Penn Yan Commander 339 (33') with a tunnel hull

[cpmb]

I am considering purchasing a Penn Yan 339 with a tunnel hull and twin Yanmar diesel engines. Is the tunnel hull as horribly inefficient as many say? Can someone knowledgeable please educate me on this subject?

 

[JimS123]

I don't know about efficiency but they certainly rough up the water a lot. I never saw one pulling a skier or a tube.

In my area they only lasted for a few years. Haven't seen one running in many years. When Penn Yan switched to I/Os they must have had good reason.

 

[cpmb]

I don't know about efficiency but they certainly rough up the water a lot. I never saw one pulling a skier or a tube.

In my area they only lasted for a few years. Haven't seen one running in many years. When Penn Yan switched to I/Os they must have had good reason.

Thank you, Jim, I imagine the rough-up is due to the props being closer to the surface than most other direct drive designs.
The shallower draft, 2' 5" in this case, appeals to me as I will probably be taking this boat to the Bahamas (from Miami).
I have read some negative feedback but mostly about the smaller boats, 21'- 25'. I have yet to see someone badmouth the larger Penn Yan boats, in my case I believe this is the largest pleasure boat they built, they also built a 38' commercial fishing boat but I don't know anything about that one.
In any case, let's hope someone with direct experience posts here...
Thanks, man!

 

[JimS123]

They shoot out the back like a jet. The wash is quite far.

Penn Yan has been out of business for a long time. That tunnel hull must have some age to it. They never made a good transition to fiberglass. Their wooden boats were some of the best. I suggest you pay for a marine survey before you buy it. It likely has some rot below the deck.

 

[cpmb]

Good advice, this is a 1998 model so yes, it is 25 years old. Regarding the rot below the deck, I would not be surprised, many manufacturers in the 90s chose to build cheaper more fragile boats to save a buck and as time goes by it starts to show here and there, and then later on, everywhere. The Bayliner scandals come to mind...

 

[cpmb]

They shoot out the back like a jet. The wash is quite far.

Penn Yan has been out of business for a long time. That tunnel hull must have some age to it. They never made a good transition to fiberglass. Their wooden boats were some of the best. I suggest you pay for a marine survey before you buy it. It likely has some rot below the deck.

One thing worth noting regarding the rough-up, the props are about 75% inside the tunnel but this is a fairly heavy boat, about 14,000 lb, so I suspect you saw water roughed up on a smaller boat. Also, the tunnel on the 33' runs all the way, and all the water that hits the prop is undisturbed. Just trying to make sense of all this...

 

[mr 88]

Tiaras use prop pockets as well . Maybe not as pronounced as the Penn Yan . So no issues with that set up . The hulls are known for bad stringers and transom rot . Survey it for sure , as previously mentioned.

 

[cpmb]

Tiaras use prop pockets as well . Maybe not as pronounced as the Penn Yan . So no issues with that set up . The hulls are known for bad stringers and transom rot . Survey it for sure , as previously mentioned.

Thank you, Mr 88, your message was truncated...

 

[cpmb]

Thank you, Mr 88, your message was truncated...

Never mind it came complete now...

 

[cpmb]

Thank you, Mr 88, your message was truncated...

Tiaras use prop pockets as well . Maybe not as pronounced as the Penn Yan . So no issues with that set up . The hulls are known for bad stringers and transom rot . Survey it for sure , as previously mentioned.

Ah, good info here, it's beginning to sound like maybe it's not worth the trouble. A thorough survey is not cheap, and if these boats are notorious for transom rot then sooner or later you will get transom rot. It may just be a matter of time...

 

[airshot]

From the little I know...drag is the issue, surface area contacting the water made them rather ineffiecient. Being heavy and a tunnel, they tracked well but could be difficult to manuever in tight spaces. There reputation was a fuel guzzler. Take this for what it is worth, being no longer made, would scare me away.

 

[cpmb]

Agreed on all your points, thanks, @airshot

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,...... Knew a guy who had one up in the 1,000 Islands,.....
He couldn't keep gas in it,..... a real fuel hog,.....

 

[cpmb]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,...... Knew a guy who had one up in the 1,000 Islands,.....
He couldn't keep gas in it,..... a real fuel hog,.....

I hear you, Bondo, that seems to be the consensus, this is what the seller is giving me:
1500 RPM, 9 knots, 3 GPH
3000 RPM, 22 knots, 19 GPH
3300 RPM, 28 knots, 28 GPH
They seem sort of reasonable to me for a 14,000 lb boat with two small Yanmars (230hp)
What do you think?

 

[Bondo]

I hear you, Bondo, that seems to be the consensus, this is what the seller is giving me:
1500 RPM, 9 knots, 3 GPH
3000 RPM, 22 knots, 19 GPH
3300 RPM, 28 knots, 28 GPH
They seem sort of reasonable to me for a 14,000 lb boat with two small Yanmars (230hp)
What do you think?

Ayuh,..... I think, I wouldn't own one,....

 

[JimS123]

I hear you, Bondo, that seems to be the consensus, this is what the seller is giving me:
1500 RPM, 9 knots, 3 GPH
3000 RPM, 22 knots, 19 GPH
3300 RPM, 28 knots, 28 GPH
They seem sort of reasonable to me for a 14,000 lb boat with two small Yanmars (230hp)
What do you think?

My 15' Boston Whaler uses 3 gallons for a whole day of fishing (~6 hours). My 19' SeaRay uses about 7 gallons for the same trip. Granted these are little boats and 4-stroke outboards to boot, but Wholly Mackerel.

OTOH, the 3000 rpm figure equates to about 1 statute MPG, which ain't too bad for a 33 footer.

My recent Boating magazine reviewed a couple of $600,000 cruisers and their cruising mileage was about 0.88 mpg. I guess it's all about how much boat you need and how much you are willing to spend.

MY biggest concern would be not how much gas you have to use, but how bad the innards were rotten.

 

[cpmb]

My 15' Boston Whaler uses 3 gallons for a whole day of fishing (~6 hours). My 19' SeaRay uses about 7 gallons for the same trip. Granted these are little boats and 4-stroke outboards to boot, but Wholly Mackerel.

OTOH, the 3000 rpm figure equates to about 1 statute MPG, which ain't too bad for a 33 footer.

My recent Boating magazine reviewed a couple of $600,000 cruisers and their cruising mileage was about 0.88 mpg. I guess it's all about how much boat you need and how much you are willing to spend.

MY biggest concern would be not how much gas you have to use, but how bad the innards were rotten.

Noted, thanks Jim, I will proceed with caution.

 

[airshot]

At one mile per gallon....I know I could never afford that...gives me a headache just thinking about using that much gas !!

 

[Scott06]

Noted, thanks Jim, I will proceed with caution.

Have you water tested it yet? My grandfather had a 66 Penn Yan Imperial 19, was a nice fishing boat. At that time they made tunnel hull and I/O versions of the same boats. I do think in shallow water areas the tunnel hull can be more popular or somewhat desired.

I suspect the inefficacy is more related to hull design as if you look at their hull design through the years it never changed much. The one we had threw a big wake and in rougher water pounded a good deal but was a solidly built boat that held up well for the 30+ years we had it. Really good for a fishing boat .

Ultimately age and stringer rot did it in.

I assume this was repowered with more modern diesels?

 

[cpmb]

Have you water tested it yet? My grandfather had a 66 Penn Yan Imperial 19, was a nice fishing boat. At that time they made tunnel hull and I/O versions of the same boats. I do think in shallow water areas the tunnel hull can be more popular or somewhat desired.

I suspect the inefficacy is more related to hull design as if you look at their hull design through the years it never changed much. The one we had threw a big wake and in rougher water pounded a good deal but was a solidly built boat that held up well for the 30+ years we had it. Really good for a fishing boat .

Ultimately age and stringer rot did it in.

I assume this was repowered with more modern diesels?

Thanks for your feedback, Scott.
This boat has two Yanmar diesel engines with 1000 hours, not sure about their age (plate picture attached). The boat appears to have been well-maintained in all respects.
I have not water-tested it yet, I have expressed an interest and am talking to the seller but I am doing my due diligence. If it were a Pro-Line 33 (out of production) or a smaller Carver (went belly up) we probably wouldn't be having this conversation, but frankly, I had never heard about Penn Yan.
You made great comments, and I appreciate it, but your last line grabbed my attention the most "Ultimately age and stringer rot did it in"; if yours lasted for 30 years and mine is 25 years old... Ouch!
Not sure this would be a wise purchase.
Do you know if a good marine surveyor could determine precisely the state of the transom, the deck, etc., as far as rot? Is this something that appears out of nowhere one day?
Thanks, Scott!