How to drive a Seafarer?

[whitebeach]

Hi All,

I'm a little embarrassed to ask this question but have seen a poston the Seafarer appreciation post regarding someone who after 20 years of boating still didn't have a clue! This was from Lindsay Fry himself! Well, I have more than 20 years experience BUT I have only just taken ownership of a Seafarer Victory 5.9. I have had crafts from a 6' (a surfboard) - 22' (a sailboat) and many tinnies inbetween, but never a 20' fiberglass Seafarer with a 150 hp 4 stroke hanging on the back and trim tabs. I had a 5.1m Stabicraft before the Seafarer, which is like going from a sports car to a Mercedes sedan. Do I know how to drive it? Good question. Am I doing things right, when the wind and swell get going? I don't know. I live in Tasmania where we have quite a bit of both and one of the reasons to get a bigger boat. I would like to know more, without getting Lindsay in the boat with me I would appreciate some advice, or stories anything that can enlighten me and allow me to get the best out of a great boat.::)

[Chimo]

WB

This is your hull with a different top.
Have a look at Jabbas pictures of his boat in the Seafarer Appreciation Thread. early pages.

Chimo

#42 (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php/125475-Seafarer-Appreciation-thread?p=777114&viewfull=1#post777114) Jabba_ (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/member.php/46192-Jabba_)
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Re: Seafarer Appreciation thread
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/images/metro/orange/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by nobody http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/images/metro/orange/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?p=776879#post776879)
jabba, all those things you said about getting better the harder you pushed her were true...........read this review.


Here’s a new recipe for the Aussie boating scene. Take Lindsay Fry’s tried and true 5.9m Seafarer hull, finished in either bright yellow or red gelcoat; give it a runabout layout with a low profile double bed cabin; and strap 200hp of Evinrude grunt on its transom and what do you get? An exhilarating day boat that can handle just about anything Sydney Harbour can throw at it at speeds that’ll blow you away.

And don’t be mislead into thinking Sydney Harbour is just a sheltered waterway. Have you ever seen the amazing television pictures of Sydney ferries battling 5m swells inside the harbour? It can get pretty rough out there. Seafarer’s 5.9m hull is a true deep-vee bluewater hull and she performs as such, it’s only this boat’s internal layout that makes her different from her offshore brothers.

She has an overall length of 6.45m (21’ 2”) — including the swim platform — a beam of 2.4m (7’ 9”); has a hull weight of 900kg; and an extremely sharp deadrise at the transom of 21 degrees. With a fine entry she cuts through swells and chop, while her large down-turned chines ensure she tracks straight when underway and is stable at rest. Out on the water this boat is a real hoon machine. It’s a hoot to drive, has power to burn and has the ride and smooth water handling of a performance ski boat, but this Seafarer has another ace up her sleeve — she can also deliver high speed performance and handling in rough and choppy water.

In fact, as the Modern Boating team found out during this test, the best way to drive this hull in choppy water is hard. She literally sliced through the swells without and delivered a surprisingly smooth and dry ride. Because the hull is designed in a runabout configuration and the low forward cabin sits under the foredeck, the boat retains a low profile making it extremely aerodynamic. The curved and raked one-piece windscreen allows for an even better airflow over the cockpit, which reduced drag even further. The first part of this test was conducted on a windless morning on the upper reaches of the Parramatta River, where the water was glassy smooth.

In those conditions we were able to run the boat flat strap with complete safety. With the hull trimmed right out, so the boat was running with only the transom in the water, the Vermont hit 49.6 knots at 5500rpm. She was literally dancing on her chines. And that was only the test boat. The camera boat was the same hull fitted with a 250hp Evinrude and she was to be honest, a little twitchy, in a fun kind of way. The team agreed the 250hp engine might be a bit of an overkill, especially when you consider the hull has a maximum power rating of 225hp. Other speed-to-rpm readings were: 7.2 knots at 2000rpm; 8.9 knots at 2500rpm; 15.5 knots at 3000rpm; 28.5 knots at 3500rpm; 34.5 knots at 4000rpm; 39.9 knots at 4500rpm, and 49.6 knots at 5500rpm.

That was in calm water, but later that day in choppy water out on Sydney Harbour the boat performed equally well. The harder we pushed her through the chop the better she liked it and the better the ride. The boat handled tight turns at speed, in both choppy and smooth water easily, without tail slippage or the steering feeling heavy during recovery. High gunwales give the skipper and passengers a sense of security during high-speed cornering, while the wrap-around windscreen forced the airstream up and over the cockpit, so even those on the rear lounge don’t get ruffled. From a personal perspective, I wasn’t overly rapt in the colour of the two hulls, but the boat’s top performance more than compensated for any problems I might have with colours. ...........................WOW



Thanks for that Nobody, that test review is extreamly accurite... Do you have a link to were you found it....

That Yellow Vermont in the test review. It is a good chance that is the very boat I have today.... I asked lindsay when I bought mine, how many coloured Vermonts he made.... There are 2 yellow, 1 red and 1 Ford blue..

[Chimo]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/jabba1/Boating%20camping%20and%20fising/Adayfishing004.jpg

LIKE YOU STOLE IT......................

[whitebeach]

8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)8-)

[Noelm]

So then, you can only drive one like a maniac? No use a "normal" fisherman buying one then is there, even after owning one for 20 years.

[scottar]

I can't tell you THE way (there's way too many ways to skin the proverbial) but I can tell you what seems to work for me. I would have to be the polar opposite of the above being the sort of skipper that prefers to slow down to a pace where I can comfortably remain in the chair and let the autopilot do all the hard work. Going into a head sea when it's rough this involves a serious amount of tab down (quite regularly all the way and then back off on the required side to level the boat) to generate the required lift. Exactly how much tab down you need will be determined by the balance and weight distribution of your own rig. This has the added advantage of making the ride a lot smoother by forcing the bow down - the feeling is like it is glued to the water in comparison to running without tabs down. I then trim the outboard to find a balance between ride quality and economy that I am happy with - on really rough days the outboard will stay tucked in to generate more lift allowing an even slower economical plane.

Running with a sea I start with the tabs up, get going and trim the engine out and then gradually add tab to the point I am happy with the ride and economy. You don't want a lot of tab down in a following sea as it will increase the tendency for bow steer or worst case a broach.

If conditions are flat the Victory does respond nicely to an extra big fistful of throttle and you do seem to be able to just keep trimming up (dependent on set up). My personal rig gets a bit of a porpoise with a high trim setting that at lower speeds I rectify by applying just enough tab to stop but with extra throttle it will disappear so the tabs come back up.

[Noelm]

Now you're talking, driving as fast as possible is of no use to anyone, might look good, and can even be fun for a bit, but, who wants to run to (say) the shelf with everyone shitting their pants and all your gear getting smashed to bits, just to show everyone you "know how to drive" and how great your boat is?

[Fed]

I drive with my knee.

[gofishin]

... I would have to be the polar opposite of the above being the sort of skipper that prefers to slow down to a pace where I can comfortably remain in the chair and let the autopilot do all the hard work ...I'm hearing you brother ... me too [emoji1]

[gofishin]

I drive with my knee.Lot cheaper than an AP too I suppose Fed ... or is it a titanium knee ?? [emoji1][emoji1]

[GBC]

Drive it however you like while it stays in the water. When it starts to fly out of the water make sure you land it straight, when it starts to not fly straight, slow down and use the tabs - continuing to stand her up straight with the wheel.

[The Black Unicorn]

The best way to drive it is on the trailer behind the car. Once on the water....... Well there's no way of making them go good!

[whitebeach]

I can't tell you THE way (there's way too many ways to skin the proverbial) but I can tell you what seems to work for me. I would have to be the polar opposite of the above being the sort of skipper that prefers to slow down to a pace where I can comfortably remain in the chair and let the autopilot do all the hard work. Going into a head sea when it's rough this involves a serious amount of tab down (quite regularly all the way and then back off on the required side to level the boat) to generate the required lift. Exactly how much tab down you need will be determined by the balance and weight distribution of your own rig. This has the added advantage of making the ride a lot smoother by forcing the bow down - the feeling is like it is glued to the water in comparison to running without tabs down. I then trim the outboard to find a balance between ride quality and economy that I am happy with - on really rough days the outboard will stay tucked in to generate more lift allowing an even slower economical plane.

Running with a sea I start with the tabs up, get going and trim the engine out and then gradually add tab to the point I am happy with the ride and economy. You don't want a lot of tab down in a following sea as it will increase the tendency for bow steer or worst case a broach.

If conditions are flat the Victory does respond nicely to an extra big fistful of throttle and you do seem to be able to just keep trimming up (dependent on set up). My personal rig gets a bit of a porpoise with a high trim setting that at lower speeds I rectify by applying just enough tab to stop but with extra throttle it will disappear so the tabs come back up.

Thank you Scottar, very helpful. This is the first boat with tabs so I am interested in people's experience with them.

[Ocean_Spirit]

Best to go for a run with someone who has owned one for sometime. As Scottar said, any deep vee will answer well to trim and pointing the nose, so use the wheel and trim button.

[gr hilly]

Seafarer? now a great boat,i saved lives in these great boats back in the 80s but after testing and to take in mind we had to tow a fair bit we found smaller motors and two were better than one we used 2 Seafarer's? at Beenleigh Airsea -Rescue in the 80s and i personally owned a 19 ft Haines Hunter powered by a 175 as a bar boat they were on par but i recon the twins helped the Seafarer?for stability well my Haines Hunter was better,i was blessed to of spent so much time in the Seafarer a fantastic boat that will take all the waters chuck at it tough cuts nice sweet and forgiving enjoy and do not worry have a look at Beenleigh Airsea -Rescue on google for a little of what i am trying to say cheers. G R Hilly.

[whitebeach]

Seafarer? now a great boat,i saved lives in these great boats back in the 80s but after testing and to take in mind we had to tow a fair bit we found smaller motors and two were better than one we used 2 Seafarer's? at Beenleigh Airsea -Rescue in the 80s and i personally owned a 19 ft Haines Hunter powered by a 175 as a bar boat they were on par but i recon the twins helped the Seafarer?for stability well my Haines Hunter was better,i was blessed to of spent so much time in the Seafarer a fantastic boat that will take all the waters chuck at it tough cuts nice sweet and forgiving enjoy and do not worry have a look at Beenleigh Airsea -Rescue on google for a little of what i am trying to say cheers.

G R Hilly.

Thanks! You are not in Tasmania are you?!

[Jabba_]

Seeing the pics of my old Seafarer make me sad.. Wish I still had it :( And YES they are a GREAT boat, in particular the 5.9 hull.. I put my Vermont through hell for the 7 years I owned it, Only damaging the hull when I landed the on the sandbank at jumping pin.. Cracked the transom, but didn't know I had damaged it till I was cleaning the boat back home. Yeah, they're built farken strong, most other boats would of ripped the transom off in a accident like I had.. lucky I had insurance.. Hains Group repaired my transom, and they did an awesome job considering they had to repair it after a dodgy repairer in Labrador completely stuffed my transom trying to repair it...
I did drove mine like I stole it. Loved the GC Seaway when it was big and rough, play time. Coming in was as much fun as going out.. The 5.9 can literally surf down a wave without broaching. Well, I could do it with mine and the 250HP probably helped too.. Loved that Boat, and if I ever buy a boat again, it'll be either another Vermont or Victory.. With an Etec of course 8-)

113225
And I had to sell the boat due to divorce. Grrrrr

[Ocean_Spirit]

The Jabba. Drove it like he stole it. Good to see you around mate. Hurry up and buy that next Victory...!

Lindsay always said the Vermont was the Cadillac on the water. Top rig that - great boat to drive.

[Dignity]

Scottar had one very good point, heading into a sea tabs down, following sea tabs up (apart from some slight adjustments). They can be a little confusing as up is down and vice versus when looking at the switch panel but after a while you'll wonder how you managed without them.
Good luck and enjoy your new boat.

[Jabba_]

It'll be a few years yet Andrew. My new partner and I are about to buy a house, so I'll be busy working to improve the house and it value.
The Jabba. Drove it like he stole it. Good to see you around mate. Hurry up and buy that next Victory...!

Lindsay always said the Vermont was the Cadillac on the water. Top rig that - great boat to drive.

[tenzing]

It'll be a few years yet Andrew. My new partner and I are about to buy a house, so I'll be busy working to improve the house and it value.
Why not improve its value by parking the Vic in front of it!