my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

[bobthagard]

hey guys,
got an 07 stingray 195lr merc 4.3efi i/o. really, really nice boat. it comes on plane nice, but then it wants to bounce at around 30-35mph. previous owner told me to keep trim way down, but it still wants to bounce. it has a stock prop, not sure of the pitch right this minute.

if water is REALLY calm, it will go 55-60 mph, as i bring the trim up. anybody else have this experience. any help would be appreciated.

big bob

 

[ziggy]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

fwiw, buddy a mine is on his second stingray. 1st one was a '07 or 8 195, 190hp v6. it had porpoiseing issues too. smart tabs cured it for him. his second stingray is a '10 205, 5.0 v8. it has the same problem he says. he's planning on some smart tabs for that one too and feels it will likely cure the problem on the 205 just like it did on his 195. he's not got around to putting the tabs on yet so don't know if it will cure it. sure seems likely though.

maybe this porpoising is inherent in the stingray design boats? they are made for speed i think. might be a trade off for the speedy hull design. porpoising at that speed..

 

[sickwilly]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Yup -- its a common trait of the go fast hull -- seems most will put on smart tabs or a foil. I am in the foil group myself.

Smart tabs seem to clearly have more of a following than foils, and there is an anti-foil group that is loud and clear.

For me, with my Stingray, from what I gather, if your into speed and cruising, get the smart tabs. If you are into water sports mostly, get a foil. Some people with the foils complain about turning and extra spay for skiers, as well as changing the shape of the wake for wake boarders. I get none of these with the foil, and my ray turns on a dime. That being said, I can't trim up as high, as once I get a good amount of trim going, I get porpoising again.

 

[koko1]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Sounds like a perfect candidate for smart tabs... You can get the factory blems from right here off Iboats for $99... GO tohttp://www.nauticusinc.com/ and research them a little... You can also just search smart tabs here and see for yourself, there may be one unsatisfied person on this forum... They are simply that amazing...I had the problem you were with a Tahoe boat that had a 4.3 190HP merc in it and it fixed that problem along with some others also instantly....Also you can buy a different top bracket ( you will see what I am talking about once you see them) where you can engage of disengage the tabs if you are doing water sports and stuff like that...

 

[ufm82]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

A different prop may help as well. If you are running the stock aluminum prop you can try a Laser II as these props work well submerged and are designed to give you some bow lift. That means it will "carry" the bow to some extent and keep the boat from porpoising. However, that carries a cost and it's hard to try stuff that costs several hundred bucks to see if it works.
I had a '90 Bayliner 2050 5.0L ( go ahead, make fun) that would run 52 at WOT on good water but would beat the snot out of you in anything over a chop. I had to run at full down trim to keep pt from thrashing me to death but that took its toll on speed and handling. I could be zipping along at 35-40 mph, trim up a bit, have the rpms and speed rise and then LOOK OUT! It would start bouncing and the only way to stop it was to throttle back and trim down fully. It had a generic SS prop on it when I bought it. I replaced it with a Laser and the difference was profound. While I would still get some bounce under the right conditions it stopped for the most part. Tabs would have helped even more but I dumped the boat before I got that far.

UFM82

 

[QC]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

The fact is that a light bow is faster, but weight balanced towards the stern often causes porpoising. Manufacturers want their boats to get good top speed numbers as owners want that too, so . . . porpoising is a very common issue. One short term solution is to move as much weight forward as possible. Store light stuff in the stern and heavy stuff in the bow.

The ultimate solution is some sort of trim tabs. I am a foil hater, sorry willy, I freely admit it, and I will come up there and personally remove it while you aren't looking if you do that . . .

I mention that I am a trim tab lover, and to further that I am a really big supporter of helm adjustable tabs. Either way, Smart Tabs or helm adjustable, your Porpoising problem will be a thing of the past. Once you do get tabs, then you can set the boat up to porpoise on purpose. " What? What the flyin' flip did that idiot just say?" Yes, I actually set my boats up to porpoise slightly at WOT and full trim up. Then I control with the tabs. If it is Smart Tabs, I want her to porpoise at WOT and full trim slightly. Then I bump down the trim to control the porpoise. This get's me the best balance of top speed and adjustability. So I guess this means that once you have the tabs on, play with weight balance fore and aft to get her to the sweet spot you want.

Also, just because these threads get a lot of attention and people always have questions. If you ever wished you could adjust for a list (leaning side to side) when your mega Aunt Bertha changes seats from port to starboard, and you don't want to upset her by yelling "Aunt Bertha!!! Move your fat arse back to the other side, notice how we feel like we are going to tip over now!!!!", then you should seriously consider helm adjustable trim tabs like Bennett's. These are the only way to solve this particular issue. Pricey and difficult to install, but my favorite tool on the boat except for the engine . . .

Good luck, and welcome aboard!!!

 

[CATransplant]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Since my wife has a largish aunt bearing the name of Bertha, I shall take your advice before taking her on my boat. What type of adjustable trim tabs do you suggest for a 12' Sea King aluminum boat?

P.S.: She also has another largish aunt with the unfortunate name of Gladys Lucretia. I do not believe I will allow her on my boat at all.

 

[QC]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

You and your Aunt Bertha are screwed. Sorry . . . LOL

 

[CATransplant]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

I was afraid of that...

 

[JimS123]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Stingrays have ALWAYS been touchy with respect to trim. For 2010 they offer a factory option fixed mount trim tab. It only costs a couple of bucks and mounts with much less intrusiveness (and many fewer holes) than the other tabs everybody raves about.

Based on my experience those tabs should allow FULL trim with no porpoising.

If that is the only performance issue you are concerned with, go to your local dealer and buy a pair.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

I am a foil hater, sorry willy, I freely admit it, and I will come up there and personally remove it while you aren't looking if you do that . . .

I will tell you, I came damn close to buying a pair, with the thought of some day taking the foil off and trying them, but two recent discussions in the Stingray forum now have my minded going the opposite direction:

1- Stingray owners saying their boats don't turn and corner great with them

2- Stingray owners saying they cause spray back behind the boat.

My boat corners and turns great! My comparison is my old malibu. Now, my stingray with a foil is clearly not a malibu and I am not going to try a power slide with it, but I can make a heck of a nice tight turn in a cove and maintain my skier's speed. I can also whip a tube anywhere I want it. I would not want to do anything that would decrease my ability to turn, as pulling is all I do, all day long!

I also do my annual pretend your not an old dude barefooting run. I don't need spray off tabs adding to the challenge.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Stingrays have ALWAYS been touchy with respect to trim. For 2010 they offer a factory option fixed mount trim tab. It only costs a couple of bucks and mounts with much less intrusiveness (and many fewer holes) than the other tabs everybody raves about.

Based on my experience those tabs should allow FULL trim with no porpoising.

If that is the only performance issue you are concerned with, go to your local dealer and buy a pair.

I hear those "sport tabs" suck and most people simply want to know how to remove them.

 

[JimS123]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

I hear those "sport tabs" suck and most people simply want to know how to remove them.

That's the problem with everything, everywhere and everyone!....LOL. You should never believe what you "hear".

I have no personal knowledge with the 2010 model sport tabs, so I can't comment on them. I saw them at the boat show and all I could think was "Oh they finally put them on". I would just like to know why they suck, and what does suck mean?

I DO have Tempo tabs on my Stingray (boat), and they are absotutely fantastical.

I have a lot of respect for Mr. Fink (I have met him and discussed boats with him persoanally). If he puts them on his boats as an option, I would guess that he tested them ad infinitum.

 

[bobthagard]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

wow, lots of great comments.

i'm seeing a trend toward smart tabs i knew it was something like that. it was driving me crazy. and thanks to the guy for sending the link. great video on that site on how to install.

not as familiar with the foil,hydrofoil, but i'm gonna try the smart tabs. i'll report my findings.

and FWIW, this site is great. within 3 hrs i had all the responses i needed. hope i can pay it back.... thanks, bob

 

[bobthagard]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

well,
got my smart tab SX80s put on last week. they made a big difference. better stability, better planing, much less bounce.

however, they do feel like they're dragging quite a bit. some have suggested that i use the lighter 60lb struts for my boat.

i have emailed john twice but no response so far. to recap, much much better for me, but not perfect. is anything?

bigbob

 

[QC]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

Yes, sounds like lighter rams needed. Have you adjusted the settings for least pressure with the existing rams?

 

[Hansolo99]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

So am I to understand that smart tabs are not a good option for someone that wants to wakeboard or tube etc?? There was some statements that lean towards that and mention there is a bracket that could be installed to lift them so there are not used??

 

[QC]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

You should probably start your own thread Han . . . Depending on your setup they may may be great. I personally know they are great for tubing, but can reduce a wakeboard wake and this is one of the reasons I like helm adjustable tabs.

 

[Hansolo99]

Re: my Stingray bounces a lot in calm water

You should probably start your own thread Han . . . Depending on your setup they may may be great. I personally know they are great for tubing, but can reduce a wakeboard wake and this is one of the reasons I like helm adjustable tabs.

No need I was just wondering. I actually have them and have another thread started about where to mount them on my hull for the best results. I just read this and wondered why people would say that they would not be the best option for watersports.