What is your 'cruise' speed?

[B-Faithful]

Fishfactoryhas been adding Merc parts to his yammie to make it perform better. I may have to look out for him

BTW, Megabyte was the photographer :wink:

 

[Megabyte]

It was a thought...
I have a feeling you'd beat old Porky in a drag race anyway. :lol:

 

[Megabyte]

Winds yesterday were only blowing 5 kts so I was able to run her home at a little more than 'cruise speed' once in protected waters...

5000 rpm and just a tick under 31 kts.

 

[cbigma]

Kevin!

31 knots and I don't see those hands at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock! :shock:


You can usually see my white knuckles on the wheel when I'm up in that range. :lol:

How you steerin' that rig Kevin? :roll:

Oh,,,,,,oops,,,,,, never mind,,,,,,,,


..........John

 

[Megabyte]

Actually, she was tracking straight as an arrow. :wink:

I did have to keep one hand on the throttle though.
Gotta tighten the friction on the Morse control someday soon.
She has a tendency to drop rpm's if you don't keep a hand on the stick.

One hand on the camera, one on the throttle.

 

[cbigma]

I gotta convert to hydraulic steering.

If I let go the wheel at WOT I'd be having some serious issues :shock:

Has anyone posted a cable-to-hydraulic steering conversion Project yet?

I've seen lots of second-station posts, but no outright conversion from cable to hydraulic...... -somebody out there in ClassicParker Land must have done this already- 8)

 

[DaleH]

Has anyone posted a cable-to-hydraulic steering conversion Project yet?

Don't think so yet, from what I remember ...

Somebody out there in ClassicParker Land must have done this already

I did this upgrade on my old 24' cuddy cabin - upgraded from Teleflex cable to Seastar hydraulics. Very simple to do, I think the total install was only a few hours. Hardest part was bleeding the lines, but I know a few tricks. I can also get you a hydraulic system for wholesale cost and we could install it together next Spring !

 

[cbigma]

Excellent! Thanks Dale! 8)

Gotta have at least one or two Parker projects lined up for next spring. It's the only thing that gets me through these nasty New England winters. :lol:

Lining up parts and schematics is more fun than lookin' through the seed catalog. :roll:

 

[Porkchunker]

If you let go of the wheel and the boat doesn't track true, then you need to adjust the little trim vane on the lower unit that is behind and above the prop. They are ususally also made of zinc and provide a dual purpose: 1) to counteract the torque of the spinning prop, and 2) to act as a sacrificial anode to protect the lower unit from electrolysis.

Loosen the bolt holding it in, and move it a bit to the left if the boat wants to pull left (and visa versa).

 

[DaleH]

Loosen the bolt holding it in, and move it a bit to the left if the boat wants to pull left (and visa versa).

Wouldn't one move the "trailing edge" of the fin to the right if the boat was over-steering to the left?

When you do this John, run it at your usual cruise speed when checking, but no OB fin will counteract all torque from your right-hand picthed prop ...

 

[cbigma]

If you let go of the wheel and the boat doesn't track true, then you need to adjust the little trim vane on the lower unit that is behind and above the prop.

This is a tweak that I've never really considered. Thanks for the tip.

I guess I just assumed that cable steering meant dealing with a control issue at the upper RPM range. This is my first OB in the >200HP range, and I figured it just comes with the territory.

I think hydraulic will be the way to go,,, because the Admiral has a tough time at > 4000RPMs right now with the cable steering.

And we all know that things are sooooo.... much easier when the Admiral's happy! :wink:

 

[Megabyte]

Here is the 'fin' that Dave is referring to.
Mine is angled to the right... though the camera angle doesn't really show by how much.

 

[DaleH]

Just keep in mind that proper setting of that fin requires that the operator set it not only at the speed you usually use, but also the OB's trim angle used at that speed.

Said better than I ever could say, looky here.

 

[Porkchunker]

If you let go of the wheel and the boat doesn't track true, then you need to adjust the little trim vane on the lower unit that is behind and above the prop.

This is a tweak that I've never really considered. Thanks for the tip.

I guess I just assumed that cable steering meant dealing with a control issue at the upper RPM range. This is my first OB in the >200HP range, and I figured it just comes with the territory.

I think hydraulic will be the way to go,,, because the Admiral has a tough time at > 4000RPMs right now with the cable steering.

And we all know that things are sooooo.... much easier when the Admiral's happy! :wink:

cbigma,

On the little woodie (see my signature), I have twin 35 HP Johnson OBs, with rope steering (SS cable with plastic coating, running through pulleys). Properly adjusted trim vanes, allows me to steer that boat with ease. Trick is to get the right setting on the vane, and even the old rope steering is a snap. Hydralic is good, but I've got one or both of my F-115 vanes out of adjustment, because when I let go of the wheel, I get a slight pull to the left. They were getting eaten away (doing their job), and they were replaced. Hydralic steering doesn't stop the drift...I need to properly adjust the vanes.

 

[SOCAL]

Well my boat isn't as fast as most, but anyway.
Cruise - 19 knts
RPM's - 3200
GPH - 7.5

 

[Megabyte]

Well my boat isn't as fast as most, but anyway.
Cruise - 19 knts
RPM's - 3200
GPH - 7.5

Frank, Your fuel burn at cruise is impressive.
I'd give up a few knots of speed for that kind of economy. :wink: