Wake Spray

HBSteve

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Any ideas why would the spray on the port side is higher and farther than starboard?
Trim tabs retracted, boat level, smooth water, engines synched, engines aligned on recent service, two people on board and equally balanced off centerline. Difference is constant at speed. Is this an issue or indicator of a problem?
 

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DennisG01

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It looks like the boat is JUST BARELY out of level (from port to starboard). Look at the wake, further back - one side is slightly different than the other. It doesn't take much at all to create that very, very slight difference that you're seeing. Other factors that come to mind... wind? transducers on the port side that deflect water differently than one of the starboard side? Maybe one trim tab is mounted slightly different than the other?

Take a look back there while the boat is running and see if you can see where the spray is originating... just don't fall in!!! Or put a video camera on a stick.

Absolutely, positively NOT something to worry about, though.
 

Fishtales

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Tough to see, but did you factor wave direction, other weight considerations (water, diesel (if gen) and fuel)? As previous poster stated, noting I would worry about. Adj the trim if it bothers you.
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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My batteries are on the port side of my boat which causes a slight teeny tiny list to port. Thus a slight difference in my wake. On bigger Grady boats I suspect this is not an issue.
 

HBSteve

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Thank You for the comments and I'm sorry about the oversized picture. Don't know how to proportion it down. Its an 05 sailfish. Our batteries are centered. The galley is on the port but id think that would be factored during manufacture. I usually seem to need a pinch of trim tab to bring the starboard side down a little while on plane. Little things like this drive me nuts because Im thinking it should be symetrical. This photo was inside the breakwater so we avoided swell etc. Really Im just getting feedback to see if its a orobkem indicator.
 

g0tagrip

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Another possible factor is whether your livable seacock is open or closed. If open the livewell will fill adding weight to that side of the boat.
 

DennisG01

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HBSteve said:
Really Im just getting feedback to see if its a orobkem indicator.

10E363D7-793C-4D2E-AE66-8BF864A447EA_zpsxmmnmowj.jpg


I don't know why the pics sometimes get so big, either. But I have found that I can drag the picture into a new browser window and it shows up full screen, then.

Are you an engineer, by chance? There are SO MANY factors at play here, added on top of an already inconsistent medium (the sea) that there really is no way to 100% determine if there is a problem. There's just no way to get rid of all the variables. Now, if there is a more obvious (larger) difference, then that would deserve some looking into. But, like many others, I have owned many boats (and work at a dealership) so the number of boats/wakes I have seen/created is well into the hundreds. Believe me, what you're seeing is absolutely fine.

EDIT: Oh, wait, I just figured it out... quick typing and not proof reading means "orobkem" equals "problem"... :mrgreen:
 

seasick

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Does this vessel have counter rotating motors?
 

Fishtales

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I had a 2001 sailfish going by memory here..
My batteries were under the trash can rear port. The head holding tank is under the mid berth towards starboard as I recall.
There were two fuel tanks one was larger than the other, both aft on the center line. I thought the bigger was forward and the smaller toward the aft.
Forget where the water is placed. Do you have a gen set?

Determine the location of all of these (maybe use your owners manual - online too if you don't have one). Then you'll need to track all these things based on actual capacity.
To be sure, different combinations and sea conditions will give you different performance from level to listing either side.
 

HBSteve

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Got A Grip: Good point re: the livewell seackcock. The livewell is on the port side. But all our seacoks are always closed unless we're going to use that specific function. it was closed on this run.

Dennis: Duly noted on the picture drag. I'll try it next opportunity. Thanks for the engineer compliment (dad and brothers are). You have the experience so if you say it's nothing to stress over then I'm good with it. Yes, sorry about the typos. I'm sloppy on my iphone.

Seasick: I assued the props are counter rotating since they are original engines but i'll confirm it.

Fishtales: On the 282 there is only one fuel tank. The water tank, batteries, holding tank, fuel tank and hot water heater are all on centerline. Plus I'm hoping Grady balanced the load when they built it. It's a "stock" boat with nothing heavy added.

Thank you to everyone. My bottom line is to keep it a conversation topic but not lose any sleep over it. Hopefully I'll find the answer on the bottom of a margarita glass.
 

Fishtales

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Hi Steve,
The 282 went thru some redesign between 2001 and 2005. The 2001 had 2 tanks, a 150 gal and a 70 gal.
I noticed after the redesign the capacity dropped to 203 gallons in one tank as you state. My bad. It would be interesting to see how the tank is baffled.
Grady still shows the batteries (3) on the port side aft, not on the centerline. Has to be some sort of weight distribution influenced thing from where I sit. Good luck!
 

seasick

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The distribution of weight and the location of equipment like batteries can affect the balance but the real question is whether the hull is level or not. Only by putting a level on a level surface while underway will tell if the hull is parallel to the water.
On some Gradys there are two sea cock strainers on the hull, one for livewell and one for washdown. If two they are usually symmetrically placed .
There are other things that will cause a difference in water flow. Some are simple like buildup on the hull, others are less obvious like motor trim tabs ( hence my question on counter rotating LUs)
Thru hulls like sonar will affect flow as will transom mounted transducers. It is difficult to compare the port and starboard wake from inside since it is impossible to look over the sides to see where the chines are riding. Just by moving to look over the side affects weight loading.
It is also important to understand that the wake and spray off of the hull sides is a better indicator of performance and trim than the wake a seen off the stern. Think of a boat being towed at speed with no motors.
Motors add drag, may not be trimmed exactly the same and could be a tad out of sync. All that affects the water turbulence
Having another boat take a look from port and starboard is a better approach for determining how the hull is performing. All that said, i don't understand the overall concern. What is important is how the vessel tracks and handles, not what its wake looks like:)