Boating getting on plane; what does this fishtail mean? Or, is it normal?

[mrsrobinson]

I filmed this for the first time, I think it's referred to as a fishtail. Mine looks odd to me, not even on both sides. Does this suggest anything to you?

https://gopro.com/v/XNlKZBJW0z60G

 

[Espos4]

Are both tabs equally deployed or retracted?

 

[Golfman25]

Possibility something dragging on the stbd side?

 

[jmcdboater]

I like what @Espos4 suggested, and also I wonder if your starboard prop has a ding, or is misshapen from hitting a small log (etc…) ??

 

[BillK2632]

Possibly one of your underwater exhaust ports missing? But more likely either the pickup for your generator or a transducer changes the water flow slightly on one side.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Are both tabs equally deployed or retracted?

I was thinking the same, yes per the buttons at the helm.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Possibly one of your underwater exhaust ports missing? But more likely either the pickup for your generator or a transducer changes the water flow slightly on one side.

Pick up for the generator is on the starboard side. Boat was recently hauled and the bottom was painted, underwater exhaust looked good then. I've seen one of those knocked off before on a fellow builders boat and the boat was taken on quite a bit of water. My bilge is dry.

 

[Skybolt]

Looks perfectly fine to me. On a different day and conditions it may look different for any number of reasons.

 

[Strecker25]

I don’t see anything wrong here. The little rooster tail off the keel moves around depending on what the conditions are

 

[Lazy Daze]

Are you talking about the rooster tail that is shooting up a bit higher than everything else... right in the center? That would be coming from your keel - as you change the attitude of the boat, you should see that change a bit, as well.

 

[BillK2632]

All I can say at this point is thanks a lot for giving me something else to analyze on my boat now!

 

[bigorangefilter]

Nice job on capturing the fishtail maneuver! It's not uncommon for fishtails to appear asymmetrical, and there could be various factors contributing to it. Experimenting with different techniques and seeking advice from experienced boaters could help you improve the symmetry. Keep exploring and sharing your boating adventures on your YouTube channel! Happy boating!

 

[Pirate Lady]

I don’t see a problem. Other than you have diesels!

 

[hottoddie]

I would confirm both trim tabs are securely attached and working properly.

 

[jmauld]

All I can say at this point is thanks a lot for giving me something else to analyze on my boat now!

Don’t ever look back!

 

[mrsrobinson]

Both trim tabs at the helm, per me pressing the switches, we're in the bow up position. Were they actually physically in that position, I don't know, I'd have to be in the water to double check, which I'll do.

If you look to the right in the video, the port side of the boat, the rooster tail looks flatter and wider to me.

 

[PlayDate]

What would be interesting to see is a some right rudder --- left rudder movement to see how the wake reacts. Just an observation but it may be that the rudders are out of alignment with each other. That throws the prop wash in a slightly different direction than straight back.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I found this video from about 4 hours prior, just looks like the port side rooster tail is a bit wider, pretty much the same as a video above in my first post, when we were leaving.

https://gopro.com/v/LRvVKOVq90Vzm

 

[Golfman25]

I found this video from about 4 hours prior, just looks like the port side rooster tail is a bit wider, pretty much the same as a video above in my first post, when we were leaving.

https://gopro.com/v/LRvVKOVq90Vzm

That looks good. Pretty uniform. If the boat is running well and meeting it's expected numbers, I wouldn't sweat it too much.

 

[Lazy Daze]

The tiniest list of the boat to stbd or port will affect the various wakes being made.