Hello from Kansas, USA

[bajaman]

Hi everyone.

I've spent some time browsing around this forum at the advice of some folks here in the States. From what I've seen so far, it's been good advice.

My main point of coming here is to understand the availabilty of parts for the Yamaha Hydra Drive. You see, I have one of oh...about SEVEN that were put in boats in the U.S.A., it's behind a 330 hp 7.4 liter Yamaha V8 ( basically a marinized Chevy 454 cid engine) powering a 1992 Baja 208 Islander.

I love this outdrive and engine and it has been extremely reliable and enjoyable to own, unfortunately MERCRUISER and VOLVA PENTA have had a stranglehold on sterndrives for some time over here. The Yamaha was ahead of its time and has some cool features not seen on the other sterndrives.
Having said that, parts and service, when needed, are becoming extremely difficult to find. Which is where you guys come in, as I was told a lot of RIB guys use or used the Hydra Drive, albeit with diesel power, as a common powerplant.

So any advice I can get on who to go to for parts and advice on the outdrive part of this setup would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks in advance,


Greg

[Squid Boat]

Welcome mate.

Cheers, Don

[jyasaki]

Don, your British is showing.

Bajaman, there's a bit of info in the For Sale, North America forum, where User CDILLJR apparently has a line on parts:

http://www.rib.net/forum/f47/tp-mari...rib-49943.html



Luck;

jky

[bajaman]

Thank you!

I'll have to get a hold of CDILLJR and see what sort of luck he's had getting parts. Looks like he is wanting to sell his RIB so...that might be an indicator!

[jyasaki]

Oh, and what the hell's in Kansas anyway? :-)

Luck with the outdrive (I've just got a wimpy outboard.)

jky

[bajaman]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Oh, and what the hell's in Kansas anyway? :-)

Luck with the outdrive (I've just got a wimpy outboard.)

jky

Sunshine...sunflowers...and sumbitches...lol!

Nice lakes in Missouri though...I do the majority of my boating in Missouri.

[theteacher]

Wazzzup ? I'm from North Carolina, USA, and haven't been able to start a thread yet.
I just bought a little Avon 310 Lite and am having a blast, but now I want like about a 20' RIB. Gotta sell my hard boat first.

[ncp]

Just to keep the USA excited, this was off San Diego last Sunday:

Point Loma 08_04_12.MP4 - YouTube

[bajaman]

That's pretty kick-azz. Looks like a blast.

[uncle al]

wotcha chaps I thought all you Americans had thumping great nothing under 300 hp OBMs , but all the best to you all,

[bajaman]

^ It's a different world, for sure but as I read more about RIBs I find them pretty damned cool.
Zodiac builds some RIBs, don't they? Are these similar to the UK/European boats you guys use?

[ncp]

Originally Posted by bajaman

^ It's a different world, for sure but as I read more about RIBs I find them pretty damned cool.
Zodiac builds some RIBs, don't they? Are these similar to the UK/European boats you guys use?

Most Zodiac ribs you see here are of the pleasure/tender variety. These have much less vee. It seems most of the UK rib brands are offshore capable/deep vee/ocean going... Not all, but it seems like that's what their consumers expect. (someone from the UK can chime in here)

If you look around here in the US, you can find some more offshore capable hulls (Zodiac Pro/Hurricane or Avon Searider).

[theteacher]

Originally Posted by uncle al

wotcha chaps I thought all you Americans had thumping great nothing under 300 hp OBMs , but all the best to you all,

Yeah, actually my 22' Stingray does in fact have 300 hp !!!
But these rib's are a blast.

[m3mm0s rib]

Welcome dude