handleing question

[ziggy]

my 75 aristocraft seems very weight sensitive....my usuall load is me and the gf and a cooler. i always lean a bit to port. fuel tank is on aft port. gf don't weight to much, she's on port side. cooler and me on starboard side. weight is pretty even distributed. though i'd guess the fuel and her weight more than me and the cooler. i went river runnin last weekend. had her boy with us. had him on starboard side. he's big. 200#+ i'd guess. that leveled me out pretty good. switced the cooler to port with him onboard. then there's porpising. any trim up i start bounceing. unless it's very calm. then i'm ok and can trim up w/o porpising. at anything other than faiely fast. the trim is most sensitive and i adj. it little from full down. bow rise is tolerable with 2 aboard. three, and it comes up some. but goes down quick . i can get plane easy. this boat is pretty fast too. seems like it to me anyways. 43ish, normal load. flat hull i'd guess would attribute to that. lastly is the beating i take. it's a vhull. but flattens out toward the sides quickly after the v. she still has some deadrise at the stearn. but i've seen more. + it's real flat on the outsides at the back. this thing'll rattle yer fillings out of yer teeth in rough water. granted, i like to go out in rough water. but geez. i've never took such a pounding before on any boat i've been on. only answer to that is slow down. helps to cut the waves off at 45* but even that aint sure fire. slowing down is.

anyone got any ideas as to a fix? my first thought would be smart tabs. but don't know if that'll help my list. specialy since my list would very as to weight distribution. got no idea if they'd help the pounding. and the pounding is my biggest disappointment.....my trisonic (trihull) beat me less than this thing does by a lot..........

 

[Dhadley]

Re: handleing question

We used to sell those and I remember they acted just like that. I'd think the Smart Tabs would help because they are self actuating. As the load moves or the boat lists each tab will automatically move. Contact John and ask.

Do you still have the hardtop?

 

[ziggy]

Re: handleing question

thanks dh for the comments. i guess it's good to know that there is nothing out of the ordinary about the way this boat is handleing then. that's good......yep, still has the hard top.

sorry about the big pics. darn. i just can't seem to get photobucket to adj. the size of them for me. even though it says it did. oh well. ya can see my hull design pretty good in these big photos i guess.......along with nasty river scum. at least ya can see how it sits staticly with a nice scum line on it like that....yeck.......

 

[ziggy]

Re: handleing question

haveing trouble with pics.....

 

[QC]

Re: handleing question

Your #1 post has helm adjustable tabs written all over it!!!!! Smart Tabs would help, but they will not allow you to adjust for list except in a fixed sense. If you never have an additional passenger they would be fine, but from what you describe, including the rough water desire (will help some, but not completely) I am still convinced that a product like Bennett's will make this a "new" boat for you. After my first experience with helm adjustable tabs over 10 years ago, I have sworn to never own a v-hull without them again . . .

 

[Dhadley]

Re: handleing question

Keep in mind the STs aren't fixed. They constantly adjust automatically and will compensate for shifting loads.

Really good looking boat, especially for the age. I can honestly say I don't remember ever selling a green one though..........

 

[ziggy]

Re: handleing question

thanks for the comments folks. qc. i hip that yer a big supporter of bennets. i think they'd treat me right except for the fact that the conditions change from moment to moment very fast. lake boating on a small 1800 sq. acre lake has many boat cross wakes. river is even worse. the boat wakes got no where to go. there i can expcet 3' cruiser wakes too. swamp my azz. not really, but could be. i think i'd be adj. them tabs all the time. i do think that would be the best way to go though. espesially for the list. i have two problems with bennetts. no room to mount any hydrolic fluid resivour. this aristo craft leaves the engine wide open to work on. anything else is behind the engine and pretty inaccesable. it's also filled w/ much foam. one of it's seeminly sales pitches. floats when full of water. + they may be outa my price range, i'm a poorer boater remember. anyways. so far i'm alright with that though......

dh. i'm wonderin about the smart tabs. seems like the fact that theys auto adj. all the time may be benificial in my case. went out for a run today. by myself. the list was much less. pretty much sat proper and level. 3/4 tank of fuel maybe. lake was minor ripple. handled it well. hit some wakes, handled them ok for the most part. a little beating. it seems to like less weight onboard i'd think. actually tore it up today. hard high speed turns.it did pretty darn well with me alone aboard. skiped a little into high speed turns, specially when it'd hit a wave.

dh, since i got this green boat. i've searched aristocraft a lot. i've never seen another green one either.....maybe theys a little different. did see a blue one that used to be green....i liked the blue better......oh well......the green seems to be unique..............

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: handleing question

The smart tabs would certainly be an improvement over nothing, it would calm the slamming down considerably, and will minimize listing from weight shifting. I think you would be very happy starting there; maybe in a couple of years you'd want to go with hydraulics.​

 

[QC]

Re: handleing question

Keep in mind the STs aren't fixed. They constantly adjust automatically and will compensate for shifting loads.

I don't intend to beat this to death, but even John doesn't claim they auto adjust for list . . . I'd much rather have them than no tabs. This doesn't solve the budget question, and I am with you on that, but Lenco's don't require the hydraulics . . .

 

[Texasmark]

Re: handleing question

You have kept your '75 in pristeen condition sir. It's absolutely beautiful. Back in the mid '60's my next door neighbor had a 17' with a 60 hp Scott/McCullough and I thought that was the most beautiful boat I had ever seen. I think it had the hardtop also and I loved the idea that you could slide the top back (on that boat) to get on the fore-deck and do the mooring.

Mark

 

[ziggy]

Re: handleing question

thanks qc. i forgot about electric tabs. lencos sounded real good untill i saw the price. ouch....might have room to mount a small elect. box somewhere too. oh well. guess it sounds like smart tabs would do me for porpisin and perhaps take some of the pounding out. guess i'll have to email john and see what he has to say.....

thanks for the compliment texasmark. though i can't take credit for it's fairly good shape. i just got it last fall up in rapid city, sd. supposedly it'd been undercover in a airplane hanger for the last 15 years.....might have been. i'm just tryin to catch up on it and keep it in good shape.....bout them slideing hardtops. man. thems the cats meow. yep, mine slides too. works proper too at this point. it sure extends the season. can go out in pretty incliment weather and be pretty toasty inside. does real good in rain too. keeps ya real dry.....i've tried that out once already.... once ya have a hardtop boat. i bet it'll be real hard going back to one w/o.......i like it......

 

[Texasmark]

Re: handleing question

Well that's the thing about the sliding top. No one else (that I know of) realized (or realized it and chose to ignore it) that hardtops pose a serious problem accessing the bow (unless the boat is big enough for a bow hatch and that is usually blocked by lifejackets, etc).

These guys did their homework. And yes, If I had one, I probably would not be happy with something else.

Mark