opie wrote:I saw a 35 footer appear on the horizon, pass me and disappear over the far horizon all while I am trying to go 3 miles to the inlet to get home. Did, I get disgusted with the Mac? Heck no. I was on the water. I had cold beverages and companions. I had a soft cushion. I had a breeze and a view and pelicans diving around me, with a dolphin or two. I could have been on a piece of large plywood tied to oil barrels sitting in a lawnchair out there and still felt like a million dollars. Especially since I pass several marinas each time I go out and 99% of the sailboats are in their slips and most seem to never leave the slips. What good is having those beautiful, salty, sailing vessels if you never get to take them out or can't find crew?
THIS, IMHO, is the most important point. So what if my boat isn't perfect. I'm out sailing while others are working to pay for their Teak Goddesses - or working ON them.
An owner of a smaller sailboat than ours says this:
Slipped boats are dirt-cheap. You end up paying what you paid for the boat every year in slip fees and
underwater hull maintenance.
Slipped boats are like a new swimming pool. Everyone in the family gets excited for six weeks and then
gradually interest drops off. But the marina bills still come due. And you spend every other weekend
circumnavigating the same 9 nautical miles. Because that is the farthest the boat is capable of sailing.
Something called hull speed. That's why slipped sailboats are so cheap. Everyone figures this out.
Another thing I learned. Everyone spends 95% of the time in the cockpit. So, pushing a ... 36
around the harbor versus pushing a ... 27 or a ... 22 comes down to floating a sofa that no
one is sitting on. So, what is the point? Smaller is better. Unless your are a liveaboard, I would take the
... 27 over the 36 every time.
Quoted from Wright Potter Website
I believe that problem was rectified by the 2002x because my boat doesn't do that. It will also motor 18mph or faster depending on conditions with the Honda 50 with 10 pitch prop (11x 3/4). I know that there were design changes in the ballast tank from your boat to mine and that could affect the center of gravity causing your boat to wander or also called "prop walk-cat walk". Mine doesn't do that at all. I once sold a 25k+ crownline powerboat becuase it prop walked badly. Some the exact models like mine of crownline didn't do it. I believe it could be caused the a misaligned OB engine mounted on the transom. Good luck.
airbornemp19's post reminded me of an install issue I had with my E-tec 60. The dealer installed the engine too deep on the transom causing the bow to ride high. I raised the engine up whereby the cavitation plate was 1/2" below the bottom of the boat. This raised my rpm from 4,700 to 5,400 with ballast and lowered my bow's attitude. Also you should check your engine's trim tab.
Sorry, I couldn't resist ....
