Do I suck or is it my boat?

[JRuss282]

Good day, this question has probably come up before and I know its been on THT... But lets talk about it.

I have a 2002 282 Sailfish, I love this boat I really do!

We have had had her 5 years now and every year we are getting better at and with handling her. My question is in the Ocean, in the "Chop" does this boat really handle all that well? Lets look at some options, she is NOT a deep V hull center console so we wont be ripping on top of the waves in a chop, also I think & NOT from experience those boats do well - full steam ahead because they cut through the waves.

My boat with the flatter Stern is kind of like a piece of plywood pounding on the waves and kind of getting kicked around. I have learned, "I Think" in the crap with this boat we need to just stay steady and make sure we keep some of the bow into the waves to punch into them and through them? Let me pick a speed? Say 10 to 15 knots, kind of a slow also what are we talking about maybe 2 to 4 to 6 seas?

In addition, I think this boat is not really all that heavy say compared to a 28' Carolina Classic

I know that's a lot but would really like to hear from more experienced Grady White Owners?

Also what about tabs in the crap in or out?

Again I love this boat and would not trade it in, just looking at some of the characteristics

All The Best

 

[glacierbaze]

Hire an instructor for a half-day, to come on your boat, and teach you driving skills, one on one. Not with your fishing buddies along.

 

[magicalbill]

Glaicerbaze is right.

Explaining the handling characteristics and trim/tab use is best done in person by a Qualified Instructor rather than relying on the printed word.

 

[Hookup1]

First question is where are you?

My Islander 268 was a 10 knot or 20 knot boat with no in-between. Switched to 4-blade props,different prop design and less pitch. Results were incredible. No loss of top end speed and now have a midrange.

You need to talk to other owners and maybe someone will give you a hand. Changing props may be a big help too.

 

[family affair]

If you are having issues after 5 years, spending $ on instruction might help or at least validate what you already know.
I've spent a lot of hours behind the wheel of 3 different GW boats and all 3 we're night and day different. I say this because unless the instructor has operated your boat, they might have a preconceived notion of what to expect and steer you wrong.
Our 248 rode bow high. Running the engine tucked in all the time on the bottom quarter of the trim gage seemed excessive for sub 2' conditions, but that's what it liked and oddly it didn't impact fuel economy much. 2-3' required tabs to keep the V into the waves or it would lift the bow and pound. The boat responded well to tabs.
The 270 is bow heavy. Almost too much with 150's out back. I only use the tabs on this boat for a list. I have yet to need them otherwise. Up to 0-3 footers I can leave the engines in the same position and still get a great ride. 3-4 I tuck the engines down to the bottom quarter of the range and slow down to 20-25 mph. The ride is impressively good IMO. I've been on a 28 contender in 4+ and got beat to hell. Other than a performance cat or a 37+ foot boat, you won't move quickly in a 4'+ head sea.
My point is to safely try the extremes of the low end of your engine trim range and see what you get. If you have to slow down because of pounding at this point, add tabs to lift the stern and drop the bow. If that doesn't work, turn around and go home. It's too rough!

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My question would be with regards to the whole 5 year thing in that are those 5 years where you’ve taken the boat out every weekend during the summer or a dozen or so times per season, at the very least? Or are those 5 years similar to the frequency of which I go golfing, where it’s maybe once a month during the summer at best? If it’s the latter, then it’s very much going to take you a long time to be able to get the hang of the boat because there’s no consistency, which you need for boating. Like when most people trailer their boat to the ramp for the first time that year, they look like it’s their first time trailering a boat because they haven’t done it since last fall. I’d spend an entire weekend dedicated to the boat and making it your goal to make the ride more comfortable. Spend a couple hours during each part of the day, during different conditions, wind and so forth so it’s not always the same conditions, or always smooth. Most of the time with boating it’s about experimenting with a newer boat, seeing what she’s capable of, what you’re capable of and just the unknown. Good luck!

 

[JRuss282]

Thank you these are some of the answers I'm looking for. First probably going off shore on a dozen so times each year not every day. Making riding with someone else or someone with me would help to draw some comparisons. By no means am I trying to bash this boat because i do like it. In addition I do feel we are much further today and I feel comfortably with handling the boat, but again without experience with other boat to draw from I don't know how to do any comparisons.

We are in Maryland, sometimes in the Chesapeake which is its only crazy water system with super close chop then we are in OC MD running off shore. Most of the times when the boat is really tested or not as easy is late in the after noon, tides coming out, winds are up and seas are confused etc.

 

[kirk a]

Good day, this question has probably come up before and I know its been on THT... But lets talk about it.

I have a 2002 282 Sailfish, I love this boat I really do!

We have had had her 5 years now and every year we are getting better at and with handling her. My question is in the Ocean, in the "Chop" does this boat really handle all that well? Lets look at some options, she is NOT a deep V hull center console so we wont be ripping on top of the waves in a chop, also I think & NOT from experience those boats do well - full steam ahead because they cut through the waves.

My boat with the flatter Stern is kind of like a piece of plywood pounding on the waves and kind of getting kicked around. I have learned, "I Think" in the crap with this boat we need to just stay steady and make sure we keep some of the bow into the waves to punch into them and through them? Let me pick a speed? Say 10 to 15 knots, kind of a slow also what are we talking about maybe 2 to 4 to 6 seas?

In addition, I think this boat is not really all that heavy say compared to a 28' Carolina Classic

I know that's a lot but would really like to hear from more experienced Grady White Owners?

Also what about tabs in the crap in or out?

Again I love this boat and would not trade it in, just looking at some of the characteristics

All The Best

IMO - your boat is closer to the carolina 25 in size, not the 28. I compare my 330 to the 28 I've been on for a sizing, though they both are completely different in how they handle. CC is better in a head sea, but I find the 330 more stable, and definitely much calmer on the drift.

Knowing your local conditions will help in answering, as will doing some searches here for the Sailfish. I found a ton of info on how to run the 330 here from historical posts.

Also trying some experiments with different combinations of motor tilt and tab use. In 4-6 foot seas (not THT 4-6, but true) no boat in our size range is going to feel 'comfortable' for any length of time. Optimize for 1-2 and go from there.

 

[SkunkBoat]

you suck

 

[kirk a]

you suck

I don't know him, or i could have said that!

 

[SkunkBoat]

2002 282 has a 9 ft beam. It has what ? a 19.5 degree at the transom? Thats not "flat". it has SeaV hull so its still quite sharp under the helm.

28 Carolina is a foot and a half wider and has a 24 deg deadrise and twin inboards. Don't compare them just because they are 28'

My suggestion is try going faster not slower. Try NOT using tabs, use trim.

Worked for me when I was learning my 265. Boat rides GREAT in some crap. Rides better at 28mph than 22mph. Its about momentum. Keep a hand at the throttle and back off when you get the oddball swell. Oh! Get a good autopilot. Then you can concentrate on throttle and looking out at the water.

...but there are certain wave periods that you can't do anything about, it just sucks. I suspect every boat has that no matter the hull.

 

[family affair]

My suggestion is try going faster not slower. Try NOT using tabs, use trim.

...but there are certain wave periods that you can't do anything about, it just sucks. I suspect every boat has that no matter the hull.

I have experienced the same in some conditions and had wondered if I was nuts. Yes, in some conditions with some hulls going faster can actually help.

 

[luckydude]

First, trim your engine all the way forward, if your engine is like mine, all the way forward is more than straight up and down, so the cavitation plate will work like a little trim tab. Next, use the tabs. You need to be aware of your conditions, as Magic Bill will say, you can't do both the engine forward and full tabs in all conditions, there are conditions where that will make the bow want to stuff. For me, I push the bow down as hard as I can until I start getting waves smacked under the bow pulpit, that's when I back off.

If you look at my posts, you'll see that I upgraded my tabs to the biggest size I could fit, I doubled the surface area. Made a huge difference to how the boat rides, before doing that I had to adjust the engine speed on each swell, after I just run.

 

[JRuss282]

Taking in some of these ideas and will be practicing some different techniques next week. As one suggested I may just go out one day and spend some time squarely focused on running some different combinations.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Taking in some of these ideas and will be practicing some different techniques next week. As one suggested I may just go out one day and spend some time squarely focused on running some different combinations.

One of my old basketball coaches always used the phrase “practice makes perfect” of which I liked to tweak that phrase into “perfect practice makes perfect” in that if you practice doing something the wrong way then you’ll do whatever it is habitually incorrect. If you continually practice doing something the correct way then you’ll be quite good at whatever it is that you’re considering doing. I remember doing brakes on one of my cars the first time, or the first time I ever swapped out an engine and it took twice as long, or even longer, than it did the following times thereafter. Spend a couple days out on the water playing around with multiple different combinations or scenarios to see what works best and continue practicing those.

 

[Chessie246G]

Thank you these are some of the answers I'm looking for. First probably going off shore on a dozen so times each year not every day. Making riding with someone else or someone with me would help to draw some comparisons. By no means am I trying to bash this boat because i do like it. In addition I do feel we are much further today and I feel comfortably with handling the boat, but again without experience with other boat to draw from I don't know how to do any comparisons.

We are in Maryland, sometimes in the Chesapeake which is its only crazy water system with super close chop then we are in OC MD running off shore. Most of the times when the boat is really tested or not as easy is late in the after noon, tides coming out, winds are up and seas are confused etc.

From personal experience. The Chesapeake sucks for boating. LOL. Confused seas is an understatement!! I'm in it every weekend.

You will really have to play with different settings over and over to figure out what works for you boat. I realized yesterday that my 246 like being above 5000 rpms on the bay. Slow down to 4700 and it pounds! That was yesterday running head seas. Tomorrow might be different if the boat is loaded differently, more/less people, amount of fuel, ect. Set up wrong, pounding wet ride. Set up correctly, rides like glass.

I hardly ever run my tabs. Only to correct a list.

 

[Bg56126]

I used to run a 272 Sailfish which was a very similar hull. I think you have more running surface. With that boat, in anything small (1s - 2s or rolling) I'd trim the bow all the way up. When the chop got a little bigger and shorter intervals, I found it was a better ride to trim the bow to about half way up using the motors (not tabs). It smoothed the ride out significantly and eliminated the slapping.

 

[Ekea]

take a look at this. taking a head sea starts around the 1:55 mark, followed by how to trim the boat, that being said, just watch the whole thing, its only 5 min.

grady white how to handle - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[family affair]

Love that video. The acting skills of the couple in the cc are impressive. Getting the absolute tar pounded out of them and they act calm and collected at the helm - with a death grip on the seat and wheel. The slow motion helps to hide violent jolt the bodies take on impact.
J Russel, I'm sure you know better, but I don't advise launching your 282 off massive waves like in the video to get better at piloting. But if you do, please be sure to have someone video documenting the event!

 

[Halfhitch]

Showing that video as a training tool for people new to power boating is equivalent to recommending to new dirt bike owners that they enter a motocross race to learn how to handle their new bike.