Offshoreonly.com - Movin up?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ta12sec (Post 4437573)

So I am a sailor, I love sailing, I love cruisng on sailboats, I love racing them I really love sailing. However I like traveling by boat and at 6 knots your range on a weekend is terrible. That's what lead me to power boating. I bought the smallest twin engine performance boat I could find, i could keep it in the driveway. Formula 242ls Until I got it home and it didn't fit ( 6 inches) so now it lives in a rack and we do use it a lot. It's fun and it's fast but when it's rough out it pounds hard and I have to slow way down to keep the crew from screaming. I have read a lot that 1-2 this boat should eat up but it just is painful. I have played with drive trim and tab trim doesn't change the ride much.. We just took our first offshore trip to the Bahamas, 63 miles in 2-3 with winds10-15 building. I didn't think it was bad but my passengers did, one was praying.. On the sailboat it was a 8-12 hour trip, we did it in the formula in an hour and half much better deal. So my question is do I need a bigger boat? Thinking maybe a 28-29 ft boat, is it just rough on a performance boat? Should I get a heavier cruiser style boat? Or should I just keep rocking the 242, it does everything we need, runs low 60s gets good gas mileage just bumpy in waves.

You did mention trim tab use...I am guessing your boat is factory equipped with Bennett Trim Tabs which on that boat with twins are marginal. In any case...properly trimmed with tabs your ride should improve considerably. If the Bennett Tabs aren't doing it for you consider moving up to K Plane 280's. They are much more robust and larger than the Bennett Tabs and MAY solve your problem.

With twins in a 242 you have a large weight bias to stern...tabs help overcome that bias by raising the stern...allowing more bow down and getting you on top of the seas instead of pounding thru them. I have a Formula 255 Liberator which is a similar boat to yours...only about 14" longer but has a much deeper free-board and is heavier by about 700~800 lbs. I'm running twin 355 Vortec Small Block Chevy's thru Bravo 1 drives. I run the Bennett Tabs and find my sweet spot in up to 3~4' seas is about 30~35 MPH.
The 255 gets on top of the waves and cuts thru easily without pounding at that speed. Understand that the way a boat is loaded and the direction of the seas...especially head on to 1/4 port or starboard head...can affect your ride dramatically. Individually trimming the tabs can correct a lot of problems but are limited by their size and strength. The goal is to stay on plane at the lowest speed possible. My 255 will stay on plane at about 20 MPH with the drives neutral and full tab....makes a huge difference.

Some of the good rigging shops here in South Florida may beable set your boat up with K Planes without pulling the engines. With my 255 I am reasonably sure the engines would need to be pulled to swap over to K Planes...your set up might be different.

Talk to the guys at Doller Offshore http://www.dolleroffshore.com/contactus.htm in Hollywood to determine the feasibility of going to a larger tab set up.

With understanding of all of the above...know this...most people don't have the tolerance to ride in an offshore power boat in anything but the smoothest water. They don't understand that it's not like riding in a car down I-95 !! I have been a passenger on some serious offshore boats including a 41' Apache and a 39' Cigarette Top Gun. I can tell you that if your not STANDING in the right position with very good bars to hold on to any position behind the front pair of seats will be uncomfortable in 3~5' plus water...sitting comfortably is not an option...standing allows you to flex you knees...much like using the stirrups and "posting" while riding a horse in a full cantor or gallop.