Sea Ray 175 in the waves. Advice needed, I can not seem to trim down enough. Change Prop?

[Espos4]

Also Espos4 the ignore feature still allows them to post in my threads, I just won't see it. That kind of defeats the purpose of why I want to block. I would like to see their posts so I can defend myself, I just want them out of my threads if they are not going to contribute and be civil.

I think you missed my point……………..

 

[jmauld]

Well if you are serious, I reached out to an Admin on how to block someone but he did not answer if it is possible.

Also Espos4 the ignore feature still allows them to post in my threads, I just won't see it. That kind of defeats the purpose of why I want to block. I would like to see their posts so I can defend myself, I just want them out of my threads if they are not going to contribute and be civil.

No I’m not serious. Those guys are great. You just took their posts too personally.

 

[97Alpha175]

@97Alpha175 grow a pair. This is an open public forum. People will post things that you may not like. They may even hijack the thread and go completely off topic. So what. Skip what you don't want to read. But pretty much everything said in this thread has been valid. You're essentially asking how to make a small boat serviceable in some nasty conditions. Go ahead and spend your money on props, tabs, and magic beans. There is loads of experience here that is skeptical. Hopefully, it works out for you.

Look, if high end boats come with trim tabs and 4 blade props how is that magic beans?? Owners swear by them. But somehow for my boat it doesn't apply? I want to drive in 1ft or less waves that is less than most boats wake. If I am in 1.5ft waves I want to smooth it out. Sounds like smart tabs or a 4 blade prop is a win.
You're telling me it is magic beans? You guys keep trying to make it out like I am expecting my boat to be some 60ft Scarab. I think my expectations are reasonable.

 

[jmauld]

If you’re going to upgrade your prop, the best option is a toroidal prop.


And if you can’t manually control trim tabs don’t get them.

 

[97Alpha175]

You jumped to the most expensive option on the market. Are you speaking from experience? Have you gone from 3 to 4 to toroidal?
Again if you missed it I am trying to get my bow down/stern up a bit and lower my speed on plane. Not destroy massive waves bruh.

 

[jmauld]

No I’m messing with you.


Slow down a bit and learn the boat before spending money on props.

You didn’t watch the video did you? Getting your bow down in rough water isn’t necessarily what you want to do. You are putting your passengers at risk

 

[Scott215]

@alpha175 when I first joined this forum I had gotten a new to me 2006 Sea Ray 215 weekender which I thought was going to handle three and four foot seas no problem I was told yeah it will handle them but it's going to be a very rough ride imagine how disappointed I was when I just spent a lot of money on a boat that I thought I could take out anytime I wanted to, well I was a little bit disappointed and felt kind of like you did, along the way I had issues with my boat and I turned to these guys who have all this experience, and they help me some of them even live near me and boat near me I never have heard anybody be put down though they're not here for that they're here to help you sometimes they're a little sarcastic but you just take it with the grain of salt man that's all

 

[Golfman25]

Look, if high end boats come with trim tabs and 4 blade props how is that magic beans?? Owners swear by them. But somehow for my boat it doesn't apply? I want to drive in 1ft or less waves that is less than most boats wake. If I am in 1.5ft waves I want to smooth it out. Sounds like smart tabs or a 4 blade prop is a win.
You're telling me it is magic beans? You guys keep trying to make it out like I am expecting my boat to be some 60ft Scarab. I think my expectations are reasonable.

What you aren't accounting for is that for every action, there is a reaction. So you just can't "change props" or "add tabs."

My boat came with 18 x 21 3 blades. Previous owner put on 17 x 21 four blades. Improved low RPM bite but lowered the engine RPMs below the recommended range. I changes to 18 x 19 four blades. Got the RPMs back, but we'll see about the effects on slow speed maneuvering.

Many Sea Rays came with undersized tabs. Owners on here made several modifications to make them work better. Etc. Etc.

So my point has been and continues to be, figure out what you have a how to work with it before you throw money at problems. Props and Tabs aren't necessarily magic solutions.

 

[97Alpha175]

If no water is coming over the bow or anywhere else at the moment I am not putting anyone in danger wanting to try and trim down more.
Their advice says to trim down in my situation. I was taught do not over drive your boat. Leave some throttle leave some ability to trim. I have run out of trim and all other factors are still controllable and safe. The condition is not there when the boat isn't loaded up. I would slow down but the bow rises too high and I lose some control.
I would assume from what I read a 3 blade prop a couple in of pitch down will slow me down and help when I tow too. But when throttling down trim tabs sound interesting too.
A 4 blade less diameter and pitch could also help raise the stern. So a prop feels like the right answer. Slower speed on plane which should help porpoising and open up trim. Also trim tabs seem like a helpful thought too. Seems that would open up my ability to use trim. When currently loaded up I do not have any trim down to play with in 1.5ft waves. I am just suggesting what the boat seems to want. I am definitely trying to avoid stuffing the bow as I am sure you know. But you get a kick out of messing with people. Forum tough guys are cute I imagine you guys yell at your mothers and girlfriends/wives too.

But I really don't know what I am talking about. Remember you keep saying rough water. Qualify that. I am talking about 1-1.5ft waves. With boat loaded this seems like a perfect fit for Tabs and prop swap.

 

[97Alpha175]

@alpha175 when I first joined this forum I had gotten a new to me 2006 Sea Ray 215 weekender which I thought was going to handle three and four foot seas no problem I was told yeah it will handle them but it's going to be a very rough ride imagine how disappointed I was when I just spent a lot of money on a boat that I thought I could take out anytime I wanted to, well I was a little bit disappointed and felt kind of like you did, along the way I had issues with my boat and I turned to these guys who have all this experience, and they help me some of them even live near me and boat near me I never have heard anybody be put down though they're not here for that they're here to help you sometimes they're a little sarcastic but you just take it with the grain of salt man that's all

I want 1-1.5 ft waves. I can roll with the punches but we are 4 pages in still assuming I want to tackle 3-4ft waves. It just makes it hard to sift though the banter to get to the good info.
If you search through forums this is what makes them horrible. 5 pages or reading to get 2 comments of good info.

 

[Pirate Lady]

Just my 2 cents…
Saturday we went out on Chesapeake. SCA were out, small white caps, i made mistake of filling tank, 100 gallons = 800 pounds dead weight. Every white cap knocked us down. Ya i could have plowed thru if i kept bow down and ran with the 4 barrels open burning 20 gph. No, turned around came back in river went to local tiki bar and had great time. And thats in a 25 sundancer.
Sometimes ya gotta know when to call it.
A 175, oh hell no.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'm pretty sure I mentioned at least most of this in a previous post...

You DO NOT want your bow down low when going through 1-1/2 to 2-footers in your boat. In YOUR boat, that can be considered "rough" water. If you keep your bow down you WILL eventually hit a slightly bigger wave that could, realistically, stuff your bow. Or, the bow could be bouncing a bit (you ARE NOT going to stop this from happening in 2-footers... or even 1-footers) and one of those times it ends up dipping a little further than the others and the same thing happens. Stuffing the bow is no good in any boat... much worse in a bowrider (and the smaller the boat, the worse it is).

27+ MPH in "rough" conditions (as defined above) is generally too much. The Smart Tabs (much more-so than the prop) will help you slow down and be more comfortable in those rough conditions... and much safer, too.

Go back and read what I said about 2,000RPM and up trim, as well. You should experiment with that so you know what to do should the need arise.

 

[blaster]

I thought winter time was over but this thread is frigid. Every message board has its own character. Some are strictly policed and some are self policed. On this forum the members basically regulate themselves. Some members are very welcoming and others are more tribal. The answer to dealing with the concerns 97alpha175 has is to ignore. Even if you do not like seeing it just ignore it. Take the good with the bad and move forward.

 

[97Alpha175]

I'm pretty sure I mentioned at least most of this in a previous post...

You DO NOT want your bow down low when going through 1-1/2 to 2-footers in your boat. In YOUR boat, that can be considered "rough" water. If you keep your bow down you WILL eventually hit a slightly bigger wave that could, realistically, stuff your bow. Or, the bow could be bouncing a bit (you ARE NOT going to stop this from happening in 2-footers... or even 1-footers) and one of those times it ends up dipping a little further than the others and the same thing happens. Stuffing the bow is no good in any boat... much worse in a bowrider (and the smaller the boat, the worse it is).

27+ MPH in "rough" conditions (as defined above) is generally too much. The Smart Tabs (much more-so than the prop) will help you slow down and be more comfortable in those rough conditions... and much safer, too.

Go back and read what I said about 2,000RPM and up trim, as well. You should experiment with that so you know what to do should the need arise.

Will do Lazy Daze thanks again for the suggestion. I would like the ability to trim up in this condition, not that I want to hold the bow down. Heck I could be at the perfect range and not know it because I can not trim any further down. I hope tabs will balance this all out.
I can not say with certainty if I was pointed at the sky or not at 2k RPM. I also was probably going 27 up to the 2ft ish then probably like 20. But as mentioned by another member I need to look at RPM too. I was just focused on the smoothest safest ride.
I just talked to Bennett marine about tabs and it is pretty clear they can help with what I am talking about. I will talk to Nauticus tomorrow. Props do not seem to be the answer to keep the bow down, just a top speed and hole shot thing. Later I might have a need when towing but my 14.25 x 21p can go through the wot rpm range of 4400-4800 and I get on plane pretty quick so it works.

But who knows maybe I will buy this 120ft yacht I have been looking at then I can come back and tell everyone get a bigger boat!
Again, like me or not thanks all for the input it ultimately caused me to get some good information but stressed out too.

Good advice Blaster

 

[Scott215]

Ok

 

[jmauld]

Their advice says to trim down in my situation. I was taught do not over drive your boat. Leave some throttle leave some ability to trim. I have run out of trim and all other factors are still controllable and safe. The condition is not there when the boat isn't loaded up. I would slow down but the bow rises too high and I lose some control.

This is why I was a little hesitant to post that video. Yes, they trimmed down to get the bow down. BUT they were in a boat that was designed to ride on 2-3’ waves. Your boat is not designed to ride on top of waves. It is a smooth water boat. If you stuff it once,, you are disabled and at the mercy of any additional waves.

We are all in similar boats to yours so we are not negatively criticizing your boat, or telling you to get a bigger boat. We want you to enjoy your boat.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Bennett and Nauticus both have the inexpensive "self adjusting" tabs. Bennett also has the controllable (by you) hyrdraulic tabs. But as I said earlier, it's overkill for you boat. The auto (self adjusting) ones will be perfect.

 

[97Alpha175]

Bennett and Nauticus both have the inexpensive "self adjusting" tabs. Bennett also has the controllable (by you) hyrdraulic tabs. But as I said earlier, it's overkill for you boat. The auto (self adjusting) ones will be perfect.

I think you are right on the money. I am going to test some things out, but it feels pretty obvious driving the boat that it needs a bit of help picking up the stern. I do not see any down side of smart tabs and keeping tabs in the least lift position. When I might need more like when towing, lower them down. I think I won't need a prop change. I haven't timed it but it seems to take about 3 seconds to get on plane. Seems pretty fast nothing to try and fix anyway. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Woody]

Is he gone now?

 

[Scott215]

He's getting smart tabs