Full Cabin - List to Starboard?
 

I have a 1994 Full Cabin TOP GUN. My boat lists (LEANS) a little to the starboard when on plane. I have to use my starboard trim tab a little (about 2-3) to keep the boat level. I took out the Toilet, my batteries and anchor are on port, my ice chest is on starboard inside the cabin, and it still lists to starboard. If my wife and I are both on the port side and I am leaning on the edge, then the boat runs strait without trim tab. What's the deal? Is this normal for a full cabin Cigarette?

I have a 99 full cabin and she runs straight as an arrow...I definitely don't think its normal...

My Cafe lists to the starboard side a little. I run some tab to run it even( 1-2 on gauge). I have been told that many of the Cafe's and some Guns require some tab, I believe the weight of the liner was the cause. I know in the Cafe you have the molded cooler and the bathroom. If you think you it is ral noticable you could have a big hook in the boat or a bent skeg. If you rack store you boat it can cause that hook.

What do you mean "weight of the liner" was the cause?
The SKEGS look good to me. I can't seem to see a hook when the boat is on the trailer. I don't really know what a hook looks like. Looking at the bottom from the back, I couldn't tell if anything was not strait.

Just thinking off the top of my head. Is it poss. there is a variance in the power output between the motors?

According to the dyno, they are about 5hp off. They run the same RPM at the same throttle position.
Also, I just had my props labbed, but I will have to wait until Spring to test them. Maybe my props were not exactly the same. I bought them used.

See if you have any pictures of the back of your boat taken while it is tied up at a dock. I've seen quite a few top guns that lean to the right when there not moving.

I have seen a case where the drives were not mounted correctly. one drive was 1/2' higher and as I recall it was 1/2" wider from the center line of the boat. It also leaned wile running.
And yes it was a Cigarette.

If the boat is sitting even(not listing) when not underway, then it must be something while it running, props,drives,hook or something. What I referring to with the liner is the inside of your cabin, you have more weight on the starboard side. I believe this why Cig have the batteries and holding tank on the port to compensate. I will ask Chris at Ocean Performance I know he will have an answer on this.

If the boat floats level at the dock then the problem isn't weight distribution.
It has to be something wrong with the running surface.

engine torque still?
 

Although the props are counter-rotating, the engines are both standard rotation and therefore applying the same torque to the drives. My TRS boat is set up this way. Just a thought?

My cousin's 93 TG (w/ TRS) does this same thing. We have to drag the starboard tab down about 2-3 clicks lower than the port to get it to level out.

I think I noticed that the boat does seem to lean a little towards starboard when not moving. I always told myself it was my imagination because it was a Cigarette, right. Maybe it is weight distribution, but I have put a lot of weight on the port, and removed some on the starboard. I put my anchor with chain that weighs about 90lbs on the port back seat. I took out my toilet on the starboard, and nothing changed. I think my freshwater holding tank is on the port side, which is empty and has no water in it. Maybe I should feel it up with lead. I'm starting to think that Cigarette didn't balance the boat very well. Once I hit a big wave. When the boat was airborn, the boat shifted to starboard in the air. I didn't like that. It seem that if the boat is empty, the boat is not balanced. I wonder how many gallons of water the freshwater holding tank has. Maybe that will cancel the weight of the ice chest.

dont underestimate the full cooler everytime, think of the weight of drinks/food and ice, i bet it can easily be 80-100 lbs, ice weighs less than water, as it melts a gallon of water is 7.5 lbs.

I agree

I'll fill up a freshwater holding tank, it is empty. That should help. Does anybody know how much water the freshwater holding tank holds on a 1994 full cabin TG.

I don't think the freshwater tank holds enough to make much of a difference. I thought some of the listing under power may have been due to the motors torqueing the boat over some, will pay more attention once we get back on the water.

12 gallons from what my book says but its an 87 pamflet.
-Mike

I think he has to much ice in his cooler.:rolleyes:

Try filling the cooler with"light beer" :drink:

I didn't think that a 12 pack of beer, 2 bags of ice, a gallon of vodka, 2 two letters of 7up and 2 two letters of Coke, chips and dip on the starboard side in the ice chest would make that much of a differance. Sounds like I have a problem. Maybe I would convert the table into another ice chest.:drink: No wonder why my boat leans. You would think Cigarette would have taken the ice chest thing into considertion when designing it. So, if you see a Cigarette leaning to starboard when not moving, it means the owner stocked his boat properly for the day.

lol, i meant in addition too, if he is standing at the helm, full cooler with ice. mine holds 2- 20lb bags of ice 4 cases of miller lite 18 oz plastic bottles at 16 bottles per case@ say 9 lbs per case, half gallon of grey goose or 3 olives at say 8 lbs not to mention 12 sodas, 12 waters at 5 lbs each
20+20+36+8+5+5= 94 rough figures take 10 off just for giggles, even at 84.

not totally impossible, would it be the main cause, no but can make a diff :D
during the bimini race Dave and I had a saying, "beer is ballast" and the cooler had some in it :evilb:

stocked properly!

normal problem for a lot of 94-96

Just a little fun.
After the beer is gone it is ballast that you can move as needed.:evilb:


My old boat a 35 Mistress had this problem and it took forever to find the problem.
Whan I started measuring for new headers I found the problem.

And what was the problem???
-Mike

from post #8

Slightly different X dimension.
Less HP on one engine that the other.
props turning out for transom lift - the low side engine has less HP. Props turning in - the low side has more HP

Have you put a straight edge on the running surface and the strakes?

Thanks D got ya

I haven't seen a response suggesting drive trim position. It's natural to want to use tab to level the boat, but is it possible the drives aren't trimmed quite the same. I know after trimming my drives in and out a few times on the common switch that they would be off a little. I used a tab adjustment without thinking and the tab adjustment simply counteracted the drive trim misalignment. Had I just equalized drive trim the boat would have leveled.

When both trim tabs are all the way up, the boat leans toward starboard.
I trim the starboard side to about 2.5 to level the boat.
I don't think it touches the water until about 1 to 1.5.

I have not put a strait edge to the bottom, but it looks strait.
I think I have a weight distribution problem. I have 2 batteries on port and 2 batteries on starboard, no water in my holding tank on port, and a heavy icechest in the cooler which in inside the cabin on starboard. I place my heavy anchor on port, took out my toilet on starboard. I figure I have about 60-80 lbs more weight on starboard. That includes the differance of the weight of my wife and I. Most of that weight in inside the cabin.

Full Cabin - List to Starboard?
 

Don't overlook the weight of your" Helm Station" 50 - 100 Lbs.

So, you are trying to say that the Cigarette full cabin weighs more on starboard direct from the manufacture.

Full Cabin - List to Starboard?
 

First off you have to look at your boat at the dock, if it is listing to the starboard side it has nothing to do with the bottom, drives spinning in or out, or HP. When you take in to account the weight of the helm fiberglass, steering wheel unit, gauges, compass, GPS, radio, hoses, controls, panels, 4x28'+-cables, 30' of 1/2" electrical cables, rigging tubes and everything else that runs down that side of the boat it all adds up. More than you would think.

It does seem to lean a little toward starboard at dock.
I think draining my water holding tanks on the port side was a mistake. It can't offset the cooler. Also, by me adding 2 batteries on the starboard side cancelled the 2 batteries on the port side, which was most likely placed there for a reason.

I'll try filling up my water tanks first to see what happens.
If that helps, then moving the 2 batteries that I added to the port side shoould also help. Too bad it too cold to go out in the water.

I think that is probably where your problem lies, was it all level until you added them?

Don't know, I added them when I first got the boat.

Change what you said, put the boat at the dock, look at it, if it is still listing and if you have a swim platform stand on the port side and see if it straight, might take as much as 180 lbs. to correct.

Ok, I got curious enough to do the math. Let's say a boat with 600 Hp motors is running 70 MPH. At that speed each motor would be producing about 3200 pounds of thrust. For every 1 degree of trim difference you would have a vertical force differential of about 57 pounds.

So if one drive was dead neutral and the other was trimmed three degrees you have a vertical force difference of 171 pounds about the longitudinal axis of the boat.

approximately

This is very interesting, so a small differnce in the guages could be enough.