UNSANE

Running into the seas, my drive is neutral (3 on the indicator) and my tabs start out at neutral (3 as well) and I bring them down until the boat starts to settle down and I can feel the hull slicing and not bouncing. Usually around 4 on the tabs and I can run mid to high 60's in 3's without issue. The one day I ventured out in 6-9's I had the tabs down to 5 because I was going so slow (I maxed out at 40 quartering the waves)

In a following sea, tabs and drive are neutral. Things feel "softer" and it's tempting to trim up, but don't. In quartering head seas, I end up dropping one tab to correct for wind lean and if I feel like she's a little nose "low", I'll actually bump the drive up a bit. Quarter following, I'm neutral except for a little wind lean correction.

The drive will only affect things when you're under power. But the tabs will actually lift the stern no matter what.

Hope this helps. Give it a try next time and make sure you use the boat's hull.

Pat McPherson

In the rough, I run with the drive neutral or with a little positive trim. Then I use the tabs, K-planes, to level the boat.
I would not suggest running vary fast with the drive tucked in, this can cause the boat to bow steer.

StillHaulin@63

Curious about "comfort zone" speeds of others when cruising offshore in smaller (less than 25') hulls.

Assume 10-15mph onshore winds, 1-2' wind waves, and 3-5' well spaced swells ....

bcarpman

That's another good question, but probably always relative to the individual.

I'm new to boats, but I'm quickly finding out that EVERYONE has a different comfort zone. Coming back across lake St.Clair on a windy day we'll see 8 people stuffed on a 20ft ski boat smashing into every wave, obviously as fast as they can go. Before I owned a boat, I always thought that looked silly but kind of fun. Now that I know how hard that boat is really getting beat up, I realize it must be their dadies boat

I've got a buddy who just always seems in control, regardless of the conditions. he's got a bigger boat, but I always wonder how much my current speed limitation is due to my boat handeling skill and not my boat size.

I discovered last year how even with washboard conditions, I can smooth out the ride a lot depending how I steer into, over, and out of each wave, even when they're coming in all directions. Now I'm wondering how trim, tabs and throttle can help.

It's an interesting challenge having a boat that can run faster than conditions will usually allow on the lake you boat on.

StillHaulin@63

Probably the primary reason many of us enjoy the offshore aspect of performance boating.
All of us want to go as fast as possible, but it seems that too many folks have established their speed
objectives based upon an investment in equipment, and not an improvement in their technique.

StillHaulin@63

46' @ 16000# ..... certainly eliminates the need for finesse

UNSANE

This was kind of the conditions out at Cocoa when the wind picked up Sat afternoon, but the swells were more like 3. I was heading back to the boat ramp to put some of that sensitive recording equipment away (because I wanted to go back out and play) and I saw a Baja 23OL heading out. By the time I got going again (20 min or so), he was heading back in. He was done!!! I know it's not a big boat, but I think that it could've handled Sat, especially if he got out a mile into deeper water, the swells disapeared. So I'm thinking he might have done the "trim up" thing and was bouncing.......I don't know, I didn't see him run. Maybe the GF yelled at him, but either way, all that work launching it only to take it out a 1/2 hr later.