Another 260DA handling question

Newbie

Newbie

New Member
Oct 22, 2007
858
Apex, NC
Boat Info
'01 230BR
Engines
350mag B3,
First off, my boats stats

06 260, 6.2 liter w/ B3 and 20P props, genset and bowthruster

My prob is at slow speeds less than about 3k rpm, I have considerable bow steer. It will wander in wide S-curves about 15-20 feet each side. Many parts of the intracoastal are barely the 40ft wide needed for my wandering if I just let it do it. I have always corrected it while underway but it is very annoying to continually have to do so. It is so bad that this past summer I cut my trip up the Rideau canal short because of the narrows around Kingston, couldn't really maintain it in the channel when other boats passed by. No trimming of the drive or tabs makes much difference but its best with everything all the way down. After just reading 10 pages about celery sticks on the B3, would it make a difference to move them to let the drive down farther? Last time I had it at the dealer I had them check the steering system, all was OK. I did have someone suggest that maybe the hole for the bowthruster could be diverting enough water to magnify it?? I do realize its pretty normal for the 260 to do this but it seems awfully excessive on mine. Everything is OK at plane speeds or when I'm just below plane. As long as the bow is raised a little, it seems to be OK. Any suggestions? Steven B
 
On mine I find that lowering the tabs all the way and keeping the outdrive lowered all the way reduces the bow steer considerably below planing speeds. But I still get wander at real low speeds (under 6-8mph) no matter what I do.
 
The Bravo 3 on a single engine boat seems to make the boat wander a little on every B3 single ive been on. When im below plane, its a nice slow dance with the steering wheel countering the prop wash. I can make the boat go really straight, but there is a constant input on the wheel to keep it there. I do keep my drive all the way down and dont use my tabs (fully retracted). The best thing ive found it to add corrections to the sterring wheel AHEAD of the boat moving where you know its going to go. What i mean is, when i counter the prop wash that steers me starboard, im adding input to the steering wheel to counter the momentum that will push my bow to port. This allows you to track a pretty straigh tline with very little wandering. Hope this helps

Mike
 
Newbie said:
First off, my boats stats

06 260, 6.2 liter w/ B3 and 20P props, genset and bowthruster

My prob is at slow speeds less than about 3k rpm, I have considerable bow steer. It will wander in wide S-curves about 15-20 feet each side. Many parts of the intracoastal are barely the 40ft wide needed for my wandering if I just let it do it. I have always corrected it while underway but it is very annoying to continually have to do so. It is so bad that this past summer I cut my trip up the Rideau canal short because of the narrows around Kingston, couldn't really maintain it in the channel when other boats passed by. No trimming of the drive or tabs makes much difference but its best with everything all the way down. After just reading 10 pages about celery sticks on the B3, would it make a difference to move them to let the drive down farther? Last time I had it at the dealer I had them check the steering system, all was OK. I did have someone suggest that maybe the hole for the bowthruster could be diverting enough water to magnify it?? I do realize its pretty normal for the 260 to do this but it seems awfully excessive on mine. Everything is OK at plane speeds or when I'm just below plane. As long as the bow is raised a little, it seems to be OK. Any suggestions? Steven B
Click to expand...

I get the same thing. Much like Mike said, I keep my drive down, but my tabs up, and she still wanders a little. I also do the same thing he does with steering a little ahead of the boat. It took me some getting used to, but I'm getting better. I've certainly learned that on this size boat, ya have to keep on top of the difference between what she wants to do and what you want her to do.

On another note, I'm interested in the bow thruster...did you add that aftermarket?
 
All you can do is make sure the steering mechanisms are in good shape (bushings and such) but you're gonna' find them all good. Bow steer is something that we have to live with and it's quite common with all single stern drive units, not just Sea Rays. Like Makc and MC said, I too anticipate the swing and compensate for it with a small turn of the wheel in advance. It's a predictable and steady pattern so mimimizing it is possible... and yeah, you'll get better at it after a while.
 
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My 260 wanders, too, at no-wake speeds, but it sounds like Newbie's boat wanders at considerably higher speeds, correct? My 260 will still plane at 3,000 rpm, and there's no bow steer then.

Perhaps the design changes between your 2006 and my 2000 could account for the steer? If so, though, that sounds like a pretty serious design problem and I'd be surprised if a hull with that issue made it into production.

As others have suggested, perhaps part of the problem is overcorrecting/late corrections. It took me a while to get the hang of this, but using very slight steering input, and paying attention to the tendency to wander and anticipating the reverse curve -- and countering it before it's fully developed -- helps me control the wandering.

Jeff
 
Hi everyone. I don't have an answer but yet another question. I just took delivery of my 2007 260 da this weekend. Love the boat but the handling was tougher than I anticipated. I came from a 22' bow rider so this is a big step for me, but should I be encountering such major shifts in the lean when a 125 pound person moves from one area of my boat to another? I think alot of this has to do with my not being familiar with the use of trim tabs but a friend of mine that was on the boat has a 35 Carver and seemed a little surprised at this as well. My boat is a single engine 350 mag BIII. Any comments regarding this would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike
 
luvmysearay said:
Hi everyone. I don't have an answer but yet another question. I just took delivery of my 2007 260 da this weekend. Love the boat but the handling was tougher than I anticipated. I came from a 22' bow rider so this is a big step for me, but should I be encountering such major shifts in the lean when a 125 pound person moves from one area of my boat to another? I think alot of this has to do with my not being familiar with the use of trim tabs but a friend of mine that was on the boat has a 35 Carver and seemed a little surprised at this as well. My boat is a single engine 350 mag BIII. Any comments regarding this would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Well Mike, the issue difference we're talking about now is the beam and draft. Your friend was surprised because his 35 Carver probably has a 10-11-or 13 foot beam which makes the boat much more stable (especially at slow speeds). Furthermore, since your bowrider probably drafts less than the 260, that will also usually make it a touch more stable (though not by much). You're just lower to the water in that.

To me, it doesn't really sound like anything is wrong with the boat. If you were up at cruising speed, no one was moving around, and the boat was rolling violently, then I would think you might have a trim tab issue. Otherwise, you might just have to do what I have done, and put "Wider beam" on the list of things you'd like in your next boat. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks MC. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the boat...it wasn't that bad, but it was a surprise to me at how easily the boat listed to one side or the other based on movement of people....guess that's where my inexperience with all this comes in. Found a good thread on here with alot of info about this. I think mainly it's trial and error on my part to figure out the best planing/operating procedure for me. Thanks again for your input.
 
I've gotten used to the shifting around when on the water...what I'm still trying to get used to is when the Admiral steps off when we're at the dock and the whole boat shifts to to port. We're still working on "weight shifting" hehehe....
 
Yeah, a wider boat would stop this condition but Sea Ray has opted to keep the 260's to a trailerable beam. Boats aren't as easy to drive as most people think... anyone can make it move but to be smooth and precise with the controls isn't acheived automatically. Once you get a bunch of time at the helm, you'll know exactly how much tabs you need to level it up... or what your best trim angle is underway... or docking techniques... or bow steer... whatever. You'll get better each time out.
Just a thought... your boat probably has 'Bennett' tabs on it. Go to http://www.bennetttrimtabs.com/ then click on the auto tab control. I've never been on a boat that has this feature but I'm told the system works quite well.
 
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Not to hijack the thread, but I have the Auto Tab Control on my 350 EB and have put them on 3 previous boats. Can only say, once you dial them in, you will wonder what you did without them. Sitting up a little higher with the Express Bridge, I would get some listing as people moved around, along with wind and wave action. With the Auto Tabs on, the response is so quick you would be amazed. No human being can react as fast as these do. Simple installation and very little tuning in. Go for it!
 
Thank you very much for all the info. Actually I was looking at those auto tabs last night and had dismissed them thinking I should probably get used to using tabs but you guys have changed my mind. I'm going to check it out today. If I get them I'll let you know how it works out for me.

Thanks again.
 
After reading all the replies on this posting I though I would interject my comments here. Because I have been thru all the situations being brought up here I think auto tabs are an overkill (and may not work properly) and what you need to observe are a few key things (that I learned the hard way:smt100) and you will find you can control your 260DA comfortably and without having to constantly fiddle with tab adjustments. I have commented on this before in other postings but I will sum up my own experiences here in one place.

First off lets talk about coming up on plane and cruising at planing speeds. The key to control in coming up on plane is to not deploy your trim tabs at all. If you deploy them ahead of time you will find the boat will do all sorts of crazy things. So regardless of your load on board, don't touch the tabs until you are on plane. To bring the boat on plane, slowly throttle up to planing speeds. Make sure your outdrive is fully down before you take off. As the boat starts to speed up it will want to lean (mine tends to lean to port). As soon as you notice this lean, begin trimming the outdrive up. As the boat gains speed trim the drive up until is about at the halfway mark as shown on the trim gauge. At this point you should be tracking straight but the boat may still be leaning. So now is the time to use the trim tab. Only adjust one tab and that will be the tab necessary to bring the bow down for the side that is too high. Do not touch the other tab! Slowly "tap" the control and wait a second or two to see how the boat reacts. Continue to do this until the boat is level. You shouldn't have to touch the tab after that unless you change direction or the wind shifts. As far as your passengers are concerned, tell them to stay put so you don't have to re-adjust the tab. And I can't emphasize this too much...........only use one tab when you are on plane. If you try using both you will find controlling the balance of the boat gets a lot more difficult,

Now let's talk about situations where you will be traveling at slower speeds where you will not be on plane. In this case, if you don't want a "bow up" situation, deploy both tabs fully, trim the outdrive down, then adjust only one tab to get the boat level just as you would when you are on plane.

There is one more thing I will mention here and that is if you are having trouble getting your 260DA on plane with a lot of weight on board, ask your dealer to adjust the outdrive so it will retract further. There is huge posting on this subject here and again I learned the hard way what needed to be done. http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3253&highlight=celery The reason this is so important is when your boat is having trouble coming on plane there is a tendency to overuse the tabs with all the resulting bad handling that occurs.

If you follow my advice I have given here I think you will find things a lot more manageable. It took me many months to figure this out on my own and I was just as frustrated as some of you in the meantime. Now I find my cruising experience a lot more pleasant and I don't have to constantly fiddle with the tabs either.

Dave
 
I find the use of tabs a great benefit when coming on plane. They keep the boat flatter (Less bow rise), which translates to more forward speed instead of pushing a big wall of water. Once on plane, I retract both tabs and then adjust based on the wind, load balance, waves, etc.

In the 250 and 300 DA I can tell when I forget to deploy the tabs because the time to plane is increased substantially. It feels like I'm boating uphill and extending the amount of effort required by the engine(s). If you are MARGINALLY powered, maybe that is the problem? I have the 454 Magnum in the 250 and a couple of 5.7's in the 300 and power hasn't been an issue.

You may want to look at your props on the 260. A lot of folks claim better handling at slow speeds and getting on plane when using a 4 bladed prop. I can't answer that, I've never used one. They do provide more lift and that could be key in getting the 260 to plane faster with less bow rise? I'm sure others could chime in here....
 
Both of the symptoms described her is simply a characteistic of deep vee boats with a sharp forward entry. The wandering is a question that has been ased about since the first deep vee boat was made. I asked te same question many years ago as well. Twins help a bit. I have twin inboards with prop pockets and a fairly deep vee and a 12' beam and I still get a small bit of wander but nothing like my friends '05 260 DA.

The "tenderness" as it's called, is again the result of a narrow beam and a deep vee hull. The shallower the vee the more stable the boat. But the deep vee is what gives the good ride. An 8' wide flat bottom boat is very stable at rest and at plane but in a fair size chop it will loosen your teeth. No solutions here but at least you know why.
 
If he has a Bravo III, they don't make 4 bladed props for them, that I know of.
 
You guys are awsome...thanks for the responses. Dave...the Searay "expert" that took me out on the boat said the same thing you did about not using the tabs until I get on plane and get the engine trimmed where I want it. The Bennett manual says just the opposite! I think the idea of using only one tab will be very helpful from a handling issue. I'll have to get more time on the water to really try all of this out. Probably not going to try the auto tabs until I give myslef some time trying my own adjustments then I'll make a decision.

Thanks!
 
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