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Off for a bit of boating..
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message m... On 8/1/13 9:28 AM, Eisboch wrote: I agree. When I first got into boating I tried to rely on the displayed drive trim setting but soon realized it was only a general reference and after a while I never bothered to even look at it. I don't recall having a trim gauge on any of my outboard boats prior to my two Parkers. -------------------------------------- Me either on outboards, except for on a couple of newer ones. The tried and true method of adjusting the trim for max RPM for a given throttle setting always seemed to work fine. The throttle setting was obviously dependent on sea state, so the trim setting also varied. On the two I/Os I had the trim was useful in making sure the leg was fully up when retrieving the boat at the launch, but that was about it. Oh, it was also useful in troubleshooting a problem on the old Century I had. A leak in the hydraulics would allow the leg to slowly be pushed back down, once adjusted and the damn boat would start to bow steer. Not fun at higher speeds. |
Off for a bit of boating..
On Thu, 1 Aug 2013 05:42:15 -0700 (PDT), True North
wrote: First I'll drop into a local Mercury dealer to get an estimate on installing a 'trim gauge' and sender pkg. === Why bother, not worth the money in my opinion (and experience). As others have said, you just need a little practice setting it up for different conditions. There is no one trim setting that is right all of the time. The big variables are sea state, boat loading, wind direction, speed, etc. After a while you can a feel for what bow angle works best for different conditions and then you adjust the trim to achieve that angle. |
Off for a bit of boating..
On Thu, 1 Aug 2013 05:42:15 -0700 (PDT), True North wrote:
Unlike the majority in here, I'm off to enjoy a beautiful day of boating. First I'll drop into a local Mercury dealer to get an estimate on installing a 'trim gauge' and sender pkg. Then I'll have to decide whether to boat on the largest freshwater lake around here... or explore either of two beautiful ocean bays...St. Margaret's or Mahone Bay. Winds are supposed to be light.. although from the South, so hopefully it won't be too rough for the wife. Please don't let your wife hurt herself trying to get your boat in your driveway. John (Gun Nut) H. -- Hope you're having a great day! |
Off for a bit of boating..
On 8/1/13 10:17 AM, Eisboch wrote:
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message m... On 8/1/13 9:28 AM, Eisboch wrote: I agree. When I first got into boating I tried to rely on the displayed drive trim setting but soon realized it was only a general reference and after a while I never bothered to even look at it. I don't recall having a trim gauge on any of my outboard boats prior to my two Parkers. -------------------------------------- Me either on outboards, except for on a couple of newer ones. The tried and true method of adjusting the trim for max RPM for a given throttle setting always seemed to work fine. The throttle setting was obviously dependent on sea state, so the trim setting also varied. On the two I/Os I had the trim was useful in making sure the leg was fully up when retrieving the boat at the launch, but that was about it. Oh, it was also useful in troubleshooting a problem on the old Century I had. A leak in the hydraulics would allow the leg to slowly be pushed back down, once adjusted and the damn boat would start to bow steer. Not fun at higher speeds. I managed to avoid owning I/O's for my entire boating life. My father sold them but didn't like them for many reasons, and I suppose I picked up on his opinion/prejudice. My dad's best friend was a competitor boat dealer who handled Century boats. I always loved the fancy mahogany speedboats but my favorite was a 20-footer (I'm guessing from a long ago memory) lapstrake model, not unlike a Lyman, straight inboard, maybe 120 hp or so. Nice riding boat, soft chines. |
Off for a bit of boating..
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ... On 8/1/13 10:17 AM, Eisboch wrote: On the two I/Os I had the trim was useful in making sure the leg was fully up when retrieving the boat at the launch, but that was about it. Oh, it was also useful in troubleshooting a problem on the old Century I had. A leak in the hydraulics would allow the leg to slowly be pushed back down, once adjusted and the damn boat would start to bow steer. Not fun at higher speeds. I managed to avoid owning I/O's for my entire boating life. My father sold them but didn't like them for many reasons, and I suppose I picked up on his opinion/prejudice. My dad's best friend was a competitor boat dealer who handled Century boats. I always loved the fancy mahogany speedboats but my favorite was a 20-footer (I'm guessing from a long ago memory) lapstrake model, not unlike a Lyman, straight inboard, maybe 120 hp or so. Nice riding boat, soft chines. ------------------------------ The Century I had wasn't one of the nice, older classics like that. It was a 1982 26' Express Cruiser I/O and probably should have been retired from service years before I bought it. It had been repowered by an amateur and had all kinds of problems. The second time out Mrs.E. and I were enjoying a nice cruise towards Boston Harbor when I started smelling burning rubber. Looked back from the helm and black smoke was coming out of the engine space. The engine had not been aligned properly with the outdrive and the rubber drive coupling (forget what they are called) self destructed. My father-in-law came to our rescue and towed us back to port with his Uniflite. That started a series of repairs, corrections and adjustments and I learned the value of having both a survey, mechanic's inspection and sea trial before buying a boat. It was also the second and last I/O I owned. Two footitest set in and all the the subsequent boats (except for a few smaller outboards) had fixed props and rudders. I'd never even consider an I/O again. |
Off for a bit of boating..
|
Off for a bit of boating..
On Thu, 01 Aug 2013 09:05:34 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:
On 8/1/13 8:42 AM, True North wrote: Unlike the majority in here, I'm off to enjoy a beautiful day of boating. First I'll drop into a local Mercury dealer to get an estimate on installing a 'trim gauge' and sender pkg. Then I'll have to decide whether to boat on the largest freshwater lake around here... or explore either of two beautiful ocean bays...St. Margaret's or Mahone Bay. Winds are supposed to be light.. although from the South, so hopefully it won't be too rough for the wife. I think the trim gauge may be a waste of money. If you observer the outboard when you are running on plane and adjust the trim, you can usually tell by sight and sound (and speed abd tach and whether the bow is up or down or whether the boat is running on its optimum plane.} Unless the gauge and sender are cheap, maybe you can do without them. Have to agree with this post. Wind and wave height and direction of travel can all affect how a boat performs at differing trims. Set the throttle and then adjust the trim for the best speed at that throttle setting. Works every time. John (Gun Nut) H. -- Hope you're having a great day! |
Off for a bit of boating..
On 8/1/2013 10:59 AM, Eisboch wrote:
"F.O.A.D." wrote in message ... On 8/1/13 10:17 AM, Eisboch wrote: On the two I/Os I had the trim was useful in making sure the leg was fully up when retrieving the boat at the launch, but that was about it. Oh, it was also useful in troubleshooting a problem on the old Century I had. A leak in the hydraulics would allow the leg to slowly be pushed back down, once adjusted and the damn boat would start to bow steer. Not fun at higher speeds. I managed to avoid owning I/O's for my entire boating life. My father sold them but didn't like them for many reasons, and I suppose I picked up on his opinion/prejudice. My dad's best friend was a competitor boat dealer who handled Century boats. I always loved the fancy mahogany speedboats but my favorite was a 20-footer (I'm guessing from a long ago memory) lapstrake model, not unlike a Lyman, straight inboard, maybe 120 hp or so. Nice riding boat, soft chines. ------------------------------ The Century I had wasn't one of the nice, older classics like that. It was a 1982 26' Express Cruiser I/O and probably should have been retired from service years before I bought it. It had been repowered by an amateur and had all kinds of problems. The second time out Mrs.E. and I were enjoying a nice cruise towards Boston Harbor when I started smelling burning rubber. Looked back from the helm and black smoke was coming out of the engine space. The engine had not been aligned properly with the outdrive and the rubber drive coupling (forget what they are called) self destructed. My father-in-law came to our rescue and towed us back to port with his Uniflite. That started a series of repairs, corrections and adjustments and I learned the value of having both a survey, mechanic's inspection and sea trial before buying a boat. It was also the second and last I/O I owned. Two footitest set in and all the the subsequent boats (except for a few smaller outboards) had fixed props and rudders. I'd never even consider an I/O again. You remember bots from 60 years ago but you can't remember to pay your taxes or mortgage? |
Off for a bit of boating..
On Thursday, August 1, 2013 7:42:15 AM UTC-5, True North wrote:
Unlike the majority in here, I'm off to enjoy a beautiful day of boating. First I'll drop into a local Mercury dealer to get an estimate on installing a 'trim gauge' and sender pkg. Then I'll have to decide whether to boat on the largest freshwater lake around here... or explore either of two beautiful ocean bays...St. Margaret's or Mahone Bay. Winds are supposed to be light.. although from the South, so hopefully it won't be too rough for the wife. Hope you had fun, Don. |
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