Swim platform issues

[MapisM]

I don't think I made any mistake but tbh I haven't gone back and read my OP in that thread so will stand corrected (and apologise) if I got it wrong.

No need to apologise, J.
I did have a quick look at the old thread before posting my previous reply, 'cause I feared that my memory wasn't serving me well re. the P56...
You didn't say that it was becoming Princess standard, or anything along these lines.
Otoh, in those days, that P56 was presented as a première, also in Sleipner brochure, without any mention that it was actually commissioned by them...

Anyway, no big deal, and enough of thread drifting.
But it's interesting to hear that you eventually decided to go ahead with the retrofit, looking forward to your report on that!

Back to the point, glad to hear that you agree with my basic calcs on draft/ballast.

 

[petem]

I'm thinking that redesigning the hi-lo mechanism to give greater, ahem, 'excursion' is not a cheap option for Princess. And of course you admit that it's wrong on one boat and before you know it every owner will want the retrofit.

 

[pan]

I'm thinking that redesigning the hi-lo mechanism to give greater, ahem, 'excursion' is not a cheap option for Princess. And of course you admit that it's wrong on one boat and before you know it every owner will want the retrofit.

Lot cheaper for Princess than the owner/s…! There are 2 ways for a manufacturer to view a problem, one is don't sort the issue & save the money, two resolve the problem & retain their reputation and increase profits in future years. Sort of depends on who is making the decisions, short term profits against long term. Like me, I would suggest how these sort of issues are dealt with, lingers a long time in the memory of a lot of potential buyers.

 

[kcrane]

I'm thinking that redesigning the hi-lo mechanism to give greater, ahem, 'excursion' is not a cheap option for Princess. And of course you admit that it's wrong on one boat and before you know it every owner will want the retrofit.

I wonder why the forum hasn't heard of other people with the same problem. Most of the Princesses I see being PDI'd in Swanwick seem to have hi-lo's and chances are most of those platforms are being sourced from the same supplier.

I also wondered what they would plan to ballast the boat with? Extra fuel/water tanks would at least be useful, but would take up a lot of space to give enough weight. Gold bars should be suitably dense and would be a consolation prize for the OP.

 

[petem]

I wonder why the forum hasn't heard of other people with the same problem. Most of the Princesses I see being PDI'd in Swanwick seem to have hi-lo's and chances are most of those platforms are being sourced from the same supplier.

I also wondered what they would plan to ballast the boat with? Extra fuel/water tanks would at least be useful, but would take up a lot of space to give enough weight. Gold bars should be suitably dense and would be a consolation prize for the OP.

In keeping with the quality of Princess's suggestions so far, they'll probably want to pour a load of concrete in.

 

[jfm]

I wonder why the forum hasn't heard of other people with the same problem.

It has K. Lozzer is professional captain on a prin85 and as he explained above he has similar issue

 

[pan]

It has K. Lozzer is professional captain on a prin85 and as he explained above he has similar issue

Unfortunately not all owners subscribe to the forum, I mentioned in a previous post that a skipper I met said he didn't launch his rib if there was a swell because of this problem, maybe he didn't fancy Princess's suggestion of countering the benefits of infusion moulding with a load of pig iron!

 

[kcrane]

It has K. Lozzer is professional captain on a prin85 and as he explained above he has similar issue

True enough, but if a P56 has a problem with a shallow draft Williams, I would have expected to have heard about V52's struggling with Avon ribs and V57s complaining about Zodiacs grounding when recovering etc. Maybe as Pan says, the forum is a small snapshot and we are hearing about the two members with hi-lo's and recent Princesses.

I used to be bemused by the V56 with a hi-lo and a garage with winch, but maybe not so silly an idea now

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Maybe as Pan says, the forum is a small snapshot and we are hearing about the two members with hi-lo's and recent Princesses.

I think thats true. Much as we like to think otherwise, most mobo owners have got far better things to do than waste their time on this forum so its unlikely that we'd get to hear about endemic problems with any manufacturer's boats. Is there a Princess owners forum?

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I think thats true. Much as we like to think otherwise, most mobo owners have got far better things to do than waste their time on this forum so its unlikely that we'd get to hear about endemic problems with any manufacturer's boats. Is there a Princess owners forum?

Ironically there is - on the PMYS website:

http://www.princess.co.uk/forums/

There's also the Princess owners club, run by a forumite here:

http://princessownersclub.com/

which has a slightly impenetrable Google+ community attached to it.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Ironically there is - on the PMYS website:

http://www.princess.co.uk/forums/

That doesn't seem like a very lively forum although, ironically, there is this this thread http://www.princess.co.uk/forums/topic/pros-cons-of-hydraulic-swim-platforms/ Maybe a couple of forumites on her might like to contribute to that one!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

That doesn't seem like a very lively forum although, ironically, there is this this thread http://www.princess.co.uk/forums/topic/pros-cons-of-hydraulic-swim-platforms/ Maybe a couple of forumites on her might like to contribute to that one!

Look at the posters profile - looks like the OP from this thread to me.

 

[intouch1]

i have had no issues on either the V56 or V62 in regard to the hi lo platform Extension and Lifting the tender.
when Extended, the platform goes around knee deep, which allows for plenty of room to pull in the tender over the chocks.

from my experience with PYI, they will find a way to rectify the issue that is satisfactory to the owner. it just sometimes takes them a bit of time to come back with the most sensible of resolutions.

have we established the fact that the platform on this P56 does actually travel the full distance it was designed to ?

with PYI advising on adding Balance, it does seem that there is a design/spec issue with the OEM platfrom mechanism on this specific hull.

adding Ballast would definitely not be acceptible to me as a solution. i believe insisting on making the platform work as intended is the right Thing to do.

 

[Lozzer]

Unfortunately not all owners subscribe to the forum, I mentioned in a previous post that a skipper I met said he didn't launch his rib if there was a swell because of this problem, maybe he didn't fancy Princess's suggestion of countering the benefits of infusion moulding with a load of pig iron!

Pan. These platforms are big bits of kit and with a. Swell running it can get a bit hairy using them. We have stabilisers usually running which adds a. Different dimension. Having said that I would rather put the Jetski on the platform in a sea than lift the Williams 445 up to the fly bridge....

I I am close to a harbour I will go in for shelter and lift the Williams.

The OP should be patient, PYI will get there in the end with gentle persuasion... It is best that he knows the solution that will be best for him. I believe that extra weight isn't the way forward......

Also the V boats will be different as the are weighted differently. I would imagine the engines are further aft than a P.

 

[pan]

Hi Lozzer.. I understand what you are saying, we use the pasarrelle for lifting the jet rib & often have to look for calm waters to stop excessive snatching, however the guy I was speaking to was in Portals Vells with a really slight swell !! No problem for us.

 

[mjf]

I have been following this with some interest.

without risking Fred Drift, I'm amazed that peeps have problems re-stowing tenders on the platform.

One of the benefits of this huge fin immersed behind the boat is to act as a stabilizer fin. Am I missing something here??

 

[pan]

The 'huge fin' is no match for the 20-30 tons it's attached to….

 

[jfm]

Am I missing something here??

Yup. The stabilisation effect is tiny!

 

[mjf]

I bow to your view as you have personal experience.

Just seems odd that a big fin - about the size if say an old style static ferry stabilizer fin would have little effect on a sub 100ft MY

So bit like the Rocker Stoppers then?

 

[MapisM]

Not so odd, when you think about it.
This is a case where size does not matter, or not as much as you'd expect, because the righting moment which a static fin can create depends mostly on its leverage, rather than its size.
And the distance of a swim platform from the hull CoG (or more appropriately, its CoB, though the difference doesn't really matter in this context) is close to nothing.
Just think of paravanes: they are deployed using very long arms, in order to exploit as much leverage as possible. That's what make them reasonably effective, in spite of their smallish size.
If by rocker stoppers you mean those sombrero shaped plastic thingies that can be deployed from the hull sided, with a line along which you can attach a few of them and a weight at the line end, I have no first hand experience, but TBH I think they are bound to be worth what they cost (i.e. very little), for the very same reason.