Coming off of Plane

aero3113

@raybo3 same with my 242 , huge difference in performance once the drive is trimmed.

Willhound

Yep. @raybo3 I understand perfectly. Have had many boats over the years and all required trimming for smooth running. Except this one. Anything beyond the very slightest nudge and I'm bow high. My usual strategy is drive all down and then just a small nudge on trim up to take up any slack and that's it.

Dude_Himself

I'm betting Willhound's trim sender pucks need adjustment and that the drive isn't "down" in the normal sense.

Willhound

I can hear the change in pitch of sound  from the trim pump. Trust me, it's down.
Also visually confirmed when standing in the water at the beach.

GMSLITHO

yep any other 270 owners want to chime in I usually run with at least 1/2 of tank gag .1/2 tank water and a empty waste tank no generator And the drive is all the way down 

skuter99

my 2004 seems best all the way down as well. mag 350 mpi

LaRea

@Willhound, @skuter99, @GMSLITHO  -- your boat starts porpoising when you trim the drives up even a little bit?  That's what my 370 did when I bought it, and it turned out that the boat had a balance problem.  

I could never get the boat to trim out correctly like my 342 did.  Then one day I tried moving a heavy cooler and a bunch of tools from the mid-cabin up to the very front of the v-berth.  The boat ran noticeably better ... faster to plane, more stable, no porpoising, and I could get a little bump in speed by trimming the drive up.   

For a permanent solution, I added another 30 feet of chain to my anchor rode.  Problem solved.  It has probably paid for itself in fuel savings -- and my anchor holds better.  

I've also heard people here talk about adding lead ballast in the chain locker.  Obviously, it's better to relocate weight rather than adding weight.  

You might not think it would make a difference on a 10-ton boat, but it was a big difference.  

Willhound

Not in every situation. In very calm situations I can trim a bit and yes there is a difference. But there's so much "cruiser chop" on this lake that on even the calmest days there's chop coming from every direction. I have 50 feet of chain on my rode which helps, and you're correct, if I move weight around it also helps a bit, but quite frankly I haven't seen that much of a difference. On even the calmest days when I can trim a bit I might gain 1/2 to 1 mph.
It seems to be mostly us 270 guys, especially the older wider 8'6" hulls. I wonder if the shorter 270 hull with that big bow rise makes a difference vs. the longer hulls?

LaRea

Yes, well ... at 30 mph, a gain of 1 mph is 3.3%.  Multiply by the portion of your annual fuel budget spent on-plane.  

aero3113

If the older 270’s are 8’6” what are the newer ones?

GMSLITHO

That’s true I still get on plane fine their is just no need to trim the drive up I can just run with the tabs and actually it rides fine 

rasbury

My 270 everything is down...as soon as I start to feel the hull come out of the water I bump the drive up and I can feel toe boat accelerate...I adjust the bow then with the tabs...

LaRea

Even if the boat feels like it's running well, could it be better?  Prove me wrong ... there's no cost to try it.  Put something really heavy in the bow, and see how she handles.  

Any time we're cruising farther than a couple miles, I always put my heaviest cargo up in the front of the v-berth.  

Black_Diamond

Since I switched to the Hill Marine 4x4 props, zero need to trim drives. In fact it decreases my speed. 

350 MAG MPI, B-III drives. 

Lake_Bum

I had a 21 foot Four Winns cuddy, that absolutely HAD to remain trimmed down, or it would porpoise like crazy.  I had the smart-tabs on it, and adjusted them to all the way down, and it didn't even make a dent. 
 That was the worst handling boat I've ever owned. It wasn't the trim pucks either. You could tell the trim was down all the way, with the rather large splash being created while on plane.  Trimming up whatsoever caused porpoising. 
 I tried putting coolers in the cuddy, didn't matter.  SOLD IT!  Hahahaha

Stodge

GMSLITHO said:

That’s true I still get on plane fine their is just no need to trim the drive up I can just run with the tabs and actually it rides fine 

Trimming the drives changes the angle and efficiency of the drive train.  Using trim tabs adds drag.  The tabs will smooth out the ride but at a cost.  

I haven't seen much improvement with trimming my drives up.  I move them a little.  But the tabs are only in long enough to get me on plane, then they come out.

reneechris14

Moving the pin back on the bravo 3 gives you a little more lift on the stern and help to Plane.

Liberty44140

reneechris14 said:

Moving the pin back on the bravo 3 gives you a little more lift on the stern and help to Plane.

So interesting, my boat was just out of the water to re seal the prop shaft and the mechanic told me that my pins should be on the other side and that my drives are currently down too far when fully down. He considered changing them for me but decided not to in case I had them that way on purpose. I told him that while I have no issues getting on plane, many do and Rinker likely did that on purpose to help with plane. I can trim them up to be even anyway...

GMSLITHO

on the bravo 3 the pin should be in the aft position 

aero3113

GMSLITHO

to move it forward would have a opposite effect 

Liberty44140

Aft meaning drive is down the farthest possible when fully trimmed down, right?

GMSLITHO

yep I would think so if you move the pin forward your lifting the drive 

reneechris14

That is correct. Farther back lower the drive more lift.

Michael T

Have always throttled down slowly then tapped the throttles when the wake starts to catch-up with the swim platform - trim down drives as I slow.....yes, the position of the drive ram shims does make a difference......just be careful of your boat's X dimension as on some boats the drive tower cap can smack the underside of the swim platform, when fully up.

212rowboat

@Michael T hit it... In my opinion, anyway,  outrun the wave.  Throttle back and when the wave threatens the swim platform, bump the throttle up and back in one fluid motion and there is no water on the platform or anywhere else.  Warn your crew, though.