need info on 520W and past owners or SAS users

[palehorse]

Any input would be great I bought a clean 520W any ex special opps 520W from the 80,s or 90,s? I would like to find a alum floor board set from a newer boat I know hard to find. Also it rated for 65hp and 70 could a guy run twin 50 mercs ? planning on using stiffing straps like on the zody fc470 I hear the 520W is a great riding boat with the 22 inch tubes and this one has been taken care of payed 1600 us funds also looking for new avon fuel bladders to buy could be ship postal if new anyone know who might have some also be great to hear storys of the 520 use in combat cheers . ps always looking to trade brit military gear kits compass binos ect Kim

[prairie tuber]

Congratulations on the boat Kim, sounds like you got a steal of a deal there. Hypalon fuel bladders would be great but to buy them new is outrageously expensive. I was quote over $ 900 CAN for a single 20 liter (~6 US gallon) bladder. If you are able to find a source of used ones at a reasonable price I'd also be interested.

Have yous considered using one of the plastic 5 Liter NATO jerry cans made by scepter? With the universal adapter cap kit they make, you can draw straight from the jerry can to the outboard? I carry 4 of these on my boat and they work fantastically - far, far safer and much more space efficient than the typical outboard fuel tanks that are out there.

As for engine options, I thing twin 50 mercs would be way too heavy for a 5.3 m boat. Even if you were able to get a pair of the lightest weight 50 hps (older Tohatsu/Nissan carbureted 2strokes that are no longer offered in Norht America or Europe), you'd still be well over 300 lbs. on the back. I'd say go with a single 50-65 hp outboard, then have a ~6 hp outboard that weighs next to nothing for trolling and as an emergency kicker to get you to a shoreline.

While very pricey, think that the cat's meow for your boat ( and for mine) would be a BRP 65 ETEC commercial with the tiller steering & rope start. They weigh somewhere around 230 lbs and apparently they are amazingly fuel efficient. I typically take 80 liters of fuel ( 4 NATO jerry cans) with me for most outings and often find that to give a pretty limited range (just over 200 km/ 120 miles) between refuelling stops with my carbureted 2 stroke Yamaha 40. The 65 hp ETEC would no doubt give a considerably longer range with that same amount of fuel, give way more top speed, be much quieter and reduce the emissions that I inhale considerably.

[palehorse]

Tuber I can score a 65 etec with tiller & prop delivered to Bethel for 6000 us . Im scared as heck from the etecs but dealers swear by them for the same money I couls buy a new merc 90. I know twin 50,s where to much and a 65 etec or 75 four stroke yamaha would be it. Im getting a Naiad built for me this spring and my rental fleet sould shape up was getting the avon 16 home tonight but got hit with 30 knot west winds evening tide no good see ya I guess your going to have to fly up for a spring geese hunt Kim oh by the the way I let my 11 year old lad loose with the 10.2 rib up river with the rem 1100 20 ga and they came home with 3 geese and a pocket duck the boys just call by cell they just made it into the Tununak river with 3 skiffs in those seas crazy young lads I say big white caps in the bay fall bering sea bad all the time

[prairie tuber]

Wow, thanks for the invite pale horse! That would be an absolutely fascinating part of the continent to see! It might be a while before I could afford to do a trip like that though. Are flights in & out of Tununak all out of Anchorage? How long a flight is it & what type of aircraft are used?

Glad to hear the boys got in alright. I can't imagine the Bering Sea is very forgiving of any mistakes.

Have you thought of making your own wooden floorboards out of some thick (~ 3/4" ) marine mahogany? While It would be heavier than aluminum, it would be more rigid and give all sorts of options for installing anchor points for gear, seats, fuel tanks etc. You could make up more than one set of floorboards with various layouts to use depending on what you will be doing with the boat. It would also be a whole lot cheaper than a new set of aluminum floorboards. I don't know what Avon charges, but Zodiac wants somewhere around $ 3,000 for a set of floorboards for a FC-470!!!