x80 problems

[elliott]

when i sack out my x80. adding about 4000lbs in the rear and about 1500 in the front. causes the boat to track sideways BAD. its a twin engine and ive messed with the throttles giving more gas to one and less to the other. also messed with the trim tabs. nothing will straighten it out. has any one added tracking fins to their boat before. thinking that might fix it.... also checked the props they are new and have the same casting numbers on them. also even when the boat isnt slammed it still seems to have a slight drift to it when going 35mph plus but i can usually fix it with slowing down one throttle or adding a little to the other.... and ideas. thanks robby

[NatesGr8]

does it always track the same direction? Do you feel a pulling in the steering wheel?

[elliott]

havent noticed it pulling the wheel. if i didnt know better i would think that i have 2 way different prop sizes on it

[JimN]

Originally Posted by elliott

when i sack out my x80. adding about 4000lbs in the rear and about 1500 in the front. causes the boat to track sideways BAD. its a twin engine and ive messed with the throttles giving more gas to one and less to the other. also messed with the trim tabs. nothing will straighten it out. has any one added tracking fins to their boat before. thinking that might fix it.... also checked the props they are new and have the same casting numbers on them. also even when the boat isnt slammed it still seems to have a slight drift to it when going 35mph plus but i can usually fix it with slowing down one throttle or adding a little to the other.... and ideas. thanks robby

What is the weight capacity of this boat? You have a shyteload of weight in the rear and a lot less in front- ever seen how well a stern-drive goes straight when the trim is too high? You're doing the same thing- it's not designed to have that much of a weight imbalance.

Did you check the props for bent blades and check for pitch? You have a tach for each engine?

[elliott]

i dont know if it has a weight cap. its yacht certified. at least ive never seen one. i know it doestnt have a people cap. the props are brand new. nothing bent. but they are still the brass ones. wondering if i should have went with stainless ones. yea i have a tach for each motor and if the shifters are side by side the rpms are with in 200 of each other.


i wouldnt think the boat should skate or slide sideways across the water at 22mph with that much weight.

[bjames]

X80's are yacht certified (no real weight restriction). I assume the boat tracks straight when not loaded? If so, definatly has to do with an unballanced load. Perhaps you can fill them slowly to see at what point the boat starts to crab.

[elliott]

it craps a little at higher speeds when there is 0 ballast in the boat. starts doing it around 30mph but is way worse when its slammed

[JimN]

Originally Posted by elliott

i dont know if it has a weight cap. its yacht certified. at least ive never seen one. i know it doestnt have a people cap. the props are brand new. nothing bent. but they are still the brass ones. wondering if i should have went with stainless ones. yea i have a tach for each motor and if the shifters are side by side the rpms are with in 200 of each other.


i wouldnt think the boat should skate or slide sideways across the water at 22mph with that much weight.

There's no such thing as a watercraft that DOESN'T have a weight rating. There's always a limit to the safe weight that's in a boat and if you go too far over, the hull can fail. At speed, the forces from 5500 lb of water is probably well over the limit. The spec sheet showed 1000 lb as the standard amount of ballast. You're more than two tons over that and you didn't even say how much weight from passengers/gear you carry.

The difference from stainless is found during hard acceleration and turns- stainless doesn't flex as much but at low speeds, I would bet that your problem is because the keel line isn't fully in the water- that helps keep the boat on track. Adding tracking fins won't help low speed operation- those are made for keeling it online when the skier is pulling hard to the side by using the force from the water to counteract the torque.

If you have more weight on one side, it won't/can't go straight unless the hull was designed with that in mind.

[JimN]

Originally Posted by elliott

it craps a little at higher speeds when there is 0 ballast in the boat. starts doing it around 30mph but is way worse when its slammed

Care to define "craps out"? Have you talked to the dealer about this? If you have an iPhone ot iPod Touch, you could use the app that lets you check the level of the floor at rest (or find a surface that's parallel, but higher) and compare the attitude when it starts to become unstable.

[bjames]

If the boat specifiations do not give a maximum load/occupancy and only states "Yacht Certified" I courious what that means in terms of real weight. This certification can be grossly misinterpreted.