New to Regal Boats.

[CaptainKev]

In 2007 I became the proud owner of a Yellow 2008 Regal 2400. It has the Volvo 5.7 Gi and dual prop stern drive. Overall, I love the boat. There is one question that I have..........I would like to know if anybody else with a similar drive system has any problems with responsiveness while reversing? My boat seems to be very sluggish and reluctant to turn in reverse. In forward, it's a dream. When if I try to modify any rearward direction, at idle speeds, the boat tends to yaw, rather than turn. Even if I blip the throttle the bow will not come around, as I would expect. One test that I tried was a figure eight, in reverse, in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. I tried this on a local lake with very little wind and in a sheltered cove. The boat will complete the first loop, but refuses to change directions for the second loop, other than to yaw off at an angle. I've some experience with various types of propulsion systems, but this is my only experience with counter-rotating props. While I understand that this test is extreme, the lack of control is identical with normal manouvering at a dock, or slip. Other than this anomoly, the boat is wonderful. It hits plane very quickly and cuts through heavy swells and choppy waters far better than any boat I've ever owned. Any help, coments, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

My bravo 3 equipped 2550 LSC does the same. The trick is to bump it in and out of gear to stop the rearward movement and instead kick the stern sideways. I also put a "suicide knob" on the wheel and bump it in and out of forward gear with the wheel turned the other way, then spin the wheel back and bump it in and out of reverse, etc, to spin around in tight quarters.

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll give it a shot in the spring. Do you have any idea what the root cause might be? Neither the Regal, or Volvo reps. will admit that this issue is real, despite both of them experiencing it, first hand, on lake trials. I would feel a lot happier if they even said "Yep....they all do that". Thanks again.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll give it a shot in the spring. Do you have any idea what the root cause might be? Neither the Regal, or Volvo reps. will admit that this issue is real, despite both of them experiencing it, first hand, on lake trials. I would feel a lot happier if they even said "Yep....they all do that". Thanks again.

I think all deep V boats do this. It is all about velocity and the shape of the hull. Think about the V shape of the bow, it splits the water and creates self stabilizing forces as it moves forward. The center of the V is also in perfect alignment with the prop thrust which only makes things even more stable. The transom, however, is utterly flat and resists rearward movement about as much as a shape can. When you go into reverse with the wheel hard over, the prop thrust is trying to pull the boat back and sideways. This makes the boat twist or yaw. If you leave it in reverse, it will start moving backwards in the yaw and the corner of the transom and the hull make a V, not unlike the bow. The V shape of the hull side and transom help to stabilize this yaw, more so, the faster you go. By going in and out of gear, you never give the boat a chance to get really moving in reverse.

That said, mine turns much better to starboard in reverse so there's quite a bit of prop walk going on, even with twin props.

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Thanks,that makes more sense than any other explanation I've received. I've had deep V's before that didn't react quite this way, although they were also lethargic in reverse. I figured that the counter rotating props would help more than they do. On a more positive note, I've never had a boat this big & heavy perform as good as this Regal 2400 does. The fit & finish is excellent and the ability of this hull to slice through rough waters make it a pleasure to drive. Thanks for your input, it's really appreciated.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

They do ride nicely. I love the way my 2550 (same hull as the 2600) slices though chop. I only wish it had bit more power. It goes OK, but cruises at 30 to 35 and tops out around 50 (53 empty) with the biggest engine they offered. I'd like a 45 MPH cruising speed.

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

I get identical performance out of my boat. Most of the time I have the wife & 6 year old girl on board, so pushing the envelope gets a little loud.............if you know what I mean? One other question concerning the throttle/trim handle. On mine, the trim switch is a small vertical rocker on the port side of the throttle handle. If you have this kind of set up, have you ever had problems with the switch sticking in either up, or down positions after you release it? I've had the switch replaced once, but this one is starting to do the same thing. It seems that the switches internal spring gets weaker after a while. Thankfully, 95% of the time I keep the trim is all the way down for skiing & tubing, so it's not such a major deal, but it is annoying and under certain circumstances it could be unsafe.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Mine's got a mercruiser, so the trim switch is different. Mine's never been a problem. Nobody complains when I go fast in mine either, but being a cuddy, it has a very different feel at speed than the bowriders I've owned. I did get complaints in those... There's a lot less wind whipping through the cockpit with a closed bow.

My boat feels really nice above 40 MPH, it just seems to float accross the chop nicely and it feels like it's not straining the engine at all. I think the hull's step is fully in use at 40+ since the bow drops nicely as speed goes up. At my typical cruising speeds of 30ish, it feels less athletic, but the engine gets its best MPG down there at 3200 RPM and I don't like to run my big block over that for extended periods. I was thinking of putting in a Procharger 5 PSI kit and 30" props. That would give me enough power to cruise at 40+ MPH without exceeding 3200 RPM. My gut says if I can get the engine back down to 3200 RPM and the speed up, my MPG may even improve due to hull efficiency and lower pumping losses in the engine. Someday...

At 40+

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

I agree with the wind theory.........I owned a cuddy before this bowrider and it was a lot less windy. In fact, before I go above 20 MPH I have to remind my passengers to stow the towels and hang on to their hats! Your boat looks really cool in the photo, unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to get a shot of mine, other than on the trailer. I'll be doing some trailer bunk work this spring. The plan is to get the replacement bunks ready for installation. Take the boat to the lake. Launch it with the wife & kid aboard, then I'll take the trailer back to the house and fit the new bunks and return to the lake. We use a pair of Motorola two-way radios with 8+ miles range on the lake, so that would be a good time of getting some action shots with the wife driving the boat at various speeds and trim settings. Let me know how your upgrade goes, it seems like it should help.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

I did my bunks last year. I used ACQ pressure treated 2x6s, some ebay sourced bunk carpet, SS staples and ACQ rated 5/16x1.5" lag bolts. I made spacers out of pieces of plastic to isolate the copper laden wood from the steel trailer. Good luck!

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Thanks for the info. I'm still wrestling with just replacing the carpet, or replacing the bunks with plastic ones. The trailer is a customized for Regal Fastrac BTV Tandem Prestige, only 2 years old and several of the bunks are already badly worn. A couple of the ramps I use are quite shallow and short, so I have a tough time getting the trailer deep enough without dropping off the end. I've seen several threads on this forum related to plastic replacement bunks that "should" provide less friction. I contacted an outfit selling Bearboard which is a UV treated 100% HDPE plastic. Here is a link to their website www.epsplasticlumber.com. I spoke with their engineering people and they said that as long as the boards are supported every 18" it should be good. I need 60 feet of boards to retrofit my trailer so, including freight, that will run approx. $325. Two concerns I have is will this material scratch the gel coat and since this material will expand a lot more than wood, I'll have to find some method (probably stainless carriage bolts with locking nuts & washers) to secure it to the bunk rails so that it can move without loosening the mounting hardware. Any advice, or concerns that you might have would be well received.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

HDPE will not scratch gelcoat. It's soft and gelcoat is very hard. It would be less likely to carry abrasive debris than carpet too, so I'd think it would be a fine material for your use. I like your idea for letting it expnad and contract without stress. Don't forget to anchor is solidly in the center of each span and let it expand and contract from the center outward, that cuts the movement in half compared to anchoring it solidly at one end. You absolutely need to have it anchored securely in one spot, BTW, otherwise the boat will just push it all to one end of its travel range when you put it on. Then you'll be stuck with the stress you were hoping to avoid.

That said, you can buy a spank load of new carpet for $325, and you know it works. If it's wearing too much due to a shallow ramp, maybe it's too dry. Can you wet it with a bucket before you drive the boat on?

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Your advice is reassuring about the scratch factor. Your also right about the cost factor. The only problem with replacing the carpet (every two years) is that the only time the boats off the trailer is while it's in the water and I like to be aboard the boat. The thought did occur to me about the carpet being dry......but then it also occurred to me that the only time the boat moves on & off the trailer, both are in the water. I think that a lot of wear is happening during transportation because the rear bunks have worn and they don't see much in the way of scuffing during launch & reload since they are much deeper in the water than the front. And the front bunks are in pretty good shape. Another issue I may have is that I'm not sure that the marina set up the trailer correctly in the first place. When I release the bow strap, the bow of the boat lifts up about 6" without the boat moving rearward on the trailer. I've read on this forum that the tongue weight should be 10%-15%.........my boat, fueled and gear loaded weighs about 5,000# and the trailer is an additional 1,350#. Other than going to truck scales, I'm not sure how to tell how much is on the tongue, since I'm looking at somewhere between 635# & 953#. My tow vehicle has automatic air suspension that compensates for rear "droop" but the boat does start to sway at 60mph. Any ideas, or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Sounds like you have too little tongue weight. You can check it with a bathroom scale and a stiff timber. Just place the timber on top of the scale on one end, and on top of a piece of scrap wood about the height of the scale, on the other end. Place the tongue jack on the timber, 1/4 of the length of the timber from the scrap wood end. This will leave 3/4s of the timber between the tongue jack and the scale, and 1/4 between the tongue jack and the scrap wood. This distributes 3 part of the weight on the scrap and 1 part on the scale. Simply multiply the weight shown on the scale by 3, that's your tongue weight. I am sure it's too low, regardless.

Do the bunks extend beyond the transom and inch or two? They should be at least flush with the transom for proper support. If they do not, adjust the winch post to make the boat sit further forward on the trailer.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Sounds like you have too little tongue weight. You can check it with a bathroom scale and a stiff timber. Just place the timber on top of the scale on one end, and on top of a piece of scrap wood about the height of the scale, on the other end. Place the tongue jack on the timber, 1/4 of the length of the timber from the scrap wood end. This will leave 3/4s of the timber between the tongue jack and the scale, and 1/4 between the tongue jack and the scrap wood. This distributes 3 part of the weight on the scrap and 1 part on the scale. Simply multiply the weight shown on the scale by 3, that's your tongue weight. I am sure it's too low, regardless.

Do the bunks extend beyond the transom and inch or two? They should be at least flush with the transom for proper support. If they do not, adjust the winch post to make the boat sit further forward on the trailer.

Dawned on me today that I made an error above. Take the bathroom scale measurement and multiply by 6, not 3 to get the tongue weight. I forgot to include the weight that's also on the scrap of wood.

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Thanks Mischief Managed. I looked at the trailer a few minutes ago. It would appear that the trailer is really too short for the boat. (Which is ironic since the trailer has "Custom made for Regal Boats" plastered all over it) The rear bunks stop 3" short of the stern. There is only 1" of forward travel left on the entire winch pylon before it hits the joints of the side rails and center rail The geometry of the winch pylon is that the vertical post is welded to a section of "U" channel that slides over the top exterior of the center beam of the trailer and is pinch bolted underneath, in three places. The post that directly supports the winch platform drops inside the pylon vertical post and it's adjustable up & down. The only solution for more forward travel that I can see is that the box beam for the winch platform & bow roller is currently welded to the riser. I would have to grind out/off the weld and re-weld the winch platforn further forward on the riser by a couple of inches, at least. Although I have the facilities to be able to do that, I'm very leery of the potential liability of doing that. I'm not sure if the trailer manufacturer has any "fixes" but I'll contact them before I attempt any major mods. since the fault really appears to theirs. I'll let you know what they have to offer, if anything. Using your suggested methods, I'll try to get the tongue weight established this weekend, so that I have more information for them to chew on. Thanks a bunch for all your help.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

That's a bummer. You may be able to put slightly longer bunks on there, move the pylon as far forward as possible, and thenmove the axles back a little set the tongue weight. I'd make it the trailer company's problem too, though, if I could...

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

By not having proper support under the transom, the boat can develop "hook" on the hull bottom, where it meets the transom. Make sure the hull is perfectly straight or you'll have performance issues down the road...

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

I've shot an email out to Prestige's General Manager with enough lurid detail that he'll either ignore it, or hopefully, he'll respond with something useful. In between posts I got under the trailer and checked out the bunks. Both the center and rear bunks carpets are worn out from the the middle of the bunks to the rear of the bunks. I also mentioned in the email that any structural welding/modifications will only be done by the originating dealer, pending instructions from his company...........we'll see where it goes, I guess. Unfortunately, I can't move the axles because the four wheel assemblies are individually mounted to weldments on the side members......bummer. Your suggestions of longer bunks certainly can't hurt anything but it can't change the center of gravity. Thanks for all of your advice, it's really very cool of you to take the time.

 

[CaptainKev]

Re: New to Regal Boats.

Mischief Managed...........I heard back from Prestige Trailer. the winch post is attached to the frame with three 3/4" bolts. The front bolt is stopping me from moving the post any further forward because it hits the frame. According to them, I can remove the front bolt, which should never have been there in the first place, and move the post another 4+" forward. That should fix all of my problems. that should extend the rear bunks beyond the transom. Thanks for your help.
Kev.