Taking it on the Beam

Fishblues · Post by **Fishblues** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:00 pm

I have my Trojan F32 1976 for about 2 months now, mine has the two 60gal tanks in the stern and is in great shape with the 233hp mercruisers, So I have a question for you all...

Me and my family have had boats all our lives;

28 Luhrs
27 Chris Craft
33 Hunter... yes we sailed for a little while
25 Chris Craft

Just to name a few and I consider myself a pretty good skipper, I understand no boat likes a beam sea and I avoid taking them on at all cost. Ill tack if I have to as to keep the ride comfortable and safe. But I have to say that I am not pleased with the way the F32 handles them, I have been caught twice where the boat was uncontrollable and the ride was down right scary and these seas were nothing that any of my past boats could not handle with ease. I tried powering up to gain control and that did not help, I found an article that said power down but have not tried that yet.

So I would like to hear some of your experiences with the F32, has anyone else had this problem or is it me...

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:07 pm

With proper trim and travelling at the right speed, beam seas are no issue on an F32.

Every boat is different. Scanning the list of other boats you have had, looks like the F32 may be the first with flybridge, and possibly the first with twins. You will feel the motion a lot more up top, and higher center of gravity will cause more roll in rougher conditions. If necessary, move to the lower station (assuming you have a dual station setup). Also, if you are goosing the throttles to fight wave conditions and goose port and starboard to diffferent degrees (throwing the synch off), you could also be throwing yourself off. If they are out of synch your rudders will always be fighting the boat to keep it going straight, and any wave action will make it that much more unpredictable.

F32s can be a bit to handle with a following sea or something on the stern quarter as they have tendancy to want to surf, but pure beam seas should not be a problem.

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:38 pm

ok I'll ask first are you in fresh water or are you in the big green sea ? and what size wave or swells are you fighting ?

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:53 pm

Teeny Tinny rudders,fine entry with shallow dead-rise,combined w occasional bowsteering, in short wave-length beam sea's will definately make for a fun ride.gotta remember what the boat was designed for...it's not an offshore battle wagon...

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:27 pm

On my F-36 it is due to hull design and weight distribution. Too much weight forward, too little aft. With a following swell, particularly quartering stern to, she tries to surf, dig in the bow at the bottom and spin around. Can really be a bear to hold on long trips...wears you out spinning the wheel! Side to seas (beam seas??) are no problem

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:57 pm

Danny Bailey wrote:On my F-36 it is due to hull design and weight distribution. Too much weight forward, too little aft. With a following swell, particularly quartering stern to, she tries to surf, dig in the bow at the bottom and spin around. Can really be a bear to hold on long trips...wears you out spinning the wheel! Side to seas (beam seas??) are no problem

You are so right, Danny. My F26 exhibits the same behavior in following seas. Beam seas are fine in mine also, but it does roll a whole lot.

Fishblues · Post by **Fishblues** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:07 pm

So far Danny seems to have the best description, bow rears down and then hold on for the ride.

I agree that I may have had to much trim down on both occasions... but still, one heck of a ride.

I am on the Long Island Sound. The first time it happened we were coming down from Lake Champlain where I bought the boat. Came down thru the canals down the hudson and into the sound, got just past the Throgs Neck Bridge in calm seas and got taken up by a wave that I didn't see... it may have been a wake from another vessel but it was like Danny said, like I was surfing. I was cruising about 18Kn

The second time was 2 weekends ago, coming back from Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Got into lower NY harbor with a west wind.. before the Verrazano Bridge, it can get snotty in there, and was taking it on the Port side. All of a sudden we took one that lifted the boat and off we went. Scared the s#@t out of the wife and kids... and me.

Just an FYI, I had full fuel and full water, so I don't want to hear that the boat was to heavy forward "as I read in one article" and to much weight shifted forward... not the case.

To much trim I can agree with, but still?

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:45 pm

Beam seas or stern seas I will tack back and forth to avoid the roling and the bow steering.

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:57 am

Teeny tiny rudders and hull design really aren't what the doctor recommended for following seas. I usually try to bury the stern as much as possible and avoid getting up on plane. I have a single and no flybridge but I think the theory of the case may work for you. Run just under planing speed, trim so the bow is up and stern down. You will have to experiment a bit, but this should give you more steerage in a following sea. It isn't perfect, but at least you'll have more control in these conditions.

I'm pretty familiar with Champlain and I'm sure the boat got some heavy rollers up there, especially when the wind is out of the northwest. Contact the prior owner and ask what they did.

gettaway · Post by **gettaway** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 1:03 pm

fishblues,

I bought my F-32 in May and had a 120 mile open water run between Los Angeles where I bought her to San Diego where I live.
Having come from a single engine trawler with a huge propeller and a barn door sized rudder to the twin engine with "teeny tiny" rudders, I'll agree that the boating experience is different.
However, I ran about 11 knots the entire trip (didnt want her do break down 20 miles off shore on the maiden voyage) and without autopilot, and quartering stern / beam seas, I had to constanly steer the boat.
I made the trip alone and was never frieghtend by a surprise from the way the boat handled.

btw, at 11 knots, I burned 70 gallons of fuel from main tanks, I too had full rear tanks and a full water tank, I never trimmed the bow down

randyp · Post by **randyp** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 1:28 pm

Trim the bow UP not down, the stern DOWN for added steerage. At least it works for me.....not perfectly but my pants are dry and clean when I return from those conditions.

Fishblues · Post by **Fishblues** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 5:49 pm

Thanks all, this has really helped. I got the chance the other night to experiment and I kept the trim to a minimum, big difference. Still had to steer quite a bit but it was manageable.

Thanks again all.

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:45 pm

In our experience, the F32 is very susceptible to bow steering. Bow up--a little or a lot depending on conditions--makes a huge difference. The beam rolling can be very uncomfortable. We try to avoid it by tacking or changing course to a lee shore. Following seas can be a little too much fun! Not!

Nancy