“Kapitan club” journal. Grizzly 740 Jet. For true guys #5 (87) 2014
The problem of collisions with underwater obstacles is relevant to many places, especially for the northern lakes and rivers, where the depth changes rapidly. But the desire of people to get into the most remote jungle using a motorboat or a boat is indestructible. This means that the propeller manufacturers will always have work.
At the end of navigation 2014 Russian shipyard Grizzly introduced another new product to the general public. The hull is based on the popular concept with the large-cabin deckhouse and a spacious cockpit in the back, but this time, instead of usual for Grizzly boats powerful outboards, the motor is hidden under the deck of the cockpit and there are no propellers…
CONCEPT AND SCOPE
The boat of more than seven meters in length is one more representative of the illustrious Grizzly Pro family. Its feature is a welded steel body, high requirements for durability and safety of the boat. To say simply Pro – Series are for the serious guys and tough conditions. But this does not mean that journey on such a boat is like some stories on the Discovery Channel, where some person tryes to survive in unbearable conditions. Reliable cabin serves as an excellent shelter from the weather, because if in the summer months while fishing for example it is quite possible to survive a sudden rain, the natural vagaries of autumn don’t seem so romantic.
Boat concept can significantly extend the operating season, that is the first item in selection for many people. The cabin is spacious enough: there are beds and in the “sitting” mode, you can quite comfortably accommodate a decent company. A cabin heater provides comfort in the cold, for example, during the autumn frosts. In general, the boat is completely self-contained and does not require any special reference to the place of parking. In this sense not only time, but also geographical scope of its use is expanding.
The front cockpit is spacious and accommodates easily six adults. You can use it in different ways. Someone sets the seats and tables and the boat becomes a great place to relax. For me, first of all, there is good space for fishing. I can deploy easily and therefore journey on fishing places can be without any problems. There is a second front cockpit on the boat. It gives way to the front one in the size, of course, but in this section you can fish under circumstances. But far more important is the opportunity to enter through the front door in the cabin on the beach during a mooring by nose. No walkaround at all.
Everything else is in the power of imagination of the owner. The boat can be complete depending on the purpose and application.
The main “highlight” of the new model, of course, lies in the word “ jet” in the title. Water jet can be different but in any case, the use of this type of motor expands significantly the geography of voyaging on inland waters. Rolling of rivers, flooded parts of the reservoir, the abundance of shoals, cans and even cataracts on rivers are available for such boat. There is no doubt that Grizzly 740 Jet with a strong aluminum hull, practical and unpretentious, durable and rugged, and most importantly – able to climb up to where a conventional outboards is off limits – will find a lot of supporters.
Water jet boats are relatively rare in most Russian waters, but there are whole regions where this type of propulsion reigns supreme. The reason is simple: there is particularly no alternatives for water jet in shallow waters.
ON THE WATER
Test of boat similar to Grizzly 740 was not new to me. But this boat built at the St. Petersburg shipyard evoked a lot of interest for me. The work of stationary water jet motor has its own specifics. Anyway if to talk about this conception.
During low speed I was surprised that the boat does not lose control. Moreover the boat maneuverability is not worse than in the planing mode (unless it is more difficult to go backwards). Almost any maneuvers are quite able to even not very experienced captain. And I was able to see this during the working trials.
Movement in a straight line in all modes is without disadvantage. The boat is well on course, not fills up on the board, there are only banks during significant weight transfer to one of the sides.
During planing our Grizzly 740 has nothing to do with sport “jets”: there is no “shots”. Expressed “road” language, it is rather a good sedan. Gently, but quickly the boat picks up speed, the transitional regime does not cause problems and is barely felt on board. At maximum 4300 rpm the boat accelerated to 61 km / h. Not too much, but there were six of us on the board. This is the main feature of the jet – it will pull the boat even with the maximum load when the classic engine with the propeller begins to lose noticeably speed.
Water jets allow to make frisky maneuvers but much depends on the case. In this caseflexibility is maintained at a good level. The path is always predictable, there is no reverse rolls. The boat doesn’t prowl or porpoise. And of course you can deploy the boat literally on the spot, if desired. But this is not that case. The hull is almost 7.5 meters in length and it is hardly suitable to perform sports pirouettes. To each his own.
SUBTOTALS
A few hours on the water of course are not enough explore to fully the boat, to identify weaknesses that have any model from any producer. However, this is much more than viewing photos and videos.
I got a good opinion of this new boat. Aesthetics is still at a high level. A lot of attention is paid to the quality of technology assembly of small parts, that we can’t say, unfortunately, about many other Russian producers. However it should be probably a reason why Grizzly company sells annually more than 500 of their boats.
Obviously this is not a cruise boat for a walk with the girls in bikinis, its tasks are quite different. But conditions for company of fishermen and even for the family exit s are quite acceptable. And the boat can be without too much trouble equipped with the options to your liking. The term “multifunctional” is perfectly suited to such a model as there is no specific and exclusive area, where it can’t be used.
The price for Grizzly 740 also rejoices. However it has long been a hallmark of the company – to offer really high-quality stuff for a very reasonable price, leaving customers the choice of an individual set of options.
TEST RESULTS
Grizzly 740 Jet
Load – 6 people plus 120 liters of fuel, power plant – petrol MerCruiser 5.0 MPI (260 hp.) with water jet American Turbine SD 231, the temperature +7 ° C, water temperature +8 ° C, wind speed 1 – 2 m / s, the waves height of 0.1 meters, the water area – Neva river, St. Petersburg
Sph
Speed
knots
km / h
500
2.3
4.2
1000
3.0
5.5
1500
3.9
7.4
2000
5.5
10.2
2500
6.5
12.0
3000
7.8
14.5
3500
13.0
24.0
4000
22.7
42.0
4400
33.0
61.0
Grizzly 740 Jet
Length, m
7.45
Width, m
2.15
Dry weight, kg
1850
Plating Thickness:
– On the bottom
5
– On the boards
4
Fuel capacity, l
200
Passenger capacity, pers.
8
Number of beds
2
Engine power, hp
260