New Owner of a 22 Cruiser

G

ggray

New member
Hi
After some months of lurking here, we recently bought Red Top, and look forward to time aboard!

As sailors, this won't be our primary vessel, but when there's little wind, or not enough time for a good cruise, Red Top will still allow us to be on the water... the Chesapeake Bay.

I anticipate having some questions in the future that I hope this group will help me with.

Right now I'd like guidance on how best to trim the boat. On a smaller boat, a center console, I was taught to trim the motor up until the prop cavitated, then lower until it stopped cavitating.

Now, I also have Lenco trim tabs; I'm not sure how to coordinate them with the PTT, so any advice would be appreciated!
 
Trim tabs can be used to trim the boat from side to side, and to get the boat up on plain easier when heavily loaded. But the best thing about the tabs is you can use them to hold the bow down when going into wind waves, swells or rough water to will get a smother ride. C dory's are fairly light boats so the bow tends to go up over the swells and can come down rather hard. If you give it to much trim going into waves the boat will not want to run straight, just reduce speed a bit or reduce trim a bit to straighten things out. Usually I run my motor with a permatrim on it level for most efficiency. I also have a sailboat, but find that I use the C Dory a whole lot more. It's much much easier to launch and retrieve.
 
Welcome aboard--many of were or are still sailors--and when we got too old...C Dory!

The trim of the C Dory will be different than a deep V Center Console. Depending on how the boat is loaded, I usually trim the motor all of the way down, for coming up on a plane, and give about half trim tabs. As the boat levels out--depending on speed (and the C Dory 22 will plane at low speeds--needing more tab there than at higher). Plane starts about about 12 knots and top speed can be in the 30 knot realm depending on motor and weight of the boat.

I also advocate a Permatrim--as well as trim tabs. As the boat comes onto plane, I trim port and Starboard with the tabs to level the boat. If the Admiral ( only in the 120# realm) moves, it will make a difference in the 22, and I ask her to let me know so I can trim if she moves). So the boat is load dependent. I then bring the motor to a fairly neutral point--where the speed is maximized for the throttle setting.

I appreciate that my current tabs do have indicator LED's so I can pre set and know just how much trim tab I have at any moment.

You will find that going into chop, you want the bow down, and this may mean max trim tab and motor trimmed down. You will notice steering differences. Don't do this down wind and waves...!

The Permatirm accentuates the outboard position, and gives a bit more positive bow down when into chop, and faster onto a plane.

Enjoy the Chesapeake, such a wonderful cruising ground.
 
Welcome ggray! We too are in the Hampton/Langley area of the Chesapeake and have been C-Dory owners for about a year. Hope to see you around the cruising grounds.

--Chad
 
Thanks for all the replies! This is a nice size group to be in: big enough, but not too big.

It sounds like trimming is a bit of experimentation. In chop I shouldn’t raise the bow so much with the motor like I do on the Privateer (not really a deep vee!) so a lot of trim tab won’t be needed to bring the bow back down; if the water is smooth enough, raising the bow will give better fuel economy. Does all that sound right?

Will look into Permatrim this winter!
 
Keeping the motor trimmed for max speed at any one throttle setting will give best fuel economy. you would want less trim tab when water is smooth, or small wind ripples. This is not necessarily a "bow up" position.
 
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