Fixed it!!

CX54WEK

CX54WEK

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After months of having a dodgy trim tab (or so she thinks) we have finally managed to get Naughty-Cal planing safely again. Turns out we had a big weight distribution issue in the boat, and being a S23 i doesnt take much to unbalance her, and just by coincidence the sender unit on the trim tab ram is faulty so was giving a false reading on the indicators on the dash.

So after months of faffing around trying to sort out a non existant problem we now have her up and running and had some fun on the Trent this weekend. At last we have our toy back.

Silly thing was something as small as 2No. 5 litre bottles of water is enough to send her off balance.
 
She is very flighty. Picking up a drink off the dash can send her off in the wrong direction. Its probably not helped by the amount of food and drink stashed below decks!!

Still now we have her balanced correctly we can look forward to some decent use out of her. We will just have to remember to replace anything we drink in the same place as it came from.
 
We have a few friends who have the same boats, they are easily unsettled by people moving around and wind etc. You just have to be quick on the tim tabs to sort it.

They are only small boats.
 
Bet you were popular with the fishermen...

Where abouts were you on the Trent? We didn't see a white flash go by the windows of the Unicorn at Gunthorpe as we enjoyed our lunch...
 
No we where further down. Set if from Torksey, had a nip down through Gainsborough and then headed back to Muskham Ferry for the evening before going back past Torksey for another blast around by Gainsborough.
 
whisper said:
Surely this isn't normal is it?
I'd be very worried about taking her out to sea if she's that unstable.
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I find it a bit strange too. It seems very odd that 10kg or moving a drink from the helm causes the boat to heel or whatever. What happens when the boat is filled with say a couple of hundred kg of fuel or 50kg of water or 2 fat birds come on board. Does it fall over?
I suspect this has more to do with the trim tab issue
 
It had full tanks, water and fuel at the time amd an empty toilet tank. We have yet to take ours out planing with others onboard but a friend took his to Bridlington with 3 onboard and said it was a nightmare. Every little movement from those on board causes it to pitch around and change course.

The trim tab issue is we suspect water in the ram causing a dodgy reading to the control unit. The trim tab is working as it should. It was nothing more than a weight distribution problem.

We found at the weekend that if one of us takes a step to the side it buggers off in that direction. No we have grasped her handling it isnt a problem you just have to be very aware of your surroundings to keep her on the straight and narrow.
 
CX54WEK said:
It had full tanks, water and fuel at the time amd an empty toilet tank. We have yet to take ours out planing with others onboard but a friend took his to Bridlington with 3 onboard and said it was a nightmare. Every little movement from those on board causes it to pitch around and change course.

The trim tab issue is we suspect water in the ram causing a dodgy reading to the control unit. The trim tab is working as it should. It was nothing more than a weight distribution problem.

We found at the weekend that if one of us takes a step to the side it buggers off in that direction. No we have grasped her handling it isnt a problem you just have to be very aware of your surroundings to keep her on the straight and narrow.
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I know small planing sports cruisers are sensitive to lateral trim but what they normally do is just heel over rather than veer off course. Sorry to be nosy but what are you setting the leg trim at when you are at cruising speed on the plane?
 
About -3 or -4

We have tried various leg trims but she seems happy at that.

She will heel over if you move far enough over to one side but a little movement and she just pulls to the side.
 
CX54WEK said:
About -3 or -4

We have tried various leg trims but she seems happy at that.

She will heel over if you move far enough over to one side but a little movement and she just pulls to the side.
Click to expand...

Leg trim seems about right then. I was thinking if you were running at +3/+4, it would tend to dig the bow in and possibly cause the bow to veer off when the weight distribution changed but obviously thats not the case. I guess it's just a characteristic of the boat then. Anyway happy cruising and I hope you enjoy the boat now
 
They are all slightly different i suppose.

Our friends boat was a little reluctant to get up onto the plane at the weekend and was a little shy on the top end which suprised us as we where fully loaded up with gear and they where loaded lightly. Each one will handle slightly differently seems we have a flightly one, dont think it will stop us enjoying her though.
 
I dinked the wheelhouse top on it once - cost me £40 to get it fixed.

I'd calculated I'd have 2" clearance. It was a Bank Holiday weekend. Unbeknownst to me, in anticipation of lots of lock openings/water loss over the BH weekend, B.W. had wisely raised the level by 3". :(

Wish I'd known that in advance!
 
Hmm we have not hit the Glory Hole but we have hit the guillotine gate at Stamp End (on the same night as i got busted for speeding in the pool)

Our S23 can get through the glory hole with the hood up if we take the nav gear off the top (modified it so its a minutes job) some friends with the same boat decided to have a go with the hoods up and managed to hit it ripping the hoods and damaging the frame. That cost them dear. £1500 for a new canopy, £500 to repair the frame and the took the boat elsewhere for the work doing and on the way back mangled a set of props so that was almost £500 to get a new set. Needless to say they take the hood down now!!

We managed to forget to take the nav gear off of Cal whilst locking up stamp end, even though we stood and watched her coming up the lock with the gear still on the roof, drove through the guillotine gate and removed the VHF whip, Anchor lights, TV airiel and other marker lights in one swift manouvre.
 
That 'kin gate is the lowest point of the lot there and I've done the same as you !!!

I put the mast back on in the lock coming upstream.................Oooppssyy crunch
 
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