Cruise angle

Jake

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
188
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
If you are cruising at 80% of WOT, what would you estimate the angle of your tug to be? Being a semi-displacement hull they don't really get up on plane. In many pictures on the RT site the bow looks to be up at quite a steep angle. I assume this would not be the case with the R-23.
 
I've never estimated the angle, but if I use the trim tabs to bring the bow down, it's a pretty level ride. Visibility is excellent, and moving around the cabin is comfortable. Without the trim tabs, the bow would be quite high, and fuel economy and speed would both suffer due to pushing the hull through the water.
 
We were told to adjust the trim tabs to have the hulls forward spray coming out from the hull under the area of helm seat. On a R27 it seems to work for us when cruising at the 14- 15 mph speed.
 
The image below is our R27 at a fairly fast cruise. I can't guarantee the speed or trim but I typically run at 15kts trimmed fully bow down. I'd estimate the angle is 5-7 degrees or so. Don't know if the R23 would be any different but it would still have to have the stem out of the water as the steep stem on the tug hull is not designed to be in the water at higher speeds. I don't think it would be safe.

 
Thanks for the replies. Curt, good point regarding the R-23 and I would agree with the 5-7 degrees looking at your picture. Wanted to be sure one could avoid the 10+ degrees I see in some pictures, maybe just some squatting upon acceleration. I do recall some discussion of a high bow with the C-26 and C-28, primarily the C-26. Maybe not properly trimmed or just too much hp for the size of the tabs. Anyways, glad to hear it isn't an inherent problem.
 
I've got about 50 hours on my R-23, and it seems to me that it's faster trimmed bow up. My thinking was that the trim tabs are retracted out of the main flow of the water when the boat is trimmed bow up...
 
We have a R25SC and my experience is that with the trim tabs there is no problem with visibility, handling or bow rise. Compared to the three small express cruisers I have had in this size range, my opinion is that the bow rise is less getting her up on partial plane even without use of the trim tabs. The lack of significant bow rise and is such that one can easily forget to use the trim tabs.
 
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