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TheFees
12-18-2007, 07:40 PM
I was reading Scott V's post about the battery boxes, and where to position them for balancing the boat the best. That reminded me of a problem that I have when taking a lot of people out on the boat. I am sure that many here will instantly know what I am referring to, and that is... How do you approach balancing the passengars out on the boat. Let's say you have 4 or 5 people onboard an 18, and there is a substantial imbalance going on. How do you correct it, without hurting anyones feelings, or embarrassing them? Let me preface this with saying that I am currently 45 to 50 pounds over weight right now, so I can say that a lot of us are in the same boat together. :wink::)
Just to embellish on this a little bit. I found that when catching air, if there is a imbalance in the boat, it seems when I am leaving the water, it is leaving at an angle, and when arriving in the water, it increases the chance of coming down on the flat of the hull, instead of straight down and allowing the kinfe of the hull to cut through the impact.
I have trim planes, but for slower cruising they do just fine, but when you want to go out and catch air, they create an impediment to the natural flow that is incorporated into the hull design. When I spoke to Donzi, they mentioned that at full throttle, let the natural hull be the only influence, as in no trim planes. I can see 2 reasons for that. One the trim planes could contribute to a possible nose plant, and since the bottom of the hull right before the rearmost part where the transom meets, their is a natural trim plane, to encourage the boat to take off with the nose straight forward, instead of up in the air. That way you can stay in it, and let the boat earn the widespread reputation of being the ultimate adrenalin rush, taking you into experiences that we could not orchestrate, but rather enjoy due to the superior engineering of this wonderful boat. Sometimes in moderate chop I just stay in it, and let the boat do it's thing. Every time I turn around and look at the people in the back seat, all I see are full smiles, and thumbs up in the air.
Ok, so back to the touchy subject, how do you balance the weight of the boat out, and not hurt anyones feelings? Do we have a good politician amongs us?

VetteLT193
12-19-2007, 06:52 AM
I have no problem telling people I have to balance the boat. It's usually a flip flop of 2 people in the back seat. No one has cared so far, I think they have figured that it's the fat azzes in the front seats causing the problem. :wink:

Also, it's a law that if there is a combination of people that will cause the boat to be totally un-balanced, that is how people will initially sit.:doh:

RedDog
12-19-2007, 07:01 AM
If someone is over weight - they know it

pmreed
12-19-2007, 08:43 AM
I've got a 22C and I don't really worry about any imbalance. With 5 people in the boat, I don't care where the big ones sit. I just know I've got to feather the throttle coming out of the hole as I have a tendency to blow out with a full load. At low speeds (under 50), I use my tabs to trim the boat.

Phil

Ranman
12-19-2007, 08:52 AM
Tell them the 18 is very weight sensitive and you have to adjust for prop torque so the boat flys level. PRop torque is what holds the driver "up" when alone.

On a different note, how do you fly the boat with 4 or 5 passengers without losing them? I've learned that it's just not safe to run like that in an 18 with passengers in the back seat.

glashole
12-19-2007, 09:29 AM
being over weight myself I generally have no issues saying

"hey fatty, move over" :)

it is obviously easier if they are all guys

or it is typical that people will just stand on the dock until i tell them where to sit so just tell them
"hang on and I will arange the fat people according to the way the boat works best" :wink:

as reddog was saying
they know if they are overweight

also if I am running heavy I don't generally run WFO unless it is perfect conditions and i feel comfortable doing it

TheFees
12-19-2007, 10:20 AM
Tell them the 18 is very weight sensitive and you have to adjust for prop torque so the boat flys level. PRop torque is what holds the driver "up" when alone.

On a different note, how do you fly the boat with 4 or 5 passengers without losing them? I've learned that it's just not safe to run like that in an 18 with passengers in the back seat.

Good point about the prop torque.
How I run with 4 or 5 passengers, and am able to make the occassional wide open catchin air event? I take my tie down line, the one that I use to tie the boat down to the trailer, that you can see here http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/36327/2000517330100733997S425x425Q85.jpg
and run that around, under the seats, and make a knot so it won't come apart. I adjust it so it is just the right length so people in the back seat can reach forward to grab it, and it acts like a buckin bronko hold down, so everyone in the back seat has something to hold onto. They only need to grab it later on in the day, when the rollers are right for catching a little air, and the people riding the boat, have grown accustomed to what it can handle. I also don't go nuts with the air catchin thing, with a lot of people in the boat. Although I did once, out in the ocean, and everyone reported that they were flying up above the boat, and fortunately came back down inside of it. :smash: I won't do that again.

TheFees
12-19-2007, 10:41 AM
Vette I got a charge out of reading your reply, about the " imbalance law" :-)
So what I tell people to try and handle this sensitive issue is that I tell them about the cup, and the feather. It goes like this...
If you take an empty cup, and put it in a sink full of water, and place a feather on one side of the cup, it will cause it to tilt radically. There is no resistance to that cup leaning. So it is very important to balance the boat as perfectly as possible, especially if we are going to catch any air today. So the boat needs to be balanced side to side. We can do this 2 ways. Either put someone the same weight as me in the passengar seat, and balance the outside 2 people on the rear seat. (It doesn't matter who sits in the middle)
Or, we could do an X balance, by putting the light person in the front passengar seat, then balance it out in the back seat with the other 2 people.
If I have 3 passengars I prefer to put someone my weight in the passengar seat, then the single person riding in the back can center themselves. Or if I have someone that does not weigh as much as me sitting in the passengar seat, I have the person in the back seat sit off to one side a little.
If we are just going for a short ride, I use the trim planes and don't mention it.
Now if I can just finish up that fitness room, and start working off that extra 40 or 45 pounds. Think of all the fuel I'll save. :-)

drew0982
12-19-2007, 11:01 AM
it's either they comply or you sink... take your pic

The Hedgehog
12-19-2007, 11:15 AM
The imbalamce law is so true. It is even worse in a 16 with a the sideways front passenger seat:hangum:!

In anticipation of this, I usually try to have a "before we leave" hushed discussion with another passenger to aid in the counterbalance situation. That being said, it only works some of the time:shocking: No matter how well you coach a first mate the imbalance law almost always holds true.

I would love to know a solution.

mikev
12-19-2007, 11:50 AM
I usualy move a kid or two around. They follow directions better than grown ups and dont even think about taking it personal cause im always telling them what to do. :yes:

Last Tango
12-19-2007, 02:28 PM
My solution on my boat is to put the female with the best breasts and legs in the passenger seat up front. Then the backseaters can fend for themselves. If they are not smart enough to adjust their weight, find something to hold onto, or request a life jacket to wear, I allow Darwin's Law of natural selection to take over.

Forrest
12-19-2007, 03:12 PM
Ooop! This thread can stop right here. As expected, Mark came up with the correct response. :D

DonziJon
12-19-2007, 07:01 PM
NOPE: Hot babes in the other seat are Way Too Much of a distraction to the driver....ME. Driving a Donzi at speed is a serious matter....or even at low speed. :smash:

OH: I just got a NEW outdrive this fall. :lookaroun: John

VetteLT193
12-19-2007, 07:35 PM
This whole thread is turning out to be funny as heck. Seems everyone has gone through the problem and has a unique way to solve it:cool:

TheFees
12-19-2007, 08:10 PM
My solution on my boat is to put the female with the best breasts and legs in the passenger seat up front. Then the backseaters can fend for themselves. If they are not smart enough to adjust their weight, find something to hold onto, or request a life jacket to wear, I allow Darwin's Law of natural selection to take over.

Mark, I second the motion. For a lot of years, I went to Dewey Beach Delaware with the Donzi 18 strapped to the back of my Voyager. The beaches there were such that the water got deep real fast. 100 feet off of the shore you had real deep water. So I would go out Indian River Inlet, head up the shore line, ocean side, and then let it rip when I got to the beach where all of the beach houses go. At full throttle and through hull exhaust, it became a real show right off of the shore line, with all eyes one way. People didn't swim far from shore due to the deep water, so I could be catching air 100 feet or so from people on the beach.

Pretty soon, when I would arrive on a Friday night, and go to the Starboard restaurant, I would get all kinds of women who would come over to me, that I never met before, but wish I knew all along, and were dying to go out on the boat. By early Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday were already booked. It got so crazy that I started to be picky who went, and who the boat was already booked for.

I noticed that it was more fun to have 3 girls, and 2 guys including me. It mixed it up, and made it interesting. With all girls and just me, it became the girls night out, and they started talking more girl talk.

So with the right mix we would leave about 10 in the morning, with a boat full. When I was full throttle off the favorite beach, sometimes it would get a little crazy. I kept it down to a mild leap. Some days were not full throttle days. On other days when the chop was just right, you could lay it down, and just stay in it. That night people would be saying to me, "That boat is so cool"

Then a friend had leased a beach house, and rented it out to beach house members to share, and invited me in. He said, "Stop paying for a motel room, just come and stay with us, and take us out in your boat". So that started the free summers at the beach house. I guess it pays to have a pocket rocket.

One thing I have to share with you, was when I went through the Indian River Inlet to get out to the ocean, on some days, it had breakers. The whole bay was emptying through that narrow inlet when the tide was going out, and the rollers were coming in from the ocean, and that resulted in large rollers capped with breakers. So I pointed the nose up, and slowly went through them. As I crested the top of one, and began to go down the back side of it, heading into the next one, I could hear the exhaust pipes burying themselves in the water, only to emerge again, and start over. We went out, without getting wet.

Well on that day I had a boat load of Gods greatest creations, and they wanted to get wet. With the bikinis on, I wasn't one to argue. So I turned around, and went back in, tweaked the nose down a little more, and we were taking 1 foot of water over the bow. They - we all got soaked. The pump was working full time. It is only a short distance so I went for it. It was fun at the time.

Well over time I paid a price for it. The front timing cover rusted, and I had to replace it, which you know is a bugger, which lead to having to remove the motor to replace it. Then my front bow lift eye cleat bracket rusted, which I just posted some questions about.
All of that salt water sloshing around in the bottom of the boat didn't do it any good. Well the pans have been replaced, and undercoated by the Merc dealer, to prevent the same problem.
I keep everything on the motor coated with a 50/50 mix of WD40 and motor oil.

Oh that's right, we were talking about the touchy subject. I have a lot of great memories, and a box full of pictures to reminisce with.

Donzi5150
12-28-2007, 02:52 PM
DD's to the Port Side and D's and C's to the Starboard...........Avoid the dudes unless they are buying the beer and gas!:nilly: