F26 Performance

[The Dog House]

I launched my boat this past weekend and took it out for a spin. Surprisingly I was able to cruise at 21 mph instead of my usual 18 mph. The bow was higher out of the water which I'm sure was why I got the extra mph. After we got back to the dock I started thinking why it ran so good. I realized that this year I didn't have time to fill the water tank before I launched and I was planning on doing it once the boat was in the water. The water tank is under the V berth in the bow and holds 20 gallons of water (160 pounds). I think the lack of the 160 pounds allowed the bow to get out of the water better which led to the better performance. I'm going to try running with only 10 gallons (80 pounds) in the water tank and see if that improves my performance. When we plan on staying overnight on the boat I'll fill the water tank up, but otherwise I plan on keeping it half full. At the speeds I cruise at, an extra 3 mph makes me very happy!

[lawyerdave71]

Oh yeah the water makes a huge difference.

Whenever I go on a trip, I drain my water tank.

[prowlersfish]

If that's it , try filling a cooler with water on back deck and see how it affects speed . if it makes little or no difference conceder moving the tank

[lunkerbasserfishing]

Mine is located port side engine compartment, same boat.

[The Dog House]

I took my F26 out today with 10 gallons of water in the water tank. The boat easily cruised at 20 mph. 10 gallons is plenty of water for washing our hands, etc., and I really like the 2 mph increase in speed. I plan on keeping the water tank half full most of the time to improve the boat's performance. If I know we'll be staying on the boat for several days I'll fill the water tank and accept 18 mph for a cruise speed, but most of the time the boat will only have half a tank.

[K4282]

congrats on the extra speeds, I generally carry no water on my F32 and other boats except for extended stays at which the conclusion of i run the water tank dry, no need for extra weight and fuel burn cheers!