New Sailfish owner with a handling question.

[Renovator]

Hi all, newby to this site and a proud owner of a(new to me) 05 Sailfish. Just fished her for the first time this past weekend. Decided to hit some bottom #'s about 45 miles out and with a 10-12 knt N-NE wind I came to the conclusion that this would be as a good of a "sea trial" as any. The snapper bite was on fire and we got our limit in short order. Anyhow, to my question: The ride out was about what I expected, but with the wind at our stern and a following sea on the return to port the ride at the helm was much rougher than anticipated. I varied the trim and tabs but could never find the sweet spot. I think I may have had the bow up a bit but at times she wanted to plow and veer the bow from side to side. Just wanted to get some feedback from other GW/Sailfish owners. I assume she is a little bow heavy due to the placement of the cabin forward. Sorry for the long narrative, I have been an inboard owner for the last 10 years and I guess it's time for a new learning curve. Awesome boat though, built tank tough!!

Thanks,Ron

 

[ppaspa]

Hi Ron,

I have an '02 282 so I'm guessing the ride is similar. What you described is not too far off normal. The deep V hull cuts into the waves coming at the bow very well but can 'dig into' and steer in following seas pushing the bow from side to side as the waves pass. Especially if the following seas are coming from the starbord or port stern side. I find that using both trim tabs togetgher to push the bow down can stabilize the ride somewhat, but not a great deal. Also plotting a course to minimize the time spent with follwing seas is always good, but not always an option. Enjoy the boat. It's a great ride but you described the same thing I experience. I'll be curious if anyone else has a different experience.

Paul

 

[amr72]

In a following sea you want the bow up high. I would not use any tabs. Doing so could result in burying the bow into the base of a wave. I have done this and it is not fun. Head sea, use the tabs to get the bow down and take advantage of the sharp entry.

 

[jekyl]

I concur, can't imagine any boat that likes bow down in a following sea. However too much bow up can cause the boat to stutter or fall off the plane if the swell you are trying to go over is a big one.
Having had my 265 for only 9 months I am still working to find the sweet spot in each sea state.
As yet I have not had to use the tabs other than to trim the hull laterally.
I have read several posts where skippers talk about using tabs to keep the nose down in a head sea. Out of my home port we are invariably travelling into the sea with a full load on the way out and are fairly light on the way back so tabs haven't been neccessary for buttoning the nose down.
I think the 265 is a little beamier but not enough to make that much of a difference.

 

[JeffN]

I have always gone bow up and adjust your speed.

 

[megabytes]

I concur with other posters. It didn't take to long to realize you need the bow up when running down sea. You will also want to adjust you speed so as not to plow into the back of a swell or come too quickly down the face.

I ran my 97 272 (and now my 300 as well) with tabs fully up and 2-4 bars on the engine trim when running downsea. The only variable for me is the speed. In any limiting sea where I cannot obtain full cruising speed I use the same strategy. I start on the slow end and gradually increase speed. When it becomes uncomfortable, I will back off a tad. If conditions improve, I will bump it up a bit. On my boat, safety is first, comfort is second, speed is last.

Having an AP helps because it allows you to look ahead and find the sweet spot without focusing on watching the compass and GPS. Once dialed in, I can lean back and enjoy the ride while watching the radar and looking ahead for traffic.

FTR: In the conditions you describe I would have run the Sailfish around 20-22 kts and the Marlin 24-26 kts.

Hope this helps. Good luck with a fine boat.

 

[Capt Bill]

Agree with amr72. No tabs on following sea. Not only do you want the bow high, but when those tabs are down in a following sea, they'll act like big scoops, and cause more handling problems, as the op found out.

 

[Renovator]

Thanks for the replies skippers. I am thinking I may need to back off the speed a bit as I was watching the fuel economy gauge(of which my prior boat doesn't have) and trying also to get the optimum economy. From here on comfort will be first. Another question: I really had to "work the wheel" to keep her tracking straight, I assume that isn't typical or is it? At this time the AP is waiting for a repair part(rudder feedback sensor thingmajingy) and I am sure that when working properly will help a lot. However I have noticed that their is a fair amount of play (about 180 degree) at the helm before you get any rudder response, I expect that the steering lines may have air in them and need to be bled. The engines are counter rotating and I would think should track fairly well. I will bleed the lines before our next trip out and hope that this will solve most of the issue. Thanks again for the replies.
P.S. Any of you guys use the Lewmar Profish freefall windlass? Any thoughts? The current windlass needs to be replaced.
Ron.

 

[Grog]

Is there a 180 (say from 9:00 to 3:00 turning of the wheel) at all times or jsut when things get a little sloppy? If it takes that much wheel to get an action when the seas are flat there is definitlely a problem. When going through a cannal and the tides is ripping and the seas are confused and you have to keep the speed at around 5kts, the steering is sloppy.

I wouldn't use tabs in a following sea.

Experiment with speed, tabs, and trim. There are times when more speed gives a better ride.

 

[Renovator]

The 180 is when the boat is up on the lift and out of the water! From the 3:00 to 9:00 position their is no response at the steering arm, actually it is a tad over 1/2 revolution of the wheel.

 

[Capt Bill]

The 180 is when the boat is up on the lift and out of the water! From the 3:00 to 9:00 position their is no response at the steering arm, actually it is a tad over 1/2 revolution of the wheel.

There is definitely a problem. I would not run that boat again until you get it resolved.

 

[DB]

Renovator,

When ever running in a following sea keep the tabs up and the motors trimmed out. If you are trying to correct for a following beam sea try laying the boat over to that side with making some minor adjustments to the motor . Example if you are running with a following sea to starboard pick up a liitle more on the starboard motor to lay the boat over. Hope this helps.
Dan

 

[Grog]

The 180 is when the boat is up on the lift and out of the water! From the 3:00 to 9:00 position their is no response at the steering arm, actually it is a tad over 1/2 revolution of the wheel.

There is definitely a problem. I would not run that boat again until you get it resolved.

Ditto!

Is there fluid in the helm?

 

[ahill]

I bought a 272 in '06 and have the same problem as you describe. No tabs trim motors up and it still wanders especially in any beam or quartering sea. Returning to H'stead from Bimini on a particularly rough day allowed me much experimentation with load distribution, tabs, engine speed & trim and nothing worked short of heavy wheel action. I've been boating for a long time in several different boats and none have displayed that handling characteristic.
A prior post dealt with the transition from the stepped running bottom at the transom and the current configuration. The poster stated that by changing away from the step bouyancy was increased at the stern causing the plowing condition. I believe that is right. I have not experienced the condition with Sea Ray, Mako or Sea Craft, all prior owned boats.

 

[plymouthgrady]

Grog beat me to the punch...check the amount of fluid at the helm. If you need to add fluid, add it slowly turning the wheel slowly back and forth. Also watch it- if it's that low, you may have a leak.
Check the SEA-STAR hydraulic ram and its fittings. the nuts and bolts can come loose affecting steering.

 

[Renovator]

Thanks for the replies. The helm fluid was the first thing I checked on returning, it was fine and no apparent leaks. I am going to bleed the lines and go from there. Maybe this condition caused the rudder feedback arm to go out on the AP. Can't imagine the prior owner did not notice this amount of steering play, but I don't think the boat was used much offshore.
Any of you guys had any issues with the Yammies and Ethanol? We have it here and I plan to keep the filters replaced often. This boat has the in line 10 micron Yamaha cannister filters, I know some folks prefer the type with the glass bowl for visual checks for water, etc. I guess the advantage for that type is that you can bleed off the H2O, not sure if it is worth changing to that style.
Ron

 

[magicalbill]

Renovator;
Concerning Ethanol...
I have had no problems..My rig is a 232 with twin 200 Four-Strokes. I keep the tank TOTALLY full..Fuel it after every trip, plus I trailer and store it full..No issues at all and this is my 2nd year with 126-or-so hours.