spk1

Oh Here goes,, I want to learn about scenerios, how to see a telltale sign of an on comming accident, how to properly react, (maybe a noise from a drive at high speed that would indicate a drive failure seconds away) (how to tell a stress crack is serious) (delaminating) ( tabs and when where and how to use them) (water depth) (wave types) any and every thing that has been picked up from years of experience on the water. Thanks in advance for your stories, scenerios, and solutions.

tomtbone1993

iTrader: (3)

I want my impeller back.........

spk1

Ohh Yeaaa,,
Its not my fault you decide to go to Vegas,, the one weekend,, I finaly get my boat over to your slip,, not to mention get kicked off the dock by your manager, because I would buy a non refundable one year slip rental,, just to tie up at the one spot that was deep enough.

Im going to go to the boatshow again this weekend even though it sucked,, they had some great sail boats ,, I'll bring a few impellers and buy a few beers,, if you want to drop by.

Dayum and I worked so hard to get this one thread started , that you Hijackedd,

phragle

iTrader: (3)

only missfortune I have had so far (power boating not blow boating) is that the props go thump thump THUMP when you get too close to the sand bar, then you take them to the guy who goes bang bang grind grind, while his cash register goes chinga chinga...was out in some nasty stuff (lake erie, big storm)runnin down hill, trimmed up a bit and was gassin it hard (to try and lighten the bow) every time I thought I was gonna stick it..I survived but have know idea if that was the right thing to do..was fun as hell though...

eliminatethis

stuffed a 12'-14' wave once very ugly respect the sea she bites

klaw

Alot of time the smell of oil will indicate a drive that is ready to fail the upper seal goes and it pumps itself into the bildge anyone in back seat usually smells it
also burning rubber smell is a sure sign of a coupler failing

Interceptor

The attached picture shows a hull right after either stuffing or passing through a huge wave. Notice the water rolling off the rub rail and deck. A huge amount of energy at work.

ed

Chris Sunkin

It all starts with basic high-performance seamanship. One has to understand how to operate the craft properly before any "what not to do" makes any sense to them. Let's throw out for the moment the "unavoidable"- that rogue wave or hole you just didn't see or didn't have time to correct for because there's usually no way to prepare for those.

The most common thing I see in newer boaters is the lack of knowledge/ability in managing boat attitude. It sure ain't a car- no point and throttle here. Understanding what the controls do and how they affect boat attitude is key. Then you have wind/wave issues to understand. If you've got a moderate to strong headwind, your boats controls need to be set differently that if you're running out of the wind. When you get into quartering seas or combinations (waves, wind, currents, all going different directions- big on the Great Lakes) it gets even more complicated. Let me interject here- if you have a performance boat that doesn't have accurate, easily readable tab and trim indicators, you're wasting your time. They also need to be blueprinted, for lack of a better word. If the indicator shows +3 and the drive axis is parallel to your bottom, your experiences won't translate to another boat you may operate. Also, if they differ, you're really screwing yourself up- if one drive or tab is off a bit but you thing their set neutral, you'll have a tough time applying information to attitude. You really need to be able to draw a correlation between how these devices are set. what the wind/water conditions are and how the boat is performing. A big issue is understanding what the trim and tabs do to your boat's attitude. I see tabs misused many times in keeping the bow down. Of course there are extremes where you need to pull the drives to neutral and help the nose-down with tabs. Pretty much though, tabs are better uses to correct for yaw, by being set opposed to each other, not identically. There's no substitute for spending time in your boat in different types of water conditions. I know, most people want to toss in the cooler and cut right to the fun part. Doing that right off in big water is alot like signing up for karate lesons and on the 3rd day challenging the local black belt. You're probably going to get your a$$ kicked until you develop some experience and skill.

Good thread idea! I'll let someone else chime in now.

I look forward to talking about structures, preventative maintenance and responsible boat prep.

rangerrick63

I'm one of the "newbies" to performance boating, I've been boating for over 10 years, but only in "run-a-bouts" & ski boats. I now have a Donzi 26ZX, & am very much looking forward to "learning" how to handle it. I'm certainly not one to just hop in the seat & see how fast I can go. I do ask alot of questions, & I have learned alot from this site, & the folks that post here on the forums. I have considered Tres Martins school, I just have to see what my schedule for the summer is.
I do have a couple of questions about trim & tab positions. I understand that the Donzi "stepped" hull is much different than straight "V" hulls, & I understand the step hull likes alot of positive trim....That much I got....in the sharp turns, (river running 30-35mph) will I experience the cavitaion that I normally do in a straight "V" hull? If I do, will I be able to trim down a bit for the prop to be able to bite? ORRR, do I just ride it out thru the turn?....During all this, should I just leave the tabs up?....Sorta the direction I had planned with the tabs, until I get comfortable with them, is to leave them all the way up....Is this a mistake?...
Sorry for the "rookie" questions, but like I said....I do ask alot of questions.... ....After all, my family will be in the boat with me....I don't like the idea of my wife throwing things at me if the boat starts to act "weird".....

Chris Sunkin

You're right in wanting to know how your boat performs in differing conditions. You've hit on a common issue- someone moving from a highly maneuverable boat and into an "offshore" style boat. Offshore boats are made for hammering waves straight on- that means compromises in turning. Adding to this issue is the stepped hull of your boat. First, your Donzi wasn't designed to "carve water" and the physical stresses of doing so and exponential vs. a ski boat. That being said, 30 or 35 mph isn't fast- unless you want to do full-lock, full power turns at that speed. Second, stepped hulls need to be turned in the proper procedure. If your wife might go off with a boat acting "weird", think of what she'll do after getting the experience of a high-side ejection from the boat. I can't give you specifics on your boat but most steps like to be settlled then powered through turns. I'd suggest hitting one of the Donzi forums and getting with some folks who own your specific boat. I don't mean to scare you but more than a few experienced racers have been tossed in turns from not cornering properly. Also, my step-V experience isn't near what many on here have so they may be a better source of specifics. My only experiences have been a few turns at the wheel and one trip as an eject-ee.

On Tres' school- it's probably a tremendous idea but I also think alot of it might be lost on a newer perf boater. It's sort of an MBA in high speed. No one says you can't go back for a second trip, though.

To your question on tab position- you'll want to use the drives to control nose up/down. Tabs are more for yaw- if you're getting cross wind and it's sterring you off-course, drop the opposite tab and straighten the boat up. Some boats need a touch of tab at neutral drive position especially running into a head wind. You'd probably want to keep your tabs neutral when turning. Tabs will give you a little more "effective bottom" basically adding a small amount of bottom running surface to your boat. There are times that you can get better top speed by trimming out until you lose lift (bow porpoising) and tab it down just a little bit. Sometimes youll do better like this rather than neutral tabs and less drive trim- but that's really dependent on your specific boat and load- that's the fun of experimentation.