Manatee or Hatteras

[mickand]

You're right - it is more than it should be, but as the photo shows it's a heavily laden boat carrying a scooter, full time live aboard stuff and towing a large dinghy.
I should have noted this in my original post. 3mpg still not bad.

 

[jjo1516]

Another Plug for the Manatee

I’ve had my Manatee for 4 seasons. For me, the boat is very easy to maneuver. For example, the boat is 13.5 ft. wide and my slip is 14 ft. wide. Almost always, I can dock the boat without touching the sides of the slip. Furthermore, If I’m not too fatigued, sometimes I back in. The boat does have a bow thruster, but I do not use it too often.

I’m docked on the Upper Mississippi river in the Twin Cities. There is always a current running through the marina. Windy days are a bit more challenging.

 

[HiDHo]

jjo 1516, it was genius how Krogen made the aft upper boat deck match the lower stern for backing into a slip.
I was talked out a bow thruster years ago by a Manatee owner who had just had one installed. I asked him how he liked it ? He told it was fine if the wind wasn’t blowing !

 

[healhustler]

You're right - it is more than it should be, but as the photo shows it's a heavily laden boat carrying a scooter, full time live aboard stuff and towing a large dinghy.
I should have noted this in my original post. 3mpg still not bad.

Yes, you’re referring to Ted & Sarah Pongracz...amazing Folks. It’s hard to compare their boat to the average Manatee. Ted has the boat loaded so heavily that he’s had to move the boot stripe numerous times. Right now, he has the exhaust routed above the veranda floor to stave off past issues with water intrusion, a problem which he noted was the cause of premature failures in a couple of his former main engines (I think he is on number four now).

I believe Krogen spec’s the manatee hull for around 1700 lbs. per inch of immersion. Ted’s boat looks about 4” deeper than most, meaning he must be toting around another 6000 or so lbs. of weight and that affects the efficiency of the hull. If you have the chance to get aboard his boat and view the mast, rigging and numerous other heavy mods, you won’t doubt it.

Right now, Ted & Sarah are in the southern Illinois river system on their 31st loop.