getting the boat to plane loaded

rasbury

Had a great weekend on the boat but sure had a ton of people on it. Have read a few posts on getting on plane being an issue. I had 9 people on the boat including two kids which should only count as one. Anyway, I had 2 kids/2 adults below and everyone else on top deck and getting them to move forward was able to get on a plane but had to run WOT to stay there so I backed it off. On the return trip, with less fuel and supplies from the "camping" weekend (no they did not stay on the boat) I tried it again- I did not ask anyone to move forward but had about the same set up with people and it would not get on plane so I backed it down to about 3000 RPM and concluded it just was not going to happen. I was playing around with the trim tabs, motor trim and RPM trying to get a little more speed out of it and a boat went by- not as large as mine but it was putting out a pretty good wake. I always like to play surf board with other boat wakes and as I caught the top of the "wave" and steered the boat kind of like if you were on a boogy board at the beach, the nose of the boat leveled out and picked up speed and all of a sudden I was doing 25 MPH! So next time if I have that much weight in the boat I just need another boater to get me started and I can get it on plane without much effort on the motor.

LaRea

Makes sense -- it takes more power to climb your own bow wave and get on plane than it takes to stay on plane.  An assist from another boat might be all you need to get there.

212rowboat

Another trick to use after discovering you're on the line of being able to plane or not is to power up with tabs down, making the boat 'plow' and having the engines totally loaded.... Then as fast as they will move and in coordination, lift the tabs while dropping a touch of throttle and then burying the throttle all over again.... You don't want to try this more than once... Either it'll work, or it won't.. no sense in stressing the engines like that if you don't have to. 

MarkB

So you accelerated with your trim tabs and engine tilt totally down? You should not have to go to Wot to stay on plane. Once on plane it should shoot to much higher speeds. What boat, what engine and what props? 

rasbury

27 with 350 bravo III- I had all the weight in the back, coolers, people.....it was a crowd on the boat. Not sure what the pitch is on the props, nothing other than standard I'm sure...

Dream_Inn

Yeah, the weight in the back is a killer!  I've even noticed on my heavy boat a difference with lots of weight in the back.  Believe it or not, if I fill up my water tank as a ballast (it's in the middle of the boat, under salon area), it will help me with a heavier load because it is more forward.  I just think you plain had too much weigh on the boat, especially if it had a tough time after being up.  Keeping your tabs down a little after you were up should've helped keep the bow down a little.  Definitely very **** the engines with all that and not something you want to do very often.

rasbury

I hear ys dream- does great with the 3 of us but 11 is a bit of a stretch! Plus food and stuff for a long weekend...have no idea how much weight was in the boat.

MarkB

I have had 11 people on my Rinker 260ec with a 350mag b3. 3 children, 2 teenagers, and 6 adults, with 2 of them well over 200 lbs, and the rest probably 170 lbs each. Full water tank, full gas tank, full fridge and cooler box. Got onto plane in about 15 to 20 seconds. Tabs all the way down, drive trimmed all the way down. 

rasbury

Mark- I was able to do it by moving the big ones in the back forward until up but I was running to hard- I was up to 5000 RPM. I might have been able to back it off a bit and stay up, I didn't mess with it as we enjoyed the slower trip heading to the park. A lot of the area I'm in is no wake anyway so getting up/down/back up/down seemed like to much effort so we just enjoyed the nice day and company. I'm not sure what the weight difference between the 260 and 270 is, but I do understand the weight on the boat is like a sea saw- move a little weight in the right direction and it's a total different out come. 

TikiHut2

Sounds like a cruise ship rather than an express cruiser   No problem with that just don't expect performance from a boat loaded like a semi-truck. Use it like a party barge. Some of my best memories aboard were loaded to the gills with passengers and gear while running at trawler speed.

Old sailors always say "what's the hurry?  Once you're on the boat you're already were you want'd to be."

Fair winds. Mike

rasbury

That is a very good out look- which was pretty much our attitude! But it was fun for everyone when I got the barge rolling!!!

hunterdale

If you're going to run loaded like that you would do yourself a favor and put a set of 22" pitch props on there.

hunterdale

If I remember right there is also a way to bring the drive in even farther by adjusting the trim cylinders setting.

Handymans342

Ras, you should have just got a diesel 342!!!

rasbury

You know, as soon as I saw a post by Handy, I knew the diesel comment would be there! I will very seldom have that kind of weight, if ever, again......

Handymans342

Hey Ras, had to throw that in there. My diesels get up on plane everytime  Must be those blue pills I put in the tank 

Dream_Inn

A buddy of mine put blue pills in his 342 and it is now a 400.  Better watch out!  if you keep putting them in, that may happen to you!