fIRST OF ALL ITS A 16 FOOT TAHATI. I am just getting it to go fast, and at aprox.. 80mph with my diverter trimmed out it seems like the front end is digging in. It has took an abrubt turn on me twice now. Any clues? Is my hull limiting me to that. I hope not i want it to go faster.
thanks T
If it's taking an abrupt turn on you then you have some definate issues.
BE CAREFUL. Many people have been thrown through the side of boats that way.
I'm not familiar with your perticular hull, but just taking a SWAG I'd say you have far overdone it with that speed. Your hull was not ever designed to go that fast. Please be respectful of your wife/friends and only do speed runs lilke that when you are alone so that you don't kill a passenger!
That hull was never designed to go any where near that speed. The problem is the deep entry bow which causes "bow steer". Two friends have had that same hull, one with a 455/Berk and the other with an I/O. Believe it or not the jet(max speed about 65) never had any problems but the I/O did.
If you want to go fast/faster, find a more suitable hull.
i'd guess you're running it out of water. nice shot of the side, but what's the hardware look like?
id be real careful things happen real quick at high speeds. id be scared to go 80+ in a little 16 footer.
i would definately say the bow steer is coming from that deep v bottom!i would definately be looking for a tx19.
It is actually extremly smooth, i can almost take my hand off the wheel. It just feels like the fronts diving at a certain speed.
thanks alot T
Take a good look at the bottom. That bow steer situation is bad enough, but can be compounded badly by a hook in the bottom, and every small Tahiti I have ever seen, has a bad hook in it, and all the diverter in the world won't overcome it. I actually measured one that had a 3/8" hook right at the transom.
What the others have said about the hull are right.
I have an 18' CobraJet with the same style deep V entry. A very knowlegable boat rigger informed me NOT to push my hull faster than about 70 because of the danger of bow steer.
80+ in a 16'er, dayum.................... I'm trying to get to mid 80's in my Taylor, which is risky enough, but she isn't displaying any warning signs yet of bad behaviors..
Your boat is talking to you. For whatever reasons, it doesn't want to go that fast, and probably shouldn't. I would consider listening.
What year is it? From some comparison photos I'm looking at:
http://www.teshio.com/JetBoat/tahiti.htm
The early '70's ones had a much steeper entry to the water at the bow (it's in heavy shade in your photo but yours looks this way) while the later models (75 and later), at least the ones shown, had the much flatter entry angle of the faster design V-hull jets.
Is it trying to hook-turn (hook the nose and spin) when you let off of it?
If so, the nose is held dry while running by the diverter thrust BUT, you reduce it, the bow drops, the entry catches the side of a wave, and arround you go, swapping ends.
This would be accentuated by hook in the transom pushing UP on the stern, and thus down on the bow. Get a 4' or longer straightedge/carpenter's level, etc, and lay it from the stern foreward and see if there is any "droop" at the back edge of the hull. This is what is called hull "hook".
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