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Rough water handling

I have a 1993 Checkmate 230 Enforcer and am looking for a better ride - handling in the rough stuff...

My boat has 21 feet of hull with a 24 degree deadrise and weighs about 3400 lbs with about 550 hp at the prop shaft

I currently have single ram insta-trim tabs on it..They help getting it on plane but don't seem to help much while underway in rough water. Also I don't have any indicators and by the time the boat reacts to the tab it seems I've moved it too far, and have to keep adjusting them.

In a 1'- 2' chop the boat works great, starting at about 50 mph it will just skate over the top topping out at 79 mph!!

When it gets rougher from multiple boat wakes I just can't seem to keep it in the water unless I trim the drive all the way in, stuffing the bow into the waves.


Would going to a larger tab help any?

Is this going to solve my issues or am I just trying to push too small of a boat too fast in rough water??




Thanks,

Doug Schiller
 
I have a 1993 Checkmate 230 Enforcer and am looking for a better ride - handling in the rough stuff...

My boat has 21 feet of hull with a 24 degree deadrise and weighs about 3400 lbs with about 550 hp at the prop shaft

I currently have single ram insta-trim tabs on it..They help getting it on plane but don't seem to help much while underway in rough water. Also I don't have any indicators and by the time the boat reacts to the tab it seems I've moved it too far, and have to keep adjusting them.

In a 1'- 2' chop the boat works great, starting at about 50 mph it will just skate over the top topping out at 79 mph!!

When it gets rougher from multiple boat wakes I just can't seem to keep it in the water unless I trim the drive all the way in, stuffing the bow into the waves.


Would going to a larger tab help any?

Is this going to solve my issues or am I just trying to push too small of a boat too fast in rough water??




Thanks,

Doug Schiller
 
Hey Doug, the larger K-Planes by merc will make the boat repsond more to your imput. Tab indicators are a must. Staying one step ahead by reading the water and setting the tabs early will help in handling. Once you get a "feel" for where the boat handles good, you should be able to set the tabs and leave them alone. Bear in mind that a small boat (even with the weight of an I/O) will still get bounced in snotty water. You really need to be over 30' with twin motors to smooth out the really rough chop. Also, many single I/O boats will smooth out running faster than slowing down, unfortunately not all the passengers on board may agree!! LOL
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JUPITER PULSARE:
Also, many single I/O boats will smooth out running faster than slowing down, unfortunately not all the passengers on board may agree!! LOL </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was at the Northern Illlinois Offshore Club "river shiver" run yesterday and I did try this method and it usually works good in a chop but in this stuff the boat landed almost on it's left side twice so I HAD to back out of it or we would have stuffed it sideways into a wave!!!
icon_eek.gif


The most I could run and keep it close to being in the water was about 40 mph until we got into some smoother water, then I was able to lay on it some
icon_smile.gif


I told my passenger I was scared twice, he replied "I was scared about 50 times!!!"
icon_biggrin.gif



Thanks,
Doug
 
your boat has to handle rough water better than anything I run. MY mx-16 with 82 merc 115 is about 1000 pounds before loading and it handles better than my dads 1960 lonestar that 14'9 in length and weighs about 700 including motor(71 merc 800)which pushes 50. his boat goes not have the benefit of having a deep vee that continues back to the pad the majority of the boat has shallow vee that borders on bonig flat. you end up with the bottom slapping the surface, which is downright bone jarring/kidney mashing hard on you. at slow speed the cutter type bow cuts rollers very well. I guess what i'm saying is that the mate aren't all that bad in the rough stuff compared to other boats. just try to hit wake/ squarely. on my dads boat this is absolute must, his has less lateral stability than any of the mates have, and smacks its side mor often than I would like.

Will
 
Coming down sideways is always a rush!!! At the 1999 Key West races I corkscrewed an Active Thunder 32/twin Hp 500's while running against a F/2 race boat coming into Key West Harbour. Things can happen awfully fast at speed. When we landed on the starboard side, my passengers were sprawled out all over the place including one on top of me!! Next time you wind up in that kind of chop, drop the Tab on the side of the boat that keeps falling off and trim your drive slightly possitive to keep the bow from stuffing. That should help you run level and fast.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Boatally Insane:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JUPITER PULSARE:
Also, many single I/O boats will smooth out running faster than slowing down, unfortunately not all the passengers on board may agree!! LOL </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was at the Northern Illlinois Offshore Club "river shiver" run yesterday and I did try this method and it usually works good in a chop but in this stuff the boat landed almost on it's left side twice so out of it or we would have stuffI HAD to back ed it sideways into a wave!!!
icon_eek.gif


The most I could run and keep it close to being in the water was about 40 mph until we got into some smoother water, then I was able to lay on it some
icon_smile.gif


I told my passenger I was scared twice, he replied "I was scared about 50 times!!!"
icon_biggrin.gif



Thanks,
Doug </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
So if I go to a 23" trim tab to replace the 11" ones I currently have it may help some???

I just hate to throw money at an un-fixable problem..

wait a minute...I own a boat...I should be used to throwing money away
brickwall.gif
icon_biggrin.gif



Thanks,


Doug
 
Get a 251,they eat the rough for a 25er!Used mine in 4 to 5 footers last weekend,other than the seasick kids onboard it was a blast!I ran with a 30 foot baja and a 28 Sunsation and hung right with them.Im sure we got beat up a bit more than the 30 baja but thats how you flatten out those waves, bigger hull=smoother ride.
biggthumpup.gif
 
and remember doug, you werent just in 4-5' chop!! that was ALL boat wake!! a little different, i think, than just "chop" youve got wave directions ever changing before you.....expecially as it was in there!!

just my opinion...it was rough in my 242 also...

i sent a couple photos to chris to post here.


kevin
 
Well, there were only 64 boats making waves
icon_eek.gif


It was a lot of fun but I am seriously looking for a way to keep this thing on the water instead of airborne all the time...

Maybe a few hundred pounds of ballast in the bow but then I suppose it won't go fast enough to need it then
icon_wink.gif


Doug
 
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