Ramco 35
May 24, 2019
YESSSS Q-SPD
Leisure – Single Screw
Ramco Boats and the vessels owner chose the Q-SPD surface drive for this quintessential 35ft aluminium Kiwi family weekend pleasure boat, designed with the average recreational fisherman in mind, she boasts some features you would expect on a much larger vessel and performance to burn. Sir Ramco is a great example of single engines with Q-SPD providing excellent overall performance and usability with low low maintenance. Super smooth and quiet boat.
Having built alloy boats in the past and taking into account the build to survey construction requirements and layout, i.e. tee sections, bulkheads, keel bars, plate specifications, etc. I knew full well that the Ramco 3500 would not only be very strong but would be heavy for it’s dimensions. This led to careful consideration with my choice of power and drive systems for this particular project. Engine power was provided by the 6LY 370hp turbo Yanmar via a Q-SPD SD150 surface drive. This has proven to be an excellent combination. Many people have commented on the exceptional smoothness of the drive, spinning a 27” dia. 4-blade prop gives a comfortable cruising speed of 22knots with top speed at 27knots. Just as importantly, the boat is able to maintain comfortable planing speeds with full payload and in a variety of sea conditions. Manoeuvrability is also impressive and with the aid of the bow thruster, the boat can turn on it’s own axis both forward and astern with predictable stern kick. Maintenance of the Q-SPD SD150 is about as low as it gets and by comparison equal to what you would expect with a conventional drive shaft rudder configuration. To top it off, along with an exceptional propulsion product, Q-SPD shine in their ability to offer and provide after-sales service and backup. In the case of the initial commissioning and sea-trials of the Ramco 3500, Q-SPD did not falter in the fine tuning of rudders and propeller to maximise efficiencies and performance of the boat. Taking this into account, I would not hesitate to use the Q-SPD product in either a single or twin configuration in future build projects.
Brian Tournier - Joint Designer, Project Manager and Skipper