Boat Handling

[Tinkerer]

I ran a search pattern SATURDAY night for a fellow boater that had crashed.
He is presumed dead.

Now is where I will probably get flamed.

For those of you that take a small slow boat and add gobs of HP to make it go faster you need to do one very important thing.

spend a little money on setting the boat up properly.
Proper set up may gain more speed then the added HP.

And before you flame me I have a lot of experience with this.

I had a 1977 Glastron Carlson CVX -18 that stock did 45 - 50 MPH when I bought it with a stock FORD 302 ( 188 HP )

When I sold it it did low 90's with a BOSS 302 ( > 500 HP )

I gained more speed from proper set up then by adding HP.

this boat was very ill handling at any speed over 70 untill I set it up properly.

Getting back to the story.

The man that died took an older high freeboard ( FAMILY style ) 18 ft checkmate outboard and installed a MERC 225 HP motor.

From others statements the boat was VERY ILL handling.

In this man's quest for speed he created a death trap.

If this boat had been properly set up he would probably still be breathing air instead of laying on the bottom of HARDY POND.

Some poor boater is probably going to find him next weekend when he come's to the surface.

SO if your boat is ILL handling and squirlly -- PLEASE spend a few $ and fix that problem first.

[OkieTunnel]

Yeah...Don't ever put big power in a v bottom that only a cat can handle! Just kidding! I agree totally. When I added a blower to my cat I added external steering right along with it. I am taking delivery of a 31 Warlock tomorrow that doesn't have a kill switch attached to the driver. In my smaller cat I always have a lanyard attached to my arm which kills the boat If I got more than a few feet out of the drivers seat (OVERBOARD) The boat is very stable but i will still add one. Safety is always first.

[nolimits]

The problem is that it is easier to understand how to add hp than to get the handling issue down. Lot's of handling issues are often caused by the boater that does not know about trim, tabs, current, wakes, wind etc.... Power parts are listed everywhere. Handling requires experience and knowledge... Blows my mind that people go so far outside of the their machines limits.... etc. I agree with you, no flame here.

[traviss]

Originally Posted by Tinkerer

For those of you that take a small slow boat and add gobs of HP to make it go faster.

no flaming here tinkerer, you have a very good point.



you mean 560 hp in my little 18' boat is over powered... my setup is getting better, got rid of the chinewalking, porpiosing and learned its flaws and what the hull will do in different conditions. I am taking donations for hydraulic steering!!!

The driver of any boat just needs to learn and know the limits of the boat.. period

[super termoli]

if you get flamed for making a very good point, i'll stand next to you and get flamed too... the focus on straight-line speed is getting a bit overwhelming at the moment. it's all a question of compromise b/w speed and handling. you can set your boat up primarily for speed but you HAVE TO keep that speed/handling compromise reasonable, within a range where your boat remains safe.

Originally Posted by super termoli

if you get flamed for making a very good point, i'll stand next to you and get flamed too... the focus on straight-line speed is getting a bit overwhelming at the moment. it's all a question of compromise b/w speed and handling. you can set your boat up primarily for speed but you HAVE TO keep that speed/handling compromise reasonable, within a range where your boat remains safe.

AMEN, following some of these "drivers boats" ,as PBM refers to them , at speed is so spooky that I slow down so as not to push them over the edge that I can see them approaching.

[Scott B]

Originally Posted by WickedWon

AMEN, following some of these "drivers boats" ,as PBM refers to them , at speed is so spooky that I slow down so as not to push them over the edge that I can see them approaching.

It takes 2 to tango. We all have to approach safety from both sides of the coin, and watch out for the others who won't watch out for themselves...

[Chart]

Originally Posted by super termoli

if you get flamed for making a very good point, i'll stand next to you and get flamed too....

And I'll stand on the other side of you.... Some boats simply have a max safe speed, that should not be exceeded. At least it sounds like this guy was alone, and not putting passengers in danger too as others have.

But, he wasn't wearing a life vest, was he? Is this another case of "performance boater dies" which the government will use to justify mandatory life vests? Wouldn't it be nice when we go to do something stupid in our boats, that we had the smarts to wear life vests and kill switches? I'll guilty of that myself, so this is not preaching, but something to think about.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by WickedWon

AMEN, following some of these "drivers boats" ,as PBM refers to them , at speed is so spooky that I slow down so as not to push them over the edge that I can see them approaching.

Funny, Those people will never know that you possibly just saved thier lives.
I've seen it many times also, I would rather lose, than pushing somebody into driving way over their or their boats ability.

i agree also i have lost some friends and it sucks. it is all in setup where you get the max potential. i have been lucky and not been hurt after wrecking one boat and sinking another. i try to use common sense. remember to finish first you must first finish.