Howemet 30 foot Lien Hwa Seahorse

[Pete Hopley]

New to the Trawler Forum.

I have a 1982 Lien Hwa 30 ft Seahorse. I have seen them advertised as 31ft? On the Hull ID number and registration it is a 30ft. I bought her in 2006. She has been a project boat to say the least.

However after about 60K in improvements and maintenance I use her lots with confidence. I take her inter-island here in Hawaii often. I replaced her old tired Lehman 120 with a new Ford Dover 143 hp (18500.00). The bench test dynameter report showed 163 hp. Same fuel economy and gave me two more knots of speed. Rebuilt the borg warner trans (2500.00). Put in a new hydraulic steering ram (400.00). Took the sink out of the salon and made it into a functional bar. Replaced old fridge with waeco refer/freeze (1600.00). Repainted engine room and bilges. Two new 2000 gph bilge pumps (600.00). Bimini top repairs (1000.00). New fresh water pump (300.00). New Raymarine E-80, X-10 auto pilot, 300 DSM, 218 VHF with remote for flybridge, loudhailer, HD 2K Radar, Jensen stereo, Bose speakers, GoPro cameras, new gauges, new throttle and trans cables, new anchor system, new bottom barrier paint, new through hull exhaust flange and tubes, ripped out water heater, replaced all old wiring with ancor, new charger and inverter, 3 new 4D batteries, wired for solar, new seawater strainer and seacock with fresh water rinse, new 1 1/2 shaft and coupler with shaft saver, ......

It was a love of labor. Did it all myself over the past 6 years. She burns 1 1/2 GPH at 7 knots (1500-1600 RPM). I can get 9 knots out of her into the wind and 11 knots (2000-2200 RPM) with a following wind and sea. She spins a 24 X 16 LH prop.

Now I can take her out on the ocean beyond line of sight and be comfortable knowing everything is 100%.

Anyone else out there running the new Ford Dover 143?

 

[Marin]

Don't know anything about your boat make or model but I grew up in Hawaii (lived there from 1955 to 1979) and did a lot of fishing in the 70s off the north shore out of Kaneohe Bay. Fished with a good friend, Jim Cook, who today owns Pacific Ocean Products (POP) as well as a big ice plant in Honolulu Harbor. Haven't seen Jim since Boeing sent me over for a short project in the early 2000s, but I assume he's still doing all that unless he's retired.

 

[Pete Hopley]

I am going to POP today to pick up some lures form my weekend fishing trip from Hawaii Kai to Kaneohe (over night on sand bar), Lanikai down to Hawaiian Hilton for canoe race escort, then fishing back to Hawaii Kai. I love POP.

 

[Marin]

Jim owned the flying school out at HNL International, Hawaii Air Academy long since disappeared, where I got my Commercial, Instrument, and Flight Instructor ratings. Used to go fish spotting with him in the mornings when we'd fly out early and try to find fish schools in the reefs in Kaneohe Bay and along the south shore out near Koko Head for these guys who worked for the City & County Highway Dept. If we found fish, they'd take off from work and haul their big skiff to the location and launch it. Then Jim and I would fly back once they had their boat in the water and guide them using a CB radio with the antenna taped to the landing gear as they laid a net around the school and gathered it up.

I did a lot of fishing with him in his second boat, a 28' Uniflite sportfisherman he named "Malolo." I helped him put the fighting chair and outriggers on in the Ala Wai yacht harbor and then we took it around to Kaneohe Bay where he kept it from then on. Biggest fish I ever brought in was a 300 pound marlin but then a few weeks later Jim went out with an old man he knew and they caught a 1,150 pound marlin. I saw it on the news that night. It was the largest marlin caught in Hawaii that year.

Interesting times.......

 

[Pete Hopley]

Sounds like interesting times. I use to fly CH-53D's out of K-Bay. We did the same gig with handheld CB hooked up to our ICS via spliced ICS to helmet adapter. We always got lots of fish from our buds.

 

[Marin]

Jiim was more interested in the commercial aspect of fishing than eating them. Most of the fish we caught he took to the daily fish auction in Chinatown. He sold the flying school the year before I left and got into commercial fishing more or less full time. The ice business and POP came after I left. When I visited him in the early 2000s he also had a small fleet of longline tuna boats. He was comissioning a new one at the time I was there and showed me around it. I don't believe he went out on the boats themselves by that time.

We haven't kept in touch so I have no idea if he's still running POP or not, or even if it's in the same building I visited down at the harbor. His office was upstairs.

 

[Adelaide]

New to the Trawler Forum.

I have a 1982 Lien Hwa 30 ft Seahorse. I have seen them advertised as 31ft? On the Hull ID number and registration it is a 30ft. I bought her in 2006. She has been a project boat to say the least.

However after about 60K in improvements and maintenance I use her lots with confidence. I take her inter-island here in Hawaii often. I replaced her old tired Lehman 120 with a new Ford Dover 143 hp (18500.00). The bench test dynameter report showed 163 hp. Same fuel economy and gave me two more knots of speed. Rebuilt the borg warner trans (2500.00). Put in a new hydraulic steering ram (400.00). Took the sink out of the salon and made it into a functional bar. Replaced old fridge with waeco refer/freeze (1600.00). Repainted engine room and bilges. Two new 2000 gph bilge pumps (600.00). Bimini top repairs (1000.00). New fresh water pump (300.00). New Raymarine E-80, X-10 auto pilot, 300 DSM, 218 VHF with remote for flybridge, loudhailer, HD 2K Radar, Jensen stereo, Bose speakers, GoPro cameras, new gauges, new throttle and trans cables, new anchor system, new bottom barrier paint, new through hull exhaust flange and tubes, ripped out water heater, replaced all old wiring with ancor, new charger and inverter, 3 new 4D batteries, wired for solar, new seawater strainer and seacock with fresh water rinse, new 1 1/2 shaft and coupler with shaft saver, ......

It was a love of labor. Did it all myself over the past 6 years. She burns 1 1/2 GPH at 7 knots (1500-1600 RPM). I can get 9 knots out of her into the wind and 11 knots (2000-2200 RPM) with a following wind and sea. She spins a 24 X 16 LH prop.

Now I can take her out on the ocean beyond line of sight and be comfortable knowing everything is 100%.

Anyone else out there running the new Ford Dover 143?

I have the Tung Hwa Clipper 30. There are 4 different vessels in the lineage. Oceana 30, Tung Hwa Clipper 30, Lien Hwa Seahorse 31, North Passage 30. Yours was advertised as 31' others like the North Passage were brought into the country as a 29' 11" in order to meet certain import benefits. I think if you measure, all of them would be 32'+ from bow to swim platform.

It sounds like you put in a lot of work. Would love to see some pictures of her. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Pete Hopley]

Sea Horse

I had a 6 year battle with my condo association where I keep my boat. They would not allow my boat to come in becasue they have a 30 foot or greater size restriction. I finally got smart and looked at the hull number on the starboard stern. Low and behold it says 30. So the association let me bring my boat in.

The pictures of my boat are too large to upload. Any suggestions?

 

[Adelaide]

I had a 6 year battle with my condo association where I keep my boat. They would not allow my boat to come in becasue they have a 30 foot or greater size restriction. I finally got smart and looked at the hull number on the starboard stern. Low and behold it says 30. So the association let me bring my boat in.

The pictures of my boat are too large to upload. Any suggestions?

Are you using Snapfish or another hosting site? Also, you can resize your photo in Microsoft Paint. I'd Love to see them.

 

[Pete Hopley]

did that work?

 

[Adelaide]

View attachment 12505

did that work?

Nope. Try using a .jpg format.

 

[Pete Hopley]

How about this?

 

[Adelaide]

How about this?

That worked. Looks good!

 

[Pete Hopley]

Howemet side