z1ppy
Well-Known Member
Well, at the request of some, a few more pics and details of Charlie Brown,
She is a 2005 build Cougar R9. its the first R9 leisure boat build by Cougar and this was laid up and fitted in Warsash as opposed to the later ones which are laid up in the states and shipped over for fitting.
Built for a friend of Cougar marine, she has done just 120 hours since new (30 of which we have done since April) so we are expecting the usual problems with a low hours boat! so far, we have experienced a problem with an engine speed sensor and a dodgy starter motor, both of which have been fixed by Cougar and they continue to assist with setup and changes we are planning!
Engine is a Steyr MO256H45 rated at 250 Hp. i know its not a common engine but nor is the boat and the two seem to fit nicely. Engine weight is 322 kgs with additional 120 Kgs for Bravo 1 diesel outdrive. the weight is obviously low down compared to the outboard version which leaves her sitting in the water with tubes above the waterline but lower COG.
The spec says max RPM for the engine is 4500. max we have seen is 4200 spinning a High five 25 inch stainless prop giving us 45 kts with 270 L of fuel and 2 people on. think if we drop down to 23 inch we may get that top end up a little but havent really played with the setup too much yet.
Cruise speed at 3600 rpm is 32 / 34 Kts and whilst i havend done detailed fuel consumption figures (too busy enjoying it) its not exactly thirsty! for the first 110 NM we used just 105 L of fuel (crudely measured by filling the tank to the brim both times) to be honest, im not that worried about fuel consumption and i know its a lot less than many people here so i have no grounds to complain! it is after all a fast boat and they are never going to be cheap to run!!!
As others have said, the console layout is IMO nice. could easily have a separate throttle man and wouldn't expect anything less from Cougar! the hull is based on the same as the Honda 225 race boat (which has a tendency to fall over when driven with commitment) but with the inboard, transom is 12 inches further back and the weight is much lower than having a heavy Honda clip on at the back!
Twin step in the hull means some care is required when sticking it into a tight turn but with some practice and having an idea as to what the boat will do it can be done at some pretty impressive speeds. the tubes give it some additional stability but in essence, its a hard boat with a big fender rather than a boat that needs the fender for inherent stability.
Still getting used to the boat but we have hit the wash from the red jet at 40 kts and the bow hardly rose as it took off level and landed softly! Mrs Zippy who isnt the most confident of helms persons is getting used to the boat now and actually prefers it to any of the others we have had!
This boat has the raised foredeck with lockers and a lifting table! makes picnics much easier and more civilized.
Seating behind the console is actually pretty comfortable! jockey seats give good support and whereas many bench seats leave you sat on the boat rather than in the boat, the enclosed sides means this bench seat is comfortable, dry and safe when at speed. given we use the boat for 2 people mostly and sometimes 4, theres plenty of seating and storage for our needs.
Plans for the future... well. this winter i want to remove the engine gauges and fit the Steyr Control Center which is an electronic engine display unit allowing diagnostics and a much more modern display.
Want to move the Navman plotter to the left so it sits infront of the navigator and replace it with a larger touch screen plotter (make to be decided).
Change the Navman VHF (and mount it a little lower to allow for the plotter) and replace the CD player with a much smaller Ipod control unity with the head unit being mounted inside the console out of the way...
So... there she is, the third boat to bare the Charlie Brown name for us and hopefully will be ours for longer than the others!
hope you like her as i will try and bore you more with pics and videos over the summer. planning some lazy day trips in the solent, some longer trips and of course, channel islands at some point too!
if you see us out, (theres not many Cougars in the Solent) give us a wave of come and say hi. Theres usually a drink or two kicking around the boat in cool bags!
She is a 2005 build Cougar R9. its the first R9 leisure boat build by Cougar and this was laid up and fitted in Warsash as opposed to the later ones which are laid up in the states and shipped over for fitting.
Built for a friend of Cougar marine, she has done just 120 hours since new (30 of which we have done since April) so we are expecting the usual problems with a low hours boat! so far, we have experienced a problem with an engine speed sensor and a dodgy starter motor, both of which have been fixed by Cougar and they continue to assist with setup and changes we are planning!
Engine is a Steyr MO256H45 rated at 250 Hp. i know its not a common engine but nor is the boat and the two seem to fit nicely. Engine weight is 322 kgs with additional 120 Kgs for Bravo 1 diesel outdrive. the weight is obviously low down compared to the outboard version which leaves her sitting in the water with tubes above the waterline but lower COG.
The spec says max RPM for the engine is 4500. max we have seen is 4200 spinning a High five 25 inch stainless prop giving us 45 kts with 270 L of fuel and 2 people on. think if we drop down to 23 inch we may get that top end up a little but havent really played with the setup too much yet.
Cruise speed at 3600 rpm is 32 / 34 Kts and whilst i havend done detailed fuel consumption figures (too busy enjoying it) its not exactly thirsty! for the first 110 NM we used just 105 L of fuel (crudely measured by filling the tank to the brim both times) to be honest, im not that worried about fuel consumption and i know its a lot less than many people here so i have no grounds to complain! it is after all a fast boat and they are never going to be cheap to run!!!
As others have said, the console layout is IMO nice. could easily have a separate throttle man and wouldn't expect anything less from Cougar! the hull is based on the same as the Honda 225 race boat (which has a tendency to fall over when driven with commitment) but with the inboard, transom is 12 inches further back and the weight is much lower than having a heavy Honda clip on at the back!
Twin step in the hull means some care is required when sticking it into a tight turn but with some practice and having an idea as to what the boat will do it can be done at some pretty impressive speeds. the tubes give it some additional stability but in essence, its a hard boat with a big fender rather than a boat that needs the fender for inherent stability.
Still getting used to the boat but we have hit the wash from the red jet at 40 kts and the bow hardly rose as it took off level and landed softly! Mrs Zippy who isnt the most confident of helms persons is getting used to the boat now and actually prefers it to any of the others we have had!
This boat has the raised foredeck with lockers and a lifting table! makes picnics much easier and more civilized.
Seating behind the console is actually pretty comfortable! jockey seats give good support and whereas many bench seats leave you sat on the boat rather than in the boat, the enclosed sides means this bench seat is comfortable, dry and safe when at speed. given we use the boat for 2 people mostly and sometimes 4, theres plenty of seating and storage for our needs.
Plans for the future... well. this winter i want to remove the engine gauges and fit the Steyr Control Center which is an electronic engine display unit allowing diagnostics and a much more modern display.
Want to move the Navman plotter to the left so it sits infront of the navigator and replace it with a larger touch screen plotter (make to be decided).
Change the Navman VHF (and mount it a little lower to allow for the plotter) and replace the CD player with a much smaller Ipod control unity with the head unit being mounted inside the console out of the way...
So... there she is, the third boat to bare the Charlie Brown name for us and hopefully will be ours for longer than the others!
hope you like her as i will try and bore you more with pics and videos over the summer. planning some lazy day trips in the solent, some longer trips and of course, channel islands at some point too!
if you see us out, (theres not many Cougars in the Solent) give us a wave of come and say hi. Theres usually a drink or two kicking around the boat in cool bags!
