312 Fastech
 

I moved up to a 312 Fastech this year, I am thinking of trying to sell it. I am not at all happy with the ride. I love everything about the boat, except the ride. I boat in Lake Erie waters, 3's and above the boat gets really squirley on me. Ot seems to jolt side to side very quickly when bouncing in rough water, almost to the point of scaring the crap out of me! Any advice from other 312 owners would be helpful.

Get some 5 blade maximus props,,makes the boat more stable..also jumps on plane easier..my friend has a set of 26p that came off his 312 and it made a huge difference went threw 1/3rd less fuel and the boat stayed on plane at 19 mph @ 2100 rpm's..props are forsale if interested..ill pm you his number and he can tell you more if you want to call him.

I had a 312 and thought it performed very well. We later went to a 382 for the cabin space since we overnighted with 3 kids often. 4 blade Bravos tend to be the best prop for these boats. 5 blades work well but I started busting drives in the 382 with them.

What boat did you have before? Is this your first stepped hull. Even the 312's small single step will fell less "glued" to the water than a straight hull.

Does the boat have hydraulic steering? Kplanes or bennet tabs?

It does not have hydronic steering or K planes. Just tabs. I had a 242 LS before. It just seems super squirley to me.

The step and the lack of hydraulic steering make a big difference, even the bigger tabs would help a little. Does the wheel move around when you are wave hopping or is the wheel solid but the boat moves? Have you checked the gimbal for play? W/O Hydraulic steering if you don't have play in the system yet.......you soon will boating in those conditions often. I assume this is a 454/310hp boat since it doesn't have any of the other upgrades but even at 65mph WOT that boat needs steering help.

I run my pops' 03 312 w/ 6.2s and it feels anything but light on the water. Lots of things you can go over... prop pitch? Direction they turn in or out? Measure your trim stop, make sure it is only raising to the recommended angle while running. Measure the cross bar to confirm it is at recommended specs.

Some improvements he has done to the 312 is add longer bennett tabs and an extra pump/piston. Also Bblades labbed and worked his 26 4 blades.

The props are set pretty optimal for his boat and you can really get a nice hole shot with no blowout and the cup that was put in really lets it be trimmed up nicely with out any uncomfortable feeling. We have had a good results while running the gps with light fuel and a nice chop we saw 68 any day and 70 with a little work.

Too bad you aren't nearby I would tell you bring that rascal to the bay and we can exchange rides to see if we can help you getting her settled.

The fellas helped you with suggestions. Definitely check the other mechanics of it like transom housing like the steering pin for play...

I dont care what people say, stepped formulas with out hydraulic steering are plain funky to drive at speed the stock basic power provides. My 292 would dart around like a gold fish before. 1 billion percent better now that I installed the full hydraulic steering system. The back and fourth rocking you experience when in rougher water is almost always driver induced unless it is a side swell, your over compensating for the 2" of slack in the cable steering and you just dont realize it.

I tend to agree with loose on this, I would say before making any big decisions get some more seat time, maybe see if u can catch another ride on someone elses

I had my 353 out on lake MI this weekend for the air water show... lots of big boats out near navy pier and such, left my drives down and k planes all the way down and road outstanding. My girlfriend freaks out at anything above idle on boats and i couldnt even get her to come off the boat she liked it so much.

FYI i do have full hydro steering as well