my SISU 30 four years ago, now 3rd owner and overtime I'v stopped most if not all water migration. We came back from offshore yesterday in very bumpy conditions and enjoyed a dry & safe ride. Since owning this boat I've corrected problems typical with any balsa or otherwise cored boat by removing the hardware, i.e. bolts in spray & side rails, side cleats, bridge hold down screws, bow rail station bolts, seams between V birth and wheel house. The list just on and on so that's why it's taken a labor of love during my ownership. Typically where through bolt hardware is used such as spray rails, I've removed the old hardware and drilled out a 1/2" hole from the inside FG layer and stopped at the outer layer. I took a small allen key mounted in a drill with the short end out and reamed out as much balsa core as I can. Then used Boatrite epoxy for wet & dry wood and coated the exposed core. Filled each hole with hull & deck filler and did the same all over again after drilling new holes for the new hardware, i.e. spray rails. Also pumped in the same epoxy under pressure using a syringe which pushed out water and sealed off the delaminated area. My wheel house is dry with a new headliner and I know that if any calking fails around any hardware, I have a protection from water intrusion to the balsa core. Any penetration needs an epoxy barrier between the core and hole which I believe insulates the core from the environment. Also note the south bay trainer was removed, the self tapping screw holes were enlarged, treated and stainless steel 1/4-20 inserts installed.

 

[Toolate]

I purchased my SISU 30 four years ago, now 3rd owner and overtime I'v stopped most if not all water migration. We came back from offshore yesterday in very bumpy conditions and enjoyed a dry & safe ride. Since owning this boat I've corrected problems typical with any balsa or otherwise cored boat by removing the hardware, i.e. bolts in spray & side rails, side cleats, bridge hold down screws, bow rail station bolts, seams between V birth and wheel house. The list just on and on so that's why it's taken a labor of love during my ownership. Typically where through bolt hardware is used such as spray rails, I've removed the old hardware and drilled out a 1/2" hole from the inside FG layer and stopped at the outer layer. I took a small allen key mounted in a drill with the short end out and reamed out as much balsa core as I can. Then used Boatrite epoxy for wet & dry wood and coated the exposed core. Filled each hole with hull & deck filler and did the same all over again after drilling new holes for the new hardware, i.e. spray rails. Also pumped in the same epoxy under pressure using a syringe which pushed out water and sealed off the delaminated area. My wheel house is dry with a new headliner and I know that if any calking fails around any hardware, I have a protection from water instruction to the balsa core. Any penetration needs an epoxy barrier between the core and hole which I believe insulates the core from the environment. Also note the south bay trainer was removed, the self tapping screw holes were enlarged, treated and stainless steel 1/4-20 inserts installed.

You still have it then. Capt Larry put us in touch if you recall and I ended up buying a different boat and did everything you mentioned here and a whole lot more. Post some pics of the boat-looks great!

Ben

 

[30' Sisu]

Work in progress

Hi Ben, we meet again. Nice Sisu, good luck on your repower. I guess switching to a gas engine will require additional equipment, i.e. gasoline fume detector, blowers, etc. The last gas cruiser I had I went down to a 10 micron filter in the water separator, specially with Ethanol. New fuel lines to go with it, yada yada.
My Sisu has a 300 HP 3116 Cat which runs a 20x20 4 blade Nibral with Twin Discs 1:5-1.
I get my 2400 RPM cruise @ 15 MPH and will reach 2800 RPM WOT which I rarely do. Usually run 2200 RPM at 14 MPH and save on diesel.
Regarding Capt Larry, sad to say he went home over the winter. Crazy !
I keep his card from the funeral home in my wheel house as a reminder of how much he's helped me along the way.
Just to highlight, when I removed any balsa core and treated the remaining with Boatrite, I filled the cavity with an epoxy, not a caulking specially when I needed to drill through for hardware. This should provide better backing support. On my side cleats I built up with Epoxy and layers of Biaxial working from the inside and had an oval aluminum backing plate on the outside of the hull, just in case I needed to tow an Ocean liner LOL.

Cheers
F/V Irian